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Side-by-side financial comparison of Ecolab (ECL) and United Rentals (URI). Click either name above to swap in a different company.
Ecolab is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($4.1B vs $4.0B, roughly 1.0× United Rentals). United Rentals runs the higher net margin — 13.3% vs 10.6%, a 2.7% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, Ecolab posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (10.0% vs 7.2%). Over the past eight quarters, United Rentals's revenue compounded faster (114.0% CAGR vs 1.0%).
Ecolab Inc., headquartered in Saint Paul, Minnesota, provides products related to water treatment, sanitation, and hygiene, primarily to commercial and industrial customers.
United Rentals, Inc. is an American equipment rental company, with about 16 percent of the North American market share as of 2022. It owns the largest rental fleet in the world with approximately 4,800 classes of equipment totaling about $20.59 billion in original equipment cost (OEC) as of 2025. The company has a combined total of 1,625 locations, including an integrated network of 1,504 rental locations in North America, 38 in Europe, 23 in Australia and 19 in New Zealand.
ECL vs URI — Head-to-Head
Income Statement — Q2 FY2026 vs Q1 FY2026
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $4.1B | $4.0B |
| Net Profit | $432.6M | $531.0M |
| Gross Margin | — | 36.9% |
| Operating Margin | 15.3% | 21.8% |
| Net Margin | 10.6% | 13.3% |
| Revenue YoY | 10.0% | 7.2% |
| Net Profit YoY | 1.3% | — |
| EPS (diluted) | $1.52 | $8.43 |
Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.
8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend
Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.
| Q2 26 | $4.1B | — | ||
| Q1 26 | — | $4.0B | ||
| Q4 25 | $4.2B | $992.0M | ||
| Q3 25 | $4.2B | $938.0M | ||
| Q2 25 | $4.0B | $872.0M | ||
| Q1 25 | $3.7B | $893.0M | ||
| Q4 24 | $4.0B | $1.0B | ||
| Q3 24 | $4.0B | $874.0M |
| Q2 26 | $432.6M | — | ||
| Q1 26 | — | $531.0M | ||
| Q4 25 | $563.9M | $653.0M | ||
| Q3 25 | $585.0M | $701.0M | ||
| Q2 25 | $524.2M | $622.0M | ||
| Q1 25 | $402.5M | $518.0M | ||
| Q4 24 | $472.9M | $689.0M | ||
| Q3 24 | $736.5M | $708.0M |
| Q2 26 | — | — | ||
| Q1 26 | — | 36.9% | ||
| Q4 25 | 44.0% | — | ||
| Q3 25 | 44.8% | — | ||
| Q2 25 | 44.8% | — | ||
| Q1 25 | 44.2% | — | ||
| Q4 24 | 43.3% | — | ||
| Q3 24 | 43.4% | — |
| Q2 26 | 15.3% | — | ||
| Q1 26 | — | 21.8% | ||
| Q4 25 | 17.0% | — | ||
| Q3 25 | 18.3% | — | ||
| Q2 25 | 17.6% | — | ||
| Q1 25 | 15.0% | 90.0% | ||
| Q4 24 | 14.6% | — | ||
| Q3 24 | 26.1% | — |
| Q2 26 | 10.6% | — | ||
| Q1 26 | — | 13.3% | ||
| Q4 25 | 13.4% | 65.8% | ||
| Q3 25 | 14.0% | 74.7% | ||
| Q2 25 | 13.0% | 71.3% | ||
| Q1 25 | 10.9% | 58.0% | ||
| Q4 24 | 11.8% | 67.6% | ||
| Q3 24 | 18.4% | 81.0% |
| Q2 26 | $1.52 | — | ||
| Q1 26 | — | $8.43 | ||
| Q4 25 | $1.98 | $10.20 | ||
| Q3 25 | $2.05 | $10.91 | ||
| Q2 25 | $1.84 | $9.59 | ||
| Q1 25 | $1.41 | $7.91 | ||
| Q4 24 | $1.65 | $10.41 | ||
| Q3 24 | $2.58 | $10.70 |
Balance Sheet & Financial Strength
Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand | $519.8K | $156.0M |
| Total DebtLower is stronger | $8.5M | $13.9B |
| Stockholders' EquityBook value | $10.0M | $9.0B |
| Total Assets | $25.0M | $29.9B |
| Debt / EquityLower = less leverage | 0.85× | 1.55× |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q2 26 | $519.8K | — | ||
| Q1 26 | — | $156.0M | ||
| Q4 25 | $646.2M | $459.0M | ||
| Q3 25 | $2.0B | $512.0M | ||
| Q2 25 | $1.9B | $548.0M | ||
| Q1 25 | $1.2B | $542.0M | ||
| Q4 24 | $1.3B | $457.0M | ||
| Q3 24 | $1.3B | $479.0M |
| Q2 26 | $8.5M | — | ||
| Q1 26 | — | $13.9B | ||
| Q4 25 | $7.4B | $12.7B | ||
| Q3 25 | $8.1B | $12.6B | ||
| Q2 25 | $7.5B | $12.1B | ||
| Q1 25 | $7.0B | $11.5B | ||
| Q4 24 | $6.9B | $12.2B | ||
| Q3 24 | $7.0B | $11.9B |
| Q2 26 | $10.0M | — | ||
| Q1 26 | — | $9.0B | ||
| Q4 25 | $9.8B | $9.0B | ||
| Q3 25 | $9.7B | $9.0B | ||
| Q2 25 | $9.3B | $9.0B | ||
| Q1 25 | $8.9B | $8.8B | ||
| Q4 24 | $8.8B | $8.6B | ||
| Q3 24 | $8.5B | $8.6B |
| Q2 26 | $25.0M | — | ||
| Q1 26 | — | $29.9B | ||
| Q4 25 | $24.7B | $29.9B | ||
| Q3 25 | $23.9B | $30.1B | ||
| Q2 25 | $23.7B | $29.2B | ||
| Q1 25 | $22.4B | $28.1B | ||
| Q4 24 | $22.4B | $28.2B | ||
| Q3 24 | $22.1B | $28.4B |
| Q2 26 | 0.85× | — | ||
| Q1 26 | — | 1.55× | ||
| Q4 25 | 0.75× | 1.41× | ||
| Q3 25 | 0.83× | 1.40× | ||
| Q2 25 | 0.81× | 1.34× | ||
| Q1 25 | 0.79× | 1.31× | ||
| Q4 24 | 0.79× | 1.42× | ||
| Q3 24 | 0.82× | 1.38× |
Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency
How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Operating Cash FlowLast quarter | — | $1.5B |
| Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex | — | $1.1B |
| FCF MarginFCF / Revenue | — | 26.4% |
| Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue | — | — |
| Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit | — | 2.85× |
| TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters | — | — |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q2 26 | — | — | ||
| Q1 26 | — | $1.5B | ||
| Q4 25 | $1.1B | $1.3B | ||
| Q3 25 | $791.3M | $1.2B | ||
| Q2 25 | $701.8M | $1.3B | ||
| Q1 25 | $369.4M | $1.4B | ||
| Q4 24 | $766.7M | $1.0B | ||
| Q3 24 | $786.7M | $1.2B |
| Q2 26 | — | — | ||
| Q1 26 | — | $1.1B | ||
| Q4 25 | $758.0M | — | ||
| Q3 25 | $529.7M | — | ||
| Q2 25 | $485.1M | — | ||
| Q1 25 | $131.5M | — | ||
| Q4 24 | $407.0M | $471.0M | ||
| Q3 24 | $550.3M | $-168.0M |
| Q2 26 | — | — | ||
| Q1 26 | — | 26.4% | ||
| Q4 25 | 18.1% | — | ||
| Q3 25 | 12.7% | — | ||
| Q2 25 | 12.1% | — | ||
| Q1 25 | 3.6% | — | ||
| Q4 24 | 10.2% | 46.2% | ||
| Q3 24 | 13.8% | -19.2% |
| Q2 26 | — | — | ||
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | 7.9% | — | ||
| Q3 25 | 6.3% | — | ||
| Q2 25 | 5.4% | — | ||
| Q1 25 | 6.4% | — | ||
| Q4 24 | 9.0% | 56.6% | ||
| Q3 24 | 5.9% | 157.0% |
| Q2 26 | — | — | ||
| Q1 26 | — | 2.85× | ||
| Q4 25 | 1.93× | 1.92× | ||
| Q3 25 | 1.35× | 1.68× | ||
| Q2 25 | 1.34× | 2.14× | ||
| Q1 25 | 0.92× | 2.75× | ||
| Q4 24 | 1.62× | 1.52× | ||
| Q3 24 | 1.07× | 1.70× |
Financial Flow Comparison
Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.
Revenue Breakdown by Segment
ECL
| Product and equipment sales | $3.2B | 78% |
| Service and lease sales | $891.5M | 22% |
URI
| Equipment rentals | $3.4B | 86% |
| Sales of rental equipment | $350.0M | 9% |
| Service and other revenues | $92.0M | 2% |
| Sales of new equipment | $84.0M | 2% |
| Contractor supplies sales | $40.0M | 1% |
