Free cash flow
Ecolab Free cash flow increased by 43.1% to $758.00M in Q4 2025 compared to the prior quarter. Year-over-year, this metric grew by 86.2%, from $407.00M to $758.00M. Over 4 years (FY 2021 to FY 2025), Free cash flow shows an upward trend with a 7.6% CAGR. This is a positive signal — higher values indicate stronger performance for this metric.
Analysis
How to read this metric
An increase suggests strong operational efficiency and the ability to self-fund future innovation or return capital to shareholders, while a decrease may indicate heavy capital expenditure cycles or declining operational profitability.
Detailed definition
Free cash flow represents the cash generated by a company after accounting for cash outflows to support operations and m...
Peer comparison
High-growth semiconductor and AI infrastructure peers typically prioritize reinvestment, so free cash flow margins are often compared against R&D intensity and capital expenditure requirements of industry rivals.
cf_free_cash_flowHistorical Data
| Q2 '21 | Q3 '21 | Q4 '21 | Q1 '22 | Q2 '22 | Q3 '22 | Q4 '22 | Q1 '23 | Q2 '23 | Q3 '23 | Q4 '23 | Q1 '24 | Q2 '24 | Q3 '24 | Q4 '24 | Q1 '25 | Q2 '25 | Q3 '25 | Q4 '25 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $359.50M | $444.50M | $421.70M | $21.40M | $153.60M | $244.20M | $656.40M | $24.50M | $401.40M | $621.20M | $589.90M | $447.90M | $414.20M | $550.30M | $407.00M | $131.50M | $485.10M | $529.70M | $758.00M |
| QoQ Change | — | +23.6% | -5.1% | -94.9% | +617.8% | +59.0% | +168.8% | -96.3% | >999% | +54.8% | -5.0% | -24.1% | -7.5% | +32.9% | -26.0% | -67.7% | +268.9% | +9.2% | +43.1% |
| YoY Change | — | — | — | — | -57.3% | -45.1% | +55.7% | +14.5% | +161.3% | +154.4% | -10.1% | >999% | +3.2% | -11.4% | -31.0% | -70.6% | +17.1% | -3.7% | +86.2% |
Free cash flow at Other Companies
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is Ecolab's free cash flow?
- Ecolab (ECL) reported free cash flow of $758.00M in Q4 2025.
- How has Ecolab's free cash flow changed year-over-year?
- Ecolab's free cash flow increased by 86.2% year-over-year, from $407.00M to $758.00M.
- What is the long-term trend for Ecolab's free cash flow?
- Over 4 years (2021 to 2025), Ecolab's free cash flow has grown at a 7.6% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), from $1.42B to $1.90B.
- What does free cash flow mean?
- The cash a company has left over after paying for its operating expenses and capital investments.