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Stock Comparison · Structural lead, mixed market

Ecolab vs Heidelberg Materials: Which Stock Looks Stronger in 2026?

Ecolab holds the cleaner structural position, with the lead spread across growth and stability. Heidelberg Materials still has the edge on valuation, which keeps the comparison from looking entirely one-sided. Both sides have seen trend damage — neither carries a clear market edge right now. With both trends damaged, the structural comparison carries most of the weight here.

The comparison is based on similar long-term financial trajectories, not sector labels. Peer scores are normalised within each company's primary universe (ECL: Russell 1000, HEI.DE: HDAX).

Updated 2026-05-17

The lead is spread across growth and stability, rather than sitting in one isolated gap. The overall score gap is 9 points in favour of Ecolab Inc..

Trajectory Similarity
0.77
Similar
Peer-set rank: #9
within Ecolab Inc.'s functional peer set

This pair is matched through long-term financial trajectory similarity within the selected peer universe.

This level of similarity signals a strong structural match, even though some dimensions still separate the two companies.

The strongest overlap appears in recent revenue growth and capital structure.

Similarity drivers
recent revenue growthcapital structure
How to read the score
0.85–1.00 · Very similar0.70–0.84 · Similar0.55–0.69 · Moderately similarbelow 0.55 · Loose match
Peer-Relative Score
ECL
Ecolab Inc.
63
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: Russell 1000
vs
HEI.DE
Heidelberg Materials AG
54
Peer-Score
Signal qualityMedium
Peer basis: HDAX

Scores reflect position relative to comparable companies with similar long-term financial trajectories.

The largest gaps do not all point in the same direction.

Dimension spread: ECL vs HEI.DE Profitability 55 44 Stability 66 37 Valuation 54 76 Growth 85 53 ECL HEI.DE
Gap Ranking
#1 Growth +32
#2 Stability +29
#3 Valuation +22
#4 Profitability +11
Price Setup

Left means cheaper relative valuation. Higher means stronger structure.

Price setup map for ECL and HEI.DE Stronger + cheaper Stronger + richer Weaker + cheaper Weaker + richer ECLHEI.DE Relative valuation Structural strength

Ecolab Inc. is stronger, but the price setup still looks more supportive for Heidelberg Materials AG.

Valuation position uses peer-relative PE percentile (idx_pct_pe) where available.

Entry today — historical context

Where ECL and HEI.DE each sit in their own 5-year price and valuation history.

BASED ON 5-YEAR HISTORY ECL Elevated · below norm 0th 50th 100th 5 pct gap HEI.DE Elevated · above norm 0th 50th 100th 75th 80th
ECL (75th percentile) and HEI.DE (80th percentile) both sit in the upper portion of their own 5-year ranges. The historical entry context is broadly similar for both. This reflects entry timing, not which company is structurally stronger.

Describes historical entry positioning only. Descriptive — not investment advice.

Relative Position vs Comparable Companies
Growth
Both profiles are strong on growth, but Ecolab Inc. leads clearly.
Stability
On stability, the gap still runs the same way: Ecolab Inc. sits near the top of the group, while Heidelberg Materials AG remains in the weaker half.
Growth — Dominant Gap
ECL
85
HEI.DE
53
Gap+32in favour of ECL

One company is still expanding while the other is contracting, which creates a very wide growth split.

What keeps the gap from being one-sided

Absolute pricing still looks more supportive for Heidelberg Materials, with a forward P/E that is 14.5 turns lower there.

What this means for the comparison

The lead is built on both growth and stability — though valuation still provides a counterweight.

Explore full peer positioning in AssetNext

Break down the ECL vs HEI.DE comparison across all dimensions with the full interactive tool.

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Other comparisons with conflicting dimension signals

Explore how ECL and HEI.DE each compare against other companies in their peer groups.

Rule-based, descriptive analysis only. Derived from peer percentile dimensions. Not investment advice. Peer groups are determined algorithmically based on structural similarity — not by sector classification alone.

How AssetNext Peer Scores Work

AssetNext scores reflect each company's structural position within its functional peer group — not a ranking against all stocks simultaneously. Peers are identified by similarity across eight financial dimensions, including revenue growth trajectory, margin structure, capital intensity, and earnings stability. A score of 75 means the company ranks in the top quartile within its own peer group, not the entire market.

Four dimension scores drive the overall peer score: Growth (revenue trajectory and expansion dynamics), Quality (margin structure and capital efficiency), Valuation (peer-relative pricing on standard multiples), and Stability (earnings consistency and financial predictability). Each dimension is scored 0–100 relative to the peer group, then combined into an overall peer score using equal weighting.

Because scores are peer-relative, the same company can have slightly different scores in different index universes. On comparison pages, both companies are shown within their shared peer universe wherever possible — so the scores are directly comparable. The peer basis is stated on each score card.

Scores are recalculated periodically as underlying financial data is updated. All analysis is descriptive and rule-based — AssetNext describes structural realities and never issues buy, sell or hold recommendations.