Ecolab 10-Q 2026-03-31

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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

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FORM 10-Q

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​	​	​
​	​	​
(Mark One)		​
​	​	​
☒ QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934		​
For the quarterly period ended March 31, 2026		​
OR		​
☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934		​
For the transition period from to		​
​		​
Commission File No. 1-9328		​

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ECOLAB INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

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​	​	​
Delaware	​	41-0231510
(State or other jurisdiction of	​	(I.R.S. Employer
incorporation or organization)	​	Identification No.)

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1 Ecolab Place**,** St. Paul**,** Minnesota 55102

(Address of principal executive offices)(Zip Code)

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**1-800-**232-6522

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

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(Not applicable)

(Former name, former address and former fiscal year,

if changed since last report)

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Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

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​	​	​	​	​
Title of each class	​	Trading symbol(s)	​	Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Stock, $1.00 par value	​	ECL	​	New York Stock Exchange

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Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ⌧ No ◻

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Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ⌧ No ◻

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Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

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​	​	​
Large accelerated filer ⌧	​	Accelerated filer ◻
Non-accelerated filer ◻	​	Smaller reporting company ☐
​	​	Emerging growth company ☐

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If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ◻

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Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ⌧

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The number of shares of each of the registrant’s classes of Common Stock outstanding as of March 31, 2026: 281,437,502 shares, par value $1.00 per share.

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PART I - FINANCIAL INFORMATION

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CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME

(unaudited)

​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​
​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​
​	​	First Quarter Ended
​	​	March 31
(millions, except per share amounts)	​	2026			​ ​ ​	2025
​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​
Product and equipment sales	​	​	$3,174.6	​	​	​	$2,901.9
Service and lease sales	​	​	891.5	​	​	​	793.1
Net sales	​	​	4,066.1	​	​	​	3,695.0
Product and equipment cost of sales	​	​	1,786.2	​	​	​	1,605.4
Service and lease cost of sales	​	​	509.1	​	​	​	454.8
Cost of sales (including special charges (a))	​	​	2,295.3	​	​	​	2,060.2
Selling, general and administrative expenses	​	​	1,102.4	​	​	​	1,050.0
Special (gains) and charges	​	​	46.4	​	​	​	29.5
Operating income	​	​	622.0	​	​	​	555.3
Other (income) expense	​	​	(8.8)	​	​	​	(13.0)
Interest expense, net	​	​	72.7	​	​	​	58.3
Income before income taxes	​	​	558.1	​	​	​	510.0
Provision for income taxes	​	​	121.5	​	​	​	103.5
Net income including noncontrolling interest	​	​	436.6	​	​	​	406.5
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest	​	​	4.0	​	​	​	4.0
Net income attributable to Ecolab	​	​	$432.6	​	​	​	$402.5
​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​
Earnings attributable to Ecolab per common share	​	​	​	​	​	​	​
Basic	​	​	$1.53	​	​	​	$1.42
Diluted	​	​	$1.52	​	​	​	$1.41
​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​
Weighted-average common shares outstanding	​	​	​	​	​	​	​
Basic			282.0	​	​	​	283.4
Diluted			283.7	​	​	​	285.3
​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​

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(a)	Cost of sales includes special (gains) and charges of $11.3 million and $4.8 million in the first quarter of 2026 and 2025, respectively, which is recorded in product and equipment cost of sales.

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The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.

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CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

(unaudited)

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​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​
​	​	First Quarter Ended
​	​	March 31
(millions)	​ ​ ​	2026			​ ​ ​	2025
​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​
Net income including noncontrolling interest	​	​	$436.6	​	​	​	$406.5
​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​
Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax	​	​	​	​	​	​	​
​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​
Foreign currency translation adjustments	​	​	​	​	​	​	​
Foreign currency translation		​	218.7	​	​	​	(58.8)
Gain (loss) on net investment hedges		​	32.3	​	​	​	(29.8)
Total foreign currency translation adjustments		​	251.0	​	​	​	(88.6)
​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​
Derivatives and hedging instruments		​	(4.1)	​	​	​	3.2
​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​
Pension and postretirement benefits	​	​	1.6	​	​	​	3.0
​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​
Subtotal		​	248.5	​	​	​	(82.4)
​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​
Total comprehensive income, including noncontrolling interest		​	685.1	​	​	​	324.1
Comprehensive income attributable to noncontrolling interest		​	4.3	​	​	​	3.8
Comprehensive income attributable to Ecolab	​	​	$680.8	​	​	​	$320.3

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The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.

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CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(unaudited)

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​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​
​	​	March 31			​	December 31
(millions, except per share amounts)	​ ​ ​	2026			​	2025
​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​
ASSETS	​	​	​	​	​	​	​
Current assets	​	​	​	​	​	​	​
Cash and cash equivalents	​	​	$519.8	​	​	​	$646.2
Accounts receivable, net		​	3,280.2	​	​	​	3,249.4
Inventories		​	1,572.0	​	​	​	1,490.4
Other current assets	​	​	670.7	​	​	​	569.6
Total current assets		​	6,042.7	​	​	​	5,955.6
Property, plant and equipment, net		​	4,397.2	​	​	​	4,276.6
Goodwill		​	9,438.7	​	​	​	9,227.0
Other intangible assets, net		​	3,524.2	​	​	​	3,688.5
Operating lease assets	​	​	775.1	​	​	​	765.9
Other assets	​	​	862.7	​	​	​	782.7
Total assets	​	​	$25,040.6	​	​	​	$24,696.3
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LIABILITIES AND EQUITY	​	​	​	​	​	​	​
Current liabilities	​	​	​	​	​	​	​
Short-term debt	​	​	$1,573.2	​	​	​	$870.4
Accounts payable		​	2,054.8	​	​	​	2,071.0
Compensation and benefits		​	571.4	​	​	​	721.5
Income taxes		​	127.4	​	​	​	134.3
Other current liabilities	​	​	1,768.9	​	​	​	1,737.5
Total current liabilities		​	6,095.7	​	​	​	5,534.7
Long-term debt		​	6,922.5	​	​	​	7,365.9
Pension and postretirement benefits		​	547.6	​	​	​	546.1
Deferred income taxes	​	​	389.5	​	​	​	329.9
Operating lease liabilities	​	​	603.5	​	​	​	596.5
Other liabilities	​	​	449.8	​	​	​	518.7
Total liabilities		​	15,008.6	​	​	​	14,891.8
Commitments and contingencies (Note 16)	​	​	​	​	​	​	​
​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​
Equity (a)	​	​	​	​	​	​	​
Common stock		​	370.2	​	​	​	369.4
Additional paid-in capital		​	7,643.7	​	​	​	7,521.3
Retained earnings		​	13,060.5	​	​	​	12,834.0
Accumulated other comprehensive loss		​	(1,626.1)	​	​	​	(1,874.3)
Treasury stock		​	(9,444.4)	​	​	​	(9,079.6)
Total Ecolab shareholders’ equity		​	10,003.9	​	​	​	9,770.8
Noncontrolling interest		​	28.1	​	​	​	33.7
Total equity		​	10,032.0	​	​	​	9,804.5
Total liabilities and equity	​	​	$25,040.6	​	​	​	$24,696.3

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(a)	Common stock, 800.0 shares authorized, $1.00 par value per share, 281.4 shares outstanding as of March 31, 2026 and 282.0 shares outstanding as of December 31, 2025. Shares outstanding are net of treasury stock.

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The accompanying notes are an in

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The following management discussion and analysis (“MD&A”) provides information we believe is useful in understanding our operating results, cash flows and financial condition. We provide quantitative or qualitative information about the material sales drivers including the impact of changes in volume and pricing and the effect of acquisitions and changes in foreign currency at the corporate and reportable segment level. We also provide quantitative information regarding special (gains) and charges, discrete tax items and other significant factors we believe are useful for understanding our results. Such quantitative drivers are supported by comments meant to be qualitative in nature. Qualitative factors are generally ordered based on estimated significance.

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The MD&A should be read in conjunction with both the unaudited consolidated financial information and related notes included in this Form 10-Q, and Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025. This discussion contains various Non-GAAP Financial Measures and also contains various Forward-Looking Statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We refer readers to the statements entitled “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” and “Forward-Looking Statements” located at the end of Part I of this report.

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Comparability of Results

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Impact of Acquisitions and Divestitures

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Our non-GAAP financial measures for organic sales, organic operating income and organic operating income margin are at fixed currency and exclude the impact of special (gains) and charges, the results of our acquired businesses from the first twelve months post acquisition and the results of divested businesses from the twelve months prior to divestiture.

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Comparability of Reportable Segments

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Effective January 1, 2026, the Company’s former Light & Heavy operating segment was divided into three new operating segments, Heavy Water, Light Water and High-Tech, which continue to remain in the Global Water reportable segment. The Global Water reportable segment includes Heavy Water, Light Water, High-Tech, Food & Beverage and Paper operating segments. The Global Institutional & Specialty reportable segment continues to include the Institutional and Specialty operating segments. The Global Life Sciences and Global Pest Elimination segments remain standalone reportable segments. After these changes, the Company has nine operating segments.

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Fixed Currency Foreign Exchange Rates

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Management evaluates the sales and operating income performance of our non-U.S. dollar functional currency international operations based on fixed currency exchange rates, which eliminate the impact of exchange rate fluctuations on our international operations. Fixed currency amounts are updated annually at the beginning of each year based on translation into U.S. dollars at foreign currency exchange rates established by management, with all periods presented using such rates. Public currency rate data provided within the “Segment Performance” section of this MD&A reflect amounts translated at actual public average rates of exchange prevailing during the corresponding period and are provided for informational purposes only.

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OVERVIEW OF THE FIRST QUARTER ENDED MARCH 31, 2026

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Sales Performance

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When comparing first quarter 2026 against first quarter 2025, sales performance was as follows:

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●	Reported net sales increased 10% to $4,066.1 million and organic sales increased 4%.

●	Organic sales for our Global Water segment increased 2% to $1,940.2 million driven by double-digit sales growth in High-Tech, strong growth in Food & Beverage and steady growth in Light Water.

●	Organic sales for our Global Institutional & Specialty segment increased 4% to $1,507.7 million driven by improved growth in both Institutional and Specialty.

●	Organic sales for Global Pest Elimination increased 7% to $308.5 million.

●	Organic sales for our Global Life Sciences segment increased 11% to $200.9 million.

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Financial Performance

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When comparing first quarter 2026 against first quarter 2025, our financial performance was as follows:

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●	Reported operating income increased 12% to $622.0 million. Adjusted operating income increased 15%.

●	Net income attributable to Ecolab increased 7% to $432.6 million. Excluding the impact of special (gains) and charges and discrete tax items from both 2026 and 2025 reported results, our adjusted net income attributable to Ecolab increased 13%.

●	Reported diluted EPS increased 8% to $1.52. Excluding the impact of special (gains) and charges and discrete tax items from both 2026 and 2025 reported results, adjusted diluted EPS increased 13% to $1.70 in the first quarter of 2026.

●	Our reported tax rate was 21.8% during the first quarter of 2026, compared to 20.3% during the first quarter of 2025. Excluding the tax rate impact of special (gains) and charges and discrete tax items from both 2026 and 2025 results, our adjusted tax rate was 21.0% during the first quarter of 2026, compared to 20.8% during the first quarter of 2025.

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RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

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Net Sales

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​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​
​	​	First Quarter Ended
​	​	March 31
(millions)	​	2026			​	2025		​	Change
Product and equipment sales	​	​	$3,174.6	​	​	​	$2,901.9	​	​	​
Service and lease sales	​	​	891.5	​	​	​	793.1	​	​	​
Reported GAAP net sales	​	​	$4,066.1	​	​	​	$3,695.0	​	10	%
Effect of foreign currency translation	​		(12.2)	​	​	​	128.1	​	​	​
Non-GAAP fixed currency sales	​	​	$4,053.9	​	​	​	$3,823.1	​	6	%
Effect of acquisitions and divestitures	​	​	(96.6)	​	​	​	-	​	​	​
Non-GAAP organic sales	​	​	$3,957.3	​	​	​	$3,823.1	​	4	%

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Product and sold equipment revenue is generated from providing cleaning, sanitizing and water treatment products or selling equipment used in combination with specialized products. Service and lease equipment revenue is generated from providing services or leasing equipment to customers. All of our sales are subject to the same economic conditions.

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The percentage components of the period-over-period 2026 sales change are shown below:

​	​	​	​	​	​	​
​	​	First Quarter Ended
​	​	March 31
(percent)	​ ​ ​	2026
Volume		​	​	1	%	​
Pricing		​	​	3	​	​
Organic sales change		​	​	4	​	​
Acquisitions and divestitures		​	​	3	​	​
Fixed currency sales change		​	​	6	​	​
Foreign currency translation		​	​	4	​	​
Reported GAAP net sales change		​	​	10	%	​

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Amounts do not necessarily sum due to rounding.

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Cost of Sales (“COS”) and Gross Profit Margin

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​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​
​	First Quarter Ended
​	March 31
​	2026						​	2025
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We use foreign currency forward contracts, foreign currency option contracts, interest rate swap agreements, forward-starting interest rate lock contracts and foreign currency debt to manage risks associated with foreign currency exchange rates, interest rates and net investments in our foreign operations. We do not hold derivative financial instruments of a speculative nature or for trading purposes. For a more detailed discussion of derivative instruments, refer to Note 8, entitled “Derivatives and Hedging Transactions”, of the consolidated financial statements located under Part I, Item 1 of this quarterly report on Form 10-Q.

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As of March 31, 2026, we carried out an evaluation, under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer, of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures. Based upon that evaluation, our Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures are effective.

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During the period January 1, 2026 through March 31, 2026 there were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

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We are continuing our implementation of our enterprise resource planning (“ERP”) system upgrades, which are expected to occur in phases over the next several years. These upgrades, which include supply chain and certain finance functions, are expected to improve the efficiency of certain financial and related transactional processes. These upgrades of the ERP systems will affect the processes that constitute our internal control over financial reporting and will require testing for effectiveness.

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PART II - OTHER INFORMATION

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Item 1. Legal Proceedings

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Note 16, entitled “Commitments and Contingencies” located under Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-Q is incorporated herein by reference.

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In our report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 23, 2026, we identify under Item 1A important factors which could affect our financial performance and could cause our actual results for future periods to differ materially from our anticipated results or other expectations, including those expressed in any forward-looking statements made in this Form 10-Q. See the section entitled Forward-Looking Statements located on pages 41 and 42 of this Form 10-Q. We may also refer to such disclosure to identify factors that may cause results to differ from those expressed in other forward-looking statements made in oral presentations, including telephone conferences and/or webcasts open to the public.

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Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds

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​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​
​	​	​	​	​	​		​	​	Number of shares	​	​	Maximum number of
​	​	Total	​	​	​		​	​	purchased as part	​	​	shares that may
​	​	number of	​	​	Average price		​	​	of publicly	​	​	yet be purchased
​	​	shares	​	​	paid per		​	​	announced plans	​	​	under the plans
Period	​	purchased	​	​	share		(1)​	​	or programs	(2)​	​	or programs	(2)​
January 1-31, 2026		158,947	​	​	$	270.7352	​	​	158,947	​		5,737,874	​
February 1-28, 2026		55,490	​	​	​	302.8313	​	​	55,490	​		5,682,384	​
March 1-31, 2026		1,038,936	​	​	​	266.9159	​	​	1,038,936	​		4,643,448	​
Total		1,253,373	​		$	268.9903	​		1,253,373	​		4,643,448	​

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(1)	The average price paid per share includes brokerage commissions associated with publicly announced plan purchases plus the value of such other reacquired shares.

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(2)	As announced on November 3, 2022, our Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of up to 10,000,000 shares. Subject to market conditions, we expect to repurchase all shares under this authorization, for which no expiration date has been established, in open market or privately negotiated transactions, including pursuant to Rule 10b5-1 and accelerated share repurchase programs.

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Item 3. Defaults Upon Senior Securities

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Not applicable.

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Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

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Not applicable.

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Rule 10b5-1 Plan Adoptions and Modifications

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None.

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​	​		​
Exhibit No.		Document		Method of Filing
​		​
(a)		The following documents are filed as exhibits to this report:
​		​		​
(10.1)		Term Credit Agreement, dated April 10, 2026, by and among Ecolab Inc., the financial institutions party thereto as lenders from time to time, and Citibank, N.A., as administrative agent.		Incorporated by reference to Exhibit (10.1) of our Form 8-K, dated April 15, 2026.
​		​		​
(10.2) †		Relocation Agreement, dated February 20, 2026, between Ecolab Inc. and Darrell R. Brown.		Filed herewith electronically.
​		​		​
(15.1)		Letter regarding unaudited interim financial information.		Filed herewith electronically.
​		​		​
(31.1)		Rule 13a - 14(a) CEO Certification.		Filed herewith electronically.
​		​		​
(31.2)		Rule 13a - 14(a) CFO Certification.		Filed herewith electronically.
​		​		​
(32.1)		Section 1350 CEO and CFO Certifications.		Filed herewith electronically.
​		​		​
(101.INS)		Inline XBRL Instance Document – the instance document does not appear in the Interactive Data File because its XBRL tags are embedded within the Inline XBRL document.		Filed herewith electronically.
​		​		​
(101.SCH)		Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema.		Filed herewith electronically.
​		​		​
(101.CAL)		Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase.		Filed herewith electronically.
​		​		​
(101.DEF)		Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase.		Filed herewith electronically.
​		​		​
(101.LAB)		Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase.		Filed herewith electronically.
​		​		​
(101.PRE)		Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase.		Filed herewith electronically.
​		​		​
(104)		Cover Page Interactive Data File.		Formatted as Inline XBRL and contained in Exhibit 101.

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† This exhibit is an executive compensation plan or arrangement.

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SIGNATURE

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Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this Report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

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​		​
​	ECOLAB INC.
​	​ ​ ​	​
​	​	​
Date: May 7, 2026	By:	/s/ Jennifer J. Bradway	​
​	​	Jennifer J. Bradway
​	​	Senior Vice President and Corporate Controller
​	​	(duly authorized officer and
​	​	Chief Accounting Officer)

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