ST. PAUL, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Ecolab today announced the close of its acquisition of CoolIT Systems, a leader in direct liquid cooling for high-density data centers. The transaction closed earlier than expected, and Ecolab welcomes the world-class CoolIT team to the company.

Ecolab acquired CoolIT for approximately $4.75 billion. CoolIT's year-to-date sales have grown more than 100%, driven by accelerating demand for liquid cooling in AI data centers.

With CoolIT, Ecolab extends its established global leadership in water technologies, research and service to the fastest-growing market in the world: AI infrastructure and computing. At the heart of AI is water. We need water to produce chips, power chips, and cool chips. Ecolab is now uniquely positioned to offer end-to-end solutions across the full AI value chain, from ultra-pure water to produce the most advanced chips, to high-performing water systems for optimized power generation, to direct liquid cooling for the most powerful AI data centers. This enables Ecolab to help customers scale AI faster with global solutions that protect people, natural resources, and communities.

At Supercomputing in November 2026 in Chicago, Ecolab plans to introduce a breakthrough innovation: a new end-to-end 3D TRASAR™ cooling platform combining CoolIT technologies, including cooling distribution units and high-performing cold plates, with integrated 3D TRASAR™ digital optimization and advanced cooling fluids. Supported by global expertise, it will optimize water, power, and compute performance at scale. This will provide operators with real-time visibility into system performance to help reduce cooling power demand and increase power efficiency, while leveraging closed-loop solutions to move data centers toward a near-zero water footprint. This technology is applicable for AI architectures like NVIDIA Vera Rubin, Grace Blackwell, and more to help enhance uptime while accelerating the shift to an AI infrastructure with less impact on the environment and natural resources.

"NVIDIA has collaborated with Ecolab and CoolIT across a broad range of liquid-cooling initiatives, including coolant qualification, coolant health monitoring, cooling infrastructure development, and next-generation AI factory technologies," said Ali Heydari, technical director and distinguished engineer at NVIDIA, and Saket Karajgikar, senior engineering manager and ASME fellow at NVIDIA. "Through collaborations spanning NVIDIA engineering labs, research programs, and large-scale AI infrastructure deployments, Ecolab and CoolIT have consistently demonstrated strong technical expertise, innovation, and responsiveness."

Ecolab and CoolIT will continue to work with leading hyperscale customers and bring together stakeholders across the power and water ecosystem to support the design of next-generation AI data centers that accelerate AI deployment while maximizing performance and minimizing impact.

Ecolab's Global High-Tech business, which generated approximately $150 million in annual sales in 2021, is now approaching $1.5 billion in 2026 annualized sales following the additions of Ovivo and CoolIT. Ecolab is targeting its Global High-Tech business to be $4 billion in annual sales by 2030, with operating income margins of 25%. The business is now Ecolab's largest growth engine, and as it grows by more than 25% annually, it is expected to contribute more than 2 percentage points to annual sales growth with expanding margins.

"With Ecolab's breakthrough solutions across fabs, power and data centers, AI can now scale more rapidly while respecting communities, the environment and natural resources," said Christophe Beck, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Ecolab. "With strong and consistent core businesses and new growth engines in high tech and life sciences that capture major new trends, we have never been better positioned to deliver on our growth commitments."

“We therefore remain confident in our ability to drive sustained organic revenue growth of 5% to 7%, operating income margins well beyond 20%, and consistent EPS growth of 12% to 15% for the years to come,” Beck added.

Ecolab Updates 2026 EPS Guidance to Include CoolIT Systems

Reflecting the close of the CoolIT acquisition and a short-term impact of non-cash amortization and financing costs, Ecolab expects 2026 adjusted diluted EPS in the range of $8.03 to $8.23, representing growth of 7% to 9% versus 2025.

For the second half of 2026, Ecolab expects organic sales growth to accelerate to the 6% to 7% range. This momentum, along with an expanding organic gross margin and continued strong productivity, is expected to result in underlying EPS growth of 14% to 15% for Ecolab's base business in the second half of 2026. Short-term impacts from the CoolIT acquisition, primarily related to non-cash amortization and financing costs, are expected to result in a $0.20 per share impact in each of the third and fourth quarters of 2026. Together, this is expected to result in adjusted diluted EPS growth of 4% to 5% in the second half of the year, consistent with prior disclosures.

Beyond 2026, Ecolab expects organic sales to grow 5% to 7% and annual adjusted operating income margin expansion of 100 to 150 basis points as the company moves well beyond its 20% operating income margin target. With this, adjusted EPS growth, including CoolIT, is expected to accelerate back into the 12% to 15% range as contributions from this high-growth, high-margin acquisition increase and amortization from the Nalco acquisition rolls off in 2027.

Over Ecolab

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) is een vertrouwde partner voor miljoenen klanten en is een wereldleider op het gebied van oplossingen en diensten op het gebied van water, hygiëne en infectiepreventie die mensen en de levensnoodzakelijke hulpbronnen beschermen. Al meer dan een eeuw bevordert Ecolab innovatie door de integratie van wetenschappelijk onderbouwde oplossingen, datagestuurde inzichten, AI-technologie en service van wereldklasse. Deze unieke combinatie stelt Ecolab in staat om samen met klanten te definiëren wat het beste is en dit op te schalen naar hun activiteiten, zodat ze topprestaties kunnen leveren. Today, Ecolab delivers $16 billion in annual sales, employs 48,000 associates and serves customers in more than 170 countries and 40 industries. The company helps protect one-third of the world's food production and a quarter of the power generated while delivering innovative solutions across food, hospitality, healthcare, data centers, microelectronics and life sciences. As the world's water company, Ecolab plays an important role in AI growth by supporting the full water needs of advanced computing-from ultra-pure water for chip manufacturing, to water solutions that support the power behind AI, to direct liquid cooling systems for high-density computing that improves performance while reducing environmental impact through circular water use. In life sciences, Ecolab delivers end to end solutions that support the development and manufacturing of life-saving drugs, helping customers operate safely and consistently at scale while improving performance and reducing environmental impact. Through its comprehensive approach, Ecolab protects what's vital, with a goal by 2030 to help protect 2 billion people from infections and conserve enough drinking water for 1 billion people, while continuing to enhance business performance.

Ecolab. Beschermen wat essentieel is.

www.ecolab.com

Voorzichtigheidsverklaringen over toekomstgerichte informatie

Dit persbericht bevat bepaalde verklaringen met betrekking tot toekomstige gebeurtenissen en onze bedoelingen, overtuigingen, verwachtingen en voorspellingen voor de toekomst, die 'forward-looking statements' of toekomstgerichte verklaringen zijn zoals gedefinieerd in de Private Securities Litigation Reform Act van 1995. Woorden of zinsneden als "zal waarschijnlijk resulteren in", "wordt verwacht", "zal blijven", "wordt geacht", "wij geloven", "wij verwachten", "schatten", "voorspellen", "kunnen", "zullen", "zijn van plan", "plannen", "geloven", "streven", "voorspellen" (met inbegrip van negatieve voorspellingen of variaties daarop) of soortgelijke terminologie die wordt gebruikt in verband met een bespreking van toekomstige plannen, acties of gebeurtenissen, duiden in het algemeen op toekomstgerichte verklaringen. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding macroeconomic conditions and our financial and business performance and prospects, including sales, earnings, special gains and charges, raw material costs, margins, pricing, currency translation, productivity, investments, acquisitions and new business. Deze verklaringen zijn gebaseerd op de huidige verwachtingen van het management van de onderneming. Er zijn een aantal risico's en onzekerheden die ertoe kunnen leiden dat de werkelijke resultaten wezenlijk verschillen van de in dit persbericht opgenomen toekomstgerichte verklaringen. In particular, the ultimate results of any restructuring initiative depend on a number of factors, including the development of final plans, the impact of local regulatory requirements regarding employee terminations, the time necessary to develop and implement the restructuring initiatives and the level of success achieved through such actions in improving competitiveness, efficiency and effectiveness.

Additional risks and uncertainties that may affect operating results and business performance are set forth under Item 1A of our most recent Form 10-K, and our other public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), and include the impact of economic factors such as the worldwide economy, interest rates, foreign currency risk, reduced sales and earnings in our international operations resulting from the weakening of local currencies versus the U.S. dollar, demand uncertainty, supply chain challenges and inflation; the vitality of the markets we serve; exposure to global economic, political and legal risks related to our international operations, including international trade policies, geopolitical instability and the escalation of armed conflicts; our increasing reliance on artificial intelligence technologies in our products, services and operations; information technology infrastructure failures or breaches in data security; difficulty in procuring raw materials or fluctuations in raw material costs; our ability to successfully execute organizational change and management transitions; the occurrence of severe public health outbreaks not limited to COVID-19; our ability to acquire complementary businesses and to effectively integrate such businesses; our ability to execute key business initiatives; our ability to successfully compete with respect to value, innovation and customer support; pressure on operations from consolidation of customers or vendors; restraints on pricing flexibility due to contractual obligations and our ability to meet our contractual commitments; the costs and effects of complying with laws and regulations, including those relating to the environment, climate change standards, and to the manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and use of our products, as well as to the conduct of our business generally, including labor and employment and anti-corruption; potential safety incidents; potential chemical spill or release; potential to incur significant tax liabilities or indemnification liabilities relating to the separation and split-off of our ChampionX business; the occurrence of litigation or claims, including class action lawsuits; the loss or insolvency of a major customer or distributor; repeated or prolonged government and/or business shutdowns or similar events; acts of war or terrorism; natural or man made disasters; water shortages; severe weather conditions; our commitments, goals, targets, objectives and initiatives related to sustainability, and our public statements and disclosures regarding them; changes in tax laws and unanticipated tax liabilities; potential loss of deferred tax assets; our indebtedness, and any failure to comply with covenants that apply to our indebtedness; potential losses arising from the impairment of goodwill or other assets; and other uncertainties or risks reported from time to time in our reports to the SEC. In light of these risks, uncertainties, assumptions and factors, the forward-looking events discussed in this news release may not occur. Wij waarschuwen dat er geen ongepast vertrouwen mag worden gesteld in toekomstgerichte verklaringen, die alleen gelden op de datum waarop ze worden gedaan. Ecolab verbindt zich er niet toe, en wijst uitdrukkelijk elke verplichting af, om toekomstgerichte verklaringen bij te werken ten gevolge van nieuwe informatie, toekomstige gebeurtenissen of wijzigingen in de verwachtingen, behalve indien vereist door de wet.

Niet binnen GAAP gedefinieerde financiële informatie

This news release includes financial measures that have not been calculated in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S. ("GAAP"), including organic sales, organic gross margin and adjusted diluted earnings per share. Wij geven deze maatstaven als aanvullende informatie over onze bedrijfsresultaten. Wij gebruiken deze niet binnen GAAP gedefinieerde maatstaven intern om onze prestaties te evalueren en om financiële en operationele beslissingen te nemen, onder meer met betrekking tot de uitbetaling van bonussen. Wij zijn van mening dat de presentatie van deze maatstaven de beleggers meer inzicht verschaft in onze bedrijfsresultaten en dat deze maatstaven nuttig zijn om de resultaten van verschillende perioden te vergelijken.

Our non-GAAP financial measures for organic sales and organic gross profit are at fixed currency and exclude the results of our acquired businesses from the first 12 months post acquisition and the results of divested businesses from the 12 months prior to divestiture. Organic gross margin is the ratio of organic gross profit to organic sales. Our non-GAAP financial measures for adjusted diluted earnings per share exclude the impact of special (gains) and charges and discrete tax items. We nemen posten op in bijzondere posten (winsten) en lasten en afzonderlijke belastingposten waarvan we menen dat ze een aanzienlijke invloed kunnen hebben op de periodieke beoordeling van bedrijfsresultaten en die niet noodzakelijkerwijs kosten en/of baten weerspiegelen die verband houden met historische trends en toekomstige resultaten.

Deze niet binnen GAAP gedefinieerde financiële maatstaven zijn niet in overeenstemming met, of een alternatief voor, GAAP en kunnen verschillen van niet binnen GAAP gedefinieerde maatstaven die door andere ondernemingen worden gebruikt. Beleggers mogen bij de evaluatie van onze activiteiten niet vertrouwen op één enkele financiële maatstaf. Wij raden beleggers aan deze maatstaven te beschouwen in samenhang met de binnen GAAP gedefinieerde maatstaven die in dit persbericht zijn opgenomen.

Wij geven geen reconciliaties voor niet binnen GAAP gedefinieerde ramingen op toekomstgerichte basis (met inbegrip van die in dit persbericht) wanneer wij niet in staat zijn een zinvolle of nauwkeurige berekening of raming van de reconciliatieposten te geven en de informatie niet beschikbaar is zonder onredelijke inspanningen. This is due to the inherent difficulty of forecasting the timing and amount of various items that have not yet occurred, are out of our control and/or cannot be reasonably predicted, and that would impact reported sales, reported gross profit and reported earnings per share, the most directly comparable forward-looking GAAP financial measures to organic sales, organic gross profit and adjusted diluted earnings per share. Om dezelfde reden kunnen wij niet ingaan op de waarschijnlijke betekenis van de niet-beschikbare informatie.

(ECL-A)