EcoSure and Lobster Ink, Ecolab divisions focused on food safety and public health, are offering COVID-19 assessment and training programs to help food service and hospitality customers protect their employees and guests, and restore safe and profitable operations.

The COVID-19 pandemic is undoubtedly going to change things. The fear of getting an infection in a public place may well change consumer attitudes toward using a car rather than public transport for travel. Examples include the auto parts retailers like O'Reilly Automotive (NASDAQ: ORLY), AutoZone (NYSE: AZO), and Advance Auto Parts (NYSE: AAP).

Banks in the US have launched US$3.4bn in leveraged loans backing mergers and acquisitions this month, reopening a market that was mainly available for companies seeking emergency funding related to the coronavirus pandemic. Four term loans are scheduled to price before the end of this month, and banks are offering investors juicy coupons and steep original issue discounts (OIDs) to sell the debt. "We're beginning to see the term loan market open and see some of this service (mergers and acquisitions) M&A," said Peter Toal, the global co-head of fixed-income syndicate at Barclays.

The board of directors of Ecolab Inc. today declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.47 per common share, to be paid July 15, 2020, to shareholders of record at the close of business on June 16, 2020.

Ecolab Inc. announced today at its annual meeting of stockholders that the slate of twelve director nominees named in the company’s proxy statement was elected for a one-year term ending at its annual meeting of stockholders in May 2021.

Ecolab Inc., the global leader in water, food safety and infection prevention technologies and services, has been recognized as a Top Company for Diversity by DiversityInc, a leading diversity publication. Ecolab ranks 39th on the 2020 list, which is a leading assessment of diversity management in corporate America.

Ecolab Inc., the global leader in water, food safety and infection prevention solutions and services, is teaming up with the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF) and other industry leaders to support the Nacho Average Showdown. Presented by Tostitos, the live nacho-making competition between celebrity chef Guy Fieri and actor Bill Murray will raise money for the Restaurant Employee Relief Fund (RERF). The fund provides support to restaurant industry employees who are facing financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ecolab Inc. announced today the commencement of an exchange offer related to the split-off of its Upstream Energy business (the "ChampionX Business"). The split-off transaction is in connection with the previously announced combination of the ChampionX Business with Apergy Corporation in a Reverse Morris Trust transaction.

Ecolab, FLIR Systems, and Zebra Technologies all specialize in products and services that will make offices safer for returning workers, especially in the absence of a coronavirus vaccine. Why Zebra looks like the best bet now

Q1 2020 Ecolab Inc Earnings Call

Ecolab Inc. shares rose 4% premarket, ] after the water, hygiene and energy technology maker beat earnings estimates for the first quarter. St. Paul, Minn.-based Ecolab said it had net income of $283.4 million, or 97 cents a share, in the quarter, down from $296.5 million, or $1.01 a share, in the year-earlier period. Adjusted per-share earnings came to $1.13, ahead of the $1.06 FactSet consensus. Sales rose 2% to $3.581 billion from $3.505 billion, also ahead of the $3.503 billion FactSet consensus. Growth in the company's health care and life sciences segments offset weakness in upstream energy. "We have businesses with increased demand (including Food & Beverage, Healthcare, Food Retail, Life Sciences) and those with much less demand near term (including the Institutional business and Pest Elimination)," Chief Executive Douglas Baker said in a statement. "We expect the major COVID-19 impacts will be felt over the next few quarters and will be net unfavorable on both our top and bottom lines for the year." The company's institutional business saw strong demand for cleaning and sanitizing produce sales, offset by slow restaurant, lodging and entertainment facility customer demand due to the pandemic. The company is not offering guidance for the second quarter or full year. "We expect our second quarter will see the most significant impact from COVID-19 effects, and we expect a gradual improvement from those levels in the second half as the markets begin to recover and their demand for cleaning and sanitizing remains above normal," it said. Shares have fallen 2.8% in 2020 to date, while the S&P 500 has fallen 11%.

Ecolab Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Douglas M. Baker, Jr. will address financial analysts virtually at the Bernstein Annual Strategic Decisions Conference on Wednesday, May 27. Ecolab will offer a live webcast of Mr. Baker’s presentation. Details for the webcast are as follows:

Ecolab (ECL) delivered earnings and revenue surprises of 5.61% and 2.28%, respectively, for the quarter ended March 2020. Do the numbers hold clues to what lies ahead for the stock?

ECL earnings call for the period ending March 31, 2020.

Moody's Investors Service, ("Moody's") assigned a Ba2 rating to ChampionX Holding Inc.'s (ChampionX) new $537 million senior secured Term Loan B facility due 2026 (Champion X term loan). The proceeds of this issuance will be used to pay Ecolab Inc (Ecolab, Baa1 positive) for its upstream business segment which will be separated from Ecolab and combined with Apergy.

Aligning with Ecolab’s decision to defer implementation of merit pay increases for employees in 2020 wherever legally permitted, and in recognition of the significant impact of COVID-19, the Board voted to cancel its compensation increase that was previously approved in October 2019.

Ecolab Inc., the global leader in water, food safety and hygiene technologies and services, closed on its acquisition of CID Lines, a leading global provider of livestock biosecurity and hygiene solutions.

Ecolab will host a live webcast of its annual meeting of stockholders. As previously announced, due to public health precautions limiting in-person gatherings during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and to support the health and well-being of our stockholders and associates, the format of the 2020 Annual Meeting of Stockholders has been changed to a virtual-only meeting, instead of an in-person meeting. Stockholders will not be able to attend the Annual Meeting in person.

NOTE: On May 19, 2020, the press release was corrected as follows: In the first sentence of the first paragraph, the maturity date for ChampionX Holding Inc.'s senior secured Term Loan B facility was changed to 2027. New York, May 18, 2020 -- Moody's Investors Service, ("Moody's") assigned a Ba2 rating to ChampionX Holding Inc.'s (ChampionX) new $537 million senior secured Term Loan B facility due 2027 (Champion X term loan).

Strength in the Global Industrial and Institutional segments drives Ecolab's (ECL) first-quarter results.