Ecolab Inc

NYSE:ECL

To be successful and remain in business, both growth and profitability are important and necessary. Net Income growth is often seen as a sign of a company's efficiency from an operational standpoint, but is influenced heavily by a company's goals and challenges and should therefore be assessed in conjunction with other metrics like revenue and operating income growth.

Profit margins represent what percentage of sales has turned into profits. Simply put, the percentage figure indicates how many cents of profit the company has generated for each dollar of sale.

Profit margins help investors assess if a company's management is generating enough profit from its sales and whether operating costs and overhead costs are being contained.

Return on capital ratios give a sense of how well a company is using its capital (equity, assets, capital employed, etc.) to generate profits (operating income, net income, etc.). In simple words, these ratios show how much income is generated for each dollar of capital invested.

Free cash flow (FCF) is the money a company has left over after paying its operating expenses and capital expenditures. The more free cash flow a company has, the more it can allocate to dividends, paying down debt, and growth opportunities.

If a company has a decreasing free cash flow, that is not necessarily bad if the company is investing in its growth.