CLH vs CWST vs LODE Stock Comparison

Clean Harbors, Casella Waste Systems and Comstock Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CLH Clean Harbors Inc
$316.96 +1.2% 1M +29.2% 1Y
Market cap
$16.49B
P/E
37.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.24B
Div. yield
–
Hazardous Waste Industrials
10 wins
LODE Comstock Inc.
$1.70 -33.9% 1M -45.9% 1Y
Market cap
$132.67M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$1.01M
Div. yield
–
Solid Waste Industrials

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Clean Harbors leads on 10 of the 12 questions below (Clean Harbors 10, Casella Waste Systems 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCLHCWSTLODELeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $16.49B $5.96B $132.67M CLH
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 37.6x 1,045x -2.2x CLH
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 30.8x 74.5x — CLH
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +5.1% +13.6% -69.1% CWST
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 7.0% 0.3% -6,012.3% CLH
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 9.7% 1.5% — CLH
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.9x 3.4x — CLH
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +29.2% +8.7% -45.9% CLH
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +23.2%/yr +3.0%/yr -40.4%/yr CLH
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 27.9% 37.0% 80.2% CLH
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 70/100 42/100 27/100 CLH

Percentile Scorecard

CLHCWSTLODE

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisCLHCWSTLODE
Valuation 60 #7 of 16 40 #10 of 16 7 #15 of 16
Growth 62 #6 of 14 39 #9 of 14 15 #12 of 14
Profitability 85 #3 of 14 62 #6 of 14 8 #13 of 14
Financial Health 73 #5 of 16 27 #12 of 16 80 #4 of 16
Shareholder Returns – – –
Overall 70 42 27
  • CLH ranked among 16 companies in Waste Management
  • CWST ranked among 16 companies in Waste Management
  • LODE ranked among 16 companies in Waste Management

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodCLHCWSTLODESPY
1 month +1.2%+16.9%-33.9% -0.8%
3 months +5.1%+7.7%-45.3% +3.5%
6 months +3.1%+25.3%-48.2% +7.0%
Year to date +35.2%-1.8%-54.8% +12.2%
1 year +29.2%+8.7%-45.9% +13.0%
3 years +109.9%+30.8%-57.5% +86.3%
3 years, per year +28.1%+9.4%-24.8% +23.1%
5 years +183.9%+16.0%-92.4% +68.6%
5 years, per year +23.2%+3.0%-40.4% +11.0%
10 years +588.7%+756.3%-97.0% +258.0%
10 years, per year +21.3%+24.0%-29.7% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureCLHCWSTLODESPY
Volatility, 1Y 27.9%37.0%80.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 31.1%34.0%81.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.270.102.10 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.050.23-0.57 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -30.9%-37.7%-94.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -3.1%-10.4%-64.4% -1.8%
52-week high $327.10$107.34$4.77 $779.14
52-week low $201.73$74.97$1.70 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleCLHCWSTLODE
P/E now vs peer median 38.1xmedian 34.0x 1,072xmedian 34.0x -2.1xmedian 34.0x
P/S now vs peer median 2.7xmedian 3.4x 3.1xmedian 3.4x 127.2xmedian 3.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 15.8xmedian 15.3x 18.7xmedian 15.3x -1.7xmedian 15.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 36.2xmedian 18.5x 57.0xmedian 18.5x -3.3xmedian 18.5x
P/B now vs peer median 5.7xmedian 3.0x 3.8xmedian 3.0x 0.9xmedian 3.0x
PEG now vs peer median 10.72median 3.42 -21.06median 3.42 -0.09median 3.42

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsCLHCWSTLODE
Revenue $6.24B $1.96B $1.01M
Gross profit $2.01B $653.52M -$1.68M
Operating income $739.29M $66.07M -$59.32M
Net income $439.05M $5.70M -$61.13M
Free cash flow $461.72M $105.67M -$39.16M
R&D – – $11.28M
EPS (diluted) $8.29 $0.09 $-1.66
Cash & equivalents $408.36M $25.54M $31.41M
Total debt $2.77B $1.36B –
Shares (diluted) 52.96M 63.69M 36.71M
Enterprise value $13.50B $5.08B -$367.26K

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricCLHCWSTLODE
P/E 38.1x 1,072x -2.1x
P/FCF 36.2x 57.0x -3.3x
P/Operating cash flow 18.5x 17.2x -4.2x
P/S 2.7x 3.1x 127.2x
P/B 5.7x 3.8x 0.9x
P/Tangible book 7.7x 4.9x 1.0x
EV/EBITDA 15.8x 18.7x -1.7x
EV/EBIT 25.7x 111.4x -1.6x
EV/Revenue 3.0x 3.8x 96.3x
EV/FCF 41.1x 69.7x -2.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 21.0x 21.0x -3.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 10.72 -21.06 -0.09

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCLHCWSTLODE
Revenue growth (1Y) 5.1% 13.6% -69.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.3% 20.4% 95.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 10.2% 12.6% -248.9%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 6.5% 20.0% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 13.5% 1.1% -34.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 4.5% -8.5% -43.3%
Net income growth (1Y) 14.1% -48.4% -11.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 2.6% -47.8% -17.9%
EPS growth (1Y) 15.9% -48.5% 49.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 3.6% -50.9% 23.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 19.9% 2.9% -70.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 7.3% 19.0% -40.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 20.0% 16.1% -105.4%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 12.0% 8.9% -35.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCLHCWSTLODE
Gross margin 32.3% 33.4% -165.6%
EBITDA margin 19.2% 20.1% -5,651%
Operating margin 11.8% 3.4% -5,846%
Pretax margin 9.6% 0.5% -5,767%
Net margin 7.0% 0.3% -6,012%
FCF margin 7.4% 5.4% -3,860%
Operating cash flow margin 14.5% 18.0% -3,009%
Return on equity 15.4% 0.4% -40.7%
Return on assets 5.7% 0.2% -29.7%
Return on invested capital 9.7% 1.5% –
Return on capital employed 11.3% 2.1% -31.6%
Asset turnover 0.8x 0.6x 0.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.1x 61.6x 0.5x
Stock comp / revenue 0.7% 0.7% 63.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCLHCWSTLODE
Debt / assets 35.4% 38.3% –
Debt / equity 0.9x 0.9x –
Net debt / EBITDA 1.9x 3.4x –
Debt / FCF 6.0x 12.9x –
Liabilities / assets 62.6% 55.6% 27.3%
Equity / assets 37.4% 44.4% 72.7%
Interest coverage – 1.0x -68.6x
Current ratio 2.1x 1.0x 3.2x
Quick ratio 1.7x 0.8x 1.9x
Cash ratio 0.4x 0.1x 1.7x
Altman Z-score 3.89 2.39 -2.29

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCLHCWSTLODE
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield 1.4% – -75.7%
Shareholder yield 1.4% – -75.7%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusCLHCWSTLODE
Forward P/E 30.8xFY2026 74.5xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $10.29FY2026 $1.29FY2026 $-0.62FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +41.3%FY2026 +1.6%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after +5.3% +16.3% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $6.28BFY2026 $2.05BFY2026 $4.79MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +4.1%FY2026 +11.6%FY2026 +208.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +15.7% +7.1% +827.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCLHCWSTLODE
Held by institutions 93.5% 100.0% 57.0%
Institutions holding 658 415 107
Change in shares held, QoQ 0.0% +4.2% +21.1%
Institutions buying 306 231 67
Institutions selling 246 127 22
Buyers to sellers 1.24 1.82 3.05

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

CLHCWSTLODE
CLH 1.00 0.31 0.08
CWST 0.31 1.00 0.04
LODE 0.08 0.04 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CLH, CWST and LODE?

Clean Harbors (CLH) is the largest by market capitalisation: Clean Harbors (CLH) $16.49B, Casella Waste Systems (CWST) $5.96B, Comstock (LODE) $132.67M.

Which stock is cheaper, CLH, CWST and LODE?

Clean Harbors (CLH) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Clean Harbors (CLH) 37.6x, Casella Waste Systems (CWST) 1,045x, Comstock (LODE) -2.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Clean Harbors (CLH) is cheapest (Clean Harbors (CLH) 30.8x, Casella Waste Systems (CWST) 74.5x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Casella Waste Systems (CWST) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Clean Harbors (CLH) +5.1%, Casella Waste Systems (CWST) +13.6%, Comstock (LODE) -69.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Clean Harbors (CLH) has the highest net margin (Clean Harbors (CLH) 7.0%, Casella Waste Systems (CWST) 0.3%, Comstock (LODE) -6,012.3%). On return on invested capital, Clean Harbors (CLH) leads (Clean Harbors (CLH) 9.7%, Casella Waste Systems (CWST) 1.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Clean Harbors (CLH) returned the most: Clean Harbors (CLH) +29.2%, Casella Waste Systems (CWST) +8.7%, Comstock (LODE) -45.9%. Over five years, Clean Harbors (CLH) compounded fastest (Clean Harbors (CLH) +23.2%/yr, Casella Waste Systems (CWST) +3.0%/yr, Comstock (LODE) -40.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Clean Harbors (CLH) has been the steadiest (Clean Harbors (CLH) 27.9%, Casella Waste Systems (CWST) 37.0%, Comstock (LODE) 80.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CLH, CWST and LODE?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Clean Harbors (CLH) leads on 10. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.