CLH vs CWST vs RSG Stock Comparison

Clean Harbors, Casella Waste Systems and Republic Services Prices as of Nov 4, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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CLH Clean Harbors Inc
$288.43 -10.6% 1M +38.1% 1Y
Market cap
$15.21B
P/E
28.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.56B
Div. yield
–
Hazardous Waste Industrials
6 wins
RSG Republic Services, Inc.
$245.42 +15.3% 1M +18.1% 1Y
Market cap
$74.76B
P/E
33.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$17.24B
Div. yield
1.04%
Solid Waste Industrials
4 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Clean Harbors leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Clean Harbors 6, Republic Services 4, Casella Waste Systems 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCLHCWSTRSGLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $15.21B $6.19B $74.76B RSG
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 28.8x 1,103x 33.7x CLH
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 28.0x 76.7x 32.9x CLH
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +10.1% +13.6% +4.5% CWST
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 8.0% 0.3% 12.9% RSG
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 10.9% 1.5% 11.1% RSG
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.8x 3.4x 2.6x CLH
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — — 1.04% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +38.1% +9.9% +18.1% CLH
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +22.2%/yr +2.8%/yr +13.1%/yr CLH
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 25.1% 37.2% 20.3% RSG
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 68/100 49/100 52/100 CLH

Percentile Scorecard

CLHCWSTRSG

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

AxisCLHCWSTRSG
Valuation 60 #7 of 16 47 #9 of 16 40 #10 of 16
Growth 77 #4 of 14 54 #7 of 14 39 #9 of 14
Profitability 85 #3 of 14 62 #6 of 14 100 #1 of 14
Financial Health 73 #5 of 16 33 #11 of 16 27 #12 of 16
Shareholder Returns 43 #5 of 8 – 57 #4 of 8
Overall 68 49 52
  • CLH ranked among 16 companies in Waste Management
  • CWST ranked among 16 companies in Waste Management
  • RSG ranked among 16 companies in Waste Management

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCLHCWSTRSGSPY
1 month -10.6%+18.5%+15.3% -1.0%
3 months -6.8%+9.8%+18.6% -0.4%
6 months +0.2%+16.9%+22.9% +4.5%
Year to date +23.0%+1.0%+15.8% +12.4%
1 year +38.1%+9.9%+18.1% +13.6%
3 years +86.6%+25.0%+59.9% +76.4%
3 years, per year +23.1%+7.7%+17.0% +20.8%
5 years +171.8%+15.0%+84.9% +63.7%
5 years, per year +22.2%+2.8%+13.1% +10.4%
10 years +555.2%+796.5%+379.1% +267.7%
10 years, per year +20.7%+24.5%+17.0% +13.9%

Risk

MeasureCLHCWSTRSGSPY
Volatility, 1Y 25.1%37.2%20.3% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 25.1%34.5%18.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.270.04-0.44 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.520.270.89 1.06
Max drawdown, 5Y -30.9%-37.7%-23.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -11.8%-7.9%-0.2% -1.6%
52-week high $327.10$107.34$245.99 $779.14
52-week low $201.73$74.97$197.73 $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.

MultipleCLHCWSTRSG
P/E now vs peer median 28.8xmedian 31.0x 1,103xmedian 31.0x 33.7xmedian 31.0x
P/S now vs peer median 2.3xmedian 3.4x 3.2xmedian 3.4x 4.3xmedian 3.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 13.2xmedian 15.2x 19.1xmedian 15.2x 16.2xmedian 15.2x
P/FCF now vs peer median 30.4xmedian 18.1x 58.6xmedian 18.1x 29.2xmedian 18.1x
P/B now vs peer median 4.9xmedian 2.9x 3.9xmedian 2.9x 6.1xmedian 2.9x
PEG now vs peer median 1.98median 2.82 -21.66median 2.82 2.82median 2.82

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 monthsCLHCWSTRSG
Revenue $6.56B $1.96B $17.24B
Gross profit $2.17B $653.52M $7.24B
Operating income $864.39M $66.07M $3.45B
Net income $528.36M $5.70M $2.23B
Free cash flow $500.54M $105.67M $2.56B
EPS (diluted) $9.99 $0.09 $7.27
Cash & equivalents $423.54M $25.54M $92.00M
Total debt $2.89B $1.36B $14.06B
Shares (diluted) 52.90M 63.69M 306.50M
Enterprise value $12.55B $5.32B $74.37B

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
MetricCLHCWSTRSG
P/E 28.8x 1,103x 33.7x
P/FCF 30.4x 58.6x 29.2x
P/Operating cash flow 14.9x 17.6x 16.6x
P/S 2.3x 3.2x 4.3x
P/B 4.9x 3.9x 6.1x
P/Tangible book 6.8x 5.0x 6.5x
EV/EBITDA 13.2x 19.1x 16.2x
EV/EBIT 20.3x 114.0x 25.7x
EV/Revenue 2.7x 3.9x 5.1x
EV/FCF 35.1x 71.3x 34.7x
EV/Operating cash flow 17.2x 21.5x 19.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.98 -21.66 2.82

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCLHCWSTRSG
Revenue growth (1Y) 10.1% 13.6% 4.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 7.1% 20.4% 5.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 17.2% 12.6% 4.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 10.0% 20.0% 7.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) 32.6% 1.1% 4.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 13.4% -8.5% 9.1%
Net income growth (1Y) 36.0% -48.4% 5.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 13.4% -47.8% 10.8%
EPS growth (1Y) 38.1% -48.5% 7.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 14.5% -50.9% 12.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 25.0% 2.9% 3.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 12.1% 19.0% 8.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 11.2% 16.1% 1.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 17.1% 8.9% 10.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCLHCWSTRSG
Gross margin 33.1% 33.4% 42.0%
EBITDA margin 20.3% 20.1% 31.7%
Operating margin 13.2% 3.4% 20.0%
Pretax margin 10.9% 0.5% 15.3%
Net margin 8.0% 0.3% 12.9%
FCF margin 7.6% 5.4% 14.9%
Operating cash flow margin 15.5% 18.0% 26.1%
Return on equity 17.5% 0.4% 18.4%
Return on assets 6.6% 0.2% 6.3%
Return on invested capital 10.9% 1.5% 11.1%
Return on capital employed 12.8% 2.1% 10.9%
Asset turnover 0.8x 0.6x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.9x 61.6x 2.0x
Stock comp / revenue 0.7% 0.7% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCLHCWSTRSG
Debt / assets 34.9% 38.3% 39.6%
Debt / equity 0.9x 0.9x 1.1x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.8x 3.4x 2.6x
Debt / FCF 5.8x 12.9x 5.5x
Liabilities / assets 62.4% 55.6% 65.5%
Equity / assets 37.6% 44.4% 34.5%
Interest coverage – 1.0x 5.7x
Current ratio 1.9x 1.0x 0.7x
Quick ratio 1.6x 0.8x 0.6x
Cash ratio 0.4x 0.1x 0.0x
Altman Z-score 3.62 2.44 3.19

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCLHCWSTRSG
Dividend yield – – 1.0%
Net buyback yield 1.4% – 1.5%
Shareholder yield 1.4% – 2.5%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 34.6%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 30.1%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 6.2%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 7.2%

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.

ConsensusCLHCWSTRSG
Forward P/E 28.0xFY2026 76.7xFY2026 32.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $10.29FY2026 $1.29FY2026 $7.45FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +41.3%FY2026 +1.6%FY2026 +6.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +5.3% +16.3% +5.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $6.28BFY2026 $2.05BFY2026 $16.61BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +4.1%FY2026 +11.6%FY2026 +0.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +15.7% +7.1% +15.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCLHCWSTRSG
Held by institutions 93.5% 100.0% 58.9%
Institutions holding 660 417 1,304
Change in shares held, QoQ 0.0% +4.2% +0.5%
Institutions buying 308 231 623
Institutions selling 246 127 485
Buyers to sellers 1.25 1.82 1.28

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.

CLHCWSTRSG
CLH 1.00 0.28 0.29
CWST 0.28 1.00 0.54
RSG 0.29 0.54 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CLH, CWST and RSG?

Republic Services (RSG) is the largest by market capitalisation: Clean Harbors (CLH) $15.21B, Casella Waste Systems (CWST) $6.19B, Republic Services (RSG) $74.76B.

Which stock is cheaper, CLH, CWST and RSG?

Clean Harbors (CLH) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Clean Harbors (CLH) 28.8x, Casella Waste Systems (CWST) 1,103x, Republic Services (RSG) 33.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Clean Harbors (CLH) is cheapest (Clean Harbors (CLH) 28.0x, Casella Waste Systems (CWST) 76.7x, Republic Services (RSG) 32.9x). 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) +10.1%, Casella Waste Systems (CWST) +13.6%, Republic Services (RSG) +4.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Republic Services (RSG) has the highest net margin (Clean Harbors (CLH) 8.0%, Casella Waste Systems (CWST) 0.3%, Republic Services (RSG) 12.9%). On return on invested capital, Republic Services (RSG) leads (Clean Harbors (CLH) 10.9%, Casella Waste Systems (CWST) 1.5%, Republic Services (RSG) 11.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Clean Harbors (CLH) returned the most: Clean Harbors (CLH) +38.1%, Casella Waste Systems (CWST) +9.9%, Republic Services (RSG) +18.1%. Over five years, Clean Harbors (CLH) compounded fastest (Clean Harbors (CLH) +22.2%/yr, Casella Waste Systems (CWST) +2.8%/yr, Republic Services (RSG) +13.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Republic Services (RSG) 1.04%. Clean Harbors (CLH) and Casella Waste Systems (CWST) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Republic Services (RSG) has been the steadiest (Clean Harbors (CLH) 25.1%, Casella Waste Systems (CWST) 37.2%, Republic Services (RSG) 20.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 6. 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.