CLH vs SHC vs WM Stock Comparison

Clean Harbors, Sotera Health and Waste Management Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CLH Clean Harbors Inc
$313.03 0.0% 1M +29.2% 1Y
Market cap
$16.64B
P/E
37.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.24B
Div. yield
–
Hazardous Waste Industrials
5 wins
SHC Sotera Health Co
$18.49 +0.8% 1M +10.7% 1Y
Market cap
$5.29B
P/E
32.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.22B
Div. yield
–
Diagnostic Labs Healthcare
3 wins
WM Waste Management Inc
$235.63 +13.9% 1M +10.2% 1Y
Market cap
$90.69B
P/E
29.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$26.07B
Div. yield
–
Solid Waste Industrials
3 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Clean Harbors leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Clean Harbors 5, Waste Management 3, Sotera Health 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCLHSHCWMLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $16.64B $5.29B $90.69B WM
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 37.9x 32.4x 29.5x WM
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 30.4x 20.1x 27.2x SHC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +5.1% +8.1% +5.2% SHC
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 7.0% 13.4% — SHC
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 9.7% 9.1% — CLH
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.9x 3.3x — CLH
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +29.2% +10.7% +10.2% CLH
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +22.8%/yr -5.8%/yr +8.4%/yr CLH
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 27.9% 28.4% 21.4% WM
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 66/100 59/100 61/100 CLH

Percentile Scorecard

CLHSHCWM

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

AxisCLHSHCWM
Valuation 53 #8 of 16 52 #45 of 92 60 #7 of 16
Growth 54 #7 of 14 66 #30 of 87 77 #4 of 14
Profitability 85 #3 of 14 82 #16 of 86 92 #2 of 14
Financial Health 73 #5 of 16 37 #62 of 97 13 #14 of 16
Shareholder Returns – – –
Overall 66 59 61
  • CLH ranked among 16 companies in Waste Management
  • SHC ranked among 102 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • WM ranked among 16 companies in Waste Management

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCLHSHCWMSPY
1 month 0.0%+0.8%+13.9% -0.2%
3 months +3.0%+4.1%-1.6% +3.9%
6 months +2.2%+19.0%+3.6% +8.2%
Year to date +33.5%+4.8%+7.2% +12.9%
1 year +29.2%+10.7%+10.2% +12.3%
3 years +107.3%+47.8%+46.0% +87.4%
3 years, per year +27.5%+13.9%+13.5% +23.3%
5 years +178.6%-25.6%+49.6% +67.9%
5 years, per year +22.8%-5.8%+8.4% +10.9%
10 years +582.7%—+271.9% +261.1%
10 years, per year +21.2%—+14.0% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureCLHSHCWMSPY
Volatility, 1Y 27.9%28.4%21.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 31.0%27.0%20.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.261.01-0.42 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.050.380.48 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -30.9%-78.2%-18.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -4.3%-5.5%-4.4% -1.2%
52-week high $327.10$19.57$246.51 $779.14
52-week low $201.73$13.13$196.77 $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.

MultipleCLHSHCWM
P/E now vs peer median 37.6xmedian 33.2x 32.3xmedian 24.6x 30.8xmedian 33.2x
P/S now vs peer median 2.6xmedian 3.3x 4.3xmedian 1.6x 3.6xmedian 3.3x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 15.6xmedian 14.5x 13.0xmedian 14.6x —median 14.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 35.8xmedian 16.4x 46.8xmedian 21.6x 23.2xmedian 16.4x
P/B now vs peer median 5.6xmedian 3.0x 7.9xmedian 3.2x 9.6xmedian 3.0x
PEG now vs peer median 10.58median 2.81 0.86median 0.66 3.00median 2.81

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 monthsCLHSHCWM
Revenue $6.24B $1.22B $26.07B
Gross profit $2.01B $668.51M –
Operating income $739.29M $411.34M $4.80B
Net income $439.05M $163.48M $3.07B
Free cash flow $461.72M $112.70M –
EPS (diluted) $8.29 $0.57 $7.63
Cash & equivalents $408.36M $356.72M $247.00M
Total debt $2.77B $2.14B –
Shares (diluted) 52.96M 288.15M 402.40M
Enterprise value $13.65B $3.98B $90.69B

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
MetricCLHSHCWM
P/E 37.6x 32.3x 30.8x
P/FCF 35.8x 46.8x 23.2x
P/Operating cash flow 18.3x 18.1x 8.2x
P/S 2.6x 4.3x 3.6x
P/B 5.6x 7.9x 9.6x
P/Tangible book 7.6x 13.3x 14.9x
EV/EBITDA 15.6x 13.0x –
EV/EBIT 25.4x 17.2x –
EV/Revenue 3.0x 5.8x 3.6x
EV/FCF 40.7x 62.6x –
EV/Operating cash flow 20.8x 24.2x 8.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 10.58 0.86 3.00

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCLHSHCWM
Revenue growth (1Y) 5.1% 8.1% 5.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.3% 7.6% 9.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 10.2% 7.1% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 6.5% 8.1% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 13.5% 21.8% 17.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 4.5% 23.2% 10.5%
Net income growth (1Y) 14.1% 580.5% 19.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 2.6% 37.7% 10.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 15.9% 574.9% 20.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 3.6% 37.5% 10.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 19.9% 9.8% 95.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 7.3% 61.3% 37.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 20.0% 0.0% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 12.0% 32.6% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCLHSHCWM
Gross margin 32.3% 55.0% –
EBITDA margin 19.2% 44.6% –
Operating margin 11.8% 33.8% –
Pretax margin 9.6% 21.7% –
Net margin 7.0% 13.4% –
FCF margin 7.4% 9.3% –
Operating cash flow margin 14.5% 24.0% 43.8%
Return on equity 15.4% 25.4% 31.0%
Return on assets 5.7% 5.0% 6.6%
Return on invested capital 9.7% 9.1% –
Return on capital employed 11.3% 13.5% –
Asset turnover 0.8x 0.4x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.1x 1.8x 3.7x
Stock comp / revenue 0.7% 3.1% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCLHSHCWM
Debt / assets 35.4% 64.7% –
Debt / equity 0.9x 3.2x –
Net debt / EBITDA 1.9x 3.3x –
Debt / FCF 6.0x 19.0x –
Liabilities / assets 62.6% 79.9% 78.8%
Equity / assets 37.4% 20.1% 21.2%
Interest coverage – – –
Current ratio 2.1x 2.8x 0.8x
Quick ratio 1.7x 2.4x –
Cash ratio 0.4x 1.5x –
Altman Z-score 3.86 1.94 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCLHSHCWM
Dividend yield – – 1.5%
Net buyback yield 1.4% – –
Shareholder yield 1.4% – 1.5%
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.

ConsensusCLHSHCWM
Forward P/E 30.4xFY2026 20.1xFY2026 27.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $10.29FY2026 $0.92FY2026 $8.65FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +41.3%FY2026 +7.0%FY2026 +15.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +5.3% +21.7% +9.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $6.28BFY2026 $1.33BFY2026 $25.84BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +4.1%FY2026 +14.8%FY2026 +2.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +15.7% -4.2% +12.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCLHSHCWM
Held by institutions 93.5% 100.0% 82.3%
Institutions holding 658 316 2,348
Change in shares held, QoQ 0.0% +5.9% +0.8%
Institutions buying 306 220 1,094
Institutions selling 246 64 901
Buyers to sellers 1.24 3.44 1.21

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.

CLHSHCWM
CLH 1.00 0.17 0.28
SHC 0.17 1.00 0.09
WM 0.28 0.09 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CLH, SHC and WM?

Waste Management (WM) is the largest by market capitalisation: Clean Harbors (CLH) $16.64B, Sotera Health (SHC) $5.29B, Waste Management (WM) $90.69B.

Which stock is cheaper, CLH, SHC and WM?

Waste Management (WM) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Clean Harbors (CLH) 37.9x, Sotera Health (SHC) 32.4x, Waste Management (WM) 29.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Sotera Health (SHC) is cheapest (Clean Harbors (CLH) 30.4x, Sotera Health (SHC) 20.1x, Waste Management (WM) 27.2x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Sotera Health (SHC) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Clean Harbors (CLH) +5.1%, Sotera Health (SHC) +8.1%, Waste Management (WM) +5.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Sotera Health (SHC) has the highest net margin (Clean Harbors (CLH) 7.0%, Sotera Health (SHC) 13.4%). On return on invested capital, Clean Harbors (CLH) leads (Clean Harbors (CLH) 9.7%, Sotera Health (SHC) 9.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Clean Harbors (CLH) returned the most: Clean Harbors (CLH) +29.2%, Sotera Health (SHC) +10.7%, Waste Management (WM) +10.2%. Over five years, Clean Harbors (CLH) compounded fastest (Clean Harbors (CLH) +22.8%/yr, Sotera Health (SHC) -5.8%/yr, Waste Management (WM) +8.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Waste Management (WM) has been the steadiest (Clean Harbors (CLH) 27.9%, Sotera Health (SHC) 28.4%, Waste Management (WM) 21.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CLH, SHC and WM?

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 5. 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.