CLH vs VLO vs GFL Stock Comparison

Clean Harbors, Valero Energy and GFL Environmental Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CLH Clean Harbors Inc
$313.03 0.0% 1M +29.2% 1Y
Market cap
$16.78B
P/E
38.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.24B
Div. yield
–
Hazardous Waste Industrials
5 wins
VLO Valero Energy Corp/Tx
$387.36 +0.1% 1M +122.2% 1Y
Market cap
$113.91B
P/E
8.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$153.33B
Div. yield
–
Oil Refining Energy
6 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Valero Energy leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Valero Energy 6, Clean Harbors 5). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCLHVLOGFLLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $16.78B $113.91B $16.41B VLO
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 38.2x 8.8x -327.5x VLO
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 30.4x 6.9x 72.6x VLO
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +5.1% +24.6% +9.7% VLO
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 7.0% — -0.7% CLH
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 9.7% — 7.6% CLH
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.9x — 3.0x CLH
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +29.2% +122.2% -0.8% VLO
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +22.8%/yr +37.7%/yr +2.0%/yr VLO
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 27.9% 38.9% 29.1% CLH
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 66/100 41/100 46/100 CLH

Percentile Scorecard

CLHVLOGFL

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

AxisCLHVLOGFL
Valuation 53 #8 of 16 23 #18 of 23 73 #5 of 16
Growth 54 #7 of 14 94 #2 of 19 23 #11 of 14
Profitability 85 #3 of 14 – 54 #7 of 14
Financial Health 73 #5 of 16 – 33 #11 of 16
Shareholder Returns – 6 #17 of 18 –
Overall 66 41 46
  • CLH ranked among 16 companies in Waste Management
  • VLO ranked among 25 companies in Refining and Marketing
  • GFL ranked among 16 companies in Waste Management

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCLHVLOGFLSPY
1 month 0.0%+0.1%+6.5% -0.2%
3 months +3.0%+29.6%+14.9% +3.9%
6 months +2.2%+61.2%+12.1% +8.2%
Year to date +33.5%+138.0%+4.7% +12.9%
1 year +29.2%+122.2%-0.8% +12.3%
3 years +107.3%+213.5%+59.5% +87.4%
3 years, per year +27.5%+46.4%+16.9% +23.3%
5 years +178.6%+393.7%+10.2% +67.9%
5 years, per year +22.8%+37.7%+2.0% +10.9%
10 years +582.7%+558.7%— +261.1%
10 years, per year +21.2%+20.7%— +13.7%

Risk

MeasureCLHVLOGFLSPY
Volatility, 1Y 27.9%38.9%29.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 31.0%37.2%28.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.26-0.410.25 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.053.14-0.03 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -30.9%-42.9%-42.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -4.3%-15.7%-3.3% -1.2%
52-week high $327.10$459.67$46.51 $779.14
52-week low $201.73$161.94$33.54 $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.

MultipleCLHVLOGFL
P/E now vs peer median 37.6xmedian 33.2x 8.8xmedian 9.2x -331.9xmedian 33.2x
P/S now vs peer median 2.6xmedian 3.3x 0.7xmedian 0.3x 2.4xmedian 3.3x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 15.6xmedian 14.5x —median 7.0x 8.4xmedian 14.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 35.8xmedian 16.4x 11.1xmedian 8.9x 6.1xmedian 16.4x
P/B now vs peer median 5.6xmedian 3.0x 3.6xmedian 1.8x 2.2xmedian 3.0x
PEG now vs peer median 10.58median 2.81 0.69median 0.34 -11.97median 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 monthsCLHVLOGFL
Revenue $6.24B $153.33B $7.00B
Gross profit $2.01B – $1.47B
Operating income $739.29M $17.58B $1.71B
Net income $439.05M – -$249.50M
Free cash flow $461.72M – $2.72B
EPS (diluted) $8.29 $44.03 $-0.13
Cash & equivalents $408.36M – $192.10M
Total debt $2.77B – $19.12B
Shares (diluted) 52.96M 294.00M 378.69M
Enterprise value $13.79B $113.91B $14.52B

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
MetricCLHVLOGFL
P/E 37.6x 8.8x -331.9x
P/FCF 35.8x 11.1x 6.1x
P/Operating cash flow 18.3x – 11.1x
P/S 2.6x 0.7x 2.4x
P/B 5.6x 3.6x 2.2x
P/Tangible book 7.6x 3.6x 3.1x
EV/EBITDA 15.6x – 8.4x
EV/EBIT 25.4x – 15.3x
EV/Revenue 3.0x 0.7x 3.7x
EV/FCF 40.7x – 9.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 20.8x – 17.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 10.58 0.69 -11.97

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCLHVLOGFL
Revenue growth (1Y) 5.1% 24.6% 9.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.3% 0.5% -1.8%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 10.2% – 16.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 6.5% – 12.3%
Operating income growth (1Y) 13.5% 799.4% 1.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 4.5% 6.4% -3.8%
Net income growth (1Y) 14.1% – -107.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 2.6% – 8.6%
EPS growth (1Y) 15.9% 810.1% -101.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 3.6% 12.7% 27.7%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 19.9% – 13.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 7.3% – -8.3%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 20.0% – 7.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 12.0% – -2.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCLHVLOGFL
Gross margin 32.3% – 20.9%
EBITDA margin 19.2% – 44.5%
Operating margin 11.8% – 24.4%
Pretax margin 9.6% – -3.8%
Net margin 7.0% – -0.7%
FCF margin 7.4% – 38.9%
Operating cash flow margin 14.5% – 21.6%
Return on equity 15.4% 45.7% -3.3%
Return on assets 5.7% – -1.2%
Return on invested capital 9.7% – 7.6%
Return on capital employed 11.3% – 8.9%
Asset turnover 0.8x – 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.1x – -6.1x
Stock comp / revenue 0.7% – 2.0%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCLHVLOGFL
Debt / assets 35.4% – 44.6%
Debt / equity 0.9x – 1.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.9x – 3.0x
Debt / FCF 6.0x – 3.5x
Liabilities / assets 62.6% – 65.0%
Equity / assets 37.4% – 35.0%
Interest coverage – – 3.0x
Current ratio 2.1x 1.7x 0.8x
Quick ratio 1.7x – 0.6x
Cash ratio 0.4x – 0.1x
Altman Z-score 3.86 – 1.26

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCLHVLOGFL
Dividend yield – 1.2% 0.2%
Net buyback yield 1.4% – –
Shareholder yield 1.4% 1.2% 0.2%
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.

ConsensusCLHVLOGFL
Forward P/E 30.4xFY2026 6.9xFY2026 72.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $10.29FY2026 $55.81FY2026 $0.62FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +41.3%FY2026 +426.0%FY2026 +12.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +5.3% -8.8% +27.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $6.28BFY2026 $174.96BFY2026 $6.10BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +4.1%FY2026 +42.6%FY2026 +26.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +15.7% -21.5% +22.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCLHVLOGFL
Held by institutions 93.5% 83.6% 74.8%
Institutions holding 658 1,967 323
Change in shares held, QoQ 0.0% -1.5% +10.3%
Institutions buying 306 950 185
Institutions selling 246 709 101
Buyers to sellers 1.24 1.34 1.83

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.

CLHVLOGFL
CLH 1.00 0.12 0.32
VLO 0.12 1.00 0.05
GFL 0.32 0.05 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CLH, VLO and GFL?

Valero Energy (VLO) is the largest by market capitalisation: Clean Harbors (CLH) $16.78B, Valero Energy (VLO) $113.91B, GFL Environmental (GFL) $16.41B.

Which stock is cheaper, CLH, VLO and GFL?

Valero Energy (VLO) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Clean Harbors (CLH) 38.2x, Valero Energy (VLO) 8.8x, GFL Environmental (GFL) -327.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Valero Energy (VLO) is cheapest (Clean Harbors (CLH) 30.4x, Valero Energy (VLO) 6.9x, GFL Environmental (GFL) 72.6x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Valero Energy (VLO) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Clean Harbors (CLH) +5.1%, Valero Energy (VLO) +24.6%, GFL Environmental (GFL) +9.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Clean Harbors (CLH) has the highest net margin (Clean Harbors (CLH) 7.0%, GFL Environmental (GFL) -0.7%). On return on invested capital, Clean Harbors (CLH) leads (Clean Harbors (CLH) 9.7%, GFL Environmental (GFL) 7.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Valero Energy (VLO) returned the most: Clean Harbors (CLH) +29.2%, Valero Energy (VLO) +122.2%, GFL Environmental (GFL) -0.8%. Over five years, Valero Energy (VLO) compounded fastest (Clean Harbors (CLH) +22.8%/yr, Valero Energy (VLO) +37.7%/yr, GFL Environmental (GFL) +2.0%/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%, Valero Energy (VLO) 38.9%, GFL Environmental (GFL) 29.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CLH, VLO and GFL?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Valero Energy (VLO) 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.