CLH vs WCN Stock Comparison

Clean Harbors and Waste Connections Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CLH Clean Harbors Inc
$316.96 +1.2% 1M +29.2% 1Y
Market cap
$16.73B
P/E
38.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.24B
Div. yield
–
Hazardous Waste Industrials
4 wins
WCN Waste Connections, Inc.
$186.62 +19.9% 1M +5.5% 1Y
Market cap
$47.05B
P/E
37.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$9.94B
Div. yield
–
Solid Waste Industrials
4 wins

Head to Head

8 decided of 12

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

QuestionCLHWCNLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $16.73B $47.05B WCN
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 38.1x 37.2x WCN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 30.9x 34.6x CLH
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +5.1% +6.3% WCN
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 7.0% — –
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 9.7% — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.9x — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +29.2% +5.5% CLH
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +23.2%/yr +7.3%/yr CLH
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 27.9% 25.7% WCN
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 70/100 48/100 CLH

Percentile Scorecard

CLHWCN

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

AxisCLHWCN
Valuation 60 #7 of 16 27 #12 of 16
Growth 62 #6 of 14 77 #4 of 14
Profitability 85 #3 of 14 69 #5 of 14
Financial Health 73 #5 of 16 20 #13 of 16
Shareholder Returns – –
Overall 70 48
  • CLH ranked among 16 companies in Waste Management
  • WCN ranked among 16 companies in Waste Management

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCLHWCNSPY
1 month +1.2%+19.9% -0.8%
3 months +5.1%+10.2% +3.5%
6 months +3.1%+15.5% +7.0%
Year to date +35.2%+6.4% +12.2%
1 year +29.2%+5.5% +13.0%
3 years +109.9%+45.8% +86.3%
3 years, per year +28.1%+13.4% +23.1%
5 years +183.9%+42.4% +68.6%
5 years, per year +23.2%+7.3% +11.0%
10 years +588.7%+271.8% +258.0%
10 years, per year +21.3%+14.0% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureCLHWCNSPY
Volatility, 1Y 27.9%25.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 31.1%23.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.27-0.18 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.050.22 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -30.9%-25.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -3.1%0.0% -1.8%
52-week high $327.10$186.62 $779.14
52-week low $201.73$149.02 $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.

MultipleCLHWCN
P/E now vs peer median 38.1xmedian 34.0x 37.2xmedian 34.0x
P/S now vs peer median 2.7xmedian 3.4x 4.7xmedian 3.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 15.8xmedian 15.3x —median 15.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 36.2xmedian 18.5x 31.8xmedian 18.5x
P/B now vs peer median 5.7xmedian 3.0x 6.0xmedian 3.0x
PEG now vs peer median 10.72median 3.42 —median 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 monthsCLHWCN
Revenue $6.24B $9.94B
Gross profit $2.01B –
Operating income $739.29M $1.76B
Net income $439.05M $1.13B
Free cash flow $461.72M –
EPS (diluted) $8.29 –
Cash & equivalents $408.36M $95.69M
Total debt $2.77B –
Shares (diluted) 52.96M 253.86M
Enterprise value $13.74B $47.05B

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
MetricCLHWCN
P/E 38.1x 37.2x
P/FCF 36.2x 31.8x
P/Operating cash flow 18.5x 18.6x
P/S 2.7x 4.7x
P/B 5.7x 6.0x
P/Tangible book 7.7x 8.0x
EV/EBITDA 15.8x –
EV/EBIT 25.7x –
EV/Revenue 3.0x 4.7x
EV/FCF 41.1x –
EV/Operating cash flow 21.0x 18.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 10.72 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCLHWCN
Revenue growth (1Y) 5.1% 6.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.3% 8.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 10.2% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 6.5% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 13.5% 61.8%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 4.5% 10.0%
Net income growth (1Y) 14.1% 82.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 2.6% 10.9%
EPS growth (1Y) 15.9% –
EPS CAGR (3Y) 3.6% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 19.9% 4.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 7.3% 6.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 20.0% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 12.0% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCLHWCN
Gross margin 32.3% –
EBITDA margin 19.2% –
Operating margin 11.8% –
Pretax margin 9.6% –
Net margin 7.0% –
FCF margin 7.4% –
Operating cash flow margin 14.5% 25.4%
Return on equity 15.4% 14.3%
Return on assets 5.7% 5.3%
Return on invested capital 9.7% –
Return on capital employed 11.3% –
Asset turnover 0.8x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.1x 2.2x
Stock comp / revenue 0.7% 0.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCLHWCN
Debt / assets 35.4% –
Debt / equity 0.9x –
Net debt / EBITDA 1.9x –
Debt / FCF 6.0x –
Liabilities / assets 62.6% 63.3%
Equity / assets 37.4% 36.7%
Interest coverage – –
Current ratio 2.1x 0.7x
Quick ratio 1.7x –
Cash ratio 0.4x –
Altman Z-score 3.89 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCLHWCN
Dividend yield – 0.8%
Net buyback yield 1.4% –
Shareholder yield 1.4% 0.8%
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.

ConsensusCLHWCN
Forward P/E 30.9xFY2026 34.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $10.27FY2026 $5.40FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +41.1%FY2026 +5.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +5.4% +20.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $6.27BFY2026 $10.33BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +4.0%FY2026 +10.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +15.7% -0.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCLHWCN
Held by institutions 93.5% 85.2%
Institutions holding 658 829
Change in shares held, QoQ 0.0% +1.3%
Institutions buying 306 410
Institutions selling 246 303
Buyers to sellers 1.24 1.35

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.

CLHWCN
CLH 1.00 0.40
WCN 0.40 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CLH and WCN?

Waste Connections (WCN) is the largest by market capitalisation: Clean Harbors (CLH) $16.73B, Waste Connections (WCN) $47.05B.

Which stock is cheaper, CLH and WCN?

Waste Connections (WCN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Clean Harbors (CLH) 38.1x, Waste Connections (WCN) 37.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Clean Harbors (CLH) is cheapest (Clean Harbors (CLH) 30.9x, Waste Connections (WCN) 34.6x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Waste Connections (WCN) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Clean Harbors (CLH) +5.1%, Waste Connections (WCN) +6.3%.

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Clean Harbors (CLH) returned the most: Clean Harbors (CLH) +29.2%, Waste Connections (WCN) +5.5%. Over five years, Clean Harbors (CLH) compounded fastest (Clean Harbors (CLH) +23.2%/yr, Waste Connections (WCN) +7.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Waste Connections (WCN) has been the steadiest (Clean Harbors (CLH) 27.9%, Waste Connections (WCN) 25.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do CLH and WCN move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.40, a moderate positive relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, CLH and WCN?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Waste Connections (WCN) leads on 4. 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.