CWST vs CLH vs LODE Stock Comparison

Casella Waste Systems, Clean Harbors 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.

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

Percentile Scorecard

CWSTCLHLODE

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

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

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

Risk

MeasureCWSTCLHLODESPY
Volatility, 1Y 37.0%27.9%80.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 34.0%31.1%81.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.100.272.10 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.231.05-0.57 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -37.7%-30.9%-94.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -10.4%-3.1%-64.4% -1.8%
52-week high $107.34$327.10$4.77 $779.14
52-week low $74.97$201.73$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.

MultipleCWSTCLHLODE
P/E now vs peer median 1,072xmedian 34.0x 38.1xmedian 34.0x -2.1xmedian 34.0x
P/S now vs peer median 3.1xmedian 3.4x 2.7xmedian 3.4x 127.2xmedian 3.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 18.7xmedian 15.3x 15.8xmedian 15.3x -1.7xmedian 15.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 57.0xmedian 18.5x 36.2xmedian 18.5x -3.3xmedian 18.5x
P/B now vs peer median 3.8xmedian 3.0x 5.7xmedian 3.0x 0.9xmedian 3.0x
PEG now vs peer median -21.06median 3.42 10.72median 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 monthsCWSTCLHLODE
Revenue $1.96B $6.24B $1.01M
Gross profit $653.52M $2.01B -$1.68M
Operating income $66.07M $739.29M -$59.32M
Net income $5.70M $439.05M -$61.13M
Free cash flow $105.67M $461.72M -$39.16M
R&D – – $11.28M
EPS (diluted) $0.09 $8.29 $-1.66
Cash & equivalents $25.54M $408.36M $31.41M
Total debt $1.36B $2.77B –
Shares (diluted) 63.69M 52.96M 36.71M
Enterprise value $5.08B $13.50B -$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
MetricCWSTCLHLODE
P/E 1,072x 38.1x -2.1x
P/FCF 57.0x 36.2x -3.3x
P/Operating cash flow 17.2x 18.5x -4.2x
P/S 3.1x 2.7x 127.2x
P/B 3.8x 5.7x 0.9x
P/Tangible book 4.9x 7.7x 1.0x
EV/EBITDA 18.7x 15.8x -1.7x
EV/EBIT 111.4x 25.7x -1.6x
EV/Revenue 3.8x 3.0x 96.3x
EV/FCF 69.7x 41.1x -2.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 21.0x 21.0x -3.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -21.06 10.72 -0.09

Growth

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

Profitability

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

Financial Health

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

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCWSTCLHLODE
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.

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

Institutional Ownership

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

CWSTCLHLODE
CWST 1.00 0.31 0.04
CLH 0.31 1.00 0.08
LODE 0.04 0.08 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CWST, CLH and LODE?

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

Which stock is cheaper, CWST, CLH and LODE?

Clean Harbors (CLH) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Casella Waste Systems (CWST) 1,045x, Clean Harbors (CLH) 37.6x, Comstock (LODE) -2.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Clean Harbors (CLH) is cheapest (Casella Waste Systems (CWST) 74.5x, Clean Harbors (CLH) 30.8x). 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: Casella Waste Systems (CWST) +13.6%, Clean Harbors (CLH) +5.1%, Comstock (LODE) -69.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

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

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Clean Harbors (CLH) returned the most: Casella Waste Systems (CWST) +8.7%, Clean Harbors (CLH) +29.2%, Comstock (LODE) -45.9%. Over five years, Clean Harbors (CLH) compounded fastest (Casella Waste Systems (CWST) +3.0%/yr, Clean Harbors (CLH) +23.2%/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 (Casella Waste Systems (CWST) 37.0%, Clean Harbors (CLH) 27.9%, Comstock (LODE) 80.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CWST, CLH 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.