CWST vs WM Stock Comparison

Casella Waste Systems and Waste Management Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
WM Waste Management Inc
$241.10 +16.5% 1M +12.3% 1Y
Market cap
$96.44B
P/E
33.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$25.67B
Div. yield
1.51%
Solid Waste Industrials
10 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Waste Management leads on 10 of the 12 questions below (Waste Management 10, Casella Waste Systems 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCWSTWMLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $6.02B $96.44B WM
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 1,072x 33.9x WM
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 74.5x 27.9x WM
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +13.6% +7.2% CWST
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 0.3% 11.1% WM
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 1.5% 10.7% WM
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.4x 3.0x WM
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — 1.51% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +8.7% +12.3% WM
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +3.0%/yr +9.2%/yr WM
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 37.0% 21.3% WM
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 42/100 57/100 WM

Percentile Scorecard

CWSTWM

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

AxisCWSTWM
Valuation 40 #10 of 16 53 #8 of 16
Growth 39 #9 of 14 69 #5 of 14
Profitability 62 #6 of 14 92 #2 of 14
Financial Health 27 #12 of 16 13 #14 of 16
Shareholder Returns – –
Overall 42 57
  • CWST ranked among 16 companies in Waste Management
  • 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

PeriodCWSTWMSPY
1 month +16.9%+16.5% -0.8%
3 months +7.7%+1.4% +3.5%
6 months +25.3%+6.6% +7.0%
Year to date -1.8%+9.7% +12.2%
1 year +8.7%+12.3% +13.0%
3 years +30.8%+49.4% +86.3%
3 years, per year +9.4%+14.3% +23.1%
5 years +16.0%+55.4% +68.6%
5 years, per year +3.0%+9.2% +11.0%
10 years +756.3%+276.9% +258.0%
10 years, per year +24.0%+14.2% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureCWSTWMSPY
Volatility, 1Y 37.0%21.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 34.0%20.7% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.10-0.41 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.230.58 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -37.7%-18.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -10.4%-2.2% -1.8%
52-week high $107.34$246.51 $779.14
52-week low $74.97$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.

MultipleCWSTWM
P/E now vs peer median 1,072xmedian 34.0x 33.9xmedian 34.0x
P/S now vs peer median 3.1xmedian 3.4x 3.8xmedian 3.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 18.7xmedian 15.3x 15.9xmedian 15.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 57.0xmedian 18.5x 27.0xmedian 18.5x
P/B now vs peer median 3.8xmedian 3.0x 9.7xmedian 3.0x
PEG now vs peer median -21.06median 3.42 4.17median 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 monthsCWSTWM
Revenue $1.96B $25.67B
Gross profit $653.52M $10.49B
Operating income $66.07M $4.51B
Net income $5.70M $2.85B
Free cash flow $105.67M $3.57B
EPS (diluted) $0.09 $7.09
Cash & equivalents $25.54M $557.00M
Total debt $1.36B $93.65B
Shares (diluted) 63.69M 402.40M
Enterprise value $5.14B $95.35B

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
MetricCWSTWM
P/E 1,072x 33.9x
P/FCF 57.0x 27.0x
P/Operating cash flow 17.2x 14.8x
P/S 3.1x 3.8x
P/B 3.8x 9.7x
P/Tangible book 4.9x 15.3x
EV/EBITDA 18.7x 15.9x
EV/EBIT 111.4x 26.4x
EV/Revenue 3.8x 4.6x
EV/FCF 69.7x 33.4x
EV/Operating cash flow 21.0x 18.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -21.06 4.17

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCWSTWM
Revenue growth (1Y) 13.6% 7.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 20.4% 8.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 12.6% -18.6%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 20.0% 11.8%
Operating income growth (1Y) 1.1% 7.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -8.5% 9.1%
Net income growth (1Y) -48.4% 4.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -47.8% 7.7%
EPS growth (1Y) -48.5% 5.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -50.9% 8.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 2.9% 15.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 19.0% 14.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 16.1% 65.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 8.9% 33.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCWSTWM
Gross margin 33.4% 40.9%
EBITDA margin 20.1% 29.3%
Operating margin 3.4% 17.6%
Pretax margin 0.5% 14.1%
Net margin 0.3% 11.1%
FCF margin 5.4% 13.9%
Operating cash flow margin 18.0% 25.4%
Return on equity 0.4% 28.6%
Return on assets 0.2% 6.2%
Return on invested capital 1.5% 10.7%
Return on capital employed 2.1% 11.2%
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 61.6x 2.3x
Stock comp / revenue 0.7% 0.7%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCWSTWM
Debt / assets 38.3% 50.3%
Debt / equity 0.9x 2.4x
Net debt / EBITDA 3.4x 3.0x
Debt / FCF 12.9x 6.5x
Liabilities / assets 55.6% 78.6%
Equity / assets 44.4% 21.4%
Interest coverage 1.0x –
Current ratio 1.0x 0.9x
Quick ratio 0.8x 0.8x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 2.39 2.99

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCWSTWM
Dividend yield – 1.5%
Net buyback yield – 1.0%
Shareholder yield – 2.5%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 50.1%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 40.0%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 12.4%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 8.9%

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.

ConsensusCWSTWM
Forward P/E 74.5xFY2026 27.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.29FY2026 $8.65FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +1.6%FY2026 +15.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +17.1% +9.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $2.05BFY2026 $25.84BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +11.6%FY2026 +2.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +7.1% +12.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCWSTWM
Held by institutions 100.0% 82.3%
Institutions holding 415 2,348
Change in shares held, QoQ +4.2% +0.8%
Institutions buying 231 1,094
Institutions selling 127 901
Buyers to sellers 1.82 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.

CWSTWM
CWST 1.00 0.55
WM 0.55 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CWST and WM?

Waste Management (WM) is the largest by market capitalisation: Casella Waste Systems (CWST) $6.02B, Waste Management (WM) $96.44B.

Which stock is cheaper, CWST and WM?

Waste Management (WM) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Casella Waste Systems (CWST) 1,072x, Waste Management (WM) 33.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Waste Management (WM) is cheapest (Casella Waste Systems (CWST) 74.5x, Waste Management (WM) 27.9x). 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: Casella Waste Systems (CWST) +13.6%, Waste Management (WM) +7.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Waste Management (WM) has the highest net margin (Casella Waste Systems (CWST) 0.3%, Waste Management (WM) 11.1%). On return on invested capital, Waste Management (WM) leads (Casella Waste Systems (CWST) 1.5%, Waste Management (WM) 10.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Waste Management (WM) returned the most: Casella Waste Systems (CWST) +8.7%, Waste Management (WM) +12.3%. Over five years, Waste Management (WM) compounded fastest (Casella Waste Systems (CWST) +3.0%/yr, Waste Management (WM) +9.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Waste Management (WM) 1.51%. Casella Waste Systems (CWST) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Waste Management (WM) has been the steadiest (Casella Waste Systems (CWST) 37.0%, Waste Management (WM) 21.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do CWST and WM move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.55, a moderate positive relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, CWST 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, Waste Management (WM) 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.