LODE vs WCN vs CWST Stock Comparison

Comstock, Waste Connections and Casella Waste Systems Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
LODE Comstock Inc.
$1.71 -36.2% 1M -42.4% 1Y
Market cap
$128.50M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$1.01M
Div. yield
–
Solid Waste Industrials
WCN Waste Connections, Inc.
$186.57 +20.0% 1M +5.5% 1Y
Market cap
$47.35B
P/E
44.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$9.76B
Div. yield
0.01%
Solid Waste Industrials
9 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Waste Connections leads on 9 of the 12 questions below (Waste Connections 9, Casella Waste Systems 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionLODEWCNCWSTLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $128.50M $47.35B $6.12B WCN
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -2.1x 44.6x 1,074x WCN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 34.9x 75.7x WCN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -69.1% +5.7% +13.6% CWST
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -6,012.3% 10.9% 0.3% WCN
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 7.4% 1.5% WCN
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 2.9x 3.4x WCN
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.01% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -42.4% +5.5% +7.5% CWST
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -41.2%/yr +6.8%/yr +3.1%/yr WCN
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 80.3% 25.7% 37.0% WCN
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 21/100 57/100 41/100 WCN

Percentile Scorecard

LODEWCNCWST

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

AxisLODEWCNCWST
Valuation 7 #15 of 16 27 #12 of 16 40 #10 of 16
Growth 15 #12 of 14 69 #5 of 14 39 #9 of 14
Profitability 8 #13 of 14 85 #3 of 14 54 #7 of 14
Financial Health 73 #5 of 16 20 #13 of 16 33 #11 of 16
Shareholder Returns 0 #8 of 8 86 #2 of 8 –
Overall 21 57 41
  • LODE ranked among 16 companies in Waste Management
  • WCN ranked among 16 companies in Waste Management
  • CWST ranked among 16 companies in Waste Management

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodLODEWCNCWSTSPY
1 month -36.2%+20.0%+15.1% -1.0%
3 months -42.8%+10.0%+9.2% +2.9%
6 months -47.4%+12.3%+21.7% +6.4%
Year to date -54.5%+6.4%-0.3% +11.4%
1 year -42.4%+5.5%+7.5% +13.1%
3 years -58.3%+38.8%+30.1% +79.4%
3 years, per year -25.3%+11.6%+9.2% +21.5%
5 years -92.9%+39.0%+16.7% +67.7%
5 years, per year -41.2%+6.8%+3.1% +10.9%
10 years -97.6%+276.4%+793.9% +255.2%
10 years, per year -31.3%+14.2%+24.5% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureLODEWCNCWSTSPY
Volatility, 1Y 80.3%25.7%37.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 81.9%23.3%34.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.09-0.190.10 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.530.220.20 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -94.3%-25.5%-37.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -64.2%0.0%-9.1% -2.5%
52-week high $4.77$186.57$107.34 $779.14
52-week low $1.71$149.02$74.97 $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.

MultipleLODEWCNCWST
P/E now vs peer median -2.1xmedian 33.8x 44.6xmedian 33.8x 1,089xmedian 33.8x
P/S now vs peer median 128.0xmedian 3.4x 4.8xmedian 3.4x 3.1xmedian 3.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median -1.7xmedian 15.8x 17.9xmedian 15.8x 18.9xmedian 15.8x
P/FCF now vs peer median -3.3xmedian 18.4x 38.2xmedian 18.4x 57.9xmedian 18.4x
P/B now vs peer median 0.9xmedian 3.1x 5.9xmedian 3.1x 3.9xmedian 3.1x
PEG now vs peer median -0.09median 4.14 5.09median 4.14 -21.38median 4.14

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 monthsLODEWCNCWST
Revenue $1.01M $9.76B $1.96B
Gross profit -$1.68M $4.15B $653.52M
Operating income -$59.32M $1.66B $66.07M
Net income -$61.13M $1.06B $5.70M
Free cash flow -$39.16M $1.23B $105.67M
R&D $11.28M – –
EPS (diluted) $-1.66 $4.18 $0.09
Cash & equivalents $31.41M $98.18M $25.54M
Total debt – $9.32B $1.36B
Shares (diluted) 36.71M 253.86M 63.69M
Enterprise value -$4.54M $46.97B $5.24B

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
MetricLODEWCNCWST
P/E -2.1x 44.6x 1,089x
P/FCF -3.3x 38.2x 57.9x
P/Operating cash flow -4.3x 18.7x 17.4x
P/S 128.0x 4.8x 3.1x
P/B 0.9x 5.9x 3.9x
P/Tangible book 1.0x 7.9x 4.9x
EV/EBITDA -1.7x 17.9x 18.9x
EV/EBIT -1.7x 33.9x 112.8x
EV/Revenue 97.0x 5.8x 3.8x
EV/FCF -2.5x 45.6x 70.5x
EV/Operating cash flow -3.2x 22.4x 21.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -0.09 5.09 -21.38

Growth

14 metrics
MetricLODEWCNCWST
Revenue growth (1Y) -69.1% 5.7% 13.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 95.1% 8.4% 20.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -248.9% 7.0% 12.6%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 10.6% 20.0%
Operating income growth (1Y) -34.3% 47.6% 1.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -43.3% 8.6% -8.5%
Net income growth (1Y) -11.6% 64.7% -48.4%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -17.9% 8.1% -47.8%
EPS growth (1Y) 49.5% 68.0% -48.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 23.0% 8.8% -50.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -70.7% 8.9% 2.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -40.2% 6.8% 19.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -105.4% 8.1% 16.1%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -35.3% 2.9% 8.9%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricLODEWCNCWST
Gross margin -165.6% 42.5% 33.4%
EBITDA margin -5,651% 32.2% 20.1%
Operating margin -5,846% 17.0% 3.4%
Pretax margin -5,767% 14.2% 0.5%
Net margin -6,012% 10.9% 0.3%
FCF margin -3,860% 12.6% 5.4%
Operating cash flow margin -3,009% 25.7% 18.0%
Return on equity -40.7% 13.3% 0.4%
Return on assets -29.7% 5.0% 0.2%
Return on invested capital – 7.4% 1.5%
Return on capital employed -31.6% 8.7% 2.1%
Asset turnover 0.0x 0.5x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.5x 2.4x 61.6x
Stock comp / revenue 63.9% 0.8% 0.7%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricLODEWCNCWST
Debt / assets – 43.6% 38.3%
Debt / equity – 1.2x 0.9x
Net debt / EBITDA – 2.9x 3.4x
Debt / FCF – 7.6x 12.9x
Liabilities / assets 27.3% 63.0% 55.6%
Equity / assets 72.7% 37.0% 44.4%
Interest coverage -68.6x 4.8x 1.0x
Current ratio 3.2x 0.7x 1.0x
Quick ratio 1.9x 0.5x 0.8x
Cash ratio 1.7x 0.0x 0.1x
Altman Z-score -2.28 3.13 2.42

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricLODEWCNCWST
Dividend yield – 0.8% –
Net buyback yield -75.2% 2.4% –
Shareholder yield -75.2% 3.1% –
Payout ratio (earnings) – 32.8% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 28.2% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – 9.4% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 10.9% –

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.

ConsensusLODEWCNCWST
Forward P/E – 34.9xFY2026 75.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $-0.62FY2026 $5.35FY2026 $1.29FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +4.9%FY2026 +1.6%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – +20.4% +17.1%
Revenue, next fiscal year $4.79MFY2026 $10.23BFY2026 $2.05BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +208.8%FY2026 +9.2%FY2026 +11.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +827.1% -0.5% +7.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersLODEWCNCWST
Held by institutions 57.0% 85.2% 100.0%
Institutions holding 107 829 415
Change in shares held, QoQ +21.1% +1.3% +4.2%
Institutions buying 67 410 231
Institutions selling 22 303 127
Buyers to sellers 3.05 1.35 1.82

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.

LODEWCNCWST
LODE 1.00 0.03 0.04
WCN 0.03 1.00 0.54
CWST 0.04 0.54 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, LODE, WCN and CWST?

Waste Connections (WCN) is the largest by market capitalisation: Comstock (LODE) $128.50M, Waste Connections (WCN) $47.35B, Casella Waste Systems (CWST) $6.12B.

Which stock is cheaper, LODE, WCN and CWST?

Waste Connections (WCN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Comstock (LODE) -2.1x, Waste Connections (WCN) 44.6x, Casella Waste Systems (CWST) 1,074x). On next year's consensus earnings, Waste Connections (WCN) is cheapest (Waste Connections (WCN) 34.9x, Casella Waste Systems (CWST) 75.7x). 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: Comstock (LODE) -69.1%, Waste Connections (WCN) +5.7%, Casella Waste Systems (CWST) +13.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Waste Connections (WCN) has the highest net margin (Comstock (LODE) -6,012.3%, Waste Connections (WCN) 10.9%, Casella Waste Systems (CWST) 0.3%). On return on invested capital, Waste Connections (WCN) leads (Waste Connections (WCN) 7.4%, Casella Waste Systems (CWST) 1.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Casella Waste Systems (CWST) returned the most: Comstock (LODE) -42.4%, Waste Connections (WCN) +5.5%, Casella Waste Systems (CWST) +7.5%. Over five years, Waste Connections (WCN) compounded fastest (Comstock (LODE) -41.2%/yr, Waste Connections (WCN) +6.8%/yr, Casella Waste Systems (CWST) +3.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Comstock (LODE) 0.00%, Waste Connections (WCN) 0.01%, Casella Waste Systems (CWST) 0.00%. Comstock (LODE) and Casella Waste Systems (CWST) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Waste Connections (WCN) has been the steadiest (Comstock (LODE) 80.3%, Waste Connections (WCN) 25.7%, Casella Waste Systems (CWST) 37.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, LODE, WCN and CWST?

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 9. 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.