RSG vs CLH vs WCN Stock Comparison

Republic Services, Clean Harbors and Waste Connections Prices as of Nov 4, 2026 Peers: Industry group
1 more company in this comparison (BBCP) Create a free account to keep reading and compare up to 10 companies.
RSG Republic Services, Inc.
$245.42 +15.3% 1M +18.1% 1Y
Market cap
$77.20B
P/E
34.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$17.24B
Div. yield
0.01%
Solid Waste Industrials
5 wins
CLH Clean Harbors Inc
$288.43 -10.6% 1M +38.1% 1Y
Market cap
$15.23B
P/E
28.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.56B
Div. yield
–
Hazardous Waste Industrials
7 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Clean Harbors leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Clean Harbors 7, Republic Services 5). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionRSGCLHWCNLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $77.20B $15.23B $48.82B RSG
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 34.7x 28.8x 43.1x CLH
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 32.9x 28.0x 35.5x CLH
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +4.5% +10.1% +6.3% CLH
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 12.9% 8.0% 11.4% RSG
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 11.1% 10.9% 7.9% RSG
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.6x 1.8x 2.9x CLH
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.00% 0.01% RSG
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +18.1% +38.1% +13.8% CLH
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +13.1%/yr +22.2%/yr +7.4%/yr CLH
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 20.3% 25.1% 25.7% RSG
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 52/100 68/100 56/100 CLH

Percentile Scorecard

RSGCLHWCN

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

AxisRSGCLHWCN
Valuation 40 #10 of 16 60 #7 of 16 27 #12 of 16
Growth 39 #9 of 14 77 #4 of 14 69 #5 of 14
Profitability 100 #1 of 14 85 #3 of 14 77 #4 of 14
Financial Health 27 #12 of 16 73 #5 of 16 20 #13 of 16
Shareholder Returns 57 #4 of 8 43 #5 of 8 86 #2 of 8
Overall 52 68 56
  • RSG ranked among 16 companies in Waste Management
  • 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

PeriodRSGCLHWCNSPY
1 month +15.3%-10.6%+24.4% -1.0%
3 months +18.6%-6.8%+16.7% -0.4%
6 months +22.9%+0.2%+25.1% +4.5%
Year to date +15.8%+23.0%+9.5% +12.4%
1 year +18.1%+38.1%+13.8% +13.6%
3 years +59.9%+86.6%+44.1% +76.4%
3 years, per year +17.0%+23.1%+13.0% +20.8%
5 years +84.9%+171.8%+42.8% +63.7%
5 years, per year +13.1%+22.2%+7.4% +10.4%
10 years +379.1%+555.2%+288.7% +267.7%
10 years, per year +17.0%+20.7%+14.5% +13.9%

Risk

MeasureRSGCLHWCNSPY
Volatility, 1Y 20.3%25.1%25.7% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 18.6%25.1%23.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.440.27-0.16 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.891.520.54 1.06
Max drawdown, 5Y -23.4%-30.9%-25.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -0.2%-11.8%0.0% -1.6%
52-week high $245.99$327.10$191.94 $779.14
52-week low $197.73$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.

MultipleRSGCLHWCN
P/E now vs peer median 33.7xmedian 31.0x 28.8xmedian 31.0x 42.6xmedian 31.0x
P/S now vs peer median 4.3xmedian 3.4x 2.3xmedian 3.4x 4.8xmedian 3.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 16.2xmedian 15.2x 13.2xmedian 15.2x 17.6xmedian 15.2x
P/FCF now vs peer median 29.2xmedian 18.1x 30.4xmedian 18.1x 38.4xmedian 18.1x
P/B now vs peer median 6.1xmedian 2.9x 4.9xmedian 2.9x 6.1xmedian 2.9x
PEG now vs peer median 2.82median 2.82 1.98median 2.82 3.59median 2.82

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 monthsRSGCLHWCN
Revenue $17.24B $6.56B $9.94B
Gross profit $7.24B $2.17B $4.24B
Operating income $3.45B $864.39M $1.76B
Net income $2.23B $528.36M $1.13B
Free cash flow $2.56B $500.54M $1.25B
EPS (diluted) $7.27 $9.99 $4.50
Cash & equivalents $92.00M $423.54M $95.69M
Total debt $14.06B $2.89B $9.45B
Shares (diluted) 306.50M 52.90M 251.87M
Enterprise value $76.80B $12.57B $48.47B

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
MetricRSGCLHWCN
P/E 33.7x 28.8x 42.6x
P/FCF 29.2x 30.4x 38.4x
P/Operating cash flow 16.6x 14.9x 19.0x
P/S 4.3x 2.3x 4.8x
P/B 6.1x 4.9x 6.1x
P/Tangible book 6.5x 6.8x 8.1x
EV/EBITDA 16.2x 13.2x 17.6x
EV/EBIT 25.7x 20.3x 32.5x
EV/Revenue 5.1x 2.7x 5.8x
EV/FCF 34.7x 35.1x 45.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 19.7x 17.2x 22.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.82 1.98 3.59

Growth

14 metrics
MetricRSGCLHWCN
Revenue growth (1Y) 4.5% 10.1% 6.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.5% 7.1% 8.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 4.1% 17.2% 7.6%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 7.7% 10.0% 10.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) 4.5% 32.6% 61.8%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 9.1% 13.4% 10.0%
Net income growth (1Y) 5.7% 36.0% 82.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 10.8% 13.4% 10.9%
EPS growth (1Y) 7.6% 38.1% 86.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 12.0% 14.5% 11.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 3.8% 25.0% 4.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 8.4% 12.1% 6.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 1.2% 11.2% 1.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 10.1% 17.1% 1.8%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricRSGCLHWCN
Gross margin 42.0% 33.1% 42.6%
EBITDA margin 31.7% 20.3% 32.9%
Operating margin 20.0% 13.2% 17.7%
Pretax margin 15.3% 10.9% 14.7%
Net margin 12.9% 8.0% 11.4%
FCF margin 14.9% 7.6% 12.6%
Operating cash flow margin 26.1% 15.5% 25.4%
Return on equity 18.4% 17.5% 14.3%
Return on assets 6.3% 6.6% 5.3%
Return on invested capital 11.1% 10.9% 7.9%
Return on capital employed 10.9% 12.8% 9.1%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.8x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.0x 1.9x 2.2x
Stock comp / revenue – 0.7% 0.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricRSGCLHWCN
Debt / assets 39.6% 34.9% 43.9%
Debt / equity 1.1x 0.9x 1.2x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.6x 1.8x 2.9x
Debt / FCF 5.5x 5.8x 7.6x
Liabilities / assets 65.5% 62.4% 63.3%
Equity / assets 34.5% 37.6% 36.7%
Interest coverage 5.7x – 4.9x
Current ratio 0.7x 1.9x 0.7x
Quick ratio 0.6x 1.6x 0.6x
Cash ratio 0.0x 0.4x 0.0x
Altman Z-score 3.19 3.62 3.19

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricRSGCLHWCN
Dividend yield 1.0% – 0.7%
Net buyback yield 1.5% 1.4% 2.1%
Shareholder yield 2.5% 1.4% 2.8%
Payout ratio (earnings) 34.6% – 31.4%
Payout ratio (FCF) 30.1% – 28.4%
Dividend growth (1Y) 6.2% – 9.4%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 7.2% – 10.7%

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.

ConsensusRSGCLHWCN
Forward P/E 32.9xFY2026 28.0xFY2026 35.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $7.45FY2026 $10.29FY2026 $5.40FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +6.1%FY2026 +41.3%FY2026 +5.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +5.9% +5.3% +18.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $16.61BFY2026 $6.28BFY2026 $10.30BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +0.1%FY2026 +4.1%FY2026 +10.0%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +15.6% +15.7% 0.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersRSGCLHWCN
Held by institutions 58.9% 93.5% 85.2%
Institutions holding 1,304 660 832
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.5% 0.0% +1.3%
Institutions buying 623 308 413
Institutions selling 485 246 303
Buyers to sellers 1.28 1.25 1.36

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.

RSGCLHWCN
RSG 1.00 0.29 0.77
CLH 0.29 1.00 0.36
WCN 0.77 0.36 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, RSG, CLH and WCN?

Republic Services (RSG) is the largest by market capitalisation: Republic Services (RSG) $77.20B, Clean Harbors (CLH) $15.23B, Waste Connections (WCN) $48.82B.

Which stock is cheaper, RSG, CLH and WCN?

Clean Harbors (CLH) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Republic Services (RSG) 34.7x, Clean Harbors (CLH) 28.8x, Waste Connections (WCN) 43.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, Clean Harbors (CLH) is cheapest (Republic Services (RSG) 32.9x, Clean Harbors (CLH) 28.0x, Waste Connections (WCN) 35.5x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Clean Harbors (CLH) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Republic Services (RSG) +4.5%, Clean Harbors (CLH) +10.1%, Waste Connections (WCN) +6.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Republic Services (RSG) has the highest net margin (Republic Services (RSG) 12.9%, Clean Harbors (CLH) 8.0%, Waste Connections (WCN) 11.4%). On return on invested capital, Republic Services (RSG) leads (Republic Services (RSG) 11.1%, Clean Harbors (CLH) 10.9%, Waste Connections (WCN) 7.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Clean Harbors (CLH) returned the most: Republic Services (RSG) +18.1%, Clean Harbors (CLH) +38.1%, Waste Connections (WCN) +13.8%. Over five years, Clean Harbors (CLH) compounded fastest (Republic Services (RSG) +13.1%/yr, Clean Harbors (CLH) +22.2%/yr, Waste Connections (WCN) +7.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Republic Services (RSG) has the highest dividend yield: Republic Services (RSG) 0.01%, Clean Harbors (CLH) 0.00%, Waste Connections (WCN) 0.01%. Clean Harbors (CLH) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Republic Services (RSG) has been the steadiest (Republic Services (RSG) 20.3%, Clean Harbors (CLH) 25.1%, Waste Connections (WCN) 25.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, RSG, 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, Clean Harbors (CLH) leads on 7. 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.