RSG vs WCN vs WM Stock Comparison

Republic Services, Waste Connections and Waste Management Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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RSG Republic Services, Inc.
$240.36 +12.7% 1M +7.7% 1Y
Market cap
$74.26B
P/E
34.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$16.89B
Div. yield
0.01%
Solid Waste Industrials
6 wins
WM Waste Management Inc
$239.38 +15.1% 1M +10.8% 1Y
Market cap
$96.86B
P/E
34.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$25.67B
Div. yield
0.01%
Solid Waste Industrials
6 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Waste Management leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Waste Management 6, Republic Services 6). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionRSGWCNWMLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $74.26B $47.35B $96.86B WM
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 34.0x 44.6x 34.0x WM
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 32.3x 34.9x 27.7x WM
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +3.2% +5.7% +7.2% WM
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 12.9% 10.9% 11.1% RSG
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 11.0% 7.4% 10.7% RSG
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.6x 2.9x 3.0x RSG
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.01% 0.01% WM
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +7.7% +5.5% +10.8% WM
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +12.5%/yr +6.8%/yr +7.8%/yr RSG
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 20.2% 25.7% 21.3% RSG
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 65/100 57/100 54/100 RSG

Percentile Scorecard

RSGWCNWM

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

AxisRSGWCNWM
Valuation 53 #8 of 16 27 #12 of 16 47 #9 of 16
Growth 62 #6 of 14 69 #5 of 14 77 #4 of 14
Profitability 100 #1 of 14 85 #3 of 14 92 #2 of 14
Financial Health 40 #10 of 16 20 #13 of 16 13 #14 of 16
Shareholder Returns 71 #3 of 8 86 #2 of 8 43 #5 of 8
Overall 65 57 54
  • RSG ranked among 16 companies in Waste Management
  • WCN 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

PeriodRSGWCNWMSPY
1 month +12.7%+20.0%+15.1% -1.0%
3 months +10.8%+10.0%+0.2% +2.9%
6 months +14.6%+12.3%+4.3% +6.4%
Year to date +13.4%+6.4%+9.0% +11.4%
1 year +7.7%+5.5%+10.8% +13.1%
3 years +67.7%+38.8%+54.8% +79.4%
3 years, per year +18.8%+11.6%+15.7% +21.5%
5 years +80.4%+39.0%+45.6% +67.7%
5 years, per year +12.5%+6.8%+7.8% +10.9%
10 years +381.4%+276.4%+284.8% +255.2%
10 years, per year +17.0%+14.2%+14.4% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureRSGWCNWMSPY
Volatility, 1Y 20.2%25.7%21.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 18.8%23.3%20.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.42-0.19-0.42 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.380.220.51 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -23.4%-25.5%-18.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -0.6%0.0%-2.9% -2.5%
52-week high $241.83$186.57$246.51 $779.14
52-week low $197.73$149.02$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.

MultipleRSGWCNWM
P/E now vs peer median 33.8xmedian 33.8x 44.6xmedian 33.8x 33.7xmedian 33.8x
P/S now vs peer median 4.4xmedian 3.4x 4.8xmedian 3.4x 3.7xmedian 3.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 16.4xmedian 15.8x 17.9xmedian 15.8x 15.8xmedian 15.8x
P/FCF now vs peer median 27.7xmedian 18.4x 38.2xmedian 18.4x 26.8xmedian 18.4x
P/B now vs peer median 6.1xmedian 3.1x 5.9xmedian 3.1x 9.6xmedian 3.1x
PEG now vs peer median 2.67median 4.14 5.09median 4.14 4.14median 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 monthsRSGWCNWM
Revenue $16.89B $9.76B $25.67B
Gross profit $7.09B $4.15B $10.49B
Operating income $3.37B $1.66B $4.51B
Net income $2.19B $1.06B $2.85B
Free cash flow $2.65B $1.23B $3.57B
EPS (diluted) $7.10 $4.18 $7.09
Cash & equivalents $107.00M $98.18M $557.00M
Total debt $14.07B $9.32B $93.65B
Shares (diluted) 307.63M 253.86M 402.40M
Enterprise value $73.88B $46.97B $95.77B

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
MetricRSGWCNWM
P/E 33.8x 44.6x 33.7x
P/FCF 27.7x 38.2x 26.8x
P/Operating cash flow 16.2x 18.7x 14.7x
P/S 4.4x 4.8x 3.7x
P/B 6.1x 5.9x 9.6x
P/Tangible book 6.5x 7.9x 15.2x
EV/EBITDA 16.4x 17.9x 15.8x
EV/EBIT 26.0x 33.9x 26.3x
EV/Revenue 5.2x 5.8x 4.6x
EV/FCF 33.0x 45.6x 33.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 19.3x 22.4x 18.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.67 5.09 4.14

Growth

14 metrics
MetricRSGWCNWM
Revenue growth (1Y) 3.2% 5.7% 7.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.4% 8.4% 8.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 2.5% 7.0% -18.6%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 7.8% 10.6% 11.8%
Operating income growth (1Y) 1.6% 47.6% 7.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 9.1% 8.6% 9.1%
Net income growth (1Y) 2.9% 64.7% 4.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 11.5% 8.1% 7.7%
EPS growth (1Y) 4.9% 68.0% 5.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 12.7% 8.8% 8.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 9.2% 8.9% 15.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 10.2% 6.8% 14.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 12.6% 8.1% 65.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 12.3% 2.9% 33.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricRSGWCNWM
Gross margin 42.0% 42.5% 40.9%
EBITDA margin 31.7% 32.2% 29.3%
Operating margin 19.9% 17.0% 17.6%
Pretax margin 15.2% 14.2% 14.1%
Net margin 12.9% 10.9% 11.1%
FCF margin 15.7% 12.6% 13.9%
Operating cash flow margin 26.9% 25.7% 25.4%
Return on equity 18.2% 13.3% 28.6%
Return on assets 6.3% 5.0% 6.2%
Return on invested capital 11.0% 7.4% 10.7%
Return on capital employed 10.9% 8.7% 11.2%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.5x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.1x 2.4x 2.3x
Stock comp / revenue – 0.8% 0.7%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricRSGWCNWM
Debt / assets 40.0% 43.6% 50.3%
Debt / equity 1.2x 1.2x 2.4x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.6x 2.9x 3.0x
Debt / FCF 5.3x 7.6x 6.5x
Liabilities / assets 65.8% 63.0% 78.6%
Equity / assets 34.2% 37.0% 21.4%
Interest coverage 5.7x 4.8x –
Current ratio 0.6x 0.7x 0.9x
Quick ratio 0.6x 0.5x 0.8x
Cash ratio 0.0x 0.0x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 3.13 3.13 2.97

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricRSGWCNWM
Dividend yield 1.1% 0.8% 1.5%
Net buyback yield 2.0% 2.4% 1.0%
Shareholder yield 3.1% 3.1% 2.5%
Payout ratio (earnings) 34.8% 32.8% 50.1%
Payout ratio (FCF) 28.7% 28.2% 40.0%
Dividend growth (1Y) 6.9% 9.4% 12.4%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 7.4% 10.9% 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.

ConsensusRSGWCNWM
Forward P/E 32.3xFY2026 34.9xFY2026 27.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $7.45FY2026 $5.35FY2026 $8.65FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +6.1%FY2026 +4.9%FY2026 +15.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +5.8% +20.4% +9.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $16.59BFY2026 $10.23BFY2026 $25.84BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +0.0%FY2026 +9.2%FY2026 +2.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +15.6% -0.5% +12.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersRSGWCNWM
Held by institutions 58.9% 85.2% 82.3%
Institutions holding 1,302 829 2,348
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.5% +1.3% +0.8%
Institutions buying 622 410 1,094
Institutions selling 484 303 901
Buyers to sellers 1.29 1.35 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.

RSGWCNWM
RSG 1.00 0.78 0.83
WCN 0.78 1.00 0.75
WM 0.83 0.75 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, RSG, WCN and WM?

Waste Management (WM) is the largest by market capitalisation: Republic Services (RSG) $74.26B, Waste Connections (WCN) $47.35B, Waste Management (WM) $96.86B.

Which stock is cheaper, RSG, WCN and WM?

Waste Management (WM) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Republic Services (RSG) 34.0x, Waste Connections (WCN) 44.6x, Waste Management (WM) 34.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Waste Management (WM) is cheapest (Republic Services (RSG) 32.3x, Waste Connections (WCN) 34.9x, Waste Management (WM) 27.7x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Waste Management (WM) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Republic Services (RSG) +3.2%, Waste Connections (WCN) +5.7%, Waste Management (WM) +7.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Republic Services (RSG) has the highest net margin (Republic Services (RSG) 12.9%, Waste Connections (WCN) 10.9%, Waste Management (WM) 11.1%). On return on invested capital, Republic Services (RSG) leads (Republic Services (RSG) 11.0%, Waste Connections (WCN) 7.4%, Waste Management (WM) 10.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Waste Management (WM) returned the most: Republic Services (RSG) +7.7%, Waste Connections (WCN) +5.5%, Waste Management (WM) +10.8%. Over five years, Republic Services (RSG) compounded fastest (Republic Services (RSG) +12.5%/yr, Waste Connections (WCN) +6.8%/yr, Waste Management (WM) +7.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Waste Management (WM) has the highest dividend yield: Republic Services (RSG) 0.01%, Waste Connections (WCN) 0.01%, Waste Management (WM) 0.01%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Republic Services (RSG) has been the steadiest (Republic Services (RSG) 20.2%, Waste Connections (WCN) 25.7%, Waste Management (WM) 21.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, RSG, WCN 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 6. 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.