RSG vs WM vs WCN Stock Comparison

Republic Services, Waste Management and Waste Connections Prices as of Nov 3, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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RSG Republic Services, Inc.
$242.88 +15.9% 1M +18.3% 1Y
Market cap
$75.16B
P/E
33.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$17.24B
Div. yield
0.01%
Solid Waste Industrials
4 wins
WM Waste Management Inc
$234.64 +14.8% 1M +19.2% 1Y
Market cap
$95.24B
P/E
31.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$26.07B
Div. yield
0.02%
Solid Waste Industrials
7 wins
WCN Waste Connections, Inc.
$186.63 +21.4% 1M +12.6% 1Y
Market cap
$48.18B
P/E
42.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$9.94B
Div. yield
0.01%
Solid Waste Industrials
1 win

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Waste Management leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Waste Management 7, Republic Services 4, Waste Connections 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionRSGWMWCNLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $75.16B $95.24B $48.18B WM
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 33.7x 31.0x 42.5x WM
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 32.6x 27.1x 34.6x WM
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +4.5% +5.2% +6.3% WCN
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 12.9% 11.8% 11.4% RSG
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 11.1% 11.4% 7.9% WM
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.6x 3.0x 2.9x RSG
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.02% 0.01% WM
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +18.3% +19.2% +12.6% WM
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +12.7%/yr +7.9%/yr +6.5%/yr RSG
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 20.3% 21.3% 25.6% RSG
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 54/100 57/100 56/100 WM

Percentile Scorecard

RSGWMWCN

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

AxisRSGWMWCN
Valuation 47 #9 of 16 53 #8 of 16 27 #12 of 16
Growth 39 #9 of 14 62 #6 of 14 69 #5 of 14
Profitability 100 #1 of 14 92 #2 of 14 77 #4 of 14
Financial Health 27 #12 of 16 7 #15 of 16 20 #13 of 16
Shareholder Returns 57 #4 of 8 71 #3 of 8 86 #2 of 8
Overall 54 57 56
  • RSG ranked among 16 companies in Waste Management
  • WM 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

PeriodRSGWMWCNSPY
1 month +15.9%+14.8%+21.4% -2.0%
3 months +17.0%+4.2%+12.7% -2.2%
6 months +19.1%+4.5%+18.4% +4.2%
Year to date +14.6%+6.8%+6.4% +10.6%
1 year +18.3%+19.2%+12.6% +10.4%
3 years +58.3%+39.6%+40.1% +73.6%
3 years, per year +16.6%+11.8%+11.9% +20.2%
5 years +81.9%+46.0%+37.0% +61.6%
5 years, per year +12.7%+7.9%+6.5% +10.1%
10 years +376.0%+270.0%+277.9% +261.3%
10 years, per year +16.9%+14.0%+14.2% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureRSGWMWCNSPY
Volatility, 1Y 20.3%21.3%25.6% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 18.6%20.4%23.1% 12.8%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.46-0.43-0.20 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.900.900.49 0.81
Max drawdown, 5Y -23.4%-18.7%-25.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -1.3%-4.8%-0.8% -3.2%
52-week high $245.99$246.51$188.09 $779.14
52-week low $197.73$196.77$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.

MultipleRSGWMWCN
P/E now vs peer median 33.4xmedian 30.5x 30.5xmedian 30.5x 41.4xmedian 30.5x
P/S now vs peer median 4.3xmedian 3.3x 3.6xmedian 3.3x 4.7xmedian 3.3x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 16.1xmedian 15.0x 15.0xmedian 15.0x 17.2xmedian 15.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 28.9xmedian 17.8x 25.0xmedian 17.8x 37.4xmedian 17.8x
P/B now vs peer median 6.0xmedian 2.8x 9.5xmedian 2.8x 5.9xmedian 2.8x
PEG now vs peer median 2.79median 2.79 2.90median 2.79 3.49median 2.79

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 monthsRSGWMWCN
Revenue $17.24B $26.07B $9.94B
Gross profit $7.24B $10.53B $4.24B
Operating income $3.45B $4.80B $1.76B
Net income $2.23B $3.07B $1.13B
Free cash flow $2.56B $3.74B $1.25B
EPS (diluted) $7.27 $7.68 $4.50
Cash & equivalents $92.00M $247.00M $95.69M
Total debt $14.06B $23.37B $9.45B
Shares (diluted) 306.50M 399.80M 251.87M
Enterprise value $74.77B $94.08B $47.83B

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
MetricRSGWMWCN
P/E 33.4x 30.5x 41.4x
P/FCF 28.9x 25.0x 37.4x
P/Operating cash flow 16.4x 14.2x 18.5x
P/S 4.3x 3.6x 4.7x
P/B 6.0x 9.5x 5.9x
P/Tangible book 6.5x 14.8x 7.9x
EV/EBITDA 16.1x 15.0x 17.2x
EV/EBIT 25.5x 24.3x 31.8x
EV/Revenue 5.1x 4.5x 5.6x
EV/FCF 34.4x 31.1x 44.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 19.5x 17.7x 22.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.79 2.90 3.49

Growth

14 metrics
MetricRSGWMWCN
Revenue growth (1Y) 4.5% 5.2% 6.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.5% 9.0% 8.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 4.1% -21.0% 7.6%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 7.7% 11.5% 10.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) 4.5% 17.9% 61.8%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 9.1% 10.5% 10.0%
Net income growth (1Y) 5.7% 19.7% 82.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 10.8% 10.0% 10.9%
EPS growth (1Y) 7.6% 21.1% 86.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 12.0% 10.5% 11.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 3.8% 12.1% 4.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 8.4% 14.4% 6.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 1.2% 55.7% 1.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 10.1% 30.8% 1.8%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricRSGWMWCN
Gross margin 42.0% 40.4% 42.6%
EBITDA margin 31.7% 29.8% 32.9%
Operating margin 20.0% 18.4% 17.7%
Pretax margin 15.3% 14.9% 14.7%
Net margin 12.9% 11.8% 11.4%
FCF margin 14.9% 14.3% 12.6%
Operating cash flow margin 26.1% 25.2% 25.4%
Return on equity 18.4% 31.0% 14.3%
Return on assets 6.3% 6.6% 5.3%
Return on invested capital 11.1% 11.4% 7.9%
Return on capital employed 10.9% 12.0% 9.1%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.6x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.0x 2.1x 2.2x
Stock comp / revenue – 0.7% 0.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricRSGWMWCN
Debt / assets 39.6% 50.2% 43.9%
Debt / equity 1.1x 2.4x 1.2x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.6x 3.0x 2.9x
Debt / FCF 5.5x 6.2x 7.6x
Liabilities / assets 65.5% 78.8% 63.3%
Equity / assets 34.5% 21.2% 36.7%
Interest coverage 5.7x – 4.9x
Current ratio 0.7x 0.8x 0.7x
Quick ratio 0.6x 0.7x 0.6x
Cash ratio 0.0x 0.0x 0.0x
Altman Z-score 3.17 2.95 3.13

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricRSGWMWCN
Dividend yield 1.1% 1.6% 0.8%
Net buyback yield 1.5% 1.6% 2.1%
Shareholder yield 2.6% 3.2% 2.9%
Payout ratio (earnings) 34.6% 48.0% 31.4%
Payout ratio (FCF) 30.1% 39.4% 28.4%
Dividend growth (1Y) 6.2% 13.2% 9.4%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 7.2% 9.6% 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.

ConsensusRSGWMWCN
Forward P/E 32.6xFY2026 27.1xFY2026 34.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $7.45FY2026 $8.65FY2026 $5.40FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +6.1%FY2026 +15.3%FY2026 +5.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +5.9% +9.5% +18.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $16.61BFY2026 $25.84BFY2026 $10.30BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +0.1%FY2026 +2.6%FY2026 +10.0%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +15.6% +12.0% 0.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersRSGWMWCN
Held by institutions 58.9% 82.3% 85.2%
Institutions holding 1,304 2,352 832
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.5% +0.8% +1.3%
Institutions buying 623 1,097 413
Institutions selling 485 902 303
Buyers to sellers 1.28 1.22 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.

RSGWMWCN
RSG 1.00 0.82 0.77
WM 0.82 1.00 0.75
WCN 0.77 0.75 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, RSG, WM and WCN?

Waste Management (WM) is the largest by market capitalisation: Republic Services (RSG) $75.16B, Waste Management (WM) $95.24B, Waste Connections (WCN) $48.18B.

Which stock is cheaper, RSG, WM and WCN?

Waste Management (WM) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Republic Services (RSG) 33.7x, Waste Management (WM) 31.0x, Waste Connections (WCN) 42.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Waste Management (WM) is cheapest (Republic Services (RSG) 32.6x, Waste Management (WM) 27.1x, Waste Connections (WCN) 34.6x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Waste Connections (WCN) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Republic Services (RSG) +4.5%, Waste Management (WM) +5.2%, Waste Connections (WCN) +6.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Republic Services (RSG) has the highest net margin (Republic Services (RSG) 12.9%, Waste Management (WM) 11.8%, Waste Connections (WCN) 11.4%). On return on invested capital, Waste Management (WM) leads (Republic Services (RSG) 11.1%, Waste Management (WM) 11.4%, Waste Connections (WCN) 7.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Waste Management (WM) returned the most: Republic Services (RSG) +18.3%, Waste Management (WM) +19.2%, Waste Connections (WCN) +12.6%. Over five years, Republic Services (RSG) compounded fastest (Republic Services (RSG) +12.7%/yr, Waste Management (WM) +7.9%/yr, Waste Connections (WCN) +6.5%/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 Management (WM) 0.02%, Waste Connections (WCN) 0.01%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Republic Services (RSG) has been the steadiest (Republic Services (RSG) 20.3%, Waste Management (WM) 21.3%, Waste Connections (WCN) 25.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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