WCN vs CWST vs WBI Stock Comparison

Waste Connections, Casella Waste Systems and WaterBridge Infrastructure Prices as of Nov 4, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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WCN Waste Connections, Inc.
$191.94 +24.4% 1M +13.8% 1Y
Market cap
$48.65B
P/E
42.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$9.94B
Div. yield
0.01%
Solid Waste Industrials
9 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Waste Connections leads on 9 of the 12 questions below (Waste Connections 9, WaterBridge Infrastructure 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionWCNCWSTWBILeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $48.65B $6.32B $3.22B WCN
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 42.9x 1,109x 26.5x WBI
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 35.5x 76.7x 42.7x WCN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.3% +13.6% +110.0% WBI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 11.4% 0.3% 6.2% WCN
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 7.9% 1.5% 3.6% WCN
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.9x 3.4x 4.3x WCN
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.00% 0.58% WBI
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +13.8% +9.9% +6.9% WCN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +7.4%/yr +2.8%/yr — WCN
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 25.7% 37.2% 46.8% WCN
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 56/100 49/100 44/100 WCN

Percentile Scorecard

WCNCWSTWBI

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

AxisWCNCWSTWBI
Valuation 27 #12 of 16 47 #9 of 16 21 #28 of 35
Growth 69 #5 of 14 54 #7 of 14 100 #1 of 34
Profitability 77 #4 of 14 62 #6 of 14 21 #27 of 34
Financial Health 20 #13 of 16 33 #11 of 16 79 #8 of 35
Shareholder Returns 86 #2 of 8 – 0 #31 of 31
Overall 56 49 44
  • WCN ranked among 16 companies in Waste Management
  • CWST ranked among 16 companies in Waste Management
  • WBI ranked among 35 companies in Oil and Gas Midstream

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodWCNCWSTWBISPY
1 month +24.4%+18.5%-10.8% -1.0%
3 months +16.7%+9.8%-22.3% -0.4%
6 months +25.1%+16.9%-10.9% +4.5%
Year to date +9.5%+1.0%+30.3% +12.4%
1 year +13.8%+9.9%+6.9% +13.6%
3 years +44.1%+25.0%— +76.4%
3 years, per year +13.0%+7.7%— +20.8%
5 years +42.8%+15.0%— +63.7%
5 years, per year +7.4%+2.8%— +10.4%
10 years +288.7%+796.5%— +267.7%
10 years, per year +14.5%+24.5%— +13.9%

Risk

MeasureWCNCWSTWBISPY
Volatility, 1Y 25.7%37.2%46.8% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 23.1%34.5%50.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.160.040.23 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.540.270.15 1.06
Max drawdown, 5Y -25.5%-37.7%-30.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high 0.0%-7.9%-28.0% -1.6%
52-week high $191.94$107.34$36.22 $779.14
52-week low $149.02$74.97$18.76 $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.

MultipleWCNCWSTWBI
P/E now vs peer median 42.6xmedian 31.0x 1,103xmedian 31.0x 26.5xmedian 18.1x
P/S now vs peer median 4.8xmedian 3.4x 3.2xmedian 3.4x 4.1xmedian 2.5x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 17.6xmedian 15.2x 19.1xmedian 15.2x 13.0xmedian 10.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 38.4xmedian 18.1x 58.6xmedian 18.1x -26.3xmedian 15.1x
P/B now vs peer median 6.1xmedian 2.9x 3.9xmedian 2.9x 1.8xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median 3.59median 2.82 -21.66median 2.82 —median 1.65

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 monthsWCNCWSTWBI
Revenue $9.94B $1.96B $777.97M
Gross profit $4.24B $653.52M $205.03M
Operating income $1.76B $66.07M $126.63M
Net income $1.13B $5.70M $53.91M
Free cash flow $1.25B $105.67M -$122.30M
EPS (diluted) $4.50 $0.09 $0.98
Cash & equivalents $95.69M $25.54M $47.62M
Total debt $9.45B $1.36B $1.62B
Shares (diluted) 251.87M 63.69M 48.76M
Enterprise value $48.30B $5.44B $4.12B

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
MetricWCNCWSTWBI
P/E 42.6x 1,103x 26.5x
P/FCF 38.4x 58.6x -26.3x
P/Operating cash flow 19.0x 17.6x 12.4x
P/S 4.8x 3.2x 4.1x
P/B 6.1x 3.9x 1.8x
P/Tangible book 8.1x 5.0x 3.6x
EV/EBITDA 17.6x 19.1x 13.0x
EV/EBIT 32.5x 114.0x 37.8x
EV/Revenue 5.8x 3.9x 6.2x
EV/FCF 45.9x 71.3x -39.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 22.7x 21.5x 18.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 3.59 -21.66 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricWCNCWSTWBI
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.3% 13.6% 110.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 8.2% 20.4% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) 7.6% 12.6% 85.4%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 10.2% 20.0% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 61.8% 1.1% 89.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 10.0% -8.5% –
Net income growth (1Y) 82.2% -48.4% 325.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 10.9% -47.8% –
EPS growth (1Y) 86.3% -48.5% –
EPS CAGR (3Y) 11.9% -50.9% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 4.2% 2.9% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 6.5% 19.0% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 1.2% 16.1% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 1.8% 8.9% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricWCNCWSTWBI
Gross margin 42.6% 33.4% 26.4%
EBITDA margin 32.9% 20.1% 47.3%
Operating margin 17.7% 3.4% 16.3%
Pretax margin 14.7% 0.5% 7.2%
Net margin 11.4% 0.3% 6.2%
FCF margin 12.6% 5.4% -15.7%
Operating cash flow margin 25.4% 18.0% 33.5%
Return on equity 14.3% 0.4% 2.9%
Return on assets 5.3% 0.2% 1.4%
Return on invested capital 7.9% 1.5% 3.6%
Return on capital employed 9.1% 2.1% 3.4%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.6x 0.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.2x 61.6x 4.8x
Stock comp / revenue 0.8% 0.7% 2.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricWCNCWSTWBI
Debt / assets 43.9% 38.3% 41.0%
Debt / equity 1.2x 0.9x 0.9x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.9x 3.4x 4.3x
Debt / FCF 7.6x 12.9x -13.2x
Liabilities / assets 63.3% 55.6% 53.6%
Equity / assets 36.7% 44.4% 46.4%
Interest coverage 4.9x 1.0x –
Current ratio 0.7x 1.0x 1.5x
Quick ratio 0.6x 0.8x 1.5x
Cash ratio 0.0x 0.1x 0.3x
Altman Z-score 3.19 2.44 1.25

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricWCNCWSTWBI
Dividend yield 0.7% – 0.6%
Net buyback yield 2.1% – –
Shareholder yield 2.8% – 0.6%
Payout ratio (earnings) 31.4% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) 28.4% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) 9.4% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 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.

ConsensusWCNCWSTWBI
Forward P/E 35.5xFY2026 76.7xFY2026 42.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $5.40FY2026 $1.29FY2026 $0.61FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +5.9%FY2026 +1.6%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after +18.7% +16.3% +4.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $10.30BFY2026 $2.05BFY2026 $858.29MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +10.0%FY2026 +11.6%FY2026 +8.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after 0.0% +7.1% +19.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersWCNCWSTWBI
Held by institutions 85.2% 100.0% 58.3%
Institutions holding 832 417 164
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.3% +4.2% +29.4%
Institutions buying 413 231 101
Institutions selling 303 127 41
Buyers to sellers 1.36 1.82 2.46

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.

WCNCWSTWBI
WCN 1.00 0.58 -0.04
CWST 0.58 1.00 -0.04
WBI -0.04 -0.04 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, WCN, CWST and WBI?

Waste Connections (WCN) is the largest by market capitalisation: Waste Connections (WCN) $48.65B, Casella Waste Systems (CWST) $6.32B, WaterBridge Infrastructure (WBI) $3.22B.

Which stock is cheaper, WCN, CWST and WBI?

WaterBridge Infrastructure (WBI) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Waste Connections (WCN) 42.9x, Casella Waste Systems (CWST) 1,109x, WaterBridge Infrastructure (WBI) 26.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Waste Connections (WCN) is cheapest (Waste Connections (WCN) 35.5x, Casella Waste Systems (CWST) 76.7x, WaterBridge Infrastructure (WBI) 42.7x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

WaterBridge Infrastructure (WBI) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Waste Connections (WCN) +6.3%, Casella Waste Systems (CWST) +13.6%, WaterBridge Infrastructure (WBI) +110.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Waste Connections (WCN) has the highest net margin (Waste Connections (WCN) 11.4%, Casella Waste Systems (CWST) 0.3%, WaterBridge Infrastructure (WBI) 6.2%). On return on invested capital, Waste Connections (WCN) leads (Waste Connections (WCN) 7.9%, Casella Waste Systems (CWST) 1.5%, WaterBridge Infrastructure (WBI) 3.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Waste Connections (WCN) returned the most: Waste Connections (WCN) +13.8%, Casella Waste Systems (CWST) +9.9%, WaterBridge Infrastructure (WBI) +6.9%. Over five years, Waste Connections (WCN) compounded fastest (Waste Connections (WCN) +7.4%/yr, Casella Waste Systems (CWST) +2.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

WaterBridge Infrastructure (WBI) has the highest dividend yield: Waste Connections (WCN) 0.01%, Casella Waste Systems (CWST) 0.00%, WaterBridge Infrastructure (WBI) 0.58%. Casella Waste Systems (CWST) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Waste Connections (WCN) has been the steadiest (Waste Connections (WCN) 25.7%, Casella Waste Systems (CWST) 37.2%, WaterBridge Infrastructure (WBI) 46.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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.