WCN vs GFL vs CWST Stock Comparison

Waste Connections, GFL Environmental and Casella Waste Systems Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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WCN Waste Connections, Inc.
$181.95 +17.0% 1M +8.0% 1Y
Market cap
$46.65B
P/E
37.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$9.94B
Div. yield
–
Solid Waste Industrials
6 wins
GFL GFL Environmental Inc.
$45.02 +6.7% 1M +2.5% 1Y
Market cap
$16.70B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
–
Solid Waste Industrials
3 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Waste Connections leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Waste Connections 6, GFL Environmental 3, Casella Waste Systems 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionWCNGFLCWSTLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $46.65B $16.70B $5.93B WCN
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 37.2x -74.4x 1,040x WCN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 33.7x 72.6x 70.0x WCN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.3% — +13.6% CWST
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — — 0.3% –
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 9.7% 1.5% GFL
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — -0.1x 3.4x GFL
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +8.0% +2.5% +7.3% WCN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +6.0%/yr +1.8%/yr +0.8%/yr WCN
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 25.6% 29.3% 37.3% WCN
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 45/100 55/100 46/100 GFL

Percentile Scorecard

WCNGFLCWST

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

AxisWCNGFLCWST
Valuation 27 #12 of 16 87 #3 of 16 40 #10 of 16
Growth 69 #5 of 14 15 #12 of 14 46 #8 of 14
Profitability 69 #5 of 14 39 #9 of 14 62 #6 of 14
Financial Health 14 #13 of 15 79 #4 of 15 36 #10 of 15
Shareholder Returns – – –
Overall 45 55 46
  • WCN ranked among 16 companies in Waste Management
  • GFL 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

PeriodWCNGFLCWSTSPY
1 month +17.0%+6.7%+12.6% +0.7%
3 months +9.4%+8.7%+0.9% +3.7%
6 months +10.5%+12.2%+14.0% +7.1%
Year to date +3.8%+4.8%-7.8% +12.8%
1 year +8.0%+2.5%+7.3% +11.9%
3 years +40.1%+56.0%+20.8% +85.2%
3 years, per year +11.9%+16.0%+6.5% +22.8%
5 years +33.8%+9.4%+4.1% +67.6%
5 years, per year +6.0%+1.8%+0.8% +10.9%
10 years +263.0%—+724.0% +262.0%
10 years, per year +13.8%—+23.5% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureWCNGFLCWSTSPY
Volatility, 1Y 25.6%29.3%37.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 23.2%28.2%34.5% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.200.240.08 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.310.090.20 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -25.5%-42.9%-37.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -2.5%-3.2%-15.9% -1.2%
52-week high $186.62$46.51$107.34 $779.14
52-week low $149.02$33.54$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.

MultipleWCNGFLCWST
P/E now vs peer median 37.2xmedian 30.9x -74.2xmedian 30.9x 1,007xmedian 30.9x
P/S now vs peer median 4.6xmedian 3.2x 2.3xmedian 3.2x 2.9xmedian 3.2x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 14.0x 5.1xmedian 14.0x 17.8xmedian 14.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 31.8xmedian 17.3x 5.8xmedian 17.3x 53.5xmedian 17.3x
P/B now vs peer median 5.8xmedian 2.8x 1.4xmedian 2.8x 3.6xmedian 2.8x
PEG now vs peer median —median 2.44 1.05median 2.44 -19.78median 2.44

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 monthsWCNGFLCWST
Revenue $9.94B – $1.96B
Gross profit – – $653.52M
Operating income $1.76B $1.72B $66.07M
Net income $1.13B -$385.60M $5.70M
Free cash flow – $2.88B $105.67M
EPS (diluted) – $-0.59 $0.09
Cash & equivalents $95.69M $296.50M $25.54M
Total debt – $14.20M $1.36B
Shares (diluted) 253.86M 378.69M 63.69M
Enterprise value $46.65B $14.72B $5.05B

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
MetricWCNGFLCWST
P/E 37.2x -74.2x 1,007x
P/FCF 31.8x 5.8x 53.5x
P/Operating cash flow 18.2x 9.7x 16.1x
P/S 4.6x 2.3x 2.9x
P/B 5.8x 1.4x 3.6x
P/Tangible book 7.8x 1.7x 4.6x
EV/EBITDA – 5.1x 17.8x
EV/EBIT – 9.5x 105.9x
EV/Revenue 4.6x – 3.6x
EV/FCF – 5.7x 66.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 18.2x 9.6x 19.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – 1.05 -19.78

Growth

14 metrics
MetricWCNGFLCWST
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.3% – 13.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 8.2% – 20.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – 12.6%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – 20.0%
Operating income growth (1Y) 61.8% -0.2% 1.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 10.0% -7.1% -8.5%
Net income growth (1Y) 82.2% -110.8% -48.4%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 10.9% -45.6% -47.8%
EPS growth (1Y) – -106.3% -48.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) – -70.7% -50.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 4.2% 25.2% 2.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 6.5% -1.6% 19.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – 11.5% 16.1%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 0.2% 8.9%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricWCNGFLCWST
Gross margin – – 33.4%
EBITDA margin – – 20.1%
Operating margin – – 3.4%
Pretax margin – – 0.5%
Net margin – – 0.3%
FCF margin – – 5.4%
Operating cash flow margin 25.4% – 18.0%
Return on equity 14.3% -4.0% 0.4%
Return on assets 5.3% -1.5% 0.2%
Return on invested capital – 9.7% 1.5%
Return on capital employed – 7.6% 2.1%
Asset turnover 0.5x – 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.2x -4.4x 61.6x
Stock comp / revenue 0.8% – 0.7%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricWCNGFLCWST
Debt / assets – 0.0% 38.3%
Debt / equity – 0.0x 0.9x
Net debt / EBITDA – -0.1x 3.4x
Debt / FCF – 0.0x 12.9x
Liabilities / assets 63.3% 59.0% 55.6%
Equity / assets 36.7% 41.0% 44.4%
Interest coverage – 2.8x 1.0x
Current ratio 0.7x 0.9x 1.0x
Quick ratio – 0.8x 0.8x
Cash ratio – 0.1x 0.1x
Altman Z-score – – 2.28

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricWCNGFLCWST
Dividend yield 0.8% 0.2% –
Net buyback yield – – –
Shareholder yield 0.8% 0.2% –
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

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.

ConsensusWCNGFLCWST
Forward P/E 33.7xFY2026 72.6xFY2026 70.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $5.40FY2026 $0.62FY2026 $1.29FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +5.9%FY2026 +12.7%FY2026 +1.6%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +18.7% +27.4% +16.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $10.30BFY2026 $6.10BFY2026 $2.05BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +10.0%FY2026 +26.5%FY2026 +11.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after 0.0% +22.3% +7.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersWCNGFLCWST
Held by institutions 85.2% 74.8% 100.0%
Institutions holding 830 323 416
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.3% +10.3% +4.2%
Institutions buying 411 185 231
Institutions selling 303 101 127
Buyers to sellers 1.36 1.83 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.

WCNGFLCWST
WCN 1.00 0.48 0.57
GFL 0.48 1.00 0.41
CWST 0.57 0.41 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, WCN, GFL and CWST?

Waste Connections (WCN) is the largest by market capitalisation: Waste Connections (WCN) $46.65B, GFL Environmental (GFL) $16.70B, Casella Waste Systems (CWST) $5.93B.

Which stock is cheaper, WCN, GFL and CWST?

Waste Connections (WCN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Waste Connections (WCN) 37.2x, GFL Environmental (GFL) -74.4x, Casella Waste Systems (CWST) 1,040x). On next year's consensus earnings, Waste Connections (WCN) is cheapest (Waste Connections (WCN) 33.7x, GFL Environmental (GFL) 72.6x, Casella Waste Systems (CWST) 70.0x). 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: Waste Connections (WCN) +6.3%, Casella Waste Systems (CWST) +13.6%.

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Waste Connections (WCN) returned the most: Waste Connections (WCN) +8.0%, GFL Environmental (GFL) +2.5%, Casella Waste Systems (CWST) +7.3%. Over five years, Waste Connections (WCN) compounded fastest (Waste Connections (WCN) +6.0%/yr, GFL Environmental (GFL) +1.8%/yr, Casella Waste Systems (CWST) +0.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Waste Connections (WCN) has been the steadiest (Waste Connections (WCN) 25.6%, GFL Environmental (GFL) 29.3%, Casella Waste Systems (CWST) 37.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, WCN, GFL 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 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.