WCN vs GFL vs WM Stock Comparison

Waste Connections, GFL Environmental and Waste Management Prices as of Nov 2, 2026 Peers: Industry group
1 more company in this comparison (BBCP) Create a free account to keep reading and compare up to 10 companies.
WCN Waste Connections, Inc.
$188.09 +22.3% 1M +12.2% 1Y
Market cap
$47.52B
P/E
44.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$9.76B
Div. yield
0.01%
Solid Waste Industrials
1 win
GFL GFL Environmental Inc.
$45.97 +9.5% 1M +5.2% 1Y
Market cap
$16.80B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
–
Solid Waste Industrials
2 wins
WM Waste Management Inc
$237.65 +16.2% 1M +19.0% 1Y
Market cap
$93.84B
P/E
30.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$26.07B
Div. yield
0.02%
Solid Waste Industrials
9 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Waste Management leads on 9 of the 12 questions below (Waste Management 9, GFL Environmental 2, Waste Connections 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionWCNGFLWMLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $47.52B $16.80B $93.84B WM
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 44.8x -74.9x 30.6x WM
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 34.6x 73.7x 27.1x WM
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +5.7% — +5.2% WCN
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 10.9% — 11.8% WM
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 7.4% 9.7% 11.4% WM
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.9x -0.1x 3.0x GFL
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.00% 0.02% WM
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +12.2% +5.2% +19.0% WM
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +6.9%/yr +2.0%/yr +8.3%/yr WM
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 25.6% 29.4% 21.3% WM
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 54/100 59/100 59/100 GFL

Percentile Scorecard

WCNGFLWM

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

AxisWCNGFLWM
Valuation 27 #12 of 16 87 #3 of 16 53 #8 of 16
Growth 62 #6 of 14 15 #12 of 14 69 #5 of 14
Profitability 77 #4 of 14 46 #8 of 14 92 #2 of 14
Financial Health 20 #13 of 16 87 #3 of 16 7 #15 of 16
Shareholder Returns 86 #2 of 8 – 71 #3 of 8
Overall 54 59 59
  • WCN ranked among 16 companies in Waste Management
  • GFL 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

PeriodWCNGFLWMSPY
1 month +22.3%+9.5%+16.2% -2.3%
3 months +12.2%+9.5%+4.9% -0.7%
6 months +17.1%+21.9%+4.3% +4.8%
Year to date +7.3%+7.0%+8.2% +10.3%
1 year +12.2%+5.2%+19.0% +10.3%
3 years +41.2%+53.6%+41.4% +73.0%
3 years, per year +12.2%+15.4%+12.2% +20.1%
5 years +39.7%+10.4%+48.8% +61.9%
5 years, per year +6.9%+2.0%+8.3% +10.1%
10 years +278.8%—+273.4% +258.6%
10 years, per year +14.2%—+14.1% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureWCNGFLWMSPY
Volatility, 1Y 25.6%29.4%21.3% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 23.1%28.5%20.4% 12.8%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.200.22-0.43 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.480.180.89 0.80
Max drawdown, 5Y -25.5%-42.9%-18.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high 0.0%-1.2%-3.6% -3.5%
52-week high $188.09$46.51$246.51 $779.14
52-week low $149.02$33.54$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.

MultipleWCNGFLWM
P/E now vs peer median 45.0xmedian 30.9x -75.7xmedian 30.9x 30.9xmedian 30.9x
P/S now vs peer median 4.9xmedian 3.4x 2.3xmedian 3.4x 3.6xmedian 3.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 18.0xmedian 15.1x 5.2xmedian 15.1x 15.1xmedian 15.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median 38.5xmedian 18.0x 6.4xmedian 18.0x 25.3xmedian 18.0x
P/B now vs peer median 6.0xmedian 2.9x 1.4xmedian 2.9x 9.6xmedian 2.9x
PEG now vs peer median 5.13median 2.73 1.07median 2.73 2.94median 2.73

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 monthsWCNGFLWM
Revenue $9.76B – $26.07B
Gross profit $4.15B – $10.53B
Operating income $1.66B $1.72B $4.80B
Net income $1.06B -$385.60M $3.07B
Free cash flow $1.23B $2.64B $3.74B
EPS (diluted) $4.18 $-0.59 $7.68
Cash & equivalents $98.18M $296.50M $247.00M
Total debt $9.32B $14.20M $23.37B
Shares (diluted) 253.86M 378.69M 399.80M
Enterprise value $47.14B $14.81B $92.67B

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
MetricWCNGFLWM
P/E 45.0x -75.7x 30.9x
P/FCF 38.5x 6.4x 25.3x
P/Operating cash flow 18.9x 11.5x 14.4x
P/S 4.9x 2.3x 3.6x
P/B 6.0x 1.4x 9.6x
P/Tangible book 8.0x 1.8x 14.9x
EV/EBITDA 18.0x 5.2x 15.1x
EV/EBIT 34.1x 9.8x 24.5x
EV/Revenue 5.8x – 4.5x
EV/FCF 46.0x 6.3x 31.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 22.5x 11.3x 17.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 5.13 1.07 2.94

Growth

14 metrics
MetricWCNGFLWM
Revenue growth (1Y) 5.7% – 5.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 8.4% – 9.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 7.0% – -21.0%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 10.6% – 11.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) 47.6% -0.2% 17.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 8.6% – 10.5%
Net income growth (1Y) 64.7% -110.8% 19.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 8.1% -45.6% 10.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 68.0% -106.3% 21.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 8.8% -70.7% 10.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 8.9% 8.3% 12.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 6.8% -6.2% 14.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 8.1% 2.5% 55.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 2.9% -2.5% 30.8%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricWCNGFLWM
Gross margin 42.5% – 40.4%
EBITDA margin 32.2% – 29.8%
Operating margin 17.0% – 18.4%
Pretax margin 14.2% – 14.9%
Net margin 10.9% – 11.8%
FCF margin 12.6% – 14.3%
Operating cash flow margin 25.7% – 25.2%
Return on equity 13.3% -4.0% 31.0%
Return on assets 5.0% -1.5% 6.6%
Return on invested capital 7.4% 9.7% 11.4%
Return on capital employed 8.7% 7.6% 12.0%
Asset turnover 0.5x – 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.4x -3.8x 2.1x
Stock comp / revenue 0.8% – 0.7%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricWCNGFLWM
Debt / assets 43.6% 0.0% 50.2%
Debt / equity 1.2x 0.0x 2.4x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.9x -0.1x 3.0x
Debt / FCF 7.6x 0.0x 6.2x
Liabilities / assets 63.0% 59.0% 78.8%
Equity / assets 37.0% 41.0% 21.2%
Interest coverage 4.8x 2.8x –
Current ratio 0.7x 0.9x 0.8x
Quick ratio 0.5x 0.8x 0.7x
Cash ratio 0.0x 0.1x 0.0x
Altman Z-score 3.15 – 2.97

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricWCNGFLWM
Dividend yield 0.7% 0.2% 1.5%
Net buyback yield 2.3% – 1.6%
Shareholder yield 3.1% 0.2% 3.2%
Payout ratio (earnings) 32.8% – 48.0%
Payout ratio (FCF) 28.2% – 39.4%
Dividend growth (1Y) 9.4% – 13.2%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 10.9% – 9.6%

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.

ConsensusWCNGFLWM
Forward P/E 34.6xFY2026 73.7xFY2026 27.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $5.40FY2026 $0.62FY2026 $8.65FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +5.9%FY2026 +12.7%FY2026 +15.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +18.7% +27.4% +9.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $10.30BFY2026 $6.10BFY2026 $25.84BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +10.0%FY2026 +26.5%FY2026 +2.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after 0.0% +22.3% +12.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersWCNGFLWM
Held by institutions 85.2% 74.8% 82.3%
Institutions holding 831 323 2,351
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.3% +10.3% +0.8%
Institutions buying 412 185 1,096
Institutions selling 303 101 902
Buyers to sellers 1.36 1.83 1.22

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.

WCNGFLWM
WCN 1.00 0.49 0.75
GFL 0.49 1.00 0.44
WM 0.75 0.44 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, WCN, GFL and WM?

Waste Management (WM) is the largest by market capitalisation: Waste Connections (WCN) $47.52B, GFL Environmental (GFL) $16.80B, Waste Management (WM) $93.84B.

Which stock is cheaper, WCN, GFL and WM?

Waste Management (WM) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Waste Connections (WCN) 44.8x, GFL Environmental (GFL) -74.9x, Waste Management (WM) 30.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Waste Management (WM) is cheapest (Waste Connections (WCN) 34.6x, GFL Environmental (GFL) 73.7x, Waste Management (WM) 27.1x). 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: Waste Connections (WCN) +5.7%, Waste Management (WM) +5.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Waste Management (WM) has the highest net margin (Waste Connections (WCN) 10.9%, Waste Management (WM) 11.8%). On return on invested capital, Waste Management (WM) leads (Waste Connections (WCN) 7.4%, GFL Environmental (GFL) 9.7%, Waste Management (WM) 11.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Waste Management (WM) returned the most: Waste Connections (WCN) +12.2%, GFL Environmental (GFL) +5.2%, Waste Management (WM) +19.0%. Over five years, Waste Management (WM) compounded fastest (Waste Connections (WCN) +6.9%/yr, GFL Environmental (GFL) +2.0%/yr, Waste Management (WM) +8.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Waste Management (WM) has the highest dividend yield: Waste Connections (WCN) 0.01%, GFL Environmental (GFL) 0.00%, Waste Management (WM) 0.02%. GFL Environmental (GFL) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Waste Management (WM) has been the steadiest (Waste Connections (WCN) 25.6%, GFL Environmental (GFL) 29.4%, Waste Management (WM) 21.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, WCN, GFL 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 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.