WCN vs GFL vs WM Stock Comparison

Waste Connections, GFL Environmental and Waste Management Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
GFL GFL Environmental Inc.
$44.99 +6.5% 1M -0.8% 1Y
Market cap
$16.03B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$7.00B
Div. yield
–
Solid Waste Industrials
1 win
WM Waste Management Inc
$235.63 +13.9% 1M +10.2% 1Y
Market cap
$90.37B
P/E
29.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$26.07B
Div. yield
–
Solid Waste Industrials
7 wins

Head to Head

8 decided of 12

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

QuestionWCNGFLWMLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $45.45B $16.03B $90.37B WM
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 37.2x -320.0x 29.4x WM
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 33.7x 72.6x 27.2x WM
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.3% +9.7% +5.2% GFL
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — -0.7% — –
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 7.6% — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 3.0x — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +4.1% -0.8% +10.2% WM
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +6.5%/yr +2.0%/yr +8.4%/yr WM
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 25.8% 29.1% 21.4% WM
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 46/100 46/100 61/100 WM

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 73 #5 of 16 60 #7 of 16
Growth 69 #5 of 14 23 #11 of 14 77 #4 of 14
Profitability 69 #5 of 14 54 #7 of 14 92 #2 of 14
Financial Health 20 #13 of 16 33 #11 of 16 13 #14 of 16
Shareholder Returns – – –
Overall 46 46 61
  • 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 +16.8%+6.5%+13.9% -0.2%
3 months +7.5%+14.9%-1.6% +3.9%
6 months +11.2%+12.1%+3.6% +8.2%
Year to date +3.7%+4.7%+7.2% +12.9%
1 year +4.1%-0.8%+10.2% +12.3%
3 years +42.1%+59.5%+46.0% +87.4%
3 years, per year +12.4%+16.9%+13.5% +23.3%
5 years +37.0%+10.2%+49.6% +67.9%
5 years, per year +6.5%+2.0%+8.4% +10.9%
10 years +268.8%—+271.9% +261.1%
10 years, per year +13.9%—+14.0% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureWCNGFLWMSPY
Volatility, 1Y 25.8%29.1%21.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 23.5%28.0%20.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.190.25-0.42 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.16-0.030.48 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -25.5%-42.9%-18.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -2.5%-3.3%-4.4% -1.2%
52-week high $186.62$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 37.2xmedian 33.2x -331.9xmedian 33.2x 30.8xmedian 33.2x
P/S now vs peer median 4.6xmedian 3.3x 2.4xmedian 3.3x 3.6xmedian 3.3x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 14.5x 8.4xmedian 14.5x —median 14.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 31.8xmedian 16.4x 6.1xmedian 16.4x 23.2xmedian 16.4x
P/B now vs peer median 5.8xmedian 3.0x 2.2xmedian 3.0x 9.6xmedian 3.0x
PEG now vs peer median —median 2.81 -11.97median 2.81 3.00median 2.81

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 $9.94B $7.00B $26.07B
Gross profit – $1.47B –
Operating income $1.76B $1.71B $4.80B
Net income $1.13B -$249.50M $3.07B
Free cash flow – $2.72B –
EPS (diluted) – $-0.13 $7.63
Cash & equivalents $95.69M $192.10M $247.00M
Total debt – $19.12B –
Shares (diluted) 253.86M 378.69M 402.40M
Enterprise value $45.45B $14.15B $90.37B

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 37.2x -331.9x 30.8x
P/FCF 31.8x 6.1x 23.2x
P/Operating cash flow 18.1x 11.1x 8.2x
P/S 4.6x 2.4x 3.6x
P/B 5.8x 2.2x 9.6x
P/Tangible book 7.8x 3.1x 14.9x
EV/EBITDA – 8.4x –
EV/EBIT – 15.3x –
EV/Revenue 4.6x 3.7x 3.6x
EV/FCF – 9.6x –
EV/Operating cash flow 18.1x 17.3x 8.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – -11.97 3.00

Growth

14 metrics
MetricWCNGFLWM
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.3% 9.7% 5.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 8.2% -1.8% 9.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 16.5% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 12.3% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 61.8% 1.4% 17.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 10.0% -3.8% 10.5%
Net income growth (1Y) 82.2% -107.0% 19.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 10.9% 8.6% 10.0%
EPS growth (1Y) – -101.4% 20.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) – 27.7% 10.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 4.2% 13.9% 95.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 6.5% -8.3% 37.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – 7.7% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – -2.6% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricWCNGFLWM
Gross margin – 20.9% –
EBITDA margin – 44.5% –
Operating margin – 24.4% –
Pretax margin – -3.8% –
Net margin – -0.7% –
FCF margin – 38.9% –
Operating cash flow margin 25.4% 21.6% 43.8%
Return on equity 14.3% -3.3% 31.0%
Return on assets 5.3% -1.2% 6.6%
Return on invested capital – 7.6% –
Return on capital employed – 8.9% –
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.3x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.2x -6.1x 3.7x
Stock comp / revenue 0.8% 2.0% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricWCNGFLWM
Debt / assets – 44.6% –
Debt / equity – 1.3x –
Net debt / EBITDA – 3.0x –
Debt / FCF – 3.5x –
Liabilities / assets 63.3% 65.0% 78.8%
Equity / assets 36.7% 35.0% 21.2%
Interest coverage – 3.0x –
Current ratio 0.7x 0.8x 0.8x
Quick ratio – 0.6x –
Cash ratio – 0.1x –
Altman Z-score – 1.26 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricWCNGFLWM
Dividend yield 0.8% 0.2% 1.5%
Net buyback yield – – –
Shareholder yield 0.8% 0.2% 1.5%
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.

ConsensusWCNGFLWM
Forward P/E 33.7xFY2026 72.6xFY2026 27.2xFY2026
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 829 323 2,348
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.3% +10.3% +0.8%
Institutions buying 410 185 1,094
Institutions selling 303 101 901
Buyers to sellers 1.35 1.83 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.

WCNGFLWM
WCN 1.00 0.48 0.76
GFL 0.48 1.00 0.41
WM 0.76 0.41 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) $45.45B, GFL Environmental (GFL) $16.03B, Waste Management (WM) $90.37B.

Which stock is cheaper, WCN, GFL and WM?

Waste Management (WM) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Waste Connections (WCN) 37.2x, GFL Environmental (GFL) -320.0x, Waste Management (WM) 29.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, Waste Management (WM) is cheapest (Waste Connections (WCN) 33.7x, GFL Environmental (GFL) 72.6x, Waste Management (WM) 27.2x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

GFL Environmental (GFL) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Waste Connections (WCN) +6.3%, GFL Environmental (GFL) +9.7%, Waste Management (WM) +5.2%.

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Waste Management (WM) returned the most: Waste Connections (WCN) +4.1%, GFL Environmental (GFL) -0.8%, Waste Management (WM) +10.2%. Over five years, Waste Management (WM) compounded fastest (Waste Connections (WCN) +6.5%/yr, GFL Environmental (GFL) +2.0%/yr, Waste Management (WM) +8.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Waste Management (WM) has been the steadiest (Waste Connections (WCN) 25.8%, GFL Environmental (GFL) 29.1%, Waste Management (WM) 21.4%). 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 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.