WCN vs RSG vs GFL Stock Comparison

Waste Connections, Republic Services and GFL Environmental Prices as of Nov 3, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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WCN Waste Connections, Inc.
$186.63 +21.4% 1M +12.6% 1Y
Market cap
$48.20B
P/E
42.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$9.94B
Div. yield
0.01%
Solid Waste Industrials
1 win
RSG Republic Services, Inc.
$242.88 +15.9% 1M +18.3% 1Y
Market cap
$75.18B
P/E
33.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$17.24B
Div. yield
0.01%
Solid Waste Industrials
9 wins
GFL GFL Environmental Inc.
$45.71 +8.9% 1M +4.4% 1Y
Market cap
$16.82B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
–
Solid Waste Industrials
2 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Republic Services leads on 9 of the 12 questions below (Republic Services 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.

QuestionWCNRSGGFLLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $48.20B $75.18B $16.82B RSG
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 42.5x 33.8x -74.9x RSG
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 34.6x 32.6x 73.7x RSG
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.3% +4.5% — WCN
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 11.4% 12.9% — RSG
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 7.9% 11.1% 9.7% RSG
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.9x 2.6x -0.1x GFL
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.01% 0.00% RSG
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +12.6% +18.3% +4.4% RSG
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +6.5%/yr +12.7%/yr +2.1%/yr RSG
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 25.6% 20.3% 29.4% RSG
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 56/100 54/100 59/100 GFL

Percentile Scorecard

WCNRSGGFL

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

AxisWCNRSGGFL
Valuation 27 #12 of 16 47 #9 of 16 87 #3 of 16
Growth 69 #5 of 14 39 #9 of 14 15 #12 of 14
Profitability 77 #4 of 14 100 #1 of 14 46 #8 of 14
Financial Health 20 #13 of 16 27 #12 of 16 87 #3 of 16
Shareholder Returns 86 #2 of 8 57 #4 of 8 –
Overall 56 54 59
  • WCN ranked among 16 companies in Waste Management
  • RSG ranked among 16 companies in Waste Management
  • GFL ranked among 16 companies in Waste Management

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodWCNRSGGFLSPY
1 month +21.4%+15.9%+8.9% -2.0%
3 months +12.7%+17.0%+8.7% -2.2%
6 months +18.4%+19.1%+23.6% +4.2%
Year to date +6.4%+14.6%+6.4% +10.6%
1 year +12.6%+18.3%+4.4% +10.4%
3 years +40.1%+58.3%+52.7% +73.6%
3 years, per year +11.9%+16.6%+15.2% +20.2%
5 years +37.0%+81.9%+11.0% +61.6%
5 years, per year +6.5%+12.7%+2.1% +10.1%
10 years +277.9%+376.0%— +261.3%
10 years, per year +14.2%+16.9%— +13.7%

Risk

MeasureWCNRSGGFLSPY
Volatility, 1Y 25.6%20.3%29.4% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 23.1%18.6%28.4% 12.8%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.20-0.460.22 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.490.900.15 0.81
Max drawdown, 5Y -25.5%-23.4%-42.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -0.8%-1.3%-1.7% -3.2%
52-week high $188.09$245.99$46.51 $779.14
52-week low $149.02$197.73$33.54 $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.

MultipleWCNRSGGFL
P/E now vs peer median 41.4xmedian 30.5x 33.4xmedian 30.5x -75.3xmedian 30.5x
P/S now vs peer median 4.7xmedian 3.3x 4.3xmedian 3.3x 2.3xmedian 3.3x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 17.2xmedian 15.0x 16.1xmedian 15.0x 5.1xmedian 15.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 37.4xmedian 17.8x 28.9xmedian 17.8x 6.4xmedian 17.8x
P/B now vs peer median 5.9xmedian 2.8x 6.0xmedian 2.8x 1.4xmedian 2.8x
PEG now vs peer median 3.49median 2.79 2.79median 2.79 1.06median 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 monthsWCNRSGGFL
Revenue $9.94B $17.24B –
Gross profit $4.24B $7.24B –
Operating income $1.76B $3.45B $1.72B
Net income $1.13B $2.23B -$385.60M
Free cash flow $1.25B $2.56B $2.64B
EPS (diluted) $4.50 $7.27 $-0.59
Cash & equivalents $95.69M $92.00M $296.50M
Total debt $9.45B $14.06B $14.20M
Shares (diluted) 251.87M 306.50M 378.69M
Enterprise value $47.84B $74.79B $14.83B

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
MetricWCNRSGGFL
P/E 41.4x 33.4x -75.3x
P/FCF 37.4x 28.9x 6.4x
P/Operating cash flow 18.5x 16.4x 11.4x
P/S 4.7x 4.3x 2.3x
P/B 5.9x 6.0x 1.4x
P/Tangible book 7.9x 6.5x 1.8x
EV/EBITDA 17.2x 16.1x 5.1x
EV/EBIT 31.8x 25.5x 9.7x
EV/Revenue 5.6x 5.1x –
EV/FCF 44.9x 34.4x 6.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 22.2x 19.5x 11.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 3.49 2.79 1.06

Growth

14 metrics
MetricWCNRSGGFL
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.3% 4.5% –
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 8.2% 5.5% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) 7.6% 4.1% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 10.2% 7.7% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 61.8% 4.5% -0.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 10.0% 9.1% –
Net income growth (1Y) 82.2% 5.7% -110.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 10.9% 10.8% -45.6%
EPS growth (1Y) 86.3% 7.6% -106.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 11.9% 12.0% -70.7%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 4.2% 3.8% 8.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 6.5% 8.4% -6.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 1.2% 1.2% 2.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 1.8% 10.1% -2.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricWCNRSGGFL
Gross margin 42.6% 42.0% –
EBITDA margin 32.9% 31.7% –
Operating margin 17.7% 20.0% –
Pretax margin 14.7% 15.3% –
Net margin 11.4% 12.9% –
FCF margin 12.6% 14.9% –
Operating cash flow margin 25.4% 26.1% –
Return on equity 14.3% 18.4% -4.0%
Return on assets 5.3% 6.3% -1.5%
Return on invested capital 7.9% 11.1% 9.7%
Return on capital employed 9.1% 10.9% 7.6%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.5x –
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.2x 2.0x -3.8x
Stock comp / revenue 0.8% – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricWCNRSGGFL
Debt / assets 43.9% 39.6% 0.0%
Debt / equity 1.2x 1.1x 0.0x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.9x 2.6x -0.1x
Debt / FCF 7.6x 5.5x 0.0x
Liabilities / assets 63.3% 65.5% 59.0%
Equity / assets 36.7% 34.5% 41.0%
Interest coverage 4.9x 5.7x 2.8x
Current ratio 0.7x 0.7x 0.9x
Quick ratio 0.6x 0.6x 0.8x
Cash ratio 0.0x 0.0x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 3.13 3.17 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricWCNRSGGFL
Dividend yield 0.8% 1.1% 0.2%
Net buyback yield 2.1% 1.5% –
Shareholder yield 2.9% 2.6% 0.2%
Payout ratio (earnings) 31.4% 34.6% –
Payout ratio (FCF) 28.4% 30.1% –
Dividend growth (1Y) 9.4% 6.2% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 10.7% 7.2% –

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.

ConsensusWCNRSGGFL
Forward P/E 34.6xFY2026 32.6xFY2026 73.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $5.40FY2026 $7.45FY2026 $0.62FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +5.9%FY2026 +6.1%FY2026 +12.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +18.7% +5.9% +27.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $10.30BFY2026 $16.61BFY2026 $6.10BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +10.0%FY2026 +0.1%FY2026 +26.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after 0.0% +15.6% +22.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersWCNRSGGFL
Held by institutions 85.2% 58.9% 74.8%
Institutions holding 832 1,304 323
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.3% +0.5% +10.3%
Institutions buying 413 623 185
Institutions selling 303 485 101
Buyers to sellers 1.36 1.28 1.83

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.

WCNRSGGFL
WCN 1.00 0.77 0.49
RSG 0.77 1.00 0.42
GFL 0.49 0.42 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, WCN, RSG and GFL?

Republic Services (RSG) is the largest by market capitalisation: Waste Connections (WCN) $48.20B, Republic Services (RSG) $75.18B, GFL Environmental (GFL) $16.82B.

Which stock is cheaper, WCN, RSG and GFL?

Republic Services (RSG) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Waste Connections (WCN) 42.5x, Republic Services (RSG) 33.8x, GFL Environmental (GFL) -74.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Republic Services (RSG) is cheapest (Waste Connections (WCN) 34.6x, Republic Services (RSG) 32.6x, GFL Environmental (GFL) 73.7x). 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) +6.3%, Republic Services (RSG) +4.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Republic Services (RSG) has the highest net margin (Waste Connections (WCN) 11.4%, Republic Services (RSG) 12.9%). On return on invested capital, Republic Services (RSG) leads (Waste Connections (WCN) 7.9%, Republic Services (RSG) 11.1%, GFL Environmental (GFL) 9.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Republic Services (RSG) returned the most: Waste Connections (WCN) +12.6%, Republic Services (RSG) +18.3%, GFL Environmental (GFL) +4.4%. Over five years, Republic Services (RSG) compounded fastest (Waste Connections (WCN) +6.5%/yr, Republic Services (RSG) +12.7%/yr, GFL Environmental (GFL) +2.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Republic Services (RSG) has the highest dividend yield: Waste Connections (WCN) 0.01%, Republic Services (RSG) 0.01%, GFL Environmental (GFL) 0.00%. GFL Environmental (GFL) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Republic Services (RSG) has been the steadiest (Waste Connections (WCN) 25.6%, Republic Services (RSG) 20.3%, GFL Environmental (GFL) 29.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, WCN, RSG and GFL?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Republic Services (RSG) 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.