ABM Industries vs Clean Harbors
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KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put ABM Industries and Clean Harbors side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- ABM Industries is the larger business, with $8.7B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $6.0B for Clean Harbors.
- ABM Industries grew revenue faster (4.6%, against 2.4%).
- Clean Harbors kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (11.2% operating margin, against 3.6%).
- Clean Harbors turned more of its sales into free cash flow (7.3% FCF margin, against 1.8%).
- Clean Harbors earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (10.4%, against 7.3%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Clean Harbors’s earnings: a P/E of 42.9x against 19.5x for ABM Industries.
Who comes out ahead
Of the 11 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
ABM Industries
ABM
2/11
Revenue growthShare count change
Clean Harbors
CLH
8/11
5-year growthGross marginOperating marginNet marginFCF marginReturn on capitalReturn on equityNet debt / EBITDA
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | ABM FY25 | CLH FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $3.2B | $16.8B |
| Revenue | $8.7B | $6.0B |
| Free cash flow | $155M | $442M |
| Net income | $162M | $391M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 4.6% | 2.4% |
| 5-year growth | 7.9% | 13.9% |
| Share count change | −1.4% | −0.9% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 12.3% | 31.3% |
| Operating margin | 3.6% | 11.2% |
| Net margin | 1.9% | 6.5% |
| FCF margin | 1.8% | 7.3% |
| Return on capital | 7.3% | 10.4% |
| Return on equity | 9.1% | 14.7% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $1.4B | $2.1B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 3.5x | 1.8x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $188M | $250M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 19.5x | 42.9x |
| Piotroski F-score | 7 | 7 |
Ten years
Revenue
Operating margin
Free cash flow
Return on capital
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.