Clean Harbors vs Waste Management
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KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put Clean Harbors and Waste Management side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- Waste Management is the larger business, with $25.2B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $6.0B for Clean Harbors, about 4.2 times as much.
- Waste Management grew revenue faster (14.2%, against 2.4%).
- Waste Management kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (17.1% operating margin, against 11.2%).
- Waste Management turned more of its sales into free cash flow (11.2% FCF margin, against 7.3%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Clean Harbors’s earnings: a P/E of 42.9x against 34.1x for Waste Management.
Who comes out ahead
Of the 11 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
Clean Harbors
CLH
4/11
5-year growthPiotroski F-scoreNet debt / EBITDAShare count change
Waste Management
WM
7/11
Revenue growthGross marginOperating marginNet marginFCF marginReturn on capitalReturn on equity
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | CLH FY25 | WM FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $16.8B | $97.0B |
| Revenue | $6.0B | $25.2B |
| Free cash flow | $442M | $2.8B |
| Net income | $391M | $2.7B |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 2.4% | 14.2% |
| 5-year growth | 13.9% | 10.6% |
| Share count change | −0.9% | 0.2% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 31.3% | 40.4% |
| Operating margin | 11.2% | 17.1% |
| Net margin | 6.5% | 10.7% |
| FCF margin | 7.3% | 11.2% |
| Return on capital | 10.4% | 10.9% |
| Return on equity | 14.7% | 29.7% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $2.1B | $22.0B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 1.8x | 3.1x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $250M | $1.3B |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 42.9x | 34.1x |
| Piotroski F-score | 7 | 6 |
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.