CLH vs. PAYC: Clean Harbors vs. Paycom Software Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Clean Harbors (CLH) and Paycom Software (PAYC) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

Clean Harbors (CLH) and Paycom Software (PAYC) both fall under the Commercial & Professional Services industry group, but CLH is classified in Commercial Services & Supplies while PAYC is classified in Professional Services.

Company profile comparison for Clean Harbors (CLH) and Paycom Software (PAYC)
Profile Item	CLH	PAYC
Name	Clean Harbors, Inc.	Paycom Software, Inc.
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Industrials	Industrials
GICS Industry Group	Commercial & Professional Services	Commercial & Professional Services
GICS Industry	Commercial Services & Supplies	Professional Services
GICS Sub-Industry	Environmental & Facilities Services	Human Resource & Employment Services
Market Capitalization	14.98 billion USD	10.69 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	November 24, 1987	April 15, 2014
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

CLH

PAYC

GSPC

Clean Harbors (CLH) vs. Paycom Software (PAYC), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for Clean Harbors (CLH) and Paycom Software (PAYC). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Clean Harbors (CLH) and Paycom Software (PAYC). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Clean Harbors (CLH) and Paycom Software (PAYC)
Metric	CLH	PAYC
Total Return (1Y)	38.70%	49.84%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	22.86%	13.71%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	21.84%	-13.38%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

CLH

PAYC

GSPC

Clean Harbors (CLH) vs. Paycom Software (PAYC), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for Clean Harbors (CLH) and Paycom Software (PAYC). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Clean Harbors (CLH) and Paycom Software (PAYC)
Metric	CLH	PAYC
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	25.31%	47.19%
Beta (5Y)	0.87	0.75
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-30.86%	-77.09%
Avg. Volume (3M)	465.54K	702.61K

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

CLH and PAYC are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for Clean Harbors (CLH) and Paycom Software (PAYC)
Metric	CLH	PAYC
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	1.36	0.97
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	2.09	1.66

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Paycom Software (PAYC) at 42.22% sits in the top ROE quartile, while Clean Harbors (CLH) at 17.93% is closer to the peer norm — stronger capital efficiency for PAYC.

CLH

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

17.93%

Max: 47.06%
Q3: 25.43%
CLH: 17.93%
Median: 14.11%
Q1: 3.92%
Min: -20.15%

PAYC

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

42.22%

Max: 47.06%
PAYC: 42.22%
Q3: 25.43%
Median: 14.11%
Q1: 3.92%
Min: -20.15%

Clean Harbors (CLH) vs. Paycom Software (PAYC): A comparison of their ROE against the Commercial & Professional Services industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Paycom Software (PAYC) at 23.28% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of Clean Harbors (CLH) at 8.05%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

CLH

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

8.05%

Max: 23.28%
Q3: 11.35%
CLH: 8.05%
Median: 5.65%
Q1: 0.87%
Min: -8.60%

PAYC

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

23.28%

PAYC: 23.28%
Max: 23.28%
Q3: 11.35%
Median: 5.65%
Q1: 0.87%
Min: -8.60%

Clean Harbors (CLH) vs. Paycom Software (PAYC): A comparison of their net margin against the Commercial & Professional Services industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Paycom Software (PAYC) at 38.03% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of Clean Harbors (CLH) at 17.02%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

CLH

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

17.02%

Max: 38.50%
Q3: 18.84%
CLH: 17.02%
Median: 10.40%
Q1: 5.59%
Min: -12.00%

PAYC

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

38.03%

Max: 38.50%
PAYC: 38.03%
Q3: 18.84%
Median: 10.40%
Q1: 5.59%
Min: -12.00%

Clean Harbors (CLH) vs. Paycom Software (PAYC): A comparison of their operating margin against the Commercial & Professional Services industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Clean Harbors (CLH) and Paycom Software (PAYC)
Metric	CLH	PAYC
ROE (TTM)	17.93%	42.22%
ROA (TTM)	6.94%	8.98%
Net Margin (TTM)	8.05%	23.28%
Operating Margin (TTM)	17.02%	38.03%
Gross Margin (TTM)	33.13%	88.39%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Clean Harbors (CLH) at 2.39% and Paycom Software (PAYC) at 8.95% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Clean Harbors (CLH) vs. Paycom Software (PAYC): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Both Clean Harbors (CLH) at -1.89% and Paycom Software (PAYC) at -9.42% land near their industries' usual EPS growth ranges, so bottom-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Clean Harbors (CLH) vs. Paycom Software (PAYC): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Clean Harbors (CLH) and Paycom Software (PAYC)
Metric	CLH	PAYC
Revenue Growth (YoY)	2.39%	8.95%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	5.29%	14.27%
EPS Growth (YoY)	-1.89%	-9.42%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	-1.25%	18.63%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Clean Harbors (CLH) at 1.95 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while Paycom Software (PAYC) at 1.06 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — a thinner cushion against current liabilities for PAYC.

CLH

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

1.95

Max: 3.63
Q3: 2.14
CLH: 1.95
Median: 1.55
Q1: 1.09
Min: 0.45

PAYC

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

1.06

Max: 3.63
Q3: 2.14
Median: 1.55
Q1: 1.09
PAYC: 1.06
Min: 0.45

Clean Harbors (CLH) vs. Paycom Software (PAYC): A comparison of their current ratio against the Commercial & Professional Services industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both Clean Harbors (CLH) at 1.08 and Paycom Software (PAYC) at 1.16 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

CLH

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

1.08

Max: 2.37
Q3: 1.25
CLH: 1.08
Median: 0.88
Q1: 0.35
Min: 0.00

PAYC

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

1.16

Max: 2.37
Q3: 1.25
PAYC: 1.16
Median: 0.88
Q1: 0.35
Min: 0.00

Clean Harbors (CLH) vs. Paycom Software (PAYC): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Commercial & Professional Services industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Clean Harbors (CLH) and Paycom Software (PAYC)
Metric	CLH	PAYC
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.95	1.06
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	1.08	1.16
Net Debt / EBITDA	2.12	0.75

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Clean Harbors (CLH) pays no dividend (yield 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Paycom Software (PAYC) reports a yield of 0.60%, ranking against industry peers normally.

CLH

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

0.00%

Max: 4.33%
Q3: 1.80%
Median: 0.60%
CLH: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

PAYC

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

0.60%

Max: 4.33%
Q3: 1.80%
Median: 0.60%
PAYC: 0.60%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Clean Harbors (CLH) vs. Paycom Software (PAYC): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Commercial & Professional Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Clean Harbors (CLH) pays no dividend (payout 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Paycom Software (PAYC) reports a payout of 14.34%, ranking against industry peers normally.

CLH

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

0.00%

Max: 99.58%
Q3: 41.99%
Median: 17.27%
CLH: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: -17.94%

PAYC

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

14.34%

Max: 99.58%
Q3: 41.99%
Median: 17.27%
PAYC: 14.34%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: -17.94%

Clean Harbors (CLH) vs. Paycom Software (PAYC): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Commercial & Professional Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Clean Harbors (CLH) and Paycom Software (PAYC)
Metric	CLH	PAYC
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.00%	0.60%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	0.00%	14.34%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both Clean Harbors (CLH) at 28.50 and Paycom Software (PAYC) at 22.69 land around their industries’ usual P/E ratio levels — neither is getting a clear earnings-multiple discount or premium versus peers.

CLH

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

28.50

Max: 49.47
Q3: 33.76
CLH: 28.50
Median: 24.16
Q1: 16.01
Min: 1.89

PAYC

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

22.69

Max: 49.47
Q3: 33.76
Median: 24.16
PAYC: 22.69
Q1: 16.01
Min: 1.89

Clean Harbors (CLH) vs. Paycom Software (PAYC): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Commercial & Professional Services industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Clean Harbors (CLH) at 2.28 is priced about in line with its industry on P/S ratio, while Paycom Software (PAYC) at 4.88 sits in the pricier quartile — PAYC costs more per dollar of sales.

CLH

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

2.28

Max: 7.17
Q3: 3.35
CLH: 2.28
Median: 1.33
Q1: 0.69
Min: 0.11

PAYC

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

4.88

Max: 7.17
PAYC: 4.88
Q3: 3.35
Median: 1.33
Q1: 0.69
Min: 0.11

Clean Harbors (CLH) vs. Paycom Software (PAYC): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Commercial & Professional Services industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Clean Harbors (CLH) at 4.81 sits near its industry’s typical P/B ratio, while Paycom Software (PAYC) at 14.62 prices above its benchmark range — PAYC looks rich relative to book.

CLH

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

4.81

Max: 11.25
Q3: 6.08
CLH: 4.81
Median: 2.92
Q1: 1.55
Min: -2.78

PAYC

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

14.62

PAYC: 14.62
Max: 11.25
Q3: 6.08
Median: 2.92
Q1: 1.55
Min: -2.78

Clean Harbors (CLH) vs. Paycom Software (PAYC): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Commercial & Professional Services industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Clean Harbors (CLH) and Paycom Software (PAYC)
Metric	CLH	PAYC
P/E Ratio (TTM)	28.50	22.69
P/S Ratio (TTM)	2.28	4.88
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	4.81	14.62
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	2.76%	5.69%