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CLH vs. WCN: Clean Harbors vs. Waste Connections Stock Comparison

How do Clean Harbors (CLH) and Waste Connections (WCN) 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 Waste Connections (WCN) are both classified in the Environmental & Facilities Services sub-industry within the broader Commercial Services & Supplies industry, placing them in the closest GICS peer bucket.

Company profile comparison for Clean Harbors (CLH) and Waste Connections (WCN)
Profile ItemCLHWCN
NameClean Harbors, Inc.Waste Connections, Inc.
Country/RegionUnited StatesCanada
GICS SectorIndustrialsIndustrials
GICS Industry GroupCommercial & Professional ServicesCommercial & Professional Services
GICS IndustryCommercial Services & SuppliesCommercial Services & Supplies
GICS Sub-IndustryEnvironmental & Facilities ServicesEnvironmental & Facilities Services
Market Capitalization14.98 billion USD47.31 billion USD
CurrencyUSDUSD
ExchangeNYSENYSE
Listing DateNovember 24, 1987May 22, 1998
Security TypeCommon StockCommon Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

CLH
WCN
GSPC
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Clean Harbors (CLH) vs. Waste Connections (WCN), 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 Waste Connections (WCN). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Clean Harbors (CLH) and Waste Connections (WCN)
MetricCLHWCN
Total Return (1Y)38.70%15.20%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)22.86%14.07%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)21.84%7.98%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

CLH
WCN
GSPC
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Clean Harbors (CLH) vs. Waste Connections (WCN), 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 Waste Connections (WCN). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Clean Harbors (CLH) and Waste Connections (WCN)
MetricCLHWCN
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)25.31%25.62%
Beta (5Y)0.870.41
Max Drawdown (5Y)-30.86%-24.90%
Avg. Volume (3M)465.54K1.56M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

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CLH and WCN 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 Waste Connections (WCN)
MetricCLHWCN
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)1.360.43
Sortino Ratio (1Y)2.090.69

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both Clean Harbors (CLH) at 17.93% and Waste Connections (WCN) at 14.19% land near their industries’ usual ROE ranges, so capital efficiency looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

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%

WCN

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

14.19%

Max
47.06%
Q3
25.43%
WCN
14.19%
Median
14.11%
Q1
3.92%
Min
-20.15%
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Clean Harbors (CLH) vs. Waste Connections (WCN): A comparison of their ROE against the Commercial & Professional Services industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Waste Connections (WCN) at 11.40% 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%

WCN

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

11.40%

Max
23.28%
WCN
11.40%
Q3
11.35%
Median
5.65%
Q1
0.87%
Min
-8.60%
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Clean Harbors (CLH) vs. Waste Connections (WCN): A comparison of their net margin against the Commercial & Professional Services industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Waste Connections (WCN) at 20.77% 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%

WCN

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

20.77%

Max
38.50%
WCN
20.77%
Q3
18.84%
Median
10.40%
Q1
5.59%
Min
-12.00%
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Clean Harbors (CLH) vs. Waste Connections (WCN): A comparison of their operating margin against the Commercial & Professional Services industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Clean Harbors (CLH) and Waste Connections (WCN)
MetricCLHWCN
ROE (TTM)17.93%14.19%
ROA (TTM)6.94%5.68%
Net Margin (TTM)8.05%11.40%
Operating Margin (TTM)17.02%20.77%
Gross Margin (TTM)33.13%42.62%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Clean Harbors (CLH) at 2.39% and Waste Connections (WCN) at 6.14% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

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Clean Harbors (CLH) vs. Waste Connections (WCN): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Waste Connections (WCN) at 74.48% sits in the top EPS growth quartile, while Clean Harbors (CLH) at -1.89% is closer to the peer norm — faster per-share earnings growth for WCN.

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Clean Harbors (CLH) vs. Waste Connections (WCN): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Clean Harbors (CLH) and Waste Connections (WCN)
MetricCLHWCN
Revenue Growth (YoY)2.39%6.14%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)5.29%9.49%
EPS Growth (YoY)-1.89%74.48%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)-1.25%8.78%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Clean Harbors (CLH) at 1.95 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while Waste Connections (WCN) at 0.67 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — a thinner cushion against current liabilities for WCN.

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

WCN

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

0.67

Max
3.63
Q3
2.14
Median
1.55
Q1
1.09
WCN
0.67
Min
0.45
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Clean Harbors (CLH) vs. Waste Connections (WCN): 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 Waste Connections (WCN) at 1.24 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

WCN

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

1.24

Max
2.37
Q3
1.25
WCN
1.24
Median
0.88
Q1
0.35
Min
0.00
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Clean Harbors (CLH) vs. Waste Connections (WCN): 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 Waste Connections (WCN)
MetricCLHWCN
Current Ratio (MRQ)1.950.67
Debt / Equity (MRQ)1.081.24
Net Debt / EBITDA2.123.01

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 Waste Connections (WCN) reports a yield of 0.73%, 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%

WCN

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

0.73%

Max
4.33%
Q3
1.80%
WCN
0.73%
Median
0.60%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%
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Clean Harbors (CLH) vs. Waste Connections (WCN): 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 Waste Connections (WCN) reports a payout of 31.39%, 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%

WCN

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

31.39%

Max
99.58%
Q3
41.99%
WCN
31.39%
Median
17.27%
Q1
0.00%
Min
-17.94%
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Clean Harbors (CLH) vs. Waste Connections (WCN): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Commercial & Professional Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Clean Harbors (CLH) and Waste Connections (WCN)
MetricCLHWCN
Dividend Yield (TTM)0.00%0.73%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)0.00%31.39%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Clean Harbors (CLH) at 28.50 is near its industry’s usual P/E ratio, while Waste Connections (WCN) at 42.39 sits in the richer quartile — WCN needs stronger growth or earnings quality to justify the premium.

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

WCN

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

42.39

Max
49.47
WCN
42.39
Q3
33.76
Median
24.16
Q1
16.01
Min
1.89
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Clean Harbors (CLH) vs. Waste Connections (WCN): 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 Waste Connections (WCN) at 4.76 sits in the pricier quartile — WCN 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

WCN

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

4.76

Max
7.17
WCN
4.76
Q3
3.35
Median
1.33
Q1
0.69
Min
0.11
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Clean Harbors (CLH) vs. Waste Connections (WCN): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Commercial & Professional Services industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

On P/B ratio, both Clean Harbors (CLH) at 4.81 and Waste Connections (WCN) at 6.00 are valued close to their industries’ norm against book — neither stands out from peers.

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

WCN

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

6.00

Max
11.25
Q3
6.08
WCN
6.00
Median
2.92
Q1
1.55
Min
-2.78
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Clean Harbors (CLH) vs. Waste Connections (WCN): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Commercial & Professional Services industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Clean Harbors (CLH) and Waste Connections (WCN)
MetricCLHWCN
P/E Ratio (TTM)28.5042.39
P/S Ratio (TTM)2.284.76
P/B Ratio (MRQ)4.816.00
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)2.76%2.28%