J vs. WCN: Jacobs vs. Waste Connections Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Jacobs (J) 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

Jacobs (J) and Waste Connections (WCN) both fall under the Commercial & Professional Services industry group, but J is classified in Professional Services while WCN is classified in Commercial Services & Supplies.

Company profile comparison for Jacobs (J) and Waste Connections (WCN)
Profile Item	J	WCN
Name	Jacobs Solutions Inc.	Waste Connections, Inc.
Country/Region	United States	Canada
GICS Sector	Industrials	Industrials
GICS Industry Group	Commercial & Professional Services	Commercial & Professional Services
GICS Industry	Professional Services	Commercial Services & Supplies
GICS Sub-Industry	Research & Consulting Services	Environmental & Facilities Services
Market Capitalization	17.43 billion USD	47.31 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	March 17, 1980	May 22, 1998
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

WCN

GSPC

Jacobs (J) 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

Loading price history…

Trailing total returns for Jacobs (J) and Waste Connections (WCN). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

Loading price history…

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Jacobs (J) and Waste Connections (WCN)
Metric	J	WCN
Total Return (1Y)	3.06%	15.20%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	13.63%	14.07%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	6.41%	7.98%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

WCN

GSPC

Jacobs (J) 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

Loading price history…

Distribution of monthly total returns for Jacobs (J) and Waste Connections (WCN). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Jacobs (J) and Waste Connections (WCN)
Metric	J	WCN
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	34.18%	25.62%
Beta (5Y)	0.68	0.41
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-34.44%	-24.90%
Avg. Volume (3M)	878.62K	1.56M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

J 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 Jacobs (J) and Waste Connections (WCN)
Metric	J	WCN
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	-0.04	0.43
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	-0.05	0.69

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both Jacobs (J) at 8.00% 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.

J

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

8.00%

Max: 47.06%
Q3: 25.43%
Median: 14.11%
J: 8.00%
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%

Jacobs (J) 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 Jacobs (J) at 2.38%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

J

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

2.38%

Max: 23.28%
Q3: 11.35%
Median: 5.65%
J: 2.38%
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%

Jacobs (J) 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 Jacobs (J) at 7.39%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

J

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

7.39%

Max: 38.50%
Q3: 18.84%
Median: 10.40%
J: 7.39%
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%

Jacobs (J) vs. Waste Connections (WCN): A comparison of their operating margin against the Commercial & Professional Services industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Jacobs (J) and Waste Connections (WCN)
Metric	J	WCN
ROE (TTM)	8.00%	14.19%
ROA (TTM)	4.55%	5.68%
Net Margin (TTM)	2.38%	11.40%
Operating Margin (TTM)	7.39%	20.77%
Gross Margin (TTM)	22.07%	42.62%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Jacobs (J) at 4.60% 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.

Jacobs (J) 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 Jacobs (J) at -62.34% is in the bottom quartile, showing a clear gap in earnings momentum.

Jacobs (J) vs. Waste Connections (WCN): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Jacobs (J) and Waste Connections (WCN)
Metric	J	WCN
Revenue Growth (YoY)	4.60%	6.14%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	7.13%	9.49%
EPS Growth (YoY)	-62.34%	74.48%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	-21.82%	8.78%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Jacobs (J) at 1.29 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.

J

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

1.29

Max: 3.63
Q3: 2.14
Median: 1.55
J: 1.29
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

Jacobs (J) vs. Waste Connections (WCN): A comparison of their current ratio against the Commercial & Professional Services industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Waste Connections (WCN) at 1.24 carries an industry-typical debt-to-equity mix, while Jacobs (J) at 1.25 uses more debt funding than most peers.

J

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

1.25

Max: 2.37
J: 1.25
Q3: 1.25
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

Jacobs (J) 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 Jacobs (J) and Waste Connections (WCN)
Metric	J	WCN
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.29	0.67
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	1.25	1.24
Net Debt / EBITDA	2.72	3.01

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Both Jacobs (J) at 0.92% and Waste Connections (WCN) at 0.73% pay solid, industry-typical yields, sitting squarely within their peers’ usual range.

J

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

0.92%

Max: 4.33%
Q3: 1.80%
J: 0.92%
Median: 0.60%
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%

Jacobs (J) vs. Waste Connections (WCN): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Commercial & Professional Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Waste Connections (WCN) at 31.39% pays out a band-typical share of earnings, while Jacobs (J) at 45.18% distributes more than its industry norm — less retained, thinner cover.

J

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

45.18%

Max: 99.58%
J: 45.18%
Q3: 41.99%
Median: 17.27%
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%

Jacobs (J) vs. Waste Connections (WCN): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Commercial & Professional Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Jacobs (J) and Waste Connections (WCN)
Metric	J	WCN
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.92%	0.73%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	45.18%	31.39%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both Jacobs (J) at 49.47 and Waste Connections (WCN) at 42.39 sit in the richer earnings-multiple quartile for P/E ratio, so investors are paying more for TTM earnings than they pay for typical peers.

J

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

49.47

J: 49.47
Max: 49.47
Q3: 33.76
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

Jacobs (J) vs. Waste Connections (WCN): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Commercial & Professional Services industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Jacobs (J) at 1.23 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.

J

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

1.23

Max: 7.17
Q3: 3.35
Median: 1.33
J: 1.23
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

Jacobs (J) 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 Jacobs (J) at 5.34 and Waste Connections (WCN) at 6.00 are valued close to their industries’ norm against book — neither stands out from peers.

J

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

5.34

Max: 11.25
Q3: 6.08
J: 5.34
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

Jacobs (J) vs. Waste Connections (WCN): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Commercial & Professional Services industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Jacobs (J) and Waste Connections (WCN)
Metric	J	WCN
P/E Ratio (TTM)	49.47	42.39
P/S Ratio (TTM)	1.23	4.76
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	5.34	6.00
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	3.71%	2.28%