WM vs CLH Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Compare Waste Management and Clean Harbors by waste stream mix, recurring vs project-based revenue, environmental liability exposure, pricing power, and which waste services company offers better defensive compounding.
Use this Waste Management vs Clean Harbors comparison to evaluate the key differences across valuation, growth, profitability, and risk before making an investment decision.
WM and CLH are closely matched — they split the tracked metrics evenly. CLH has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+31.53% vs +3.53%), though WM has the better forward P/E setup (25.99x vs 31.41x for CLH). Analyst consensus implies similar upside for both: +7.24% for WM and +8.67% for CLH.
| Metric | WM | CLH |
|---|---|---|
| AI score | 50.9 | 48.2 |
| AI rank | #448 | #597 |
| Latest close | $238.75 | $303.74 |
| 1M return | +6.94% | +1.66% |
| 6M return | +4.15% | +16.17% |
| 1Y return | +3.53% | +31.53% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | WM | CLH |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $10.4K (+4.0%) started 2025-07-25 | $13.15K (+31.5%) started 2025-07-24 |
| 5Y ago | $18.33K (+83.3%) started 2021-07-26 | $32.69K (+226.9%) started 2021-07-26 |
| 10Y ago | $49.64K (+396.4%) started 2016-07-25 | $57.88K (+478.8%) started 2016-07-25 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | WM | CLH |
|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $96.1B | $16.05B |
| Trailing P/E | 34.58 | 41.10 |
| Forward P/E | 25.99 | 31.41 |
| Price/Sales | 4.15 | 2.70 |
| EV/Revenue | 4.68 | 3.10 |
| Analyst target | $256.64 | $330.07 |
| Target upside | +7.24% | +8.67% |
| Metric | WM | CLH |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth | 3.50% | 1.90% |
| Earnings growth | 13.30% | 9.20% |
| EPS growth | +13.30% | +9.20% |
| FCF margin | +8.41% | +6.72% |
| Operating margin | 17.52% | N/A |
| Profit margin | 10.99% | 6.53% |
| ROIC proxy | 29.94% | 14.79% |
| Return on equity | 29.94% | 14.79% |
| Dividend yield | 1.48% | 0.00% |
| Beta | 0.45 | 0.86 |
| Debt/equity | 228.41 | 116.45 |
| Current ratio | 0.93 | 2.34 |
| Quick ratio | 0.80 | 1.89 |
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | WM | CLH |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growth | +3.95% | +31.53% |
| CAGR | +3.97% | +31.55% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.07 | 0.98 | |
| Max drawdown | 17.01% | 19.45% | |
| Max daily drop | 4.46% | 11.48% | |
| Max wkly drop | 8.75% | 15.19% | |
| 5Y | Growth | +72.62% | +226.88% |
| CAGR | +11.55% | +26.77% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.44 | 0.82 | |
| Max drawdown | 18.72% | 30.86% | |
| Max daily drop | 8.03% | 11.48% | |
| Max wkly drop | 11.60% | 15.19% | |
| 10Y | Growth | +317.16% | +478.77% |
| CAGR | +15.36% | +19.20% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.60 | 0.56 | |
| Max drawdown | 30.07% | 64.51% | |
| Max daily drop | 11.12% | 33.52% | |
| Max wkly drop | 16.97% | 42.28% |
| Category | WM | CLH |
|---|---|---|
| Company | WM | CLH |
| Sector | Industrials | N/A |
| Industry | Waste Management | N/A |
| Core business | N/A | N/A |
| Investor focus | N/A | N/A |
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