Clean Harbors vs Waste Management
Waste Management reported revenue of $25.2 billion in fiscal 2025, 4.2 times Clean Harbors' $6.0 billion in fiscal 2025. Clean Harbors' revenue grew 2.4% in its latest year, and Waste Management's grew 14.2%. Clean Harbors had an operating margin of 11.2%, against 17.1% at Waste Management. Free cash flow was $442 million at Clean Harbors and $2.8 billion at Waste Management.
Side by side
| Clean Harbors | Waste Management | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest fiscal year | FY2025, Dec 31, 2025 | FY2025, Dec 31, 2025 |
| Revenue | $6.0B | $25.2B |
| Revenue growth | 2.4% | 14.2% |
| Revenue growth a year, last 5 years | 13.9% | 10.6% |
| Gross margin | 31.3% | 40.4% |
| Operating margin | 11.2% | 17.1% |
| Net margin | 6.5% | 10.7% |
| Free cash flow | $442M | $2.8B |
| Free cash flow margin | 7.3% | 11.2% |
| Return on capital | 10.4% | 10.9% |
| Net debt to EBITDA | 1.8x | 3.1x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $250M | $1.3B |
| Change in diluted share count | −0.9% | 0.2% |
| Last close | $317.09 | $241.02 |
| P/E at the last close | 42.9× | 34.1× |
| Insider trades, last 12 months | sold $63.4 million | bought $392,840, sold $24.2 million |
| Piotroski F-score | 7 of 9 | 6 of 9 |
Amounts in each company's own currency, US$ unless marked (a foreign company may report in another), each company's latest fiscal year from its 10-K, or 20-F or 40-F for a foreign company. Growth rates compare with the year before; the five-year rate is the average a year. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending; return on capital is after-tax operating income over the money invested in the business; P/E is the last close over the latest earnings per share. Banks are measured differently (return on equity, efficiency ratio), so some rows apply to one company only.
Ten years
Revenue
US$ billions, fiscal years
Clean HarborsWaste Management
Operating margin
Percent of revenue
Clean HarborsWaste Management
Free cash flow
US$ billions. Cash from operations minus capital expenditure.
Clean HarborsWaste Management
Source: the companies' Form 10-K filings, from SEC EDGAR, and the last close. For information only, not investment advice: the figures describe results, not which company is the better investment. The Filing Desk is not affiliated with either company. Full figures on the Clean Harbors and Waste Management pages.