CLEAN HARBORS, INC vs GFL Environmental Inc., two Waste Management stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Clean Harbors runs the messy end of the business, hazardous waste and emergency cleanup, and earns 14.25% on equity at a 6.53% net margin. GFL Environmental is a straight Canadian collector whose reported profitability is warped by a one-off asset sale, so the honest read is the cash. GFL turns 7.03% of its price into free cash flow against 2.92% at Clean Harbors, and trades at 2.50 times book while Clean Harbors sits at 5.76. The market pays a stiff premium for the harder, more specialized work. GFL at $13.8B and Clean Harbors at $16.0B are close in size, far apart in what buyers will pay per dollar of net assets.
Comparison updated 2026-07-11.
| Metric | CLH | GFL |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $303.75 | $39.73 |
| Market cap | $16.1B | $14.7B |
| Sector | Waste Management | Waste Management |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | +24.9% | — |
| P/E | 41.2 | 5.3 |
| P/B | 5.80 | 2.67 |
| P/S | 2.66 | 3.02 |
| EV/EBITDA | 16.7 | — |
| Revenue growth | +2.0% | +8.1% |
| Operating margin | 8.2% | — |
| Net margin | 6.5% | 57.6% |
| Return on equity | 14.3% | 50.9% |
| Return on assets | 5.2% | 19.8% |
| Return on invested capital | 9.2% | — |
| FCF yield | 2.9% | 6.6% |
| Debt / equity | 1.00 | 0.00 |
| Current ratio | 2.34 | 0.58 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 7.60 | 1.32 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 4 / 9 | 7 / 9 |
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The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.