CLEAN HARBORS, INC vs REPUBLIC SERVICES, INC., two Waste Management stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Republic Services collects and buries ordinary trash, a steady toll business, and converts 11.34% of revenue into profit while earning 18.11% on equity. Clean Harbors handles the hazardous material nobody else wants and earns 14.25% on equity at a thinner 6.53% margin. Buyers pay 40.88 times earnings for Clean Harbors versus 31.06 times for Republic, betting the specialty work compounds faster. Republic carries more borrowing, 1.11 debt to equity against 1.00, and returns a bit more cash, 3.87% free cash flow yield to 2.92%. At $66.9B Republic is four times the size of Clean Harbors at $16.0B, and priced more cheaply per dollar of earnings.
Comparison updated 2026-07-11.
| Metric | CLH | RSG |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $303.75 | $219.11 |
| Market cap | $16.1B | $67.8B |
| Sector | Waste Management | Waste Management |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | +24.9% | +8.1% |
| P/E | 41.2 | 31.4 |
| P/B | 5.80 | 5.66 |
| P/S | 2.66 | 3.54 |
| EV/EBITDA | 16.7 | 15.7 |
| Revenue growth | +2.0% | +3.0% |
| Operating margin | 8.2% | 17.7% |
| Net margin | 6.5% | 11.3% |
| Return on equity | 14.3% | 18.1% |
| Return on assets | 5.2% | 6.3% |
| Return on invested capital | 9.2% | 10.5% |
| FCF yield | 2.9% | 3.8% |
| Dividend yield | — | 1.1% |
| Debt / equity | 1.00 | 1.11 |
| Current ratio | 2.34 | 0.67 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 7.60 | 7.05 |
| 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.