CASELLA WASTE SYSTEMS, INC. vs GFL Environmental Inc., two Waste Management stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Casella runs a regional roll-up in the Northeast, and right now its acquisition costs have flattened profits to a 0.38% net margin and a 0.46% return on equity, near breakeven. GFL Environmental, the Canadian collector, has cleaner cash economics once you set aside a one-time asset-sale distortion in its headline numbers. GFL turns 7.03% of its price into free cash flow against Casella's 1.71%, carries almost no net leverage, and trades at 2.50 times book versus Casella's much richer 3.82. Casella at $6.0B is smaller than GFL at $13.8B, and buyers are paying up for a growth story its current earnings do not yet show.
Comparison updated 2026-07-11.
| Metric | CWST | GFL |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $96.84 | $39.73 |
| Market cap | $6.2B | $14.7B |
| Sector | Waste Management | Waste Management |
| Stage | Growth | Mature |
| P/E | — | 5.3 |
| P/B | 3.92 | 2.67 |
| P/S | 3.28 | 3.02 |
| EV/EBITDA | 19.0 | — |
| Revenue growth | +15.2% | +8.1% |
| Operating margin | 1.1% | — |
| Net margin | 0.4% | 57.6% |
| Return on equity | 0.5% | 50.9% |
| Return on assets | 0.2% | 19.8% |
| Return on invested capital | 1.9% | — |
| FCF yield | 1.7% | 6.6% |
| Debt / equity | 0.74 | 0.00 |
| Current ratio | 1.38 | 0.58 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 6.56 | 1.32 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 6 / 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.