CLH vs WM: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?
Last updated October 2026
Short answer
WM is the larger of the two ($90.68B market cap): the incumbent the market prices for continued execution (24.97x forward earnings, beta 0.43). CLH is the smaller challenger ($16.90B), actually pricier on forward earnings (32.00x): more room to run, but more to prove. The real question is which set of drivers you believe, and whether owning one (or both) leaves you over-concentrated.
CLH vs WM: the tie-breaker metrics
Same yardstick, side by side (as of October 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.
| Metric | CLH | WM | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $16.90B | $90.68B | Size. The larger name is the incumbent; the smaller has more room to grow and more to prove. |
| Forward P/E | 32.00 | 24.97 | Valuation on next year's expected earnings, the same yardstick for both. Lower is cheaper for that growth; higher means the market is paying up. |
| Trailing P/E | 38.80 | 32.13 | Valuation on the last 12 months. A big drop from trailing to forward means the market expects earnings to jump, so more growth is already in the price. |
| Beta | 0.88 | 0.43 | Volatility vs the market. Above 1 swings harder than the index; below 1 is steadier. Higher beta means bigger drawdowns to hold through. |
| Price vs 52-week range | 88% of range | 61% of range | Where today's price sits between the 52-week low and high. Near the high is momentum with less margin of safety; near the low is out of favor or a discount, depending on why. |
| Price / book | 5.77 | 9.14 | How much you pay over book value. Very high can signal an asset-light, high-return business or a rich price. |
Reading it: WM is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.
Before you buy: how CLH and WM affect your concentration
The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. CLH and WM share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.
This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined CLH and WM exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.
What does Clean Harbors (CLH) do?
Clean Harbors operates two segments. Environmental Services (the large majority of revenue and profit) runs hazardous-waste incinerators, landfills, treatment facilities, field and emergency-response services, and the Safety-Kleen branded parts-washer and used-oil collection network. The second segment, Safety-Kleen Sustainability Solutions (SKSS), is North America's largest re-refiner and recycler of used motor oil, turning waste oil into base and blended lubricants. The company's moat comes from owning scarce, hard-to-permit assets: RCRA-permitted high-temperature incinerators and disposal sites that competitors cannot easily replicate, which gives Clean Harbors durable pricing power on the disposal side.
What does Waste Management (WM) do?
Waste Management, Inc. (branded WM) is the largest environmental-services company in North America, providing waste collection, transfer, disposal, and recycling to millions of residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers. Its core solid-waste business runs collection routes that feed transfer stations and, ultimately, the industry's most extensive network of landfills. That landfill network is the heart of WM's moat: permitting new landfills is extremely difficult, so owning disposal capacity lets WM capture value across the whole chain and price essential services steadily. WM is also the largest recycler in North America and a leader in turning landfill gas into energy.
CLH vs WM: how do they differ?
Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.
- CLH drivers: Scarce disposal infrastructure and pricing power; New incinerator capacity and utilization.
- WM drivers: Pricing power and recurring revenue; Sustainability, RNG, and recycling growth.
Which fits which kind of investor
A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: The stock trades at roughly 39x trailing and 32x forward earnings as of October 2026, so it prices in continued execution and leaves little room for disappointment. For WM, wM is defensive but not risk-free.
CLH or WM: which should you pick?
Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick CLH if you believe its drivers more; WM if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the CLH and WM guides.
CLH vs WM: the full fundamentals
CLH. Clean Harbors trades at about 39 times trailing and 32 times forward earnings as of October 16, 2026, and about 16 times EV/EBITDA, a premium-industrial multiple that the Q2 2026 beat helped support. Analysts expect 2026 EPS near $9.97, up about 35%, but only about 2% growth in 2027, so the premium leans on PFAS, incinerator utilization and the newly acquired businesses. The mean target of 15 analysts is about $361, above the $317.70 close, with a consensus rating of buy.
WM. At about 32 times trailing earnings and 25 times forward estimates, WM still carries the premium multiple investors pay for defensive, recurring cash flows and a landfill moat, even after a flat year for the shares. Analysts expect EPS to grow about 8.5% in 2026 and about 12% in 2027, and the average price target sits near $254, but several targets were cut in mid-October, so the third-quarter report on October 27 is the next test of whether that premium holds. Figures are from Yahoo Finance as of October 16, 2026; verify live figures before acting.
Headline figures (approximate, October 2026): CLH shows revenue (ttm) ~$6.24B, revenue growth (q2 2026, yoy) ~12%, net income (ttm) ~$439M, operating / net margin ~15.5% / ~7%; WM shows revenue (ttm) ~$25.7 billion, up ~4% year over year in the latest quarter (2025 full year: ~$25.2 billion), margins ~41% gross, ~19% operating, ~11% net, net income (ttm) ~$2.85 billion; trailing EPS ~$7.06, p/e ~32x trailing, ~25x forward.
The bottom line: CLH vs WM
CLH and WM are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined CLH and WM exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.
Wondering how CLH or WM fits the portfolio you already own? Walnut is an AI investing app that connects your brokerage read-only and answers questions like that about your actual holdings: overlap, concentration, and how each position tracks the S&P 500. Compare the best AI portfolio analyzers or see the best AI investing apps in 2026.
Investing in Clean Harbors with AI
Connect the broker you already use and ask Walnut's AI how CLH fits what you actually hold: whether you own it already through a fund, what it would do to your concentration, and how it has tracked the S&P 500. Read-only by default, and you approve anything before it reaches your broker.
FAQ
What is the difference between CLH and WM?
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Clean Harbors operates two segments. Waste Management, Inc. They show up together because they share investment themes, but they are different businesses, so the better fit depends on which thesis you are expressing.
Is CLH or WM the better stock?
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Neither is universally better. WM is the larger incumbent; CLH is the smaller challenger and looks pricier on forward earnings. Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Compare what each does, the tie-breaker metrics above, and the risks, then decide which fits your thesis and what you already own.
Which is cheaper, CLH or WM?
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On forward P/E (as of October 2026), CLH trades at 32.00x and WM at 24.97x, so WM is the cheaper of the two on next year's expected earnings. A lower multiple is not automatically the better buy: a richer valuation can be justified by faster growth, and a lower one can reflect real risk. Weigh the multiple against how fast each business is compounding.
Should you own both CLH and WM?
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Because they share themes, owning both concentrates you in that theme. That can be intentional (a focused bet) or accidental (less diversification than it looks). Walnut can show your combined exposure across both, and whether adding either over-concentrates you, before you buy.
What are the risks of CLH vs WM?
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CLH: The stock trades at roughly 39x trailing and 32x forward earnings as of October 2026, so it prices in continued execution and leaves little room for disappointment. The SKSS segment is sensitive to base and blended oil pricing, which pressured results in early 2026 and adds cyclicality. Environmental Services demand is tied to industrial production and energy activity, so a manufacturing or energy slowdown would reduce waste volumes and emergency-response work. The business is capital intensive and carries meaningful debt from acquisitions (about $3.25 billion as of June 30, 2026, before the $600 million notes issued to fund the EnviroServe and ES&H deals), and integration of those businesses is a new execution task, and it faces ongoing regulatory, environmental-liability, and permitting risk. PFAS revenue, while promising, is still early and depends on the pace and shape of future regulation. WM: WM is defensive but not risk-free. Waste volumes, especially from commercial and industrial customers, are somewhat economically sensitive, so a deep recession can soften growth even if pricing holds. The business is capital-intensive: landfills, fleets, RNG plants, and recycling facilities require heavy ongoing capital spending, and rising fuel, labor, and equipment costs can pressure margins. The Stericycle integration adds execution and integration risk, and its healthcare-waste operations have historically been uneven. Recycling and RNG economics depend on volatile commodity and energy-credit prices. WM also typically trades at a premium valuation, so disappointments can hit the stock harder, and it operates under extensive environmental and regulatory oversight where rule changes, liabilities, or permitting setbacks can raise costs. Leverage is also meaningful: WM carried about $23.4 billion of debt against roughly $0.6 billion of cash in mid-2026, a legacy of the debt-funded Stericycle deal, so interest costs and the pace of deleveraging matter. In October 2026 several analysts lowered price targets ahead of the third-quarter report, a reminder that sentiment can cool even when results hold up.
Walnut is informational, not investment advice. This page is descriptive and not a recommendation to buy or sell CLH or WM; figures are approximate and dated (as of October 2026). Verify current data before investing.