Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. CLH scored 38.6, WCN scored 53.2 — WCN leads.
Compare another set
CLH
Clean Harbors, Inc.
Waste Management · Quality-Growth
38.6
$316.93 · $16.7B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
14.6
WCN leads
WCN
Waste Connections, Inc.
Waste Management · Quality-Growth
53.2
$152.83 · $38.4B
fundamentals as of
At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
CheapestWCN36.9x
Fastest growthWCN+5.7%
Strongest balance sheetCLH1.11
Highest qualityWCN63 / 100
Side by side · every name on one set of axes
Growth against the P/E multiple. Up and to the right is cheaper and faster — the quality-growth idea in one picture. Points beyond the axis are pinned to the edge and marked off-scale rather than allowed to compress everything else.
The model, pillar by pillar (0–100 each)
CLH
stronger →← stronger
WCN
62
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
63
55
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
61
17
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
39
WCN is stronger on 3 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
CLH
WCN
$458mC
FCF
$1.2bC+
+2.4%C
Rev
+5.7%C+
1.11C+
D/E
1.22C
38.4xC
P/E
36.9xC
0.27A
PEG
1.51C+
Winner per row is the stronger grade; where grades tie, the better figure breaks it. A true tie or a missing value shows no highlight.
Valuation · DCF cross-check
CLH
WCN
129% above
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
84% above
~24%/yr
Growth the price impliesyr-1 FCF growth, fading to 4% · lower = less priced in
~23%/yr
-56%
1-yr DCF upside
-50%
-56%
5-yr DCF upside
-46%
-57%
10-yr DCF upside
-39%
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
Model signals
CLH
No notable signals flagged.
WCN
Why this score
Buying back stock
Raising its dividend
The companies
CLHClean Harbors, Inc.
Waste Management · $316.93 · beta 0.88
Why now
Waste Management · market cap $16.7b. 6% off the 52-week high of $335.94. PEG 0.27 — paying under fair value for the growth rate. 15 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $359.73 (implying +14% upside).
Moat
ROE 16% is above 15% — the equity base is compounding at a rate the market struggles to discount accurately. FCF converts 104% of net income — earnings translate cleanly into cash.
Risk
Trailing P/E 38x sits well above the S&P median (~20x) — multiple compression is a real risk if revenue growth decelerates.
WCNWaste Connections, Inc.
Waste Management · $152.83 · beta 0.48
Why now
Waste Management · market cap $38.4b. 15% off the 52-week high of $179.74. 25 sell-side analysts rate this a Strong Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $198.08 (implying +30% upside).
Moat
ROE 13% meets the long-run market sustainable threshold — solid but not differentiated; the durability comes from elsewhere. FCF converts 116% of net income — earnings translate cleanly into cash.
Risk
Trailing P/E 37x sits well above the S&P median (~20x) — multiple compression is a real risk if revenue growth decelerates.
Verdict — model-derived comparison
Generating verdict… typically 5–10 seconds
Not investment advice. The Bull Rankings publishes a quantitative ranking model and accompanying analysis for general informational purposes only. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security; nothing is personalized to your circumstances, risk tolerance, or tax situation. Investing carries the risk of loss — invest at your own risk and consider consulting a licensed financial professional before acting on anything you read here. See terms and methodology for full disclosures.
Where CLH and WCN diverge
On the headline score the gap is 14.6 points in favor of WCN. The widest single difference is Value, where WCN leads by 21.7 points.
ValueCLH 16.9 · WCN 38.6WCN +21.7
GrowthCLH 55.1 · WCN 61.3WCN +6.2
QualityCLH 61.8 · WCN 63.4level
Pillars run 0–100. Value is judged against each company's own sector, so a Value score is a statement about a company relative to its own industry rather than to the other name here. A wide Value gap usually means the market already prices the difference in quality or growth — which is the trade-off this comparison comes down to.
Common questions
Is WCN or CLH the better stock?
WCN scores higher: WCN 53.2, CLH 38.6 out of 100 on the Bull Rankings quality-growth score, which blends business quality, growth and valuation into one number. A higher score means a stronger business at a more reasonable price — it is not a price target or a recommendation.
Where do WCN and CLH differ most?
The widest gap is value, where WCN leads by 22 points on the 0–100 pillar scale. WCN also leads growth, while quality is effectively level between them.
How are WCN and CLH scored?
Each carries the same 0–100 quality-growth score used everywhere on the site, built from three pillars — quality (profitability and returns on capital), growth (revenue and earnings), and value (what you pay for them) — combined as a geometric mean, so a weak pillar cannot be papered over by a strong one.
How current is this comparison?
The whole universe is re-scored every trading day after the US market close, so the scores and fundamentals here reflect the latest published edition.