Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. WCN scored 53.2, WM scored 60.5 — WM leads.
Compare another set
WCN
Waste Connections, Inc.
Waste Management · Quality-Growth
53.2
$152.83 · $38.4B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
7.3
WM leads
WM
Waste Management, Inc.
Waste Management · Quality-Growth
60.5
$208.83 · $83.5B
fundamentals as of
At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
CheapestWM29.6x
Fastest growthWM+7.2%
Strongest balance sheetWCN1.22
Highest qualityWM80 / 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)
WCN
stronger →← stronger
WM
63
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
80
61
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
66
39
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
42
WM is stronger on 3 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
WCN
WM
$1.2bC+
FCF
$3.6bB
+5.7%C+
Rev
+7.2%B
1.22C
D/E
2.35D
36.9xC
P/E
29.6xB
1.51C+
PEG
1.92C+
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
WCN
WM
84% above
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
35% above
~23%/yr
Growth the price impliesyr-1 FCF growth, fading to 4% · lower = less priced in
~15%/yr
-50%
1-yr DCF upside
-32%
-46%
5-yr DCF upside
-26%
-39%
10-yr DCF upside
-16%
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
Model signals
WCN
Why this score
Buying back stock
Raising its dividend
WM
Why this score
Raising its dividend
Durable high returns
The companies
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.
WMWaste Management, Inc.
Waste Management · $208.83 · beta 0.43
Why now
Waste Management · market cap $83.5b. 16% off the 52-week high of $248.13. 25 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $255.56 (implying +22% upside).
Moat
ROE 29% — top-decile capital efficiency. Either pricing leverage, low capital intensity, or aggressive buybacks; the durability story depends on which. FCF converts 125% of net income — earnings translate cleanly into cash. $83.5b market cap gives the company enough scale to absorb fixed costs that subscale competitors can't, without yet being so large that growth has to come from acquisition.
Risk
D/E 2.35 is elevated — limits strategic flexibility and raises refinancing exposure if rates stay higher for longer.
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 WCN and WM diverge
On the headline score the gap is 7.3 points in favor of WM. The widest single difference is Quality, where WM leads by 17.0 points.
QualityWCN 63.4 · WM 80.4WM +17.0
GrowthWCN 61.3 · WM 66.1WM +4.8
ValueWCN 38.6 · WM 41.6WM +3.0
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 WM or WCN the better stock?
WM scores higher: WM 60.5, WCN 53.2 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 WM and WCN differ most?
The widest gap is quality, where WM leads by 17 points on the 0–100 pillar scale. WM leads all three pillars, so the gap is broad rather than a single-measure difference.
How are WM and WCN 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.