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what it is
Clean Harbors gets paid to collect, process, recycle, and dispose of hazardous waste across North America.
how it gets paid
Last year Clean Harbors made $6.0B in revenue. Technical Services was the main engine at $2.1B, or 35% of sales.
why it's growing
Revenue grew 2.4% last year. The miss was only $0.03 a share, but that matters when the stock trades at 35.8x trailing earnings and investors are already waiting for a.
what just happened
Last quarter EPS came in at $1.61, missing the $1.64 estimate by $0.03.
At a glance
B+ balance sheet — decent shape, but not bulletproof
65/100 earnings predictability — reasonably predictable
35.8x trailing p/e — you're paying up for this one
8.5% return on capital — nothing to write home about
xvary composite: 66/100 — average
What they do
Clean Harbors gets paid to collect, process, recycle, and dispose of hazardous waste across North America.
This business is hard to copy because waste rules are brutal and the network is huge. Clean Harbors runs more than 520 service locations across all 50 U.S. states, plus Canada, Puerto Rico, and Mexico. If your factory needs hazardous waste handled, you do not shop like you are buying printer paper. You hire the company with trucks, permits, people, and coverage already in place.
How they make money
$6.0B
annual revenue · their business grew +2.4% last year
Technical Services
$2.1B
+3.0%
Industrial Services
$1.5B
+2.0%
Field Services, Oil, Gas & Lodging
$1.0B
+1.0%
Safety-Kleen Sustainability Solutions
$1.4B
+4.0%
The products that matter
hazardous waste disposal and incineration
Environmental Services
inside a $6.0B revenue base
this is the regulated engine underneath the whole company. On a $6.0B revenue base, higher pricing and better incinerator utilization are what turn steady cleanup demand into better earnings.
core network
used oil collection and recycling
Safety-Kleen Sustainability Solutions
margin stabilizer
management says the charge-for-oil model is helping offset base oil volatility. In a company earning a 6.8% net margin, even modest margin stability matters.
recycling flywheel
forever-chemical cleanup work
PFAS Remediation
20%–25% annual expansion
this is the faster-growth pocket of the story. Current commentary points to 20%–25% annual expansion, which matters because the rest of the company only grew 2.4% last year.
growth pocket
Key numbers
35.8x
trailing p/e
P/E → stock price compared with past earnings → so what: you are paying a premium for a business projected to grow earnings just 4.0% a year.
19.0%
operating margin
Operating margin → profit after running the business, before interest and taxes → so what: the core operation is solid even if net margin is only 6.7%.
8.5%
return on capital
Return on capital → profit earned on the money tied up in the business → so what: this is decent, not elite, which makes 35.8x earnings look rich.
$2.8B
long-term debt
Long-term debt → money the company owes over many years → so what: debt is manageable at 16% of capital, but it limits room for mistakes.
Financial health
B+
strength
- balance sheet grade B+ — solid but not elite
- risk rank 3 — safer than 50% of stocks
- price stability 75 / 100
- long-term debt $2.8B (16% of capital)
- net profit margin 6.7% — keeps 7 cents of every dollar in revenue
- return on equity 12% — $0.12 profit for every $1 investors have put in
B+ — functional but not a standout on the balance sheet.
Total return vs. market
You invested $10,000 in CLH 3 years ago → it's now worth $19,970.
The index would have given you $13,880.
source: institutional data · total return
What just happened
missed estimates
Last quarter EPS came in at $1.61, missing the $1.64 estimate by $0.03.
Revenue in the latest quarter was $4.5B, up 192% vs. prior year, while full-year revenue reached $6.0B, up 2.4%. Pricing and customer activity helped, but healthcare costs weighed on annual earnings.
$4.5B
revenue
$1.61
eps
192%
revenue growth
the number that mattered
The miss was only $0.03 a share, but that matters when the stock trades at 35.8x trailing earnings and investors are already waiting for a profit rebound.
-
the full-year top line likely grew at a low single-digit rate vs. prior year, to about $6 billion.performance was probably supported by growth in its environmental services (es) segment, which benefited from healthy demand across the technical services and safety kleen environmental businesses.
-
moreover, ongoing pricing initiatives and strong customer activity contributed to the results.that said, the industrial services segment likely continued to constrain overall revenue growth, as clients postponed large-scale plant turnaround projects to control costs.
-
on the bottom line, share earnings may have declined to roughly $7.30, weighed down by elevated healthcare-related expenses during the latter half of the year.
-
a bottom-line recovery seems to be in the cards for 2026 and 2027.the technical services segment is expected to remain healthy, supported by consistent price increases and high utilization across the incinerator network. the field services business is also expected to reemerge from its late 2025 softness, with activity levels improving gradually as the year progresses. meanwhile, the kimball incinerator, now fully functional and ramping toward full capacity, should provide a high-margin boost to the es segment. while industrial services has lagged amid deferred customer spending, a gradual recovery path is emerging. as the macroeconomic environment stabilizes and postponed maintenance becomes a safety necessity rather than an optional expense, large-scale turnaround projects are expected to rebound.
-
plus, the pfas remediation business focused on removing forever chemicals remains a high-growth arena, forecast to maintain its 20%-25% annual expansion.meanwhile, the safety kleen sustainability solutions segment will likely maintain stable margins, as the charge for oil model for used motor oil continues to offset base oil price volatility.
source: company results and analyst consensus, 2025
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What could go wrong
the #1 risk is deferred industrial turnaround projects.
med
deferred industrial turnaround projects
Management commentary already points to customers postponing large maintenance shutdowns to control costs. That hurts the higher-ticket work that can move quarterly numbers.
Q4 revenue only rose 1% and full-year revenue only rose 2.4%. More delay would keep that slow-growth pattern in place.
med
kimball incinerator ramp misses expectations
Part of the 2026–2027 recovery case rests on Kimball moving toward full capacity and lifting margin mix. If utilization takes longer, the earnings rebound gets pushed out.
At 35.8x trailing earnings, this stock does not have much patience for a delayed execution story.
med
base oil volatility pressures Safety-Kleen economics
Management says the charge-for-oil model helps offset price swings. Helps is not the same as eliminates. Commodity-linked recycling businesses still feel the tape.
With a 6.8% net margin, you do not need a massive hit for profitability to feel thinner.
med
PFAS growth stays niche instead of moving the whole company
PFAS remediation is the exciting part of the story, with expected 20%–25% annual expansion. The problem is scale. The rest of the company still needs to perform.
A fast-growing niche cannot by itself justify a premium multiple on a $6.0B business growing 2.4% overall.
When a business growing 2.4% trades at 35.8x earnings, project timing and margin execution matter more than usual.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
risk
industrial services project timing
If postponed turnaround work starts coming back, the growth profile can improve quickly. If it does not, you are still paying a premium multiple for a low-growth year.
calendar
kimball incinerator ramp milestones
Listen for management updates on utilization and throughput. This is one of the clearest links between operations and the 2026–2027 earnings story.
metric
revenue growth above 2.4%
The stock does not need hypergrowth, but it does need evidence that 2.4% was a floor, not the new normal.
trend
PFAS remediation staying at 20%–25%
This is the growth pocket worth tracking. If PFAS keeps compounding while core operations stabilize, the story gets easier to underwrite.
Analyst rankings
short-term outlook
top 20%
momentum score 2 — analysts expect above-average price performance in the year ahead. in human-speak, they still like the setup.
risk profile
average
stability score 3 — typical stock risk, not a bunker and not a rollercoaster.
chart momentum
average
technical score 3 — the chart is behaving normally. No dramatic signal, good or bad.
earnings predictability
65 / 100
the business is understandable. The quarterly path is less clean. Expect some noise.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutions have been net selling for 3 consecutive quarters — 236 buyers vs. 275 sellers in 3q2025. total institutional holdings: 49.7M shares. net selling for 3 quarters.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
$211
$404
$261
current price
$308
target midpoint · +18% from current · 3-5yr high: $350 (+35% · 8% ann'l return)
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