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Clean Harbors (CLH)
NYSE:CLH
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Clean Harbors
(NYSE:CLH)
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Rating:74Outperform
Price Target:
$309.00
▲(5.39% Upside)
Action:ReiteratedDate:02/19/26
The score is driven primarily by solid financial fundamentals (scale, stable gross margins, and a notably improved balance sheet as reported) and supportive technical momentum (above key moving averages, positive MACD). These positives are tempered by premium valuation (P/E ~38) and some recent cash-flow conversion/FCF volatility, while the earnings call adds a modest positive due to steady 2026 growth guidance and strong capital returns despite near-term segment and macro headwinds.
Positive Factors
Scale & Stable Margins
Clean Harbors has roughly doubled revenue over several years while preserving ~31% gross margins. That scale and margin durability support pricing power, network efficiencies, and cost absorption, underpinning long-term profitability across economic cycles.
Material Balance Sheet De‑risking
A sharp reduction in debt and very conservative leverage materially lowers financial risk and interest burden, giving management flexibility for organic investment, M&A, buybacks, and to weather cyclical slowdowns without jeopardizing operations.
Strong Cash Generation & Capital Allocation
Record adjusted FCF, sizeable cash reserves and sustained buybacks show robust cash conversion and disciplined capital allocation. This supports reinvestment in fleet/M&A, funds PFAS expansion, and provides shareholder returns while maintaining flexibility.
Negative Factors
Weakened FCF Conversion / Volatility
Although operating cash improved in absolute terms, FCF fell ~25% in 2025 and covered only ~50% of net income, signaling volatile cash conversion. Persistent variability can constrain reinvestment, debt paydown pacing and sustaining buybacks over time.
PFAS Growth Depends on Regulation
PFAS represents a high-growth structural opportunity, but its revenue runway hinges on external regulatory action and procurement timing. Slower or unpredictable regulation could delay facility utilization and elongate ROI timelines for related investments.
Commodity Sensitivity in SKSS Business
Safety‑Kleen’s margins and cash generation are exposed to base‑oil spreads and re‑refining economics. Prolonged weakness in base oil pricing can suppress SKSS EBITDA and limit upside from re‑refining, making earnings partially commodity‑sensitive.
Clean Harbors (CLH) vs. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)
Market Cap
$15.51B
Dividend YieldN/A
Average Volume (3M)489.56K
Price to Earnings (P/E)40.3
Beta (1Y)0.79
Revenue Growth2.85%
EPS Growth-6.27%
CountryUS
Employees22,796
SectorIndustrials
Sector Strength72
IndustryWaste Management
Share Statistics
EPS (TTM)1.62
Shares Outstanding52,910,946
10 Day Avg. Volume663,571
30 Day Avg. Volume489,563
Financial Highlights & Ratios
PEG Ratio-15.86
Price to Book (P/B)4.54
Price to Sales (P/S)2.07
P/FCF Ratio28.23
Enterprise Value/Market Cap1.18
Enterprise Value/Revenue3.03
Enterprise Value/Gross Profit10.28
Enterprise Value/Ebitda16.10
Forecast
1Y Price Target
$299.45Price Target Upside2.13% Upside
Rating ConsensusModerate Buy
Number of Analyst Covering11
EPS Forecast (FY)8.2
Revenue Forecast (FY)$6.22B
Clean Harbors Business Overview & Revenue Model
Company DescriptionClean Harbors, Inc. provides environmental and industrial services in North America. The company operates through two segments, Environmental Services and Safety-Kleen Sustainability Solutions. The Environmental Services segment collects, transports, treats, and disposes hazardous and non-hazardous waste, such as resource recovery, physical treatment, fuel blending, incineration, landfill disposal, wastewater treatment, lab chemicals disposal, and explosives management services; and CleanPack services, including collection, identification, categorization, specialized packaging, transportation, and disposal of laboratory chemicals and household hazardous waste. This segment also provides industrial maintenance and specialty industrial services, and utilizes specialty equipment and resources that performs field services. The Safety-Kleen Sustainability Solutions segment offers specially designed parts washers; automotive and industrial cleaning products, such as antifreeze, windshield washer fluid, degreasers, glass and floor cleaners, hand cleaners, absorbents, mats, and spill kits; pickup and transportation services for hazardous and non-hazardous containerized waste for recycling or disposal; and vacuum services to remove solids, residual oily water and sludge, and other fluids from customers oil/water separators, sumps, and collection tanks, as well as remove and collect waste fluids found at metal fabricators, auto maintenance providers, and general manufacturers. This segment also manufactures, formulates, packages, distributes, and markets lubricants; and provides containerized waste, vacuum services, used motor oil collection, and contract blending and packaging services. Clean Harbors, Inc. was incorporated in 1980 and is headquartered in Norwell, Massachusetts.
How the Company Makes MoneyClean Harbors generates revenue primarily through its diverse service offerings, which include waste management, industrial services, and environmental solutions. The company's revenue model is built on a mix of contractual agreements and one-time service fees, enabling it to secure stable income from long-term clients while also capitalizing on project-based work. Key revenue streams include hazardous waste treatment and disposal, industrial cleaning services, and emergency response operations. Additionally, Clean Harbors benefits from strategic partnerships with various sectors such as energy and manufacturing, allowing it to provide tailored solutions that meet specific regulatory and operational needs. The company's focus on sustainability and efficiency further enhances its appeal to clients, contributing to its overall earnings.
Clean Harbors Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Date:Feb 18, 2026
(Q4-2025)
| % Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:May 06, 2026
Earnings Call Sentiment Positive
The call conveyed strong operational and financial results (record revenue, margin expansion, record free cash flow, buybacks, low leverage, and multiple operational milestones) and presented a constructive yet prudent outlook for 2026 (guiding ~5% EBITDA growth). Management acknowledged near-term headwinds — notably weakening base oil prices affecting SKSS, conservative Industrial Services expectations, weather-related volatility, and modest corporate cost inflation — but articulated clear mitigation strategies (pricing, CFO actions, fleet expansion, M&A, PFAS pipeline) and concrete capital allocation actions. On balance, positive performance and strong cash generation outweigh the manageable challenges and conservative assumptions.Q4-2025 Updates
Positive Updates
Record Safety Performance
Total recordable incident rate of 0.49 for 2025 — a record year for safety, driving benefits in reputation, retention and cost control.
All-time High Revenue
Full-year 2025 revenue topped $6,000,000,000 for the first time in company history.
Adjusted EBITDA Growth and Margin Expansion
Full-year adjusted EBITDA reached approximately $1,170,000,000, a 5% increase year-over-year; consolidated adjusted EBITDA margin improved 40 basis points for the year, with Q4 margin at 18.6% (up 60 basis points YoY). Q4 adjusted EBITDA was $279,000,000, up 8% YoY.
Strong Q4 Revenue and Segment Momentum
Q4 revenue grew 5% to $1,500,000,000. Environmental Services (ES) Q4 revenue grew 6% (largest quarterly increase), with TS up 8%, Safety-Kleen Environmental up 7%, Field Services up 13%. ES segment adjusted EBITDA up 8% in Q4 and Q4 segment margin up ~50 basis points.
Record Cash Flow and Improved Balance Sheet
Record annual adjusted free cash flow of $509,000,000 (≈44% of 2025 adjusted EBITDA). Q4 operating cash flow $355,000,000 (up 17% YoY) and Q4 adjusted free cash flow $261,000,000. Cash & short-term marketable securities > $950,000,000 and net debt/EBITDA ≈ 1.8x (lowest leverage in ~15 years); blended interest rate 5.2%.
Share Repurchases and Capital Allocation
Returned $133,000,000 in Q4 via buybacks (nearly 600,000 shares); full-year repurchases ~$250,000,000 (>1,100,000 shares). Board expanded authorization by $350,000,000 to a remaining $600,000,000 capacity.
Strategic M&A and Organic Investment
Signed agreement to acquire DCI environmental businesses for ~$130,000,000; expected annual revenue ~$40,000,000 and ~$11,000,000 adjusted EBITDA (≈12x). Announced $50,000,000 targeted vacuum truck fleet expansion (expected incremental adjusted EBITDA $12–14M in 2028).
PFAS Momentum and Growth Opportunity
PFAS capabilities highlighted by EPA incineration study, Senate hearing participation, and a three-year $110,000,000 Pearl Harbor contract. Company guidance assumes a conservative 20% PFAS business growth in 2026; regulatory developments (EPA, DOD, NDAA) cited as growth catalysts.
SKSS (Safety-Kleen) Performance Improvements
SKSS Q4 adjusted EBITDA was $30,000,000, up 22% YoY; full-year SKSS adjusted EBITDA $137,000,000. Charge-for-oil (CFO) pricing increased ~50% vs Q3 average; collected ~56,000,000 gallons of waste oil (supporting re-refining and margins), and Group III production increasing by ~4–6 million gallons YoY with a roughly $1/gallon premium.
Guidance and 2026 Outlook
2026 adjusted EBITDA guidance range $1,200,000,000–$1,260,000,000 (midpoint $1,230,000,000, ≈5% growth vs 2025). Environmental Services expected to grow just over 5% at midpoint; SKSS guided to ~$135,000,000 adjusted EBITDA. Adjusted free cash flow guidance $480,000,000–$540,000,000 (midpoint $510,000,000, ≈41% conversion).
Operational Milestones
Successful Kimball incinerator first-year ramp, creation of Phoenix hub, handled nearly 22,000 emergency response events, PFAS incineration study with EPA, and voluntary turnover reduced 150 basis points to a five-year low.
Negative Updates
Base Oil Market Weakness Impacting SKSS
Base oil pricing continued to weaken in Q4 and is assumed to decline slightly in 2026. SKSS Q1 expected to be down YoY with Q1 as a low watermark; company expects SKSS 2026 adjusted EBITDA of ~ $135,000,000 similar to 2025 (i.e., limited improvement despite mitigants).
Near-Term Industrial Headwinds and Conservative Industrial Services Outlook
Certain industrial verticals remained challenged in 2025. Industrial Services outlook for 2026 is described as modest/flat with management taking a conservative guide despite emerging signs of improving ISM/PMI indicators.
Weather-Driven Near-Term Volatility
Winter weather in early 2026 caused delays and can be a quarterly headwind; prior-year weather impacts amounted to an estimated $10–$12 million EBITDA headwind and Q1 cadence is expected to be softer (Q1 EBITDA percentage of full year guided lower than historical average).
Corporate Cost Pressure
SG&A as a percentage of revenue was 12.9% in Q4 (slightly higher YoY) due to transaction-related costs and stock-based compensation; Corporate negative adjusted EBITDA expected to increase 2–4% in 2026 driven by growth-support costs, higher wages/benefits and insurance inflation.
Execution / Timing Risks in M&A and Partnerships
M&A pipeline activity was high but not always successful in 2025; DCI acquisition contribution in guidance is limited to ~$5–6M due to timing uncertainty. Castrol partnership has had some wins but not as impactful as initially expected due to long sales cycles.
Dependence on Regulatory Progress for PFAS Upside
Much of PFAS upside depends on regulatory frameworks and timing (EPA/DOD/state rules). While pipeline and inbound interest are strong, acceleration materially depends on external regulatory actions.
Company Guidance
Management guided 2026 adjusted EBITDA of $1.20–$1.26 billion (midpoint $1.23B, ~5% growth vs. 2025), with Environmental Services expected to grow just over 5% at the midpoint and Q1 ES adj. EBITDA +4% to +7% YoY (consolidated Q1 growth ~1%–3%); SKSS is guided to roughly $135M of adjusted EBITDA (assumed similar to 2025). Guidance incorporates an estimated $5–$6M of 2026 adjusted EBITDA from the signed DCI carve‑out (the asset base is expected to generate ~$11M annual adj. EBITDA when fully owned), assumes only a few million dollars of 2026 EBITDA contribution from the $50M vacuum-truck fleet rollout (which management expects to add $12–$14M of EBITDA in 2028 when fully ramped), and models PFAS business growth at ~20% YoY. Corporate negative adjusted EBITDA is expected to increase ~2%–4%, net CapEx (excluding an $85M SDA and $25M fleet spend) is targeted at $340M–$400M (midpoint $370M), adjusted free cash flow is guided to $480M–$540M (midpoint $510M, ~41% conversion of guided adj. EBITDA), and the company retains $600M of share‑repurchase capacity after $133M of Q4 repurchases ($250M total repurchased in 2025).Clean Harbors Financial Statement Overview
Summary
Strong multi-year revenue growth with stable ~31% gross margin, and a materially strengthened balance sheet in 2025 as reported (sharp debt reduction, conservative leverage, steady equity/ROE). Offsetting this, net margin softened versus 2022 and 2025 free cash flow fell meaningfully with weaker cash conversion.Income Statement
Revenue has grown steadily over the last several years (from ~$3.1B in 2020 to ~$6.0B in 2025), though growth slowed materially in 2025 versus prior years. Profitability is solid for the industry with gross margin holding near ~31% across the period, but bottom-line profitability has softened from 2022 levels as net margin declined to ~6.5% in 2025 (vs. ~8.0% in 2022). Overall: good scale and generally stable margins, with some recent pressure on earnings efficiency.74
Positive
Balance Sheet
The balance sheet shows a major improvement in leverage in 2025: total debt dropped sharply (to ~$0.27B) and debt relative to equity moved to a very conservative level (~0.10x) compared with elevated leverage in 2021–2024 (~1.1x–1.8x). Equity has grown consistently, and returns on equity remain healthy (~14% in 2025, mid-teens in recent years). Key watch-out is the abrupt year-over-year debt step-down, which creates some comparability uncertainty, but as reported the company looks substantially de-risked.82
Very Positive
Cash Flow
Operating cash generation is strong and improving in absolute dollars (operating cash flow ~$867M in 2025 vs. ~$431M in 2020), supporting ongoing free cash flow. However, free cash flow declined meaningfully in 2025 (down ~25% year over year), and free cash flow covers only about half of net income in 2025, indicating conversion weakened versus prior years. Overall cash flow is solid, but the latest year shows volatility and reduced cash conversion.68
Positive
| Breakdown | Dec 2025 | Dec 2024 | Dec 2023 | Dec 2022 | Dec 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Income Statement | |||||
| Total Revenue | 6.03B | 5.89B | 5.41B | 5.17B | 3.81B |
| Gross Profit | 1.78B | 1.82B | 1.66B | 1.62B | 1.20B |
| EBITDA | 1.14B | 1.09B | 989.57M | 997.86M | 647.73M |
| Net Income | 390.97M | 402.30M | 377.86M | 411.74M | 203.25M |
Balance Sheet | |||||
| Total Assets | 7.62B | 7.38B | 6.38B | 6.13B | 5.65B |
| Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments | 953.68M | 789.83M | 550.80M | 554.64M | 534.30M |
| Total Debt | 3.45B | 3.04B | 2.49B | 2.59B | 2.70B |
| Total Liabilities | 4.88B | 4.80B | 4.14B | 4.21B | 4.14B |
| Stockholders Equity | 2.75B | 2.57B | 2.25B | 1.92B | 1.51B |
Cash Flow | |||||
| Free Cash Flow | 441.81M | 345.53M | 309.60M | 279.19M | 300.29M |
| Operating Cash Flow | 866.73M | 777.77M | 734.55M | 626.21M | 546.00M |
| Investing Cash Flow | -425.79M | -903.67M | -575.05M | -388.94M | -1.51B |
| Financing Cash Flow | -309.34M | 377.03M | -208.89M | -187.31M | 898.25M |
Clean Harbors Technical Analysis
Positive
293.20
Price Trends
259.05
Positive
242.64
Positive
238.11
Positive
Market Momentum
9.06
Negative
73.75
Negative
93.30
Negative
Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For CLH, the sentiment is Positive. The current price of 293.2 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 273.57, above the 50-day MA of 259.05, and above the 200-day MA of 238.11, indicating a bullish trend. The MACD of 9.06 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 73.75 is Negative, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 93.30 is Negative, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for CLH.
Clean Harbors Risk Analysis
Clean Harbors disclosed 24 risk factors in its most recent earnings report. Clean Harbors reported the most risks in the "Finance & Corporate" category.
Finance & Corporate - Financial and accounting risks. Risks related to the execution of corporate activity and strategy
Latest Risks Added 0 New Risks
Clean Harbors Peers Comparison
UnderperformOutperform
Sector (63)
Name | Overall Rating | Market Cap | P/E Ratio | ROE | Dividend Yield | Revenue Growth | EPS Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
76 Outperform | $97.14B | 35.95 | 29.69% | 1.50% | 15.88% | -3.11% | |
74 Outperform | $15.51B | 40.28 | 14.70% | ― | 2.85% | -6.27% | |
74 Outperform | $1.05B | -107.23 | -0.17% | ― | 22.77% | 44.73% | |
72 Outperform | $70.72B | 33.42 | 18.31% | 1.11% | 4.33% | 7.59% | |
63 Neutral | $10.79B | 15.43 | 7.44% | 2.01% | 2.89% | -14.66% | |
52 Neutral | $5.92B | 754.33 | 0.50% | ― | 20.54% | 106.35% | |
45 Neutral | $1.54B | -8.96 | -38.53% | ― | -2.91% | -67.18% |
* Industrials Sector Average
CLH
Clean Harbors
293.20
85.41
41.10%
CWST
Casella Waste
93.16
-20.60
-18.11%
NVRI
Enviri
18.93
12.71
204.34%
RSG
Republic Services
229.00
-8.13
-3.43%
WM
Waste Management
240.84
10.49
4.55%
MEG
Montrose Environmental Group
29.22
9.35
47.06%
Glossary
BuyA stock rated as a "Buy" is expected to perform better than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock is likely to deliver higher returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
HoldA stock rated as a "Hold" is expected to perform in line with the overall market or a specific benchmark. This rating indicates that the stock is neither particularly compelling nor unfavorable for investment. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
SellA stock rated as a "Sell" is expected to perform worse than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock may deliver lower returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
Disclaimer
This AI Analyst Stock Report is automatically generated by our AI systems using advanced algorithms and publicly available financial, technical, and market data. While the information provided aims to be accurate and insightful, it is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Any content created by an AI (Artificial Intelligence) system may contain inaccuracies and/or contain errors. Investing in stocks carries inherent risks, and past performance is not indicative of future results. This report does not account for your personal financial circumstances, objectives, or risk tolerance. Always conduct your own research or consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. The analysis and recommendations provided are based on historical and current data and may not fully reflect future market conditions or unexpected developments. Neither the creators of this report nor its affiliated entities guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented. Use this report at your own discretion and risk.