CWST vs WM
Casella Waste Systems Inc. and Waste Management Inc., side by side — 10 fiscal years reported in USD, drawn from SEC filings.
Most recent reported year
| Metric | CWST | WM |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $1.8B | $25.2B |
| Net income | $7.9M | $2.7B |
| Gross margin | 33.8% | 40.4% |
| Net margin | 0.4% | 10.7% |
| Return on equity | 0.5% | 29.7% |
| Diluted EPS | $0.12 | $6.70 |
| Dividend / share | · | $3.30 |
| Payout ratio | · | 49.3% |
| Free cash flow | $84.7M | $2.8B |
| Equity | $1.6B | $10.0B |
| Net debt / equity | 0.64× | 2.27× |
| Current ratio | 1.26× | 0.89× |
| Revenue CAGR 5y | 18.9% | 10.6% |
| Profit CAGR 5y | −38.7% | 12.6% |
WM bills 13.7× the revenue of CWST, and keeps more of each dollar of revenue as profit (10.7% against 0.4%).
The stronger figure of the pair is set in bold. That is arithmetic, not a recommendation — this page does not pick a winner. "·" marks a figure not available in our data.
10 years side by side
| Fiscal year | CWST | WM |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $1.8B | $25.2B |
| FY2024 | $1.6B | $22.1B |
| FY2023 | $1.3B | $20.4B |
| FY2022 | $1.1B | $19.7B |
| FY2021 | $889.2M | $17.9B |
| FY2020 | $774.6M | $15.2B |
| FY2019 | $743.3M | $15.5B |
| FY2018 | $660.7M | $14.9B |
| FY2017 | $599.3M | $14.5B |
| FY2016 | $565.0M | $13.6B |
Bottom line
| Fiscal year | CWST | WM |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $7.9M | $2.7B |
| FY2024 | $13.5M | $2.7B |
| FY2023 | $25.4M | $2.3B |
| FY2022 | $53.1M | $2.2B |
| FY2021 | $41.1M | $1.8B |
| FY2020 | $91.1M | $1.5B |
| FY2019 | $31.7M | $1.7B |
| FY2018 | $6.4M | $1.9B |
| FY2017 | $-21.8M | $1.9B |
| FY2016 | $-6.8M | $1.2B |
16 fiscal years
| Fiscal year | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | −$23,367,159,000 | WM |
| FY2024 | −$20,505,717,000 | WM |
| FY2023 | −$19,161,458,000 | WM |
| FY2022 | −$18,612,911,000 | WM |
| FY2021 | −$17,041,789,000 | WM |
| FY2020 | −$14,443,416,000 | WM |
| FY2019 | −$14,711,710,000 | WM |
| FY2018 | −$14,253,340,000 | WM |
| FY2017 | −$13,885,691,000 | WM |
| FY2016 | −$13,043,970,000 | WM |
| FY2015 | −$12,414,500,000 | WM |
| FY2013 | −$13,485,367,000 | WM |
| FY2012 | −$13,193,665,000 | WM |
| FY2011 | −$12,910,050,000 | WM |
| FY2010 | −$12,060,315,000 | WM |
| FY2009 | −$11,333,358,000 | WM |
WM has reported the higher revenue in every one of these 16 fiscal years. The gap has widened since the earliest year compared.
16 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
16 fiscal years
| Fiscal year | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | −10.3 pp | WM |
| FY2024 | −11.6 pp | WM |
| FY2023 | −9.1 pp | WM |
| FY2022 | −6.5 pp | WM |
| FY2021 | −5.5 pp | WM |
| FY2020 | +1.9 pp | CWST |
| FY2019 | −6.6 pp | WM |
| FY2018 | −11.9 pp | WM |
| FY2017 | −17.1 pp | WM |
| FY2016 | −9.9 pp | WM |
| FY2015 | −8.0 pp | WM |
| FY2013 | −6.4 pp | WM |
| FY2012 | −18.3 pp | WM |
| FY2011 | −24.1 pp | WM |
| FY2010 | +0.4 pp | CWST |
| FY2009 | −12.0 pp | WM |
The higher net margin has changed hands between CWST and WM over this period.
16 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Standard deviation, each side
CWST's net margin has been more volatile than WM's over the 16 comparable fiscal years — 6.9 percentage points of standard deviation against 3.1.
16 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Year by year
The lead in net margin changed hands between CWST and WM over these 16 fiscal years — CWST led in 2 and WM in 14.
16 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Standard deviation, each side
CWST's return on equity has been more volatile than WM's over the 9 comparable fiscal years — 132.5 percentage points of standard deviation against 8.3.
9 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Year by year
The lead in return on equity changed hands between CWST and WM over these 9 fiscal years — CWST led in 2 and WM in 7.
9 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.