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Side-by-side financial comparison of American Water Works (AWK) and CLEAN HARBORS INC (CLH). Click either name above to swap in a different company.
CLEAN HARBORS INC is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($1.5B vs $1.3B, roughly 1.1× American Water Works). American Water Works runs the higher net margin — 18.7% vs 4.3%, a 14.4% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, American Water Works posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (5.8% vs 1.9%). Over the past eight quarters, American Water Works's revenue compounded faster (12.6% CAGR vs -3.0%).
American Water Works Company, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides water and wastewater services in the United States. It offers water and wastewater services to approximately 1,700 communities in 14 states serving approximately 3.4 million active customers. The company serves residential customers; commercial customers, including food and beverage providers, commercial property developers and proprietors, and energy suppliers; fire service and private fire customers; industrial customers...
Clean Harbors, Inc., headquartered in Norwell, Massachusetts, is a provider of waste management and industrial services for commercial customers, specializing in the collection, transportation, treatment and disposal of hazardous waste, but also offering services for non-hazardous waste. The company has 870 operating locations in 630 properties in the U.S. and Canada including a network of over 100 waste disposal facilities such as incinerators, landfills, treatment, storage and disposal faci...
AWK vs CLH — Head-to-Head
Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q1 FY2026
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $1.3B | $1.5B |
| Net Profit | $238.0M | $63.2M |
| Gross Margin | — | 30.5% |
| Operating Margin | 31.9% | 8.1% |
| Net Margin | 18.7% | 4.3% |
| Revenue YoY | 5.8% | 1.9% |
| Net Profit YoY | -0.4% | 7.7% |
| EPS (diluted) | $1.22 | $1.19 |
Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.
8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend
Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.
| Q1 26 | — | $1.5B | ||
| Q4 25 | $1.3B | $1.5B | ||
| Q3 25 | $1.5B | $1.5B | ||
| Q2 25 | $1.3B | $1.5B | ||
| Q1 25 | $1.1B | $1.4B | ||
| Q4 24 | $1.2B | $1.4B | ||
| Q3 24 | $1.3B | $1.5B | ||
| Q2 24 | $1.1B | $1.6B |
| Q1 26 | — | $63.2M | ||
| Q4 25 | $238.0M | $86.6M | ||
| Q3 25 | $379.0M | $118.8M | ||
| Q2 25 | $289.0M | $126.9M | ||
| Q1 25 | $205.0M | $58.7M | ||
| Q4 24 | $239.0M | $84.0M | ||
| Q3 24 | $350.0M | $115.2M | ||
| Q2 24 | $277.0M | $133.3M |
| Q1 26 | — | 30.5% | ||
| Q4 25 | — | 30.6% | ||
| Q3 25 | — | 32.3% | ||
| Q2 25 | — | 33.3% | ||
| Q1 25 | — | 28.6% | ||
| Q4 24 | — | 29.9% | ||
| Q3 24 | — | 31.0% | ||
| Q2 24 | — | 33.3% |
| Q1 26 | — | 8.1% | ||
| Q4 25 | 31.9% | 10.6% | ||
| Q3 25 | 42.2% | 12.5% | ||
| Q2 25 | 38.4% | 13.6% | ||
| Q1 25 | 32.7% | 7.8% | ||
| Q4 24 | 33.3% | 9.6% | ||
| Q3 24 | 40.9% | 12.6% | ||
| Q2 24 | 39.4% | 13.9% |
| Q1 26 | — | 4.3% | ||
| Q4 25 | 18.7% | 5.8% | ||
| Q3 25 | 26.1% | 7.7% | ||
| Q2 25 | 22.7% | 8.2% | ||
| Q1 25 | 18.1% | 4.1% | ||
| Q4 24 | 19.9% | 5.9% | ||
| Q3 24 | 26.4% | 7.5% | ||
| Q2 24 | 24.3% | 8.6% |
| Q1 26 | — | $1.19 | ||
| Q4 25 | $1.22 | $1.62 | ||
| Q3 25 | $1.94 | $2.21 | ||
| Q2 25 | $1.48 | $2.36 | ||
| Q1 25 | $1.05 | $1.09 | ||
| Q4 24 | $1.22 | $1.55 | ||
| Q3 24 | $1.80 | $2.12 | ||
| Q2 24 | $1.42 | $2.46 |
Balance Sheet & Financial Strength
Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand | $98.0M | $548.0M |
| Total DebtLower is stronger | $12.8B | $2.8B |
| Stockholders' EquityBook value | $10.8B | — |
| Total Assets | $35.4B | $7.6B |
| Debt / EquityLower = less leverage | 1.18× | — |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q1 26 | — | $548.0M | ||
| Q4 25 | $98.0M | $127.4M | ||
| Q3 25 | $166.0M | $91.2M | ||
| Q2 25 | $94.0M | $98.9M | ||
| Q1 25 | $114.0M | $105.9M | ||
| Q4 24 | $96.0M | $102.6M | ||
| Q3 24 | $127.0M | $82.4M | ||
| Q2 24 | $48.0M | $91.3M |
| Q1 26 | — | $2.8B | ||
| Q4 25 | $12.8B | — | ||
| Q3 25 | $13.0B | — | ||
| Q2 25 | $12.3B | — | ||
| Q1 25 | $13.3B | — | ||
| Q4 24 | $12.5B | — | ||
| Q3 24 | $12.6B | — | ||
| Q2 24 | $12.6B | — |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $10.8B | $2.7B | ||
| Q3 25 | $10.9B | $2.8B | ||
| Q2 25 | $10.7B | $2.7B | ||
| Q1 25 | $10.5B | $2.6B | ||
| Q4 24 | $10.3B | $2.6B | ||
| Q3 24 | $10.4B | $2.5B | ||
| Q2 24 | $10.2B | $2.4B |
| Q1 26 | — | $7.6B | ||
| Q4 25 | $35.4B | $7.6B | ||
| Q3 25 | $34.7B | $7.5B | ||
| Q2 25 | $33.9B | $7.4B | ||
| Q1 25 | $33.2B | $7.2B | ||
| Q4 24 | $32.8B | $7.4B | ||
| Q3 24 | $31.8B | $7.3B | ||
| Q2 24 | $31.2B | $7.1B |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | 1.18× | — | ||
| Q3 25 | 1.19× | — | ||
| Q2 25 | 1.15× | — | ||
| Q1 25 | 1.26× | — | ||
| Q4 24 | 1.21× | — | ||
| Q3 24 | 1.21× | — | ||
| Q2 24 | 1.24× | — |
Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency
How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Operating Cash FlowLast quarter | $663.0M | — |
| Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex | $-385.0M | — |
| FCF MarginFCF / Revenue | -30.3% | — |
| Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue | 82.5% | — |
| Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit | 2.79× | — |
| TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters | $-1.1B | — |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $663.0M | $355.1M | ||
| Q3 25 | $764.0M | $302.0M | ||
| Q2 25 | $301.0M | $208.0M | ||
| Q1 25 | $331.0M | $1.6M | ||
| Q4 24 | $639.0M | $303.9M | ||
| Q3 24 | $679.0M | $239.2M | ||
| Q2 24 | $345.0M | $216.0M |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $-385.0M | $233.3M | ||
| Q3 25 | $-33.0M | $207.5M | ||
| Q2 25 | $-432.0M | $118.0M | ||
| Q1 25 | $-217.0M | $-117.1M | ||
| Q4 24 | $-255.0M | $241.5M | ||
| Q3 24 | $-4.0M | $142.4M | ||
| Q2 24 | $-325.0M | $80.9M |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | -30.3% | 15.6% | ||
| Q3 25 | -2.3% | 13.4% | ||
| Q2 25 | -34.0% | 7.6% | ||
| Q1 25 | -19.1% | -8.2% | ||
| Q4 24 | -21.2% | 16.9% | ||
| Q3 24 | -0.3% | 9.3% | ||
| Q2 24 | -28.5% | 5.2% |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | 82.5% | 8.1% | ||
| Q3 25 | 54.8% | 6.1% | ||
| Q2 25 | 57.6% | 5.8% | ||
| Q1 25 | 48.3% | 8.3% | ||
| Q4 24 | 74.4% | 4.4% | ||
| Q3 24 | 51.4% | 6.3% | ||
| Q2 24 | 58.8% | 8.7% |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | 2.79× | 4.10× | ||
| Q3 25 | 2.02× | 2.54× | ||
| Q2 25 | 1.04× | 1.64× | ||
| Q1 25 | 1.61× | 0.03× | ||
| Q4 24 | 2.67× | 3.62× | ||
| Q3 24 | 1.94× | 2.08× | ||
| Q2 24 | 1.25× | 1.62× |
Financial Flow Comparison
Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.
Revenue Breakdown by Segment
AWK
| Water Services | $1.0B | 81% |
| Other | $127.0M | 10% |
| Wastewater Services | $101.0M | 8% |
| Miscellaneous Utility Charge | $11.0M | 1% |
CLH
Segment breakdown not available.
