At a glance
Casella Waste Systems Inc is worth $5.63B, about 738 times its fiscal 2025 earnings. Revenue grew 18.0% to $1.84B in fiscal 2025, with 0.4% kept as profit; over 5 years it has grown 18.9% a year. It pays no dividend. The stock returned +0.7% over the past year with dividends reinvested and +1.3% a year over five years, against +11.5% and +11.7% for the S&P 500. At its worst it fell 34.5% in the 2020 crash (S&P 500: 33.7%) and 28.1% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%), and was back at its earlier high 4 months and 11 months after the lows.
The business in plain English
Casella Waste Systems collects, sorts, recycles and disposes of trash in eleven eastern states, from Maine to West Virginia. It is based in Rutland, Vermont. Its customers include households, businesses, towns and cities, institutions and industrial companies. Casella is "vertically integrated," which means it owns several links in the chain: collection trucks, transfer stations where waste is gathered for longer hauls, recycling and organics facilities, and landfills. Casella aims to send more of the waste it collects to its own sites.
Collection is the core business. In the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025, collection brought in about $1.2 billion, or 65.1% of total revenue of $1.84 billion. National Accounts, which arranges waste and recycling services for large customers, added 12.3%. Processing at recycling and biosolids (treated sewage sludge) plants brought in 7.8%. Transfer stations also brought in 7.8%, and landfills added 5.3%.
Casella reports four main segments: the Western region (36.1% of revenue), the Eastern region (25.7%), the Mid-Atlantic region (18.6%) and Resource Solutions (19.6%), which runs recycling, organics and large-customer services. Growth comes from price increases and acquisitions. Collection prices rose 5.0% in fiscal 2025, and Casella acquired nine businesses with over $110 million in annualized revenue. Revenue grew 18% that year.
Price history
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CWST +0.7% over the year to Oct 28, 2026, total return with dividends reinvested.
How it makes money
By product or service
| Collection | $1.20B | 65.1% |
| National Accounts | $226.3M | 12.3% |
| Processing | $143.8M | 7.8% |
| Transfer station | $142.5M | 7.8% |
| Landfill | $97.7M | 5.3% |
| Transportation | $22.8M | 1.2% |
| Landfill gas-to-energy | $7.6M | 0.4% |
By business segment
| Western | $663.2M | 36.1% |
| Eastern | $472.6M | 25.7% |
| Resource Solutions | $360.0M | 19.6% |
| Mid-Atlantic | $341.1M | 18.6% |
Latest results
- In Q2 FY2026 (ended Jun 30, 2026), revenue was $543.7M, up 16.9% from a year earlier, and net income was $3.8M (-27.6%).
- For fiscal 2025, revenue was $1.84B (+18.0% year over year; +18.9% a year from FY2020 to FY2025) with a 0.4% net margin.
Financial health check
| Revenue growth a year (FY2020–FY2025) | +18.9% good |
|---|---|
| Operating margin | 3.5% weak |
| Free cash flow margin | 4.6% watch |
| Return on equity (FY2025) | 0.5% weak |
| Return on assets (FY2025) | 0.2% weak |
| Net cash (cash minus debt) | $-1.33B weak |
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Net income | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | $774.6M | $91.1M | $31.8M |
| FY2021 | $889.2M | $41.1M | $59.4M |
| FY2022 | $1.09B | $53.1M | $86.4M |
| FY2023 | $1.26B | $25.4M | $78.2M |
| FY2024 | $1.56B | $13.5M | $78.1M |
| FY2025 | $1.84B | $7.9M | $84.7M |
Valuation snapshot
| Market value | $5.63B |
|---|---|
| P/E ratio | 737.8 |
| Dividend yield | None |
Rank among 1514 US companies
Price behavior
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CWST price data to Oct 28, 2026 | -9.6% | +0.7% | +6.4% | +1.3% | +23.2% |
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | -9.6% |
| 2025 | -7.4% |
| 2024 | +23.8% |
| 2023 | +7.8% |
| 2022 | -7.2% |
| 2021 | +37.9% |
| 2020 | +34.6% |
| 2019 | +61.6% |
| 2018 | +23.8% |
| 2017 | +85.5% |
| 2016 | +107.5% |
| 2015 | +48.0% |
| 2014 | -30.3% |
| 2013 | +32.4% |
| 2012 | -31.6% |
| 2011 | -9.7% |
| 2010 | +76.4% |
| 2009 | -1.5% |
| 2008 | -68.7% |
| 2007 | +6.6% |
| 2006 | -4.4% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Lost 95.9% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 96.2%, back to its old high 99.3 months after the low |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Lost 34.2% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 34.5%, back to its old high 4.3 months after the low |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Lost 11.3% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 28.1%, back to its old high 10.7 months after the low |
Insider activity
Form 4 filings from 2025-10-29 to 2026-10-29 (25 read): 0 open-market purchases and 21 sales ($3.6M), 11 of them under pre-arranged 10b5-1 trading plans.
| Date | Insider | Type | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 13, 2026 | Douglas R Casella VICE CHAIRMAN, BD OF DIRECTORS, Director | sell | $1.2M |
| May 19, 2026 | Edmond Coletta PRESIDENT & CEO | sell | $534K |
| May 19, 2026 | Edmond Coletta PRESIDENT & CEO | sell | $442K |
| May 26, 2026 | Michael K Burke Director | sell | $202K |
| Aug 13, 2026 | Douglas R Casella VICE CHAIRMAN, BD OF DIRECTORS, Director | sell | $167K |
Who owns it
Large shareholders (13G filings)
| BlackRock, Inc. | 14.3% | Dec 31, 2025 |
| Conestoga Capital Advisors | 5.51% | Dec 31, 2024 |
| WASATCH ADVISORS LP | 5.5% | Jun 30, 2025 |
| Vanguard Portfolio Management | 5.45% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| Vanguard Capital Management | 5.23% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| Wasatch Advisors LP | 4.9% | Sep 30, 2026 |
ETFs with the most weight in CWST
| EVX VanEck Environmental Services ETF | 4.42% |
| UPGR Xtrackers US Green Infrastructure Select Equity ETF | 2.96% |
| DWAS Invesco Dorsey Wright SmallCap Momentum ETF | 1.68% |
| MSSM Morgan Stanley Pathway Small-Mid Cap Equity ETF | 0.62% |
| IWO iShares Russell 2000 Growth ETF | 0.61% |
| VTWG Vanguard Russell 2000 Growth ETF | 0.53% |
| JHSC John Hancock Multifactor Small Cap ETF | 0.47% |
| BKSE BNY Mellon US Small Cap Core Equity ETF | 0.4% |
What could go wrong
- Landfill permits may be hard to expand. Casella needs government permits to run and enlarge its landfills. Disposal space in the Northeast is tight, so failing to win or renew permits could cut revenue and raise costs.
- Rules on 'forever chemicals' could raise costs. PFAS, sometimes called 'forever chemicals,' are long-lasting man-made compounds. Growing regulatory focus on them and similar contaminants could raise Casella's compliance and cleanup costs and expose it to lawsuits.
- All operations are in one region. All eleven states where Casella operates are in the eastern United States. A regional recession, a state policy change or harsh weather there would hit the whole company, with no other regions to offset it.
- Recycled material prices can swing. Casella sells sorted recyclables into commodity markets. Its fees rise when prices fall, which softens the blow, but newly acquired businesses may lack those protections and expose it to price drops.
- Competing with Amazon and UPS for drivers. Casella needs many truck drivers, mechanics and recycling plant workers. Delivery companies such as UPS, FedEx and Amazon compete for the same drivers, which can raise hiring, training and retention costs.
- Substantial debt limits flexibility. Total debt was about $1.35 billion as of June 30, 2026, against about $26 million in cash. Interest and repayment obligations could restrict operations, and the company is allowed to borrow more.
Recent events
- Investor presentation or announcement
- Quarterly results released
- Executive or board change
- Shareholder vote results
- Other company announcement
- Other company announcement
- Quarterly results released
- Major agreement signed; New debt or financial obligation
- Executive or board change
- Quarterly results released
For income and retirement investors
Casella does not pay a dividend, and it spent nothing on share buybacks from fiscal 2021 through fiscal 2025. It reinvests its cash in acquisitions, trucks and facilities instead. In fiscal 2025, free cash flow (cash left after capital spending) was about $85 million. Net income was only about $8 million, or $0.12 per diluted share. For an income investor, that means no regular payout. Any return comes from the share price, and the only way to raise cash is to sell shares. The stock has fallen hard in past downturns. It lost 96.2% between November 2007 and March 2009 and took about 99 months to recover, until June 2017. In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 34.5% but recovered in about four months. In 2022 it fell 28.1% and took about 11 months to recover. Single stocks like Casella carry more risk than diversified funds.
Questions investors ask
Does Casella Waste Systems pay a dividend?
No. Casella paid no dividends and spent nothing on share buybacks from fiscal 2021 through fiscal 2025. It uses its cash and borrowing capacity to acquire other waste businesses and to invest in trucks, landfills and recycling facilities. It closed nine acquisitions in fiscal 2025 alone. For an income investor, that means there is no regular payout to collect. Any cash from a Casella holding would have to come from selling shares.
How does Casella Waste Systems make money?
Mainly by picking up trash. Collection from homes, businesses, towns and industrial customers produced 65.1% of Casella's $1.84 billion in revenue in fiscal 2025. National Accounts, which arranges waste services for large customers, added 12.3%. Recycling and biosolids processing brought in 7.8%, and so did transfer stations. Landfills added 5.3%, transportation 1.2%, and selling energy made from landfill gas 0.4%. Owning disposal sites lets Casella keep more of the waste it collects inside its own system.
How has Casella stock performed over the long term?
Strongly over 10 years, but only slightly over five. As of October 28, 2026, the share price had gained about 23.2% a year over 10 years, or about 708% in total. Over five years the gain was about 1.3% a year, and over one year it was 0.7%. The shares were down 9.6% in 2026 through that date, after a 7.4% loss in 2025. Casella pays no dividend, so these price returns are the whole return.
Why is Casella's P/E ratio so high?
Because its profits are tiny compared with its share price. As of October 28, 2026, the price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was about 738, based on fiscal 2025 diluted earnings of just $0.12 per share. Diluted earnings per share have fallen from $1.86 in fiscal 2020. Net income fell 41.9% to about $8 million in fiscal 2025, even as revenue grew 18%. Free cash flow was stronger, at about $85 million. A P/E that high means the share price depends heavily on profits growing.
How much debt does Casella Waste Systems have?
About $1.35 billion as of June 30, 2026, against roughly $26 million in cash and $1.58 billion in shareholder equity. Casella reported a net leverage ratio of 2.34 times as of December 31, 2025. That ratio compares debt minus cash with a yearly measure of operating earnings. The company calls its debt levels conservative. Even so, it lists its substantial debt as a risk factor, because interest and repayment obligations could restrict its future operations.