RB Global (NYSE:RBA) & Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Head to Head Survey

RB Global (NYSE:RBA) and Waste Management (NYSE:WM) are both large-cap industrials companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings and dividends.

Volatility and Risk

RB Global has a beta of 0.53, suggesting that its stock price is 47% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Waste Management has a beta of 0.42, suggesting that its stock price is 58% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares RB Global and Waste Management”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
RB Global	$4.59 billion	3.46	$423.10 million	$2.33	37.65
Waste Management	$25.20 billion	3.34	$2.71 billion	$7.06	29.87

Waste Management has higher revenue and earnings than RB Global. Waste Management is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than RB Global, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

95.4% of RB Global shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 80.4% of Waste Management shares are held by institutional investors. 0.6% of RB Global shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Waste Management shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for RB Global and Waste Management, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
RB Global	0	3	6	1	2.80
Waste Management	0	5	13	0	2.72

RB Global currently has a consensus target price of $126.00, suggesting a potential upside of 43.64%. Waste Management has a consensus target price of $256.65, suggesting a potential upside of 21.69%. Given RB Global’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe RB Global is more favorable than Waste Management.

Profitability

This table compares RB Global and Waste Management’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
RB Global	9.99%	12.37%	5.58%
Waste Management	11.11%	31.68%	6.81%

Dividends

RB Global pays an annual dividend of $1.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. Waste Management pays an annual dividend of $3.78 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. RB Global pays out 56.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Waste Management pays out 53.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. RB Global has raised its dividend for 20 consecutive years and Waste Management has raised its dividend for 22 consecutive years. Waste Management is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Waste Management beats RB Global on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About RB Global

RB Global, Inc., an omnichannel marketplace, provides insights, services, and transaction solutions for buyers and sellers of commercial assets and vehicles worldwide. Its marketplace brands include Ritchie Bros., an auctioneer of commercial assets and vehicles offering online bidding; IAA, a digital marketplace connecting vehicle buyers and sellers; Rouse Services, which provides asset management, data-driven intelligence, and performance benchmarking system; SmartEquip, a technology platform that supports customers' management of the equipment lifecycle; and Veritread, an online marketplace for heavy haul transport solution. The company's brands include GovPlanet, an online marketplace for the sale of government and military assets; RB Auction, an onsite and online marketplace for selling and buying used equipment; IronPlanet, an online marketplace for selling and buying used equipment; Marketplace-E, an online solution that make offers/buy now format; Rouse Appraisals, a certified appraisal service solution; Ritchie List Mascus, an online equipment listing service and B2B dealer portal; CSAToday, an online reporting and analysis tool that gives sellers the ability to manage their vehicle assets and monitor sales performance; and Catastrophe Response Services. In addition, it offers title, data, transportation and logistics, refurbishing, inspection, and financial services. It serves customers across various asset classes, including automotive, commercial transportation, construction, government surplus, lifting and material handling, energy, mining, and agriculture. RB Global, Inc. was founded in 1958 and is headquartered in Westchester, Illinois.

About Waste Management

Waste Management, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of environmental solutions to residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers in the United States and Canada. It offers collection services, including picking up and transporting waste and recyclable materials from where it was generated to a transfer station, material recovery facility (MRF), or disposal site; and owns and operates transfer stations, as well as owns, develops, and operates landfill facilities that produce landfill gas used as renewable natural gas for generating electricity. As of December 31, 2022, the company owned or operated 254 solid waste landfills, five secure hazardous waste landfills, 97 MRFs, and 337 transfer stations. It also provides materials processing and commodities recycling services at its MRFs, where cardboard, paper, glass, metals, plastics, construction and demolition materials, and other recycling commodities are recovered for resale or redirected for other purposes; recycling brokerage services, such as managing the marketing of recyclable materials for third parties; and other strategic business solutions. In addition, the company offers construction and remediation services; services related with the disposal of fly ash, and residue generated from the combustion of coal and other fuel stocks; in-plant services comprising full-service waste management solutions and consulting services; and specialized disposal services for oil and gas exploration and production operations. The company was formerly known as USA Waste Services, Inc. and changed its name to Waste Management, Inc. in 1998. Waste Management, Inc. was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.