Earnings

Clean Harbors Raises 2026 Profit Outlook As Quarterly Net Income Climbs 75% To $208.1 Million

Adjusted EBITDA margin hit a record 24.4%, and Co-CEO Mike Battles will retire at year-end, leaving Eric Gerstenberg as sole CEO.

Matteo Parrino Jonathan Ponciano

Matteo Parrino, Jonathan Ponciano

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Clean Harbors Raises 2026 Profit Outlook As Quarterly Net Income Climbs 75% To $208.1 Million

Clean Harbors, the environmental and industrial services company, said third-quarter net income rose 75% to $208.1 million, or $3.93 a diluted share, and lifted its full-year outlook in an 8-K filed Wednesday. The same day it said Eric Gerstenberg will become sole CEO on January 1, 2027, as Co-CEO Mike Battles retires.

A record margin on 21% more revenue

Net income compared with $118.8 million, or $2.21 a share, a year earlier. Revenue grew 21% to $1.87 billion, and income from operations rose 65% to $318.1 million.

Adjusted EBITDA, the company's own measure of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, climbed 42% to $456.1 million. The margin reached a record 24.4%, up 370 basis points (3.7 percentage points) from a year ago. Adjusted free cash flow was a record $323 million, the company said.

Emergency work and pricey re-refined oil

Clean Harbors collects, treats and disposes of hazardous waste and re-refines used oil. In Environmental Services, Field Services was the biggest contributor, with revenue growth above 70%. Gerstenberg said that included one emergency response event that generated about $120 million of revenue at emergency response rates, given the scale and speed of the work. Technical Services revenue rose 3% with incinerator utilization at 87%, and PFAS-related work also grew.

Safety-Kleen Sustainability Solutions, the used-oil re-refining segment, grew revenue 46% and adjusted EBITDA 209%. Battles said global supply disruptions kept prices high for refined products such as base oil and lubricants. The company collected 62 million gallons of waste oil in the quarter.

Higher guidance and a new CEO

Clean Harbors now expects 2026 adjusted EBITDA of $1.44 billion to $1.48 billion and adjusted free cash flow of $600 million to $660 million, raising the midpoint of each by $80 million. For the fourth quarter, it expects adjusted EBITDA to grow 23% to 26% from a year earlier.

Battles, Co-CEO since March 2023 and previously CFO, retires as co-CEO and director on December 31 and will serve as a strategic adviser in 2027. Gerstenberg, who joined in 1989, becomes sole CEO. Chairman Rob Willett said the company has more than tripled its stock price since the two were named co-CEOs.

The company also plans a $55 million investment in a Los Angeles site to bring its Hub concept to the West Coast. It has completed five acquisitions this year, including ES&H and EnviroServe.

Battles said the company sees "a clear path to achieve record results for 2026."

Sources

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