Clean Harbors (CLH): The Environmental Services Moat is Expanding

"Clean Harbors just locked in a $110 million contract for PFAS water filtration at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. This isn't just another project win. It's validation of the company's end-to-end PFAS solution: lab analytics, water filtration, site remediation, and most critically, high-temperature incineration disposal."

"The EPA's late-2024 study at Clean Harbors' Utah facility proved commercial-scale PFAS destruction works. The Department of Defense lifted its moratorium. Management now expects PFAS revenue of $100-120 million in 2025, up 20-25% year-over-year, with pipeline growth accelerating 15-20% quarter-over-quarter. This isn't a one-time bump. It's a regulatory wave that competitors without incineration capacity simply cannot ride."

"Clean Harbors operates $2.74 billion in property, plant, and equipment. That's 36% of total assets locked up in landfills, incinerators, treatment facilities, and transfer stations. The company's incineration utilization hit 92% in Q3 2025 (excluding the ramping Kimball facility), up from 89% a year earlier. When you're running near capacity with mid-single-digit pricing growth, you've got pricing power."

Clean Harbors trades at $257 per share with a 35.6x P/E ratio, roughly triple the typical industrial stock. Quarterly revenue grew 1.3% in Q3 2025. The company secured a $110 million PFAS water filtration contract at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, demonstrating end-to-end PFAS capabilities including lab analytics, water filtration, site remediation, and high-temperature incineration disposal. An EPA late-2024 study at the Utah facility validated commercial-scale PFAS destruction, prompting the Department of Defense to lift its moratorium. Management expects $100–120 million of PFAS revenue in 2025 with accelerating pipeline growth. Clean Harbors holds $2.74 billion in PP&E, runs incinerators near capacity, and shows improving Environmental Services margins.

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