Shareholders might have noticed that Clean Harbors, Inc. (NYSE:CLH) filed its quarterly result this time last week. The early response was not positive, with shares down 9.7% to US$282 in the past week. The result was positive overall - although revenues of US$1.5b were in line with what the analysts predicted, Clean Harbors surprised by delivering a statutory profit of US$1.19 per share, modestly greater than expected. Following the result, the analysts have updated their earnings model, and it would be good to know whether they think there's been a strong change in the company's prospects, or if it's business as usual. With this in mind, we've gathered the latest statutory forecasts to see what the analysts are expecting for next year.

Following the latest results, Clean Harbors' twelve analysts are now forecasting revenues of US$6.32b in 2026. This would be a modest 4.2% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are predicted to ascend 14% to US$8.44. Yet prior to the latest earnings, the analysts had been anticipated revenues of US$6.26b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$8.43 in 2026. The consensus analysts don't seem to have seen anything in these results that would have changed their view on the business, given there's been no major change to their estimates.

The analysts reconfirmed their price target of US$322, showing that the business is executing well and in line with expectations. It could also be instructive to look at the range of analyst estimates, to evaluate how different the outlier opinions are from the mean. The most optimistic Clean Harbors analyst has a price target of US$350 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at US$280. Even so, with a relatively close grouping of estimates, it looks like the analysts are quite confident in their valuations, suggesting Clean Harbors is an easy business to forecast or the the analysts are all using similar assumptions.

Another way we can view these estimates is in the context of the bigger picture, such as how the forecasts stack up against past performance, and whether forecasts are more or less bullish relative to other companies in the industry. It's pretty clear that there is an expectation that Clean Harbors' revenue growth will slow down substantially, with revenues to the end of 2026 expected to display 5.7% growth on an annualised basis. This is compared to a historical growth rate of 11% over the past five years. Compare this to the 152 other companies in this industry with analyst coverage, which are forecast to grow their revenue at 5.9% per year. Factoring in the forecast slowdown in growth, it looks like Clean Harbors is forecast to grow at about the same rate as the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away is that there's been no major change in sentiment, with the analysts reconfirming that the business is performing in line with their previous earnings per share estimates. Happily, there were no real changes to revenue forecasts, with the business still expected to grow in line with the overall industry. The consensus price target held steady at US$322, with the latest estimates not enough to have an impact on their price targets.

Keeping that in mind, we still think that the longer term trajectory of the business is much more important for investors to consider. At Simply Wall St, we have a full range of analyst estimates for Clean Harbors going out to 2028, and you can see them free on our platform here..

Don't forget that there may still be risks.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.