A Clean Sweep: Clean Harbors’ Q2 2026 Results Signal Momentum Across ES and SKSS Segments

Executive snapshot

Clean Harbors, Inc. (NYSE: CLH) posted a robust second quarter for 2026, lifting revenue 12% to about $1.74 billion and delivering EPS of $3.22 on a diluted basis. Net income rose 34% to $170.5 million. The company also reported a 22% jump in Adjusted EBITDA to $409.0 million and expanded its Adjusted EBITDA margin by roughly 190 basis points to 23.6% year over year. Management flagged stronger results across both operating segments and raised its 2026 guidance for Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Free Cash Flow, signaling that momentum should extend into the back half of the year.

Key numbers at a glance

• Revenue: $1.74 billion, up 12% year over year.
• Net income: $170.5 million; EPS (diluted): $3.22.
• Adjusted EBITDA: $409.0 million, +22% YoY; Adjusted EBITDA margin: 23.6% (up ~190 bps YoY).
• Divisional strength: ES (Environmental Services) and SKSS (Safety-Kleen Sustainability Solutions) both contributing to the gains.
• Long-term contracts and acquisitions: 10-year disposal contract valued at ~$600 million; planned acquisition of ES&H for ~$305 million to expand field services.
• Guidance: Raised for Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Free Cash Flow for 2026.

Segment performance: durable momentum in ES and SKSS

The Environmental Services (ES) segment posted its 17th consecutive quarter of year-over-year Adjusted EBITDA margin expansion, reaching 27.9%. The segment benefited from higher disposal and recycling volumes, remediation projects, PFAS-related work, and favorable pricing dynamics. Within Safety-Kleen Sustainability Solutions (SKSS), revenue rose 41% in Q2, with Adjusted EBITDA up 143% year over year and margins up more than 70% from the year-ago period. This is a reminder that the mixed environment—where both disposal activity and chemical recovery/processing can drive profitability—remains a source of leverage for Clean Harbors.

Operational efficiency supported the results: incineration utilization was 91% versus 86% a year ago; landfill volumes climbed 7% in the quarter. The combination of volume growth and pricing discipline underpins continued margin expansion across the firm’s services menu.

What leadership said

CEO Mike Battles framed the quarter as a demonstration of “substantial momentum” across segments, highlighting strong demand for disposal and recycling services, and a rising contribution from SKSS’s re-refined product pricing. The company also pointed to safety performance as a positive, with year-to-date Total Recordable Incident Rate at 0.46, a nod to operating discipline that can sustain workforce stability and service quality in a high-velocity services business.

Strategic moves: scale, contracts, and disciplined expansion

Two notable strategic moves shape Clean Harbors’ trajectory:

• Announces a ten-year disposal contract with an estimated value of $600 million with a customer expanding U.S. manufacturing, anchoring long-term cash flows and capacity utilization for ES.
• Plans a $305 million acquisition of ES&H to expand Field Services, signaling continued capital allocation toward accretive bolt-ons that broaden the service footprint and cross-sell opportunities.

Taken together, these moves reflect a company leaning into multi-decade secular demand drivers—regulatory-driven waste handling, PFAS-related services, and general industrial resilience—while dialing up price discipline and operational leverage.

Implications for peers and the sector

Clean Harbors’ quarterly profile suggests a sector where high-quality disposal and environmental services can deliver structural margin upside even in a mixed macro environment. The ES segment’s sustained margin expansion hints at pricing power in specialized services and a favorable mix toward higher-value work, while SKSS demonstrates that specialty waste handling and sustainability solutions can deliver outsized EBITDA growth when volumes hold and pricing improves.

For peers, the message is twofold: maintain a focus on contract visibility (long-term disposal commitments help stabilize cash flow), and invest in differentiated capabilities—PFAS remediation, hazardous waste processing, and sustainability services—that command premium pricing and resist commoditization. If Clean Harbors can convert acquisition synergies into near-term EBITDA lift while sustaining safety and reliability, other players may emulate the approach, potentially lifting the broader sector’s earnings trajectory.

Guidance and forward look

Management raised its 2026 guidance for Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Free Cash Flow, underscoring confidence in sustained contribution from both ES and SKSS. While the release doesn’t spell out a precise revenue forecast for the year, the implied trajectory from stronger margins and the ramp in contract value suggests a favorable revenue path as commercial activity broadens and asset utilization remains high.

Analysts and investors will watch for cadence in the third and fourth quarters, particularly the sustainability of pricing gains, PFAS-related projects, and the pace of the ES&H acquisition’s integration. The absence of any explicit EPS surprise in the release implies results were within management expectations, but the quantitative read through the headline figures—higher revenue, higher EPS, stronger EBITDA, and elevated guidance—reads like a company taking a confident step into H2.

Conclusion: cleaner margins, longer visibility

Clean Harbors’ Q2 2026 results reaffirm a business built on durable services, diversified by environmental and sustainability solutions, with a strategy that leans into long-duration contracts and selective acquisitions. For CLH and its sector peers, the core takeaway is clear: disciplined pricing, growing per-unit profitability, and a pipeline of enduring contracts can translate into earnings momentum that persists beyond a single quarter.