Norwell-based Clean Harbors (NYSE: CLH) reported record third-quarter revenue of $1.87 billion, up 21% from a year earlier, raised its 2026 profit and cash flow outlook, and named Eric Gerstenberg its sole chief executive starting Jan. 1. The environmental and industrial services company released the results on Oct. 28, 2026, in a statement filed with the SEC.
Key figures: $1.87B revenue (+21%) · $208.1M net income (+75%) · $3.93 EPS (vs. $2.21) · 24.4% adjusted EBITDA margin (record) · $323M adjusted free cash flow (record)
The Quarter: Revenue, Profit and Cash
Revenue rose to $1.87 billion from $1.55 billion in the third quarter of 2025. Income from operations climbed 65% to $318.1 million from $193.0 million. Net income rose 75% to $208.1 million, or $3.93 per diluted share, from $118.8 million, or $2.21 a share. Both profit and revenue beat Wall Street forecasts: analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research had expected $3.18 a share and $1.72 billion in revenue, the Associated Press reported.
Adjusted EBITDA, the earnings measure the company emphasizes, grew 42% to $456.1 million from $320.2 million. The adjusted EBITDA margin reached a record 24.4%, up 3.7 percentage points from 20.7%. Adjusted free cash flow was also a record, at $323 million.
Where the Growth Came From
Both of the company’s segments grew. Environmental Services, the larger one, posted direct revenue of $1.55 billion, up from $1.33 billion. Its adjusted EBITDA margin was 27.4%, the segment’s 18th straight quarter of year-over-year margin expansion, the company said.
The biggest contributor inside that segment was Field Services, where revenue grew more than 70%. Clean Harbors said that was driven by heavy emergency response work, including one large event that brought in about $120 million of revenue at emergency rates. The company did not name the event. Technical Services revenue rose 3%, with its incinerators running at 87% utilization, and Safety-Kleen Environmental Services revenue rose 11%. Gerstenberg also pointed to growth in PFAS-related work, the cleanup of so-called “forever chemicals.”
The Safety-Kleen Sustainability Solutions segment, which re-refines used motor oil into base oil and lubricants, had its best quarter ever. Direct revenue rose 46% to $318.3 million and its adjusted EBITDA rose 209%. Co-CEO Mike Battles said “global supply disruptions” had kept prices for refined products high. The segment collected 62 million gallons of waste oil in the quarter.
By the Numbers: A Record Margin
Revenue rose by about $320 million from a year earlier, while adjusted EBITDA rose by about $136 million, so roughly 42 cents of every added revenue dollar turned into adjusted EBITDA, a TBR calculation from the company’s figures. The single emergency job worth about $120 million equals more than a third of the quarter’s revenue gain, another TBR calculation, which means part of the jump may not repeat.
Through the first nine months of 2026, revenue reached $5.06 billion, up from $4.53 billion, and adjusted EBITDA was $1.11 billion, up from $891 million.
Raised Outlook and the CEO Change
Clean Harbors raised the midpoint of its full-year adjusted EBITDA and adjusted free cash flow guidance by $80 million each. It now expects 2026 adjusted EBITDA of $1.44 billion to $1.48 billion and adjusted free cash flow of $600 million to $660 million. For the fourth quarter, it expects adjusted EBITDA to grow 23% to 26% from a year earlier.
The company also announced that Gerstenberg will become sole CEO on Jan. 1, 2027, and that Battles will retire as co-CEO and leave the board at the end of 2026. The two have shared the top job. The company said this year’s purchases of ES&H and EnviroServe bring it to five acquisitions in 2026, and that it is investing $55 million in a Los Angeles site to bring its “Hub” model to the West Coast.
A Big South Shore Employer
Clean Harbors was founded in 1980 and is headquartered at 42 Longwater Drive in Norwell. It operates in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico and India. Its quarter adds to a busy earnings season for Massachusetts companies; see our Boston company earnings scorecard and our coverage of Billerica-based Entegris’s record sales.
“We see a clear path to achieve record results for 2026 and expect multiple catalysts for continued growth in 2027,” Battles said in the release. Gerstenberg said the results “reflect the strength of our market position and robust demand for our environmental services and sustainable products.”
Sources
- SEC: Clean Harbors third-quarter 2026 results, Exhibit 99.1 (Oct. 28, 2026)
- Associated Press via WTOP: Clean Harbors Q3 earnings snapshot
- SEC EDGAR: Clean Harbors 8-K filings, including the executive transition notice
Additional sources
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