# How Waste Connections (WCN) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: EasyCompare research, https://easycompare.io/research/wcn
> Data as of October 20, 2026. Total returns include reinvested dividends. Past performance does not predict future results; nothing here is investment advice.

Built by QuantCommons' quantitative engine, this page is about relative opportunity, not data on WCN alone. It places WCN (Waste Connections, Inc.) against 15 popular alternatives, its neighboring categories and the entire market of over 10,000 U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs, and surfaces what has done better on consistent outperformance, return for the risk taken, behavior in real market crashes and diversification. The result is a clearer view of where WCN stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: WCN's full trading record, from May 2001 through September 2026. The crash tests reach back to 2000 using older funds and the S&P 500. All returns include reinvested dividends. Data as of October 20, 2026.

## Key findings

- **Right now:** Not every peer went the same way. Over the past 3 months, RSG (Republic Services) rose 6.0% and CECO (CECO Environmental) fell 27.1%. Over the past 3 months, WCN fell 0.6% while the S&P 500 rose 3.9%.
- **Stock or market?:** WCN fell 0.6% over the past 3 months, 5.5 points ahead of the environmental services ETF XLI (State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF), which fell 6.1%. The S&P 500 rose 3.9%. Last month cut against the tape: WCN rose 9.0% while the S&P 500 fell 0.6%.
- **Past 1 to 3 years:** WCN has gone against the market, falling 1.8% over the past year while the S&P 500 rose 15.8%. The same gap shows up over 3 years (27.0% against 89.3%). The last two calendar years both went the same way: WCN rose 2.9% in 2025, while the S&P 500 rose 15.8%.
- **Long term:** WCN turned $10,000 into $37,000 over the past decade, against $42,100 in the S&P 500.
- **In a crash:** Across six sell-offs, WCN has typically lost about 79% as much as the S&P 500. In the 2022 bear market, WCN held up better than AWK (American Water Works), ES and CLH; only WM (Waste Management) and RSG fell less.
- **Diversification:** Over 10 years, WCN's beta versus the S&P 500 was 0.60: 65% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 47% of its losses in falling ones. Against the S&P 500, WCN has a correlation of 0.40 over 5 years, more closely than 52% of stocks worth at least $300 million. Next to an index fund it is some diversification, but not a hedge.
- **Better options**
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** WAB (Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies, industrial machinery) and DE (Deere & Company, industrial machinery) were ahead of WCN in most short and long periods, though with much bigger swings (26.2% and 29.9% volatility against 20.0%).
  - **Whole market:** 395 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than WCN with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them VTI (Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF), VOO (Vanguard S&P 500 ETF) and BRK-B (Berkshire Hathaway).

## How much would $10,000 in WCN have grown?

This chart tracks a hypothetical $10,000 investment in WCN over the past 25 years, with dividends reinvested, alongside the same amount in the S&P 500, investments that ended ahead of WCN over the same span and WCN's popular alternatives, among those that traded for the entire period.

- $10,000 invested in WCN at the end of September 2001 would have grown to $494,932 by September 2026, more than the $114,557 it would have become in SPY, an S&P 500 fund.
- Five of the eight other investments on the chart ended ahead of WCN, and AAPL finished highest, at $14,356,990.

## WCN at a glance

This section summarizes the key facts about the stock, its returns over periods from one to ten years and the risk it has carried, with dividends reinvested throughout.

- WCN's deepest decline since it began trading in 2001 was 45.0%, from September 2008 to March 2009. It took 16 months from the low to climb back to its old high.
- Over 24 full calendar years, WCN's best was 2016, when it returned 41.5%, and its worst was 2022, when it lost 2.0%. It lost money in one of those years.
- WCN is 14.2% below its all-time high.

- Type: Stock, Industrials (Waste Management)
- Trading since: May 18, 2001
- Market value: $43B
- Volatility (5 years): 20.0%; Sharpe ratio: 0.40
- Worst decline ever: −45.0%, from September 19, 2008 to March 9, 2009; back at its high by July 21, 2010

| Period | WCN total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | +9.0% |
| 3 months | −0.6% |
| 6 months | +6.5% |
| year to date | −2.0% |
| 1 year | −1.8% |
| 3 years | +27.0% |
| 5 years | +34.2% |
| 10 years | +270% |

## WCN against the whole market

Where WCN ranks among every stock and fund, and what across the market has done better.

### How does WCN rank among all stocks?

This section ranks WCN on return, volatility, risk-adjusted return and worst decline against every stock worth at least $300 million with enough history.

- WCN's worst decline of the past 10 years ranks in the top 1% of the 2,187 stocks worth at least $300 million, where the top fell the least.

| Measure | WCN | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | −1.8% | 2,056 of 3,287 (top 63%) |
| 3-year return | +27.0% | 1,905 of 3,017 (top 64%) |
| 5-year return | +34.2% | 1,292 of 2,893 (top 45%) |
| 10-year return | +270% | 665 of 2,202 (top 31%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 20.0% | 89 of 2,893 (top 4%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.40 | 1,243 of 2,893 (top 43%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −31.6% | 32 of 2,187 (top 2%) |

### What has beaten WCN on both return and risk?

Each dot is an investment, placed by how much it earned a year over the past 5 years (higher is better) and how much its price swung, its volatility (further left is calmer).

- 20 stocks and 375 ETFs worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than WCN over the past 5 years with smaller price swings. That is 11% of the 3,633 screened.
- Among those with at least half WCN's swings, LVHI has the best return for its risk: 17.0% a year at 11.1% volatility, 45% less than WCN's 20.0%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.48 against 0.40 for WCN. MPLX earned the most, 23.5% a year, while still swinging less than WCN (18.8% against 20.0%).
- Among WCN's popular alternatives, RSG is in the region. RSG earned 13.9% a year against 6.1% a year for WCN, at 18.5% volatility, 7% less than WCN's 20.0%.

### Is there a better investment than WCN?

The table below lists investments that beat WCN over the past 5 years on at least one of these measures: a higher annual return with lower volatility, a higher annual return at similar volatility, a similar return with lower volatility, a higher Sharpe ratio with a smaller worst decline, a higher total return in most periods from 3 months to 10 years, or smaller losses in recent market crashes.

- Among WCN's popular alternatives, RSG earned more than WCN with less volatility over the past 5 years: 13.9% a year at 18.5% volatility, against 6.1% a year at 20.0%.
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, WAB (industrial machinery) and DE (industrial machinery) were ahead of WCN in most short and long periods, though with much bigger swings (26.2% and 29.9% volatility against 20.0%).
- Across the whole market, 395 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than WCN with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them VTI, VOO and BRK-B.

The 15 strongest of 395 investments that beat WCN over the past 5 years, out of 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million.

| Investment | Group | Annual return (5 years) | Volatility | Sharpe | Worst decline (10 years) | 10Y return | Correlation with WCN | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| WCN: Waste Connections, Inc. (this page) |  | +6.1% | 20.0% | 0.40 | −31.6% | +270% |  |  |
| [DFAC](https://easycompare.io/research/dfac): Dimensional - US Core Equity 2 ETF | US Total Market | +11.4% | 17.0% | 0.72 | −23.1% | — | 0.44 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| PJUL: Innovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF | Broad Market | +10.5% | 8.6% | 1.20 | −18.2% | — | 0.37 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| FJAN: FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - January | Multi-Asset | +11.1% | 10.5% | 1.05 | −13.6% | — | 0.28 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [JEPI](https://easycompare.io/research/jepi): JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF | Equity Income | +7.5% | 11.0% | 0.71 | −13.7% | — | 0.56 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| CHT: Chunghwa Telecom Co., Ltd. | Integrated Telecommunications | +7.7% | 13.3% | 0.63 | −23.8% | +101% | 0.14 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| DFIV: Dimensional - International Value ETF | International Equity | +14.8% | 16.4% | 0.93 | −25.4% | — | 0.28 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| AVLV: Avantis U.S. Large Cap Value ETF | US Large-Cap Value | +14.0% | 16.9% | 0.86 | −19.5% | — | 0.43 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| BUFR: FT Vest Laddered Buffer ETF | Buffered Equity | +9.9% | 10.5% | 0.96 | −13.7% | — | 0.38 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [RY](https://easycompare.io/research/ry): Royal Bank of Canada | Banks | +17.3% | 18.2% | 0.97 | −40.0% | +352% | 0.30 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| XLP: State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF | Consumer Staples | +7.2% | 13.8% | 0.57 | −24.5% | +121% | 0.52 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| JAVA: JPMorgan Active Value ETF | US Large-Cap Value | +11.5% | 14.5% | 0.82 | −16.5% | — |  | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| BKLC: BNY Mellon US Large Cap Core Equity ETF | US Large-Cap Equity | +13.8% | 17.3% | 0.84 | −26.2% | — | 0.40 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| QYLD: Global X - Nasdaq 100 Covered Call ETF | Equity Income | +8.4% | 15.0% | 0.62 | −24.7% | +156% | 0.35 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| DBMF: iMGP DBi Managed Futures Strategy ETF | Alternatives | +9.8% | 12.4% | 0.82 | −20.4% | — | -0.14 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [MPLX](https://easycompare.io/research/mplx): MPLX Lp | Oil & Gas Midstream | +23.5% | 18.8% | 1.22 | −75.2% | +350% | 0.40 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |

## WCN against its popular alternatives

The investments people most often weigh against WCN, compared period by period and year by year.

### How do WCN's risk and return compare with its alternatives?

This map plots each investment's annual return over the past 5 years against its volatility, the size of its typical price swings.

- Only RSG and WM were both more rewarding and calmer than WCN over the past 5 years, earning a higher annual return with lower volatility.
- Eight of the 15 popular alternatives earned less than WCN over the past 5 years while swinging more, the weaker corner of the map.
- Over the past 5 years, WCN returned 6.1% a year, less than the S&P 500's 12.7%, with higher volatility (20.0% against 17.1%).

### Has WCN consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

This section compares WCN with the investments people most often weigh against it, checking each one over eight periods from one month to ten years.

- Five of the 15 popular alternatives, led by RSG, LQDT and CLH, outperformed WCN in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes.
- RSG and LQDT outperformed WCN in every long-term period and in all but one short-term period, the most consistent record in the group.
- WM earned more for the risk it took than WCN (a higher Sharpe ratio) and fell less in its worst decline of the past 10 years.

| Investment | 1Y return | 3Y return | 5Y return | 10Y return | Periods ahead of WCN | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| WCN: Waste Connections, Inc. (this page) | −1.8% | +27.0% | +34.2% | +270% |  |  | 0.40 |
| [RSG](https://easycompare.io/research/rsg): Republic Services, Inc. | +7.1% | +66.1% | +91.5% | +446% | 4/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | 0.80 |
| LQDT: Liquidity Services, Inc. | +82.2% | +124% | +108% | +354% | 4/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | 0.55 |
| CLH: Clean Harbors, Inc. | +30.0% | +102% | +183% | +588% | 3/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | consistent | 0.88 |
| [WM](https://easycompare.io/research/wm): Waste Management, Inc. | +9.4% | +54.9% | +56.2% | +344% | 3/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | consistent | 0.56 |
| [ECL](https://easycompare.io/research/ecl): Ecolab Inc. | +4.0% | +85.8% | +38.1% | +176% | 3/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.39 |
| CECO: CECO Environmental Corp. | +14.5% | +264% | +725% | +460% | 1/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 1.05 |
| PESI: Perma-Fix Environmental Services, Inc. | −8.4% | +36.0% | +75.9% | +156% | 1/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.49 |
| TTEK: Tetra Tech, Inc. | +5.6% | +13.7% | +11.6% | +388% | 4/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.23 |
| RNG: RingCentral, Inc. | +197% | +197% | −66.0% | +270% | 4/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | -0.02 |
| WTRG: Essential Utilities, Inc. | +1.3% | +38.2% | +1.1% | +81.4% | 3/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.12 |
| GFL: GFL Environmental Inc. | −2.2% | +48.6% | +11.1% | — | 3/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.22 |
| CWST: Casella Waste Systems, Inc. | +8.3% | +22.6% | +14.7% | +740% | 2/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.24 |
| ES: Eversource Energy | −6.0% | +40.5% | −7.0% | +72.0% | 1/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.06 |
| AWK: American Water Works Company, Inc. | −4.1% | +26.2% | −13.1% | +131% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.01 |
| XYL: Xylem Inc. | −27.4% | +18.7% | −11.7% | +143% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.04 |

### How did WCN do year by year?

This table shows each investment's total return in every full calendar year since 2002, along with where WCN ranked among its popular alternatives each year.

- WCN finished ahead of the S&P 500 in 13 of its 24 full calendar years, and behind it in each of the last three.
- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, WCN finished in the top quarter in eight of 24 years and in the bottom quarter in no. In 2025, it ranked 10 of 16.
- Among its popular alternatives, CECO came out ahead of WCN most often, in 14 of the 24 years both traded.

| Year | WCN | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | +2.9% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | +15.7% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | +13.5% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | −2.0% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | +33.8% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | +13.9% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +23.2% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | +5.5% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | +36.2% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | +41.5% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How WCN has fallen, how it held up in crashes beside the S&P 500 and its popular alternatives, and what moves independently of it.

### What were WCN's worst declines?

A drawdown is the decline from a peak to the lowest point before a new high.

- In all five of WCN's worst declines, the S&P 500 held up better over the same dates.
- Not every decline was the market's doing: WCN fell 24.7% from April 2025 to May 2026, while the S&P 500 rose 42.6%.
- The longest climb back to a previous high took 16 months, after WCN fell 45.0% from September 2008 to March 2009.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −45.0% | September 19, 2008 | March 9, 2009 | July 21, 2010 | −44.7% | 2008 financial crisis |
| −31.6% | February 18, 2020 | March 25, 2020 | September 28, 2020 | −26.3% | Covid crash |
| −31.1% | August 1, 2001 | September 21, 2001 | April 22, 2002 | −20.0% | dot-com bust |
| −26.5% | May 10, 2002 | July 23, 2002 | October 30, 2002 | −24.1% | dot-com bust |
| −24.7% | April 3, 2025 | May 29, 2026 | not yet | +42.6% |  |

### How did WCN do in stock market crashes?

This section measures how far WCN, the S&P 500 and each alternative fell from peak to trough during every major market crash since 2000.

- WCN fell less than the S&P 500 in seven of the nine crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the 2008 financial crisis, when WCN fell 45.0% and the S&P 500 fell 55.2%.
- Among its popular alternatives, WM held up best, falling less than WCN in six of the nine crashes they both traded through.
- WCN began trading after the dot-com bust, but ten of its popular alternatives lived through it. The mildest fall among them was ECL's 30.0%, against 47.5% for the S&P 500.

| Crash | Dates | WCN fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | not trading | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | −45.0% | −55.2% |
| Flash crash | May 6, 2010 to May 7, 2010 | −1.7% | −1.5% |
| Euro debt crisis | July 22, 2011 to October 3, 2011 | −12.7% | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | −11.1% | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | −6.7% | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −11.6% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −29.6% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −20.6% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −1.6% | −3.4% |

### How closely does WCN move with the S&P 500?

Upside capture measures how much of the S&P 500's gains an investment kept in the months the market rose, and downside capture how much of its losses it took in the months the market fell.

- Over the past 10 years, WCN captured 65% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 47% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 0.60. That is a defensive profile: it gave up some of the market's upside in exchange for smaller losses.
- Only RSG, CWST and WM had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than WCN's 1.37, out of 14 popular alternatives with the same record.
- RSG took just 34% of the S&P 500's losses, against 47% for WCN, while still keeping 71% of its gains.

Measured over the past 10 years of monthly returns against SPY.

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| WCN: Waste Connections, Inc. (this page) | 65.0% | 47.0% | 0.60 |
| [RSG](https://easycompare.io/research/rsg): Republic Services, Inc. | 71.0% | 34.0% | 0.55 |
| LQDT: Liquidity Services, Inc. | 81.0% | 69.0% | 1.10 |
| CLH: Clean Harbors, Inc. | 126% | 118% | 1.27 |
| [WM](https://easycompare.io/research/wm): Waste Management, Inc. | 68.0% | 44.0% | 0.62 |
| [ECL](https://easycompare.io/research/ecl): Ecolab Inc. | 75.0% | 86.0% | 0.94 |
| CECO: CECO Environmental Corp. | 125% | 118% | 1.40 |
| PESI: Perma-Fix Environmental Services, Inc. | 82.0% | 85.0% | 0.83 |
| TTEK: Tetra Tech, Inc. | 94.0% | 76.0% | 0.88 |
| RNG: RingCentral, Inc. | 114% | 144% | 0.93 |
| WTRG: Essential Utilities, Inc. | 55.0% | 74.0% | 0.61 |
| CWST: Casella Waste Systems, Inc. | 106% | 68.0% | 0.85 |
| ES: Eversource Energy | 49.0% | 61.0% | 0.52 |
| AWK: American Water Works Company, Inc. | 48.0% | 45.0% | 0.44 |
| XYL: Xylem Inc. | 90.0% | 123% | 1.03 |

### What diversifies WCN?

Correlation measures how closely two investments move together, on a scale from 1 (in lockstep) through 0 (unrelated) to -1 (in opposite directions).

- Moving a fifth of the money in WCN into GLD would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 17% over the past 5 years and raised its annual return (+4.9% for WCN alone, +8.0% for the mix).
- Among large ETFs, LVHI, DXJ and HDV have moved largely independently of WCN over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.39 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.
- In 2022, the one year WCN lost money (-2.0%), CLS returned +1.3%.

| Investment | Correlation with WCN | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in WCN's 1 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LVHI: Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF | 0.35 | +119% | 11.1% | 1.48 | 1 of 1 |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 0.20 | +225% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 1 of 1 |
| HDV: iShares Core High Dividend ETF | 0.39 | +83.3% | 13.0% | 1.00 | 1 of 1 |
| MLPX: Global X - MLP & Energy Infrastructure ETF | 0.41 | +135% | 19.7% | 0.97 | 1 of 1 |
| [SMH](https://easycompare.io/research/smh): VanEck Semiconductor ETF | 0.18 | +323% | 36.9% | 0.97 | 0 of 1 |
| DBEF: Xtrackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity ETF | 0.43 | +85.0% | 13.8% | 0.96 | 0 of 1 |
| [GLD](https://easycompare.io/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | 0.04 | +126% | 18.9% | 0.96 | 0 of 1 |
| SPMO: Invesco S&P 500 Momentum ETF | 0.33 | +136% | 20.8% | 0.93 | 0 of 1 |

## Common questions

### What was WCN's worst drawdown?

WCN's deepest decline since it began trading in 2001 was 45.0%, from September 2008 to March 2009. It took 16 months from the low to climb back to its old high.

### What were WCN's best and worst years?

Over 24 full calendar years, WCN's best year was 2016, when it returned 41.5%. Its worst was 2022, with a return of -2.0%.

### Is there a better investment than WCN?

Among WCN's popular alternatives, RSG earned more than WCN with less volatility over the past 5 years: 13.9% a year at 18.5% volatility, against 6.1% a year at 20.0%. Looking beyond its popular alternatives, WAB (industrial machinery) and DE (industrial machinery) were ahead of WCN in most short and long periods, though with much bigger swings (26.2% and 29.9% volatility against 20.0%).

### Is WCN more volatile than the S&P 500?

Yes. WCN's volatility over the past 5 years was 20.0%, 1.2 times the S&P 500's 17.1%. Volatility measures how widely returns swing around their average: in roughly two years out of three, WCN's return lands within 20.0% of its average, either way. The higher it is, the rougher the ride and the harder it is to hold through a slump.

### What is WCN's Sharpe ratio?

WCN's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 0.40, against 0.79 for the S&P 500, so WCN earned less for each unit of risk than an index fund did. The Sharpe ratio is the return earned above cash for each unit of volatility: two investments with the same return are not equal if one got there with far bigger swings.

### How correlated is WCN with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, WCN's monthly returns had a correlation of 0.40 with the S&P 500. Correlation runs from 1 (moving in lockstep) through 0 (unrelated) to −1 (moving in opposite directions). They often move together: some diversification next to an index fund, but not a cushion. In the table, the correlation column measures each option against WCN instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a WCN holding.

### What are the best alternatives to WCN?

Of the 15 popular alternatives we compared, five outperformed WCN in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes, with dividends reinvested: RSG, LQDT and CLH.

### Did WCN outperform the S&P 500?

WCN finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in 13 of 24 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned +2.9%, against +17.7% for the index.

### How did WCN do in stock market crashes?

WCN fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in seven of the nine major crashes it has traded through, and further in no. The clearest case was the 2008 financial crisis, when WCN fell 45.0% and the S&P 500 fell 55.2%.

### What diversifies WCN?

These had a low correlation with WCN over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, LVHI (correlation 0.35), DXJ (correlation 0.20) and HDV (correlation 0.39); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.39), CLS (correlation -0.01) and FIX (correlation 0.26). A correlation near zero means the two have moved largely independently.

## More research

- [Republic Services (RSG) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/rsg)
- [Waste Management (WM) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/wm)
- [Ecolab (ECL) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/ecl)
- [Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/schd)
- [NVIDIA (NVDA) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/nvda)
- [Apple (AAPL) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/aapl)
- [Alphabet (GOOG) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/goog)
- [Microsoft (MSFT) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/msft)
- [Amazon.com (AMZN) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/amzn)
- [Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/vti)
- [Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/tsm)
- [Space Exploration Technologies (SPCX) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/spcx)

## Explore further

- Full page with charts: https://easycompare.io/research/wcn
- All research pages: https://easycompare.io/llms.txt
- Compare the entire market against WCN live: https://betterthanspy.com/?b=WCN&utm_source=easycompare&utm_medium=research