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Stock Comparison · Structural lead, mixed market

Saia vs Waste Management: Which Stock Looks Stronger in 2026?

Waste Management holds the cleaner structural position, with the lead spread across stability and growth. Saia does not offset that deficit through any equally strong structural edge elsewhere. The market setup broadly confirms the structural lead — Waste Management holds the more constructive position. That puts structure and market broadly in agreement — Waste Management's lead looks more confirmed than conflicted.

The comparison is based on similar long-term financial trajectories, not sector labels.

Updated 2026-04-05

The clearest separation starts in stability, but growth adds another real layer to the result. The overall score gap is 38 points in favour of Waste Management, Inc..

Trajectory Similarity
0.69
Moderately similar
Peer-set rank: #16
within Saia, Inc.'s functional peer set

This pair is matched through long-term financial trajectory similarity within the selected peer universe.

The pair shares a valid long-term profile match, but the trajectories are not especially close.

The clearest structural overlap shows up in revenue stability and investment intensity.

Similarity drivers
revenue stabilityinvestment intensity
How to read the score
0.85–1.00 · Very similar0.70–0.84 · Similar0.55–0.69 · Moderately similarbelow 0.55 · Loose match
Peer-Relative Score
SAIA
Saia, Inc.
18
Peer-Score
Signal qualityMedium
vs
WM
Waste Management, Inc.
56
Peer-Score
Signal qualityMedium

Scores reflect position relative to comparable companies with similar long-term financial trajectories.

The largest gaps do not all point in the same direction.

Dimension spread: SAIA vs WM Profitability 4 36 Stability 13 85 Valuation 46 54 Growth 5 62 SAIA WM
Gap Ranking
#1 Stability +72
#2 Growth +57
#3 Profitability +32
#4 Valuation +8
Price Setup

Left means cheaper relative valuation. Higher means stronger structure.

Price setup map for SAIA and WM Stronger + cheaper Stronger + richer Weaker + cheaper Weaker + richer SAIAWM Relative valuation Structural strength

Neither company combines the stronger profile with the cheaper valuation.

Valuation position uses peer-relative PE percentile (idx_pct_pe) where available.

Relative Position vs Comparable Companies
Stability
Waste Management, Inc. ranks near the top of the group on stability; Saia, Inc. sits in the weaker half.
Growth
Waste Management, Inc. sits in the stronger part of the group on growth, while Saia, Inc. is closer to mid-pack.
Stability — Dominant Gap
SAIA
13
WM
85
Gap+72in favour of WM

The stability gap is very wide, with the stronger side looking materially steadier through time.

What keeps the gap from being one-sided

Saia, Inc. still shows lower market-fundamental divergence, which keeps the wider picture mixed rather than completely one-sided.

What this means for the comparison

The lead is built on both stability and growth, making it broader than a single-dimension result.

Explore full peer positioning in AssetNext

Break down the SAIA vs WM comparison across all dimensions with the full interactive tool.

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Similar stability-and-growth comparisons

Explore how SAIA and WM each compare against other companies in their peer groups.

Rule-based, descriptive analysis only. Derived from peer percentile dimensions. Not investment advice. Peer groups are determined algorithmically based on structural similarity — not by sector classification alone.

How AssetNext Peer Scores Work

AssetNext scores reflect each company's structural position within its functional peer group — not a ranking against all stocks simultaneously. Peers are identified by similarity across eight financial dimensions, including revenue growth trajectory, margin structure, capital intensity, and earnings stability. A score of 75 means the company ranks in the top quartile within its own peer group, not the entire market.

Four dimension scores drive the overall peer score: Growth (revenue trajectory and expansion dynamics), Quality (margin structure and capital efficiency), Valuation (peer-relative pricing on standard multiples), and Stability (earnings consistency and financial predictability). Each dimension is scored 0–100 relative to the peer group, then combined into an overall peer score using equal weighting.

Scores are recalculated periodically as underlying financial data is updated. All analysis is descriptive and rule-based — AssetNext describes structural realities and never issues buy, sell or hold recommendations.