Brookfield Renewable (BEPC) yields 4% with a newly announced 5% distribution increase, while Clean Harbors (CLH) returns capital through buybacks ($250M in 2025) and trades at 40x P/E with a 0.27 PEG ratio. CLH generated record $509M free cash flow in 2025, up 47.4% year-over-year, and posted 15 consecutive quarters of adjusted EBITDA margin expansion in its Environmental Services segment.

Rising interest rates pressure Brookfield’s leveraged infrastructure model and refinancing costs, while Clean Harbors compounds returns through expanding margins and free cash flow growth driven by PFAS remediation and manufacturing reshoring trends.

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Brookfield Renewable Corp (NYSE:BEPC) and Clean Harbors (NYSE:CLH) both wear the "clean economy" label, but they are fundamentally different businesses built for different investor profiles — here is how they compare.

This one is not close. Brookfield Renewable pays a quarterly distribution of $0.392 per unit, annualizing to roughly $1.57. With the stock trading around $39.36, that puts the yield in the neighborhood of 4%, and the company just announced a 5% distribution increase. The next payment hits March 31, 2026.

Clean Harbors pays nothing. Zero. It returns capital through buybacks, repurchasing $250 million in shares during 2025 at an average price of roughly $222. Buybacks have real value, but they do not deposit cash into a retiree's account every quarter.

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Winner: BEPC for income-focused investors, and it is not debatable.

Here is where Brookfield's story gets complicated. The company posted a net loss attributable to unitholders of -$19 million for full-year 2025. There is no GAAP P/E ratio because there are no GAAP earnings. The business runs on Funds From Operations, where FFO reached $1.33 billion against a market cap around $7.3 billion. The leverage is real too: $63.4 billion in total liabilities against $98.7 billion in assets.

Clean Harbors is a straightforward profitable business. Full-year 2025 EPS came in at $7.28, and at the current price of $288.83, the trailing P/E sits around 40x. That is not cheap. But the PEG ratio of 0.27 tells you the market is not paying up for stagnant earnings. Shareholders' equity stands at $2.746 billion with a clean balance sheet and $826 million in cash.

With the 10-year Treasury yielding 4.21% and trending higher, Brookfield's leveraged infrastructure model faces a real headwind. Higher rates raise its cost of refinancing and compress the premium investors assign to its distribution yield.

Winner: CLH on financial health and valuation clarity.

Brookfield's growth story is genuinely exciting. Distributed energy and storage FFO jumped 90% year-over-year, and the company signed a 3,000 MW Hydro Framework Agreement with Google. Data center power demand is a structural tailwind that could run for a decade.

But Clean Harbors is growing where it matters most for investors who want compounding returns without drama. Free cash flow hit a record $509 million in 2025, up 47.4% year-over-year. The Environmental Services segment delivered its 15th consecutive quarter of adjusted EBITDA margin expansion. CEO Eric Gerstenberg put it directly:

"We topped $6 billion in annual revenues and exceeded $500 million in Adjusted Free Cash Flow for the first time in our history."

Management guided 2026 adjusted free cash flow of $480 million to $540 million, with PFAS remediation and reshoring manufacturing trends expanding the addressable market. The Kimball incinerator ramp and a $130 million DCI acquisition add incremental capacity without blowing up the balance sheet.

The stock has already rewarded patience: up 538% over the past decade versus roughly 50% for BEPC over the available comparison window.

Winner: CLH on long-term compounding and growth quality.

Brookfield Renewable's distribution generates quarterly cash income, which some income-focused investors prioritize — though the leverage risk in a rising rate environment is a factor analysts cite, and the renewable energy growth story provides long-term exposure to structural tailwinds.

Clean Harbors, by contrast, generates GAAP profits, expands margins consistently, and compounds free cash flow without depending on rate-sensitive financing. Fifteen straight quarters of margin expansion reflects a business that keeps improving in a growing market — and one that continues to expand its addressable opportunity through PFAS remediation and reshoring trends.

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