Waste Management, Inc. (WM) Stock

Waste Management, Inc. (WM) is a Utilities stock trading at $219.08 (as of 2026-09-02), with a market capitalization of $88.26B and a trailing P/E of 30.9. Figures are sourced from first-party U.S. SEC EDGAR filings and market data.

Waste Management, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides waste management environmental services to residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers in North America. It offers collection services, including picking up and transporting waste and recyclable materials from where it was generated to a transfer station, material recovery facility (MRF), or disposal site; and owns, develops, and operates landfill gas-to-energy facilities in the United States, as well as owns and operates transfer stations. As of December 31, 2021, the company owned or operated 255 solid waste landfills; 5 secure hazardous waste landfills; 96 MRFs; and 340 transfer stations. It also provides materials processing and commodities recycling services; recycling brokerage services, such as managing the marketing of recyclable materials for third parties; and other strategic business solutions. In addition, the company offers construction and remediation services; services related with the disposal of fly ash, and residue generated from the combustion of coal and other fuel stocks; in-plant services comprising full-service waste management solutions and consulting services; and specialized disposal services for oil and gas exploration and production operations. The company was formerly known as USA Waste Services, Inc. and changed its name to Waste Management, Inc. in 1998. Waste Management, Inc. was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

Understand Waste Management, Inc.: how it makes money

Waste Management collects, hauls, and disposes of trash and recyclables for households, businesses, and municipalities across North America, earning recurring per-pickup and per-ton fees. The revenue base is dominated by contract-based collection (roughly 90% from its legacy waste operations), with landfill disposal, healthcare waste, and recycling as secondary growth vectors.

The profit engine is a toll-road model: per-pickup and per-ton fees locked into long-term contracts, underpinned by scarce landfill sites and local franchise routes that no new entrant can replicate.

Revenue by segment (latest quarter)
Legacy$5.8B
Healthcare Solutions$0.6B

Business quality (Solid): Solid. Operating margin near 19% and ROE around 29% reflect a capital-intensive, contract-backed business with highly predictable cash flows and limited customer churn.

Valuation: At 31× earnings, WM trades 19% above the Other average (26×).

Bull case

  • Healthcare is a proven second curve: Healthcare Solutions reached a 19% EBITDA margin and management is targeting over $300 million in synergies by 2027, giving the stock a genuine high-margin growth vector beyond legacy collections.
  • Automation structurally cuts recycling costs: Automation is reducing recycling labor cost per ton by 30% versus legacy facilities, a margin lever in a segment that has historically been thin-margin and labor-heavy.
  • Pricing outpaces the volume story: Core Price grew 6.3% YoY against only 4% headline revenue growth, signalling that WM can lift contract fees faster than volumes fluctuate and buffer the model from cyclicality.

Bear case

  • The volume engine is stalling: Collection and disposal volumes declined 0.4% excluding wildfire effects in Q2 FY26, and with the per-ton model at its core, a shrinking volume base directly caps top-line growth.
  • National accounts are walking away: Management flagged commercial weakness tied to lost national accounts, a concern because large contractual customers represent a concentrated, hard-to-replace share of collection revenue.
  • Premium price for single-digit growth: The stock trades at 31.3x earnings versus a 26x industry average (19% above), yet revenue is up only 4% YoY and volumes are contracting, so the multiple demands the margin story keep accelerating.
Valuation — source: SEC EDGAR (first-party)
Price$219.08
Market Cap$88.26B
P/E Ratio30.9
EV / EBITDA12.0
Price / Book8.89
Price / Sales3.44
FCF Yield3.2%
DCF Value (model)$190.73
DCF Upside vs Price-12.9%
Profitability & Growth — source: SEC EDGAR
Revenue (TTM)$25.20B
Net Margin10.7%
Revenue Growth (YoY)4.0%
EPS Growth (YoY)8.9%
FCF Growth (YoY)34.8%
Financial Health — source: SEC EDGAR
Altman Z-Score2.85 (grey)
Piotroski F-Score7/9 (strong)
Valuation vs Sector & Industry
Stock P/E30.9
Sector P/E (Utilities)21.0
Industry P/E (Other)20.6
vs Sector47.2%
vs Industry50.1%
Smart-Money Activity — SEC Form 4 / 13F / Congressional disclosures
Top Institutional HolderVANGUARD GROUP INC ($8.57B)
Institutional Holders Tracked10
Congressional Trades (recent)10
Company
SectorUtilities
IndustryOther
CEOJames C. Fish Jr.
Employees61,700
CountryUS
IPO Date1988-06-22

Waste Management, Inc. earnings call transcripts

  • WM Q2 FY26 earnings call transcript (reported 2026-07-28) · analysis
  • WM Q4 FY25 earnings call transcript (reported 2026-01-28) · analysis
  • WM Q3 FY25 earnings call transcript (reported 2025-10-27) · analysis

All WM earnings calls

Related Companies (Other; 8 comparable companies)

  • Republic Services, Inc. (RSG)
  • Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (CWST)
  • ABM Industries Incorporated (ABM)
  • Clean Harbors, Inc. (CLH)
  • Rollins, Inc. (ROL)
  • Darling Ingredients Inc. (DAR)
  • Enviri Corporation (NVRI)
  • Quest Resource Holding Corporation (QRHC)
WM earnings history · WM institutional & insider holders · WM KPIs & operating metrics · WM financials · WM investor presentations & press releases · WM SEC filings · WM peers · Congress trades · Insider trades · Short interest · Stock screener

Data as of 2026-09-02.

Figures sourced from U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC EDGAR) filings and market data. Not personalized investment advice.