Waste Management (WM) Earnings Date & Reports

Key Takeaways

• WM reported third quarter 2026 revenue of $6.85 billion, up 6.3% year over year and above the $6.81 billion consensus estimate.
• Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) came in at $2.15, narrowly below the $2.18 consensus, while reported diluted EPS was $2.05 versus $1.49 a year earlier.
• Free cash flow rose more than 42% through the first nine months of 2026 to $3.01 billion, a key highlight for investors.
• The company returned $957 million to shareholders in the quarter through $580 million in buybacks and $377 million in dividends.
• WM affirmed its full-year 2026 guidance and expects revenue to land at the high end of its $26.275 billion to $26.475 billion range.
• Healthcare Solutions revenue grew 3.7% while operating EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) increased more than 30%.
• For deeper context on WM, explore Major News, Today's Price Move, Price Targets, and Forecast to track how the story develops.
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Earnings Context and Why It Matters

WM, North America's largest provider of environmental solutions, operates a diversified model spanning collection and disposal, recycling, renewable energy, and healthcare waste services. Its quarterly results offer investors a read on pricing power, cost discipline, and the payoff from multi-year investments in automation and sustainability infrastructure. The third quarter is particularly important because it follows the integration of Stericycle, now reported as the Healthcare Solutions segment, and tests whether margin and cash-flow gains are durable amid higher fuel and risk-management costs. With management reaffirming its full-year outlook, this report serves as a checkpoint on execution heading into the fourth quarter and the next fiscal year.

Reported Results

WM reported third quarter 2026 revenue of $6.846 billion, a 6.3% increase from $6.443 billion in the prior-year period, driven by core price growth of 5.8% and a 3.4% Collection and Disposal yield. Revenue exceeded the consensus estimate of roughly $6.81 billion. Net income attributable to the company was $820 million, up from $603 million a year earlier, while diluted EPS was $2.05 compared with $1.49. On an adjusted basis, EPS was $2.15, slightly below the $2.18 consensus, while adjusted operating EBITDA rose 5.8% to $2.121 billion. Adjusted operating EBITDA margin compressed modestly to 31.0%, as favorable price-to-cost spread and healthcare contributions were partly offset by higher fuel and risk-management costs.

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Market Reaction and Investor Sentiment

WM shares closed at $235.81, down about 2.2% on the day results were announced, as the modest adjusted EPS miss against consensus appeared to weigh on sentiment even though revenue topped estimates and cash-flow generation was strong. Investors appeared to balance the company's robust free cash flow and affirmed guidance against near-term margin pressure from fuel costs and elevated risk-management expenses. The stock's decline also reflects the market's focus on the slight earnings shortfall rather than the top-line beat, a reminder that the market often reacts to the earnings-per-share figure relative to expectations.

Forward Outlook and Key Factors to Monitor

WM affirmed its 2026 guidance and said it expects full-year revenue at the high end of its $26.275 billion to $26.475 billion range, adjusted operating EBITDA within $8.15 billion to $8.25 billion, and free cash flow at the high end of $3.75 billion to $3.85 billion. The company also reaffirmed its plan to repurchase $2 billion of shares in 2026.

Investors should monitor several variables in the coming quarters. First, the trajectory of fuel and risk-management costs, which pressured margins in the third quarter, will be a key swing factor for profitability. Second, the ongoing integration of Healthcare Solutions and the pace of synergy capture will influence segment-level earnings growth.

Third, recycling and renewable energy volumes tied to recently completed growth projects, including the new renewable natural gas facility in New York, represent an important catalyst for revenue expansion. Finally, Collection and Disposal volumes, which declined modestly due to intentional shedding of lower-margin business, will be watched for signs of stabilization. These factors, rather than any single quarter's result, are likely to shape the investment narrative around WM going forward.

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