Waste Connections, Inc. WCN reported impressive second-quarter 2025 results, wherein earnings and revenues outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimates.
The stock price has not witnessed any significant impact of the earnings beat since the company released results on July 23.
Waste Connections’ adjusted earnings (excluding 17 cents from non-recurring items) of $1.29 per share surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.2% and increased 4% year over year. Revenues of $2.4 billion beat the consensus estimate marginally and grew 7.1% from the year-ago quarter.
WCN shares have gained 8.4% over the year-to-date period compared with the industry's 10.7% rally and 8.2% growth of the Zacks S&P 500 Composite.
Waste Connections, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise
Waste Connections, Inc. price-eps-surprise | Waste Connections, Inc. Quote
Segmental Information for WCN
The Solid Waste Collection segment’s revenues moved up marginally year over year to $1.6 billion and missed our estimate of $1.7 billion. The Solid Waste Disposal and Transfer segment’s revenues surged 71.1% from the year-ago quarter to $756 million and missed our projection of $730.1 million.
The E&P Waste Treatment, Recovery and Disposal segment’s revenues increased 4.9% from the same quarter last year to $123.6 million, missing our estimate of $168.4 million. The Solid Waste Recycling segment’s revenues grew 3.5% year over year to $63.3 million. The figure fell short of our forecast of $65.7 million.
The Intermodal and Other segment’s revenues gained marginally from the year-ago quarter to $49.1 million, which missed our estimate of $60.7 million.
Waste Connections’ Operating Results
Adjusted EBITDA in the reported quarter was $731.8 million, dropping 6.9% from the year-ago quarter. The adjusted EBITDA margin was 32.6%, which decreased 10 basis points from the year-ago quarter.
Operating income totaled $424.7 million compared with the year-ago operating income of $459.5 million.
Balance Sheet & Cash Flow
Waste Connections exited the second quarter of 2025 with cash and cash equivalents of $62.4 million compared with $111.2 million at the end of the preceding quarter. The long-term debt was $8.1 billion compared with the preceding quarter’s $8.4 billion.
In the reported quarter, WCN generated $611.4 million in cash from operating activities. The adjusted free cash flow was $402.6 million. Capital expenditure totaled $217.2 million. The company paid out $73.7 million worth of dividends in the quarter.
WCN’s FY25 Outlook
For 2025, the company expected revenues of $9.45 billion, lower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $9.51 billion. Adjusted EBITDA is anticipated to be $3.12 billion, which is nearly 33% of the top line.
Waste Connections carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) at present.
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Earnings Snapshot
Equifax Inc. EFX reported impressive second-quarter 2025 results.
EFX’s adjusted earnings were $2 per share, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 4.2% and increasing 9.9% from the year-ago quarter. Total revenues of $1.5 billion beat the consensus estimate by 1.5% and increased 7.4% on a year-over-year basis.
Fiserv, Inc. FI posted mixed second-quarter 2025 results.
FI’s adjusted earnings per share of $2.47 beat the consensus mark by 2.5% and rose 16% year over year. Adjusted revenues of $5.2 billion missed the consensus estimate by a slight margin but gained 8.6% on a year-over-year basis.
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Equifax, Inc. (EFX): Free Stock Analysis Report Waste Connections, Inc. (WCN): Free Stock Analysis Report Fiserv, Inc. (FI): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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