WM Earnings Miss Estimates in Q3, Revenues Appreciate 15% Y/Y

WM WM reported dismal third-quarter 2025 results, with earnings and revenues missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate.

WM’s quarterly adjusted earnings of $1.98 per share missed the consensus mark by 1.5% but moved up 1% year over year. Total revenues of $6.4 billion missed the consensus mark by a slight margin but grew 14.9% from the year-ago quarter.

The stock has gained 6% in the year-to-date period, outperforming 5.6% growth of its industry, while falling short ofthe 16.7% rally of the Zacks S&P 500 Composite.

WM’s Quarterly Numbers in Detail

The Collection segment recorded revenues of $3.9 billion, a 3.5% increase from the year-ago quarter and missing our estimate of $4.1 billion. The Landfill segment’s top line increased 7.8% year over year to $995 million and surpassed our projection of $986.5 billion. Total revenues in the Transfer segment increased 8.5% to $396 million, beating our estimate of $391.5 million. The Recycling Processing and Sales segment’s revenues declined 13.9% to $372 million, missing our estimation of $432.3 million.

WM Renewable Energy registered revenues of $115 million, rising 32.2% from the year-ago quarter and outpacing our estimate of $103 million. WM Healthcare Solutions, and Corporate and Other recorded $635 million in revenues, missing our projection of $444.3 million. The figures are after the alignment of the intercompany adjustment.

The adjusted operating EBITDA was $2 billion, which missed our estimate of $1.9 billion and rose 15.1% from the year-ago quarter. The adjusted operating EBITDA margin increased 10 basis points to 30.6% from the year-ago quarter and surpassed our estimate of 30.1%.

Cash Flow of WM

WM generated $1.6 billion in cash from operating activities in the reported quarter, while capital expenditure was $635 million. The free cash flow was $821 million. In the third quarter of 2025, $332 million in cash dividends were distributed to shareholders.

WM’s 2025 Outlook

The company expects revenues of $25.275 billion for 2025. The guided figure is lower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $25.36 billion. Adjusted operating EBITDA is expected to be $7.475-$7.625 billion.

WM carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Earnings Snapshot

Waste Connections, Inc. WCN reported impressive third-quarter 2025 results.

Waste Connections’ adjusted earnings (excluding 33 cents from non-recurring items) of $1.44 per share surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 4.4% and increased 6.7% year over year. Revenues of $2.5 billion beat the consensus estimate marginally and grew 5.1% from the year-ago quarter.

Equifax Inc. EFX posted impressive third-quarter 2025 results.

EFX’s adjusted earnings were $2.04 per share, outpacing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 5.7% and increasing 10.3% from the year-ago quarter. Total revenues of $1.5 billion surpassed the consensus estimate by 1.5% and grew 6.9% on a year-over-year basis.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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