WM Earnings Miss Estimates in Q4, Revenues Rise 14% Y/Y

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

WM’s quarterly adjusted earnings of $1.93 per share missed the consensus mark by 1% while it gained 13.5% year over year. Total revenues of $6.3 billion missed the consensus mark by 1.2% but increased 7.1% from the year-ago quarter.

Thestock has gained 5.7% in a year against the 1% dip of its industry and compared with the18.8% rally of the Zacks S&P 500 Composite.

WM’s Quarterly Numbers in Detail

The Collection segment generated $3.9 billion in revenues, a 4.9% hike from the year-ago quarter, meeting the Zack Consensus Estimate. The Landfill segment registered $910 million in revenues, increasing 6.2% year over year and beating the consensus estimate of $956.1 million. Total revenues in the Transfer segment grew 6.1% to $381 million, outpacing the consensus mark of $375.1 million. The Recycling Processing and Sales segment’s revenues dipped 10.8% to $355 million, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $414.3 million.

WM Renewable Energy registered revenues of $157 million, a 68.8% upsurge from the year-ago quarter and outpacing the consensus mark of $148 million. The WM Healthcare Solutions, and Corporate and Other segments in total recorded $621 million in revenues, witnessing 52.2% year-over-year growth. It missed the consensus estimate of $627 million. The figures are after the alignment of the intercompany adjustment.

The adjusted operating EBITDA was $2 billion, up 15.7% from the year-ago quarter. The adjusted operating EBITDA margin increased 240 basis points to 31.3% from the year-ago quarter.

Cash Flow of WM

WM generated $1.7 billion in cash from operating activities in the fourth quarter of 2025 and its capital expenditure was $684 million. The free cash flow was $823 million. In the fourth quarter of 2025, $333 million in cash dividends were distributed to shareholders.

WM’s 2026 Outlook

For 2026, the company expects revenue of $26.43-$26.63 billion. The mid-point ($26.53 billion) of the guided figure is lower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $26.59 billion. Adjusted operating EBITDA is expected to be $8.15-$8.25 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

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. ADP reported impressive second-quarter fiscal 2026 results.

ADP’s earnings per share of $2.62 beat the consensus estimate by 1.6% and increased 11.5% from the year-ago quarter. Total revenues of $5.4 billion missed the consensus estimate by a slight margin but grew 6.1% year over year.

Paychex, Inc. PAYX posted impressive second-quarter fiscal 2026 results.

PAYX’s fiscal second-quarter earnings of $1.26 per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.6% and increased 10.5% from the year-ago quarter. Total revenues of $1.6 billion surpassed the consensus estimate by a slight margin and rallied 18.3% from the year-ago quarter.

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

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