WM Gears Up to Post Q1 Earnings: Here's What You Should Know

WM WM is scheduled to release first-quarter 2025 results on April 28, after market close.

WM’s earnings surprise history has been decent. It surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in two of the trailing four quarters, missed once and met in the remaining one, the average beat being 3.9%. (Find the latest EPS estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar.)

Waste Management, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

WM’s Q1 Expectations

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $6.1 billion, suggesting an 18.4% rise from the year-ago quarter’s actual. Maximization of customer lifetime value and disciplined volume growth are anticipated to have benefited the top line.

We expect revenues from Collection to be $4.7 billion, suggesting a 15.3% increase on a year-over-year basis. Our anticipation for Landfill’s revenues is $1.4 billion, implying 19.4% growth from the year-ago quarter’s actual. The Transfer segment’s revenues are estimated to be $681.4 million, hinting at a 21.7% rise on a year-over-year basis.

The Recycling Processing and Sales segment’s revenues are expected to be $526.3 million, suggesting a 20.7% increment from the year-ago quarter’s actual. WM Renewable Energy is anticipated to be $89 million, increasing 27.2% year over year. WM Healthcare Solutions is estimated to be $107.6 million.

Our projection for adjusted EBITDA is $1.8 billion, suggesting 21% growth from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure. Cost optimization, intentional shedding of the low-margin residential business and lower fuel costs in the Collection and Disposal business are believed to have improved operational efficiency.

The consensus estimate for earnings per share is pegged at $1.68, implying a 5.1% decline from the year-ago quarter’s actual. Strong margins facilitated by robust top-line growth and disciplined cost strategy are expected to have improved the bottom line.

What Our Model Predicts About WM

Our model predicts an earnings beat for WM this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. You can uncover the best stocks before they are reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

WM has an Earnings ESP of +0.83% and a Zacks Rank of 3 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Other Stocks to Consider

Here are a few other stocks from the broader Business services sector, which, according to our model, also have the right combination of elements to beat on earnings this season.

TransUnion TRU: The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s first-quarter 2025 revenues is pegged at $1.1 billion, indicating 4.7% year-over-year growth. For earnings, the consensus mark is pegged at 98 cents per share, implying a 6.5% increase from the year-ago quarter’s actual. The company beat the consensus estimate in the trailing four quarters, with an average surprise of 4.4%.

TRU has an Earnings ESP of +0.15% and a Zacks Rank of 3. The company is scheduled to declare its first-quarter 2025 results on April 24.

Thomson Reuters TRI: The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s first-quarter 2025 revenues is pegged at $1.9 billion, implying year-over-year growth of 1.9%. For earnings, the consensus mark is pegged at $1.06 per share, indicating a 4.5% decrease from the year-ago quarter’s actual. The company beat the consensus estimate in the trailing four quarters, with an average surprise of 8%.

TRI has an Earnings ESP of +0.47% and a Zacks Rank of 3 at present. The company is scheduled to declare its first-quarter 2025 results on May 1.

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

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