Waste Management Inc (WM)
Industrials · Environmental & Facilities Services · US stock · S&P 500 component
$239.10
▲ +9.52 (4.15%)
Fair valueFair
$222 −7.3% to fair value
$111fair band $189–$269$332
Day's range
$231.36 – $239.62
52-week range
$194.11 – $248.13
About Waste Management Inc
Waste Management collects, transfers, recycles and disposes of waste for residential, commercial and industrial customers in North America. It operates landfills, transfer stations and recycling facilities, and it captures landfill gas for use as energy. Revenue comes from collection contracts, disposal fees and the sale of recycled materials, and landfill ownership gives it a hard-to-replicate asset base in many of its local markets.
The company reported trailing revenue of $25.7 billion and three-year growth of 8.6% a year. Profitability figures show an operating margin of 17.6% and a return on invested capital of 11%. Its net debt to EBITDA ratio stands at 3.0 times. The dividend yield is 1.5%. Its X-Ray Score is 53 out of 100.
Price chart
52-wk range $194.11 – $248.13Volume 2,959,532Daily, split-adjusted
Vitals
Market cap$96.2B
52-week range$194.11 – $248.13
Volume (last day)2,959,532
P/E (TTM)33.8
EBIT / EV yield3.8%
Free-cash-flow yield3.7%
Dividend yield1.5%
Revenue (TTM)$25.7B
Net income (TTM)$2.9B
Operating margin17.6%
Return on capital10.9%
Debt incl. leases$23.4B
Cash & securities$557M
Debt = borrowings plus lease liabilities. Cash & securities = cash, equivalents and short-term marketable securities (long-term securities are not counted, so net cash can be understated for companies that hold large long-term investments). Net debt = debt minus cash & securities. Source: latest SEC 10-Q/10-K. EBIT / EV yield = operating profit divided by market cap plus net debt.
Fair value estimate
$222middle half of models $194 – $253
Fair
−7.3% to fair value
Average of the 15 valuation models that pass our checks: multiples, discounted cash flow, dividend discount and earnings power value. A model more than 100% above or 60% below the price is left out as unrealistic. Model uncertainty is Medium, based on how far apart the models are. Undervalued or Overvalued means the gap to fair value is more than 17.5%.
Price $239
Undervalued < $189Fair $189 – $269Overvalued > $269
P/E multiple
$238
P/B multiple
$237
P/S multiple
$243
EV/EBITDA multiple
$255
EV/EBIT multiple
$233
EV/revenue multiple
$234
10-year DCF, EBITDA exit
$251
5-year DCF, EBITDA exit
$261
10-year DCF, revenue exit
$250
5-year DCF, revenue exit
$258
10-year DCF, growth exit
$135
5-year DCF, growth exit
$124
Dividend discount, stable
$155
Dividend discount, multi-stage
$300
Earnings power value
$151
Growth the price implies
20.3%/yr
A model estimate, not a price target or recommendation. Inputs: risk-free 5.13%, equity risk premium 4.30% (Damodaran). How it works.
What this means
Average business, fairly priced
The price sits inside our fair-value band. A high score does not guarantee a good outcome; it shifts the odds a little. Use the checklist as a prompt for your own research.
Before you invest · decision checklist
Ticked boxes are filled in from our data; the rest are yours to answer.
The five-lens scan
Every score explained in one sentence, ranked against Industrials peers. Open a lens to see the numbers behind it.
Strong: 70 to 100Fair: 50 to 69Weak: under 50No score: not enough data
Valuation
Weak
44/100
Expensive against its sector on earnings and cash flow.
See the numbers →
EBIT / EV yield3.8%
Free-cash-flow yield3.7%
Fair value vs price0.9×
Growth
Strong
70/100
Growing faster than most of its sector.
See the numbers →
Revenue growth (3y)8.6%
EPS growth (3y)7.5%
Growth consistency100%
Profitability
Fair
56/100
Returns on capital are typical for its sector.
See the numbers →
Return on invested capital10.9%
Operating margin17.6%
Gross profitability22.6%
Financial health
Weak
45/100
Balance sheet is more stretched than most peers.
See the numbers →
Piotroski F-Score7 / 9
Net debt / EBITDA3.0×
Interest coverNo interest cost
Dividends
Fair
51/100
Dividend is typical for its sector.
See the numbers →
Dividend yield1.5%
Dividends vs free cash flow41%
Dividend growth7.4%
Quarterly results: last 6 quarters
+16.7%
Mar '25
+19.0%
Jun '25
+14.9%
Sep '25
+7.1%
Dec '25
+3.5%
Mar '26
+4.0%
Jun '26
Revenue against the same quarter a year earlier. Latest quarter revenue $6.7B, diluted EPS $1.95.
Compare with peers
ROL Rollins Inc61 VLTO Veralto Corp55 RSG Republic Services, Inc...42Other Environmental & Facilities Services companies by X-Ray Score.
SWOT analysis: Waste Management Inc
Strengthsinside the company
- Operating profit covers interest 50x, so debt costs are a small drag.
- Passes 7 of the 9 Piotroski tests, which points to improving profitability, funding and efficiency.
Weaknessesinside the company
- Return on invested capital of 10.9% is well below the 23.4% median of industry peers.
Opportunitiesvaluation and setting
- Revenue growth picked up to 14.2% last year from 8.6% a year over three years.
- Dividends use only 41% of free cash flow, which leaves room to raise them.
- Price momentum is strong on the weekly and monthly signals (trends can reverse).
Threatsvaluation and setting
- No specific threat is flagged by our checks; general market and interest-rate risk still applies.
Written by fixed rules from the figures on this page and the peer table below: filings, our fair value, the sector climate and the price trend. It summarises the data, it is not a forecast or advice.
Compare WM with peers and sector
Medians of 3 Environmental & Facilities Services peers and of 80 Industrials stocks in our universe.
Largest peers (X-Ray Score): RSG 42, VLTO 55, ROL 61.
| Metric | WM | Peers | Sector |
|---|---|---|---|
| X-Ray Score (out of 100) | 53 | 55 | 50 |
| Valuation | 44 | 57 | 48 |
| Growth | 70 | 56 | 50 |
| Profitability | 56 | 71 | 50 |
| Financial health | 45 | 38 | 49 |
| Dividends | 51 | 54 | 53 |
Sector leaders: highest X-Ray Score in Industrials
WM ranks #35 of 81 in Industrials and #3 of 4 in Environmental & Facilities Services by X-Ray Score. A higher score is stronger on our five pillars; it is a ranking of facts, not a forecast.
Green means better than the peer median, red worse (only where a higher or lower figure is clearly better). A dash means too few companies report the figure. P/E, EV/EBITDA and price changes are not graded: a different level is not good or bad by itself.
Factor ratings for WM
Each factor is rated by where WM stands among the 81 Industrials stocks in our universe.
Rating against the sector
Goodthe top third of these stocks
Averagethe middle third of these stocks
Badthe bottom third of these stocks
"Beats" is the share of those stocks it is ahead of.
Against its own history
The last columns set today's figure against the company's own median of its last five financial years:
▲ Betterbetter than its usual level
▼ Worseworse than its usual level
≈ In linewithin its usual range
For valuation factors Good means cheaper than most of the sector and Better means cheaper than usual for this company, which is not the same as a bargain.
In total: 7 Good · 10 Average · 5 Bad of 22
Growth: 2 · 1 · 0
Profitability: 0 · 4 · 1
Financial strength: 2 · 0 · 2
Valuation: 0 · 3 · 2
Cash flow: 2 · 2 · 0
Efficiency: 1 · 0 · 0
| Factor | WM | Rating | Sector median | Own 5-year median | Against own history |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Growth | |||||
| Revenue growth, 3 years a year | +8.6% | Good beats 71% | +5.6% | – | – |
| Revenue growth, last year | +14.2% | Good beats 88% | +4.5% | +9.9% | ▲ Better |
| EPS growth, 3 years a year | +7.5% | Average beats 55% | +5.7% | – | – |
| Profitability | |||||
| Gross margin | 40.9% | Average beats 65% | 38.0% | 38.3% | ≈ In line |
| Operating margin | 17.6% | Average beats 54% | 17.5% | 17.1% | ≈ In line |
| Net margin | 11.1% | Average beats 44% | 12.8% | 11.3% | ≈ In line |
| Return on invested capital | 10.9% | Bad beats 27% | 14.9% | – | – |
| Return on equity | 28.7% | Average beats 60% | 23.7% | 32.7% | ▼ Worse |
| Financial strength | |||||
| Net debt / EBITDA | 3.0x | Bad beats 13% | 1.8x | 2.8x | ≈ In line |
| Interest cover | 50.0x | Good beats 76% | 21.4x | – | – |
| Current ratio | 0.91 | Bad beats 19% | 1.25 | 0.81 | ≈ In line |
| Piotroski F-score | 7 / 9 | Good beats 68% | 6 / 9 | – | – |
| Valuation | |||||
| P/E ratio | 33.7x | Bad beats 33% | 28.9x | 31.6x | ≈ In line |
| Price / book | 9.7x | Bad beats 29% | 6.2x | 9.9x | ≈ In line |
| Price / sales | 3.7x | Average beats 44% | 3.5x | 3.6x | ≈ In line |
| EV / EBITDA | 15.8x | Average beats 65% | 18.5x | 15.7x | ≈ In line |
| Free cash flow yield | 3.7% | Average beats 44% | 3.8% | 2.7% | ▲ Better |
| Cash flow | |||||
| Free cash flow margin | 13.9% | Average beats 51% | 13.8% | 9.8% | ▲ Better |
| Cash from operations / net income | 2.28 | Good beats 88% | 1.39 | 2.05 | ▲ Better |
| Free cash flow growth, 3 years a year | +17.7% | Average beats 57% | +14.5% | – | – |
| Accruals (lower is better) | −7.9% | Good beats 92% | −3.2% | – | – |
| Efficiency | |||||
| Days sales outstanding | 50 days | Good beats 67% | 57 days | 47 days | ≈ In line |
These ratings compare companies with each other and describe the past; they are not a forecast, a recommendation or part of the X-Ray Score. A factor is left out when its data is missing or meaningless (for example a P/E on negative earnings). A dash in the history columns means fewer than three usable years.
Fundamentals checklist
● 5 Good · ● 6 Average · ● 5 BadCash quality
Earnings backed by cashGood
Free-cash-flow yieldAverage
Risk models
Altman Z''Bad
Piotroski F-ScoreGood
Growth
EPS growth (3y)Average
Free-cash-flow growth (3y)Average
Revenue growth (3y)Good
Growth consistencyGood
Balance sheet
Current ratioBad
Net debt / EBITDABad
Interest coverGood
Valuation
Fair value vs priceAverage
EBIT / EV yieldBad
Profitability
Return on invested capitalBad
Operating marginAverage
Gross profitabilityAverage
Each check is graded against the company's sector, not a fixed number. Checklist score 50/100.
Financials
| FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $17.9B | $19.7B | $20.4B | $22.1B | $25.2B |
| Operating income | $3.0B | $3.4B | $3.6B | $4.1B | $4.3B |
| Net income | $1.8B | $2.2B | $2.3B | $2.7B | $2.7B |
| Operating cash flow | $4.3B | $4.5B | $4.7B | $5.4B | $6.0B |
| Operating margin | 16.5% | 17.1% | 17.5% | 18.4% | 17.1% |
| Free cash flow | $2.3B | $1.7B | $1.8B | $2.2B | $2.8B |
| Diluted EPS | $4.29 | $5.39 | $5.66 | $6.81 | $6.70 |
Fiscal years, from SEC filings.
Technical summary
Daily
Bullish
12 bullish · 0 neutral · 4 bearish
Weekly
Strongly bullish
10 bullish · 1 neutral · 1 bearish
Monthly
Strongly bullish
7 bullish · 1 neutral · 0 bearish
Moving averages (daily)
| SMA 10 | 222.5 | Bullish |
| EMA 10 | 224.9 | Bullish |
| SMA 20 | 214.5 | Bullish |
| EMA 20 | 219.4 | Bullish |
| SMA 50 | 216.3 | Bullish |
| EMA 50 | 217.9 | Bullish |
| SMA 100 | 221.1 | Bullish |
| EMA 100 | 219.5 | Bullish |
| SMA 200 | 223.2 | Bullish |
| EMA 200 | 220.4 | Bullish |
Oscillators (daily)
| RSI (14) | 78.36 | Bearish |
| MACD (12, 26) | 5.03 | Bullish |
| Momentum (12) | 15.02 | Bullish |
| Stochastic %K (14) | 98.61 | Bearish |
| Williams %R (14) | -1.39 | Bearish |
| CCI (20) | 171.9 | Bearish |
Pivot points (classic, last session)
S3 225.5 | S2 228.4 | S1 233.8 | Pivot 236.7 | R1 242.0 | R2 244.9 | R3 250.3 |
Signals describe what the chart is doing, not what to do. Moving averages: price above the average is bullish. Oscillators use the usual thresholds (RSI 30/70, Stochastic 20/80, CCI ±100, Williams %R −80/−20; MACD and momentum above zero are bullish). Weekly and monthly views use closing prices only.
Dividends
Paid, last 12 months
3.66 USD
Yield on today's price
1.53%
Frequency
Quarterly
Next ex-dividend date
Not announced
| Ex-dividend date | Amount per share |
|---|---|
| 0.9450 | |
| 0.9450 | |
| 0.9450 | |
| 0.8250 | |
| 0.8250 | |
| 0.8250 | |
| 0.8250 | |
| 0.7500 | |
| 0.7500 | |
| 0.7500 | |
| 0.7500 | |
| 0.7000 |
Ex-dividend dates and amounts from EODHD. Shown as declared, before tax.
ETFs that hold WM
| ETF | Share of the fund |
|---|---|
| IDU iShares U.S. Utilities | 5.21% |
| XLI Industrial Select Sector SPDR | 1.43% |
| USMV iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor | 1.38% |
| FIDU Fidelity MSCI Industrials Index | 1.30% |
| VIS Vanguard Industrials | 1.21% |
| RSPN Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Industria... | 1.20% |
| SPLV Invesco S&P 500 Low Volatility | 1.00% |
| ACWV iShares MSCI Global Min Vol Factor | 0.97% |
The eight funds with the largest weight in WM among the ETFs we cover, from each fund's latest SEC Form N-PORT (quarter-end positions, so they can be months old). All ETFs.
WM SEC filings
8-KSEC EDGAR
Director or officer change; Regulation FD disclosure
10-QSEC EDGAR
Quarterly report
8-KSEC EDGAR
Results of operations
8-KSEC EDGAR
Shareholder vote results
8-KSEC EDGAR
Director or officer change
10-QSEC EDGAR
Quarterly report
8-KSEC EDGAR
Results of operations
DEF 14ASEC EDGAR
Proxy statement
Where the numbers come from
Statements SEC EDGAR filings (10-K, 10-Q), quarters derived from year-to-date figures.
Prices end-of-day closes, split-adjusted.
Industry inputs beta, multiples and equity risk premium from Damodaran Online (NYU Stern).
StocksXray is for education only and is not financial advice. Scores and fair values are model estimates from public filings and carry uncertainty.