WM's second-quarter results were in line with the themes affecting the waste industry. Pricing gains and energy surcharges supported yield and margins, while volume and commodity prices remained key headwinds. The firm reported $2.02 in adjusted earnings per share, 5.2% higher year over year.
WM has a stable business model and enjoys a wide economic moat rooted in intangible assets (regulatory permits for landfills) and cost advantages (route density).
It's becoming increasingly difficult to find quality tuck-in acquisitions that move the needle for WM, which opens up the temptation to pay higher multiples for incremental M&A or overspend on large, complex, and noncore transactions.
|
Metric
|
WM
|
RSG
|
WCN
|
|---|---|---|---|
Price/Earnings (Normalized) | 29.02 | 29.77 | 30.45 |
Price/Book Value | 9.05 | 5.46 | 5.29 |
Price/Sales | 3.53 | 3.94 | 4.36 |
Price/Cash Flow | 13.25 | 13.85 | 15.28 |
|
Metric
|
WM
|
RSG
|
WCN
|
|---|---|---|---|
Quick Ratio | 0.80 | 0.58 | 0.55 |
Current Ratio | 0.91 | 0.64 | 0.66 |
Interest Coverage | 5.00 | 5.32 | 4.91 |
|
Metric
|
WM
|
RSG
|
WCN
|
|---|---|---|---|
Return on Assets (Normalized) | 7.34% | 6.53% | 6.65% |
Return on Equity (Normalized) | 34.59% | 18.66% | 17.20% |
Return on Invested Capital (Normalized) | 12.35% | 10.61% | 9.57% |
|
1-Day Chart
|
Name
|
Price
|
Morningstar Rating for Stocks
|
Capital Allocation
|
Economic Moat
|
Market Cap
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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United States