Waste Connections(NYSE) WCN

Waste Connections helps people and businesses get rid of trash safely. The company picks up garbage and runs sites where waste is buried or treated. It also finds new uses for waste through recycling and energy projects.

What Waste Connections Does

• Collection Services: Picking up waste from homes, businesses, and industrial sites; includes exclusive contracts where the company is the sole provider.
• Landfill Disposal: Operating sites for burying non-hazardous household and industrial waste; the company managed 52.6 million tons of waste at its landfills in 2025.
• Resource Recovery: Processing cardboard, plastics, and metals for recycling; this also involves turning landfill gas into electricity or natural gas for utilities.
• E&P Services: Treating and disposing of waste from oil and natural gas drilling; these services handle fluids and solids produced during energy exploration.
• Intermodal Services: Moving cargo and waste containers by rail in the Pacific Northwest; this segment links collection points to distant disposal sites.

Growth Through Strategic Moves

• Acquired 19 waste businesses in 2025 for a total net fair value of $966.8 million.
• Purchased 24 companies in 2024 with a net fair value of $2.228 billion.
• Completed 13 acquisitions in 2023 valued at $766.2 million.
• Developed 15 projects as of late 2025 that turn landfill gas into electricity for local households.

What Makes the Company Different

Waste Connections focuses on secondary and rural markets where it can establish a leading presence with less competition. The company uses a decentralized management style that gives local managers the power to make quick decisions for their specific communities.

The Recent Financial Story

• Revenue reached $2.4 billion in Q4 2025, a 6.6% increase over the same period in 2024.
• Operating income rose to $433.3 million in Q4 2025, up from a loss of $199.2 million in Q4 2024.
• Net income hit $262.5 million in Q4 2025, up 233.9% year-over-year.
• Free cash flow was $157.4 million in Q4 2025, down 8.6% from the $172.2 million reported in Q4 2024.

The Bottom Line

Waste Connections has grown from a regional startup into the third-largest solid waste firm in North America. Its steady expansion through buying smaller local businesses has created a large network across 46 U.S. states and six Canadian provinces.