Waste Connections. Inc. WCN reported mixed fourth-quarter 2024 results, wherein earnings missed the Zacks Consensus Estimates, while revenues beat the same.

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The stock price has not witnessed any significant impact of the earnings miss since the company released results on Feb. 12.

Waste Connections’ adjusted earnings (excluding $1.92 from non-recurring items) of $1.16 per share missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.3% but increased 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Revenues of $2.3 billion beat the consensus estimate marginally and grew 11% from the year-ago quarter.

WCN shares have gained 12.6% over the past year compared with the 13% rally of the industry it belongs to.

Segmental Information for WCN

The Solid Waste Collection segment’s revenues grew 7.4% year over year to $1.6 billion and met our estimate. The Solid Waste Disposal and Transfer segment’s revenues grew 6.9% from the year-ago quarter to $718.5 million and outpaced our expectation of $437.6 million.

The Solid Waste Recycling segment’s revenues increased 44.7% on a year-over-year basis to $63.3 million. The figure beat our estimate of $56.2 million. The Intermodal and Other segment’s revenues declined 6.4% from the year-ago quarter to $45.9 million, which missed our projection of $51.1 million.

The E&P Waste Treatment, Recovery and Disposal segment’s revenues soared more than 100% from the year-ago quarter to $146.3 million, surpassing our estimate of $59.9 million.

Waste Connections’ Operating Results

Adjusted EBITDA in the reported quarter was $656 million, down 10.4% from the year-ago quarter. The adjusted EBITDA margin was 32.4%, which decreased 20 basis points from the year-ago quarter.

Operating loss totaled $199.2 million against the year-ago operating income of $224.5 million.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow

Waste Connections exited the fourth quarter of 2024 with cash and cash equivalents of $62.4 compared with $78.4 million at the end of the preceding quarter. The long-term debt was $6.7 billion, flat with the previous quarter.

In the reported quarter, WCN generated $568.9 million in cash from operating activities. The adjusted free cash flow was $173.8 million. Capital expenditure totaled $396.7 million. The company paid out $81 million worth of dividends in the quarter.

WCN’s 2025 Outlook

For 2025, Waste Connections expects revenues of $9.45-$9.6 billion. The mid-point ($9.52 billion) of the guided range is in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The company expects adjusted EBITDA of $3.12-$3.2 billion. The EBITDA margin is anticipated to be 33-33.3%.

Waste Connections 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

Republic Services, Inc. RSG reported mixed fourth-quarter 2024 results.

RSG’s earnings per share (excluding 5 cents from non-recurring items) of $1.58 outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 15.3% and grew 12.1% from the year-ago quarter. Revenues of $4 billion missed the consensus mark by a slight margin but increased 5.6% year over year.

IQVIA Holdings Analytics Inc. IQV posted impressive fourth-quarter 2024 results.

IQV’s adjusted earnings were $3.12 per share, outpacing the Zacks Consensus Estimate marginally and rising 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. Total revenues of $4 billion surpassed the consensus estimate by a slight margin and grew 2.3% from the year-ago quarter.

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