Waste Connections, Inc. · WCN · FY2025 Q1 · Calendar Q2 2025
Waste Connections: Pricing and M&A Support Growth Despite Volume Risks
The supplied analysis supports a constructive but qualified view: pricing, acquisitions and operating efficiency are supporting growth, while volume softness and commodity, regulatory and execution risks remain important tests.
Earnings scorecard
Reported versus consensusMarket reaction
event-close to next-session closeAsk FN2 about WCN FY2025 Q1
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Transcript intelligence
What changed
The current analysis adds evidence of strong pricing and acquisition contribution, lower employee turnover and maintained guidance, while flagging a modest Q2 margin headwind from commodities and a 2.8% volume decline.
Guidance delta
Management maintained full-year guidance; Q2 guidance implies a modestly lower margin amid commodity headwinds while revenue growth remains in line.
Key takeaways
- Management described Q1 as ahead of outlook, with a 32% adjusted EBITDA margin.
- Core pricing rose 6.9% year over year while volume declined 2.8%.
- Acquisition revenue exceeded $125 million annualized, while employee turnover fell below 12%.
Management priorities
- Commission and scale the New Jersey recycling facility.
- Pursue additional sub-$125 million acquisitions and continue facility investment.
- Increase Arrowhead landfill volumes while maintaining safety and employee-engagement initiatives.
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Try FN2 freeEarnings History
Analyst 52W Price Targets
Latest persisted target per named analyst; persisted current price from FN2's market snapshot as of Oct 24, 2026. Not an FN2 forecast.
Firm-level rating actions
FMP grade actions identify the grading firm, not a named analyst.
| Firm | Rating | Prior rating | Action | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wells Fargo | Overweight | Overweight | Maintain | Oct 23, 2026 |
| TD Cowen | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Oct 23, 2026 |
| Scotiabank | Sector Outperform | Sector Outperform | Maintain | Oct 23, 2026 |
| RBC Capital | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Oct 23, 2026 |
| Oppenheimer | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Oct 23, 2026 |
| Morgan Stanley | Overweight | Overweight | Maintain | Oct 23, 2026 |
| Citigroup | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Oct 23, 2026 |
| CIBC | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Oct 23, 2026 |
| Barclays | Equal Weight | Equal Weight | Maintain | Oct 23, 2026 |
| JP Morgan | Overweight | Overweight | Maintain | Oct 8, 2026 |
| UBS | Buy | Neutral | Upgrade | Sep 18, 2026 |
| BMO Capital | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Apr 24, 2026 |
| Stifel | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Feb 13, 2026 |
| Bernstein | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Jan 5, 2026 |
| Raymond James | Strong Buy | Strong Buy | Maintain | Jul 22, 2025 |
| Truist Securities | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Feb 14, 2025 |
| Jefferies | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Jan 23, 2025 |
| Wolfe Research | Peer Perform | Outperform | Downgrade | Nov 21, 2023 |
| Deutsche Bank | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Aug 9, 2022 |
| Keybanc | Overweight | Overweight | Maintain | Oct 21, 2021 |
| Goldman Sachs | Neutral | Buy | Downgrade | Mar 13, 2020 |
| B of A Securities | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Feb 13, 2020 |
| Stifel Nicolaus | Buy | Hold | Upgrade | Apr 25, 2019 |
| Bank of America | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Feb 14, 2019 |
| Credit Suisse | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Feb 20, 2018 |
| Imperial Capital | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Apr 6, 2016 |
| BB&T Capital | Hold | Buy | Downgrade | Mar 14, 2016 |
| Macquarie | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Jul 28, 2015 |
| S&P Capital IQ | Hold | Buy | Downgrade | Jan 21, 2014 |
| Wunderlich Securities | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Oct 24, 2013 |
| Wunderlich | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Oct 24, 2013 |
| Wedbush | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Sep 19, 2012 |
Named analyst price targets
Upside is calculated against the persisted current price $186.6. FMP does not supply a rating on these named-analyst rows.
| Firm | Analyst | 52W target | Price when posted | Upside | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CIBC | Kevin Chiang | $207 | $186.21 | +10.9% | Oct 23, 2026 |
| Scotiabank | Analyst unavailable | $201 | $185.96 | +7.7% | Oct 23, 2026 |
| BMO Capital | Devin Dodge | $206 | $186.05 | +10.4% | Oct 23, 2026 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $200 | $186.02 | +7.2% | Oct 23, 2026 |
| Oppenheimer | Analyst unavailable | $200 | $184.88 | +7.2% | Oct 23, 2026 |
| Barclays | Analyst unavailable | $189 | $184.88 | +1.3% | Oct 23, 2026 |
| Goldman Sachs | Analyst unavailable | $205 | $184.88 | +9.9% | Oct 22, 2026 |
| Scotiabank | Analyst unavailable | $193 | $162.13 | +3.4% | Oct 15, 2026 |
| Raymond James | Analyst unavailable | $189 | $152.99 | +1.3% | Oct 9, 2026 |
| CIBC | Analyst unavailable | $184 | $153.47 | -1.4% | Oct 8, 2026 |
| UBS | Analyst unavailable | $200 | $155.23 | +7.2% | Sep 18, 2026 |
| UBS | Analyst unavailable | $176 | $165.71 | -5.7% | Aug 4, 2026 |
| Barclays | Analyst unavailable | $187 | $169.35 | +0.2% | Jul 28, 2026 |
| CIBC | Analyst unavailable | $199 | $168.33 | +6.6% | Jul 24, 2026 |
| Barclays | Analyst unavailable | $180 | $161.54 | -3.5% | Apr 28, 2026 |
| BMO Capital | Analyst unavailable | $208 | $167.88 | +11.5% | Apr 24, 2026 |
| RBC Capital | Analyst unavailable | $218 | $168.89 | +16.8% | Apr 24, 2026 |
| Goldman Sachs | Adam Bubes | $211 | $168.89 | +13.1% | Apr 23, 2026 |
| RBC Capital | Sabahat Khan | $210 | $160.85 | +12.5% | Feb 17, 2026 |
| Morgan Stanley | Toni Kaplan | $205 | $161.28 | +9.9% | Feb 13, 2026 |
| Scotiabank | Analyst unavailable | $197 | $161.9 | +5.6% | Feb 13, 2026 |
| Deutsche Bank | Analyst unavailable | $212 | $161.09 | +13.6% | Feb 13, 2026 |
| Stifel Nicolaus | Analyst unavailable | $213 | $157.58 | +14.1% | Feb 13, 2026 |
| Barclays | Analyst unavailable | $176 | $157.58 | -5.7% | Feb 13, 2026 |
| Oppenheimer | Noah Kaye | $205 | $170.15 | +9.9% | Jan 23, 2026 |
| Scotiabank | Analyst unavailable | $204 | $166.11 | +9.3% | Jan 21, 2026 |
| CIBC | Analyst unavailable | $208 | $167.33 | +11.5% | Jan 8, 2026 |
| Bernstein | Connor Cerniglia | $205 | $175.14 | +9.9% | Jan 5, 2026 |
| UBS | Analyst unavailable | $205 | $172.18 | +9.9% | Jan 5, 2026 |
| Morgan Stanley | Toni Kaplan | $220 | $176.62 | +17.9% | Dec 17, 2025 |
| Goldman Sachs | Analyst unavailable | $202 | $175.3 | +8.3% | Nov 24, 2025 |
| Wells Fargo | Jerry Revich | $186 | $167.39 | -0.3% | Nov 13, 2025 |
| Scotiabank | Konark Gupta | $210 | $177.74 | +12.5% | Oct 23, 2025 |
| Oppenheimer | Analyst unavailable | $206 | $177.46 | +10.4% | Oct 23, 2025 |
| UBS | Analyst unavailable | $195 | $178.47 | +4.5% | Oct 23, 2025 |
| Barclays | Analyst unavailable | $194 | $178.47 | +4.0% | Oct 23, 2025 |
| UBS | Analyst unavailable | $190 | $169.74 | +1.8% | Oct 16, 2025 |
| Scotiabank | Analyst unavailable | $208 | $170.2 | +11.5% | Oct 10, 2025 |
| Raymond James | Analyst unavailable | $213 | $174.42 | +14.1% | Oct 6, 2025 |
| CIBC | Kevin Chiang | $215 | $186.95 | +15.2% | Jul 25, 2025 |
| RBC Capital | Analyst unavailable | $221 | $194.47 | +18.4% | Apr 25, 2025 |
| Truist Financial | Tobey Sommer | $220 | $192.58 | +17.9% | Apr 25, 2025 |
| Oppenheimer | Noah Kaye | $195 | $185.79 | +4.5% | Dec 13, 2024 |
| Oppenheimer | Noah Kaye | $194 | $181.92 | +4.0% | Oct 21, 2024 |
| Citigroup | Bryan Burgmeier | $190 | $175.66 | +1.8% | Jul 26, 2024 |
| RBC Capital | Derek Spronck | $196 | $168.01 | +5.0% | Apr 8, 2024 |
| Oppenheimer | Noah Kaye | $180 | $171.74 | -3.5% | Mar 18, 2024 |
| Morgan Stanley | Toni Kaplan | $160 | $125.32 | -14.3% | Jul 2, 2022 |
| UBS | Jon Windham | $150 | $135.52 | -19.6% | Oct 29, 2021 |
| Deutsche Bank | Kyle White, CFA | $145 | $135.52 | -22.3% | Oct 29, 2021 |
| KeyBanc | Sean Eastman | $146 | $132.48 | -21.8% | Oct 21, 2021 |
| Stifel Nicolaus | Michael E. Hoffman | $154 | $125.04 | -17.5% | Aug 6, 2021 |
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Start freeCompany context
Snapshot as of publicationWaste Connections, Inc. is a leading environmental services provider that delivers a full spectrum of non-hazardous waste management solutions, including collection, transfer, disposal, and resource recovery, across both the United States and Canada. The company offers essential waste collection services to a diverse customer base, spanning residential, commercial, municipal, industrial, and exploration and production (E&P) sectors. Beyond collection, their operations encompass landfill management for final waste disposition and comprehensive recycling programs for a wide array of materials, such as compostables, cardboard, mixed paper, plastic containers, glass bottles, and both ferrous and aluminum metals. Waste Connections also maintains and operates a network of transfer stations, which efficiently receive, compact, and load waste for subsequent transport—by truck, rail, or barge—to either landfills or specialized treatment facilities.…
Historical context
All WCN earningsIndustrials peers this season
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Latest beats and misses
Who reports nextBeat on EPS
- FCNCAFY2026 Q3 · October 23, 2026+19.9% EPS+8.2% move
- FCNCNFY2026 Q3 · October 23, 2026+19.9% EPS+0.2% move
- FCNCOFY2026 Q3 · October 23, 2026+19.9% EPS+1.0% move
- FCNCPFY2026 Q3 · October 23, 2026+19.9% EPS+1.0% move
- RDYFY2027 Q2 · October 23, 2026+24.0% EPS-0.2% move
- SLBFY2026 Q3 · October 23, 2026+3.7% EPS+7.1% move
Missed on EPS
- INFYFY2027 Q2 · October 23, 2026-4.8% EPS-6.6% move
- BBDFY2026 Q3 · October 22, 2026-7.7% EPS+3.0% move
- SNAFY2026 Q3 · October 22, 2026-5.9% EPS-3.4% move
- SPOTFY2026 Q3 · October 22, 2026-11.6% EPS+11.1% move
- VRSNFY2026 Q3 · October 22, 2026-2.0% EPS-0.9% move
- HBANMFY2026 Q3 · October 22, 2026-5.3% EPS+0.5% move
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Sources
- Earnings call transcript and parsed analysis · 2026-05-11T10:29:34.698584+00:00
- FN2 earnings calendar · 2025-04-09T00:03:27.736600+00:00
- Polygon adjusted daily market bars · 2026-10-24T09:30:43.622871+00:00
- Financial Modeling Prep analyst price-target consensus and quote snapshot · 2026-10-24T09:30:43.620097+00:00
Methodology
Reported and consensus figures come from FN2's earnings event records. Market reaction and volume are calculated from daily adjusted bars around the event; abnormal move subtracts the SPY move over the same window.
Analyst target low, average, and high values are derived at request time from each named analyst's latest persisted FMP target. The current-price marker comes from FN2's persisted market snapshot. They are sell-side estimates, not an FN2 valuation or recommendation.
Transcript intelligence is a structured synthesis of the current and prior earnings-call analyses. Missing values stay missing and are never estimated.
By FN2 Research · Updated · As of 2026-10-24. For educational purposes only; not investment advice.