Analyst Consensus ?
ConsensusBuy33 ratings
Bullish2060.6%
Neutral1339.4%
Bearish00.0%
1 unmapped firm rating excluded from the percentages.
Waste Management, Inc. · WM · FY2026 Q2 · Calendar Q3 2026
WM Q2: Margin Expansion and Free Cash Flow Offset Volume Pressure
WM’s Q2 results support a constructive operating thesis: pricing, productivity, automation, free cash flow and tuck-in acquisitions are offsetting softer volumes. The evidence is supportive, but the outlook remains dependent on volume recovery, energy surcharges, RNG execution and sustained Healthcare Solutions gains.
Reported After market closeNYSEIndustrials
$83.01B market cap
100quality score
Earnings scorecard
Reported versus consensus
Reported EPS
$2.02
Consensus $1.98
EPS surprise
+2.0%
Reported versus consensus
Reported revenue
$6.68B
Consensus $6.71B
Revenue surprise
-0.4%
Reported versus consensus
Market reaction
event-close to next-session close
Stock move
-1.2%
Event window
SPY move
-1.5%
Same window
Abnormal move
+0.4%
Stock minus SPY
Volume
1.6×
Versus trailing sessions
Subsequent drift
-6.5%
Up to 20 sessions
WMSPY benchmark
Ask FN2 about WM FY2026 Q2
Transcript, numbers and history already loaded
Why did WM fall 1.2% after beating EPS estimates in FY2026 Q2?What changed in WM's guidance and outlook in FY2026 Q2?Give me the bull and bear case for WM after FY2026 Q2 earnings.
Free account. Your question opens in FN2 with this report's transcript and numbers attached.
Transcript intelligence
What changed
Compared with the prior quarter, WM reported continued EBITDA and cash-flow growth, closed $235 million of solid-waste tuck-in acquisitions, and highlighted further progress in recycling automation, RNG production and Healthcare Solutions integration. Full-year guidance remained maintained.
Guidance delta
Management maintained full-year guidance.
Key takeaways
- Operating EBITDA rose 5.5% year over year, with a 40-basis-point margin expansion despite wildfire and energy-surcharge headwinds.
- Free cash flow increased 35% in the quarter and 56% year over year in the first half, supported by lower capital spending, cost optimization and automation.
- Volume declined roughly 0.8% for the full year, while pricing, energy surcharges and productivity helped offset the pressure.
- WM closed $235 million of solid-waste tuck-in acquisitions and continued investments in recycling automation, RNG and Healthcare Solutions.
Management priorities
- Continue solid-waste tuck-in acquisitions to strengthen route density.
- Ramp RNG production and secure pipeline connections by year-end.
- Complete recycling-automation rollout, with the final planned plant targeted for 2027.
- Integrate Healthcare Solutions and pursue additional cross-selling synergies.
- Expand AI-enabled tools, autonomous vehicles and remote-operated equipment.
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Try FN2 freeEarnings History
Estimate
Beat
Miss
Match
Analyst 52W Price Targets
$207.15Current
$150Low
$217.19Average
$264High
Latest persisted target per named analyst; persisted current price from FN2's market snapshot as of Sep 23, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UBS | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Aug 4, 2026 |
| Stifel | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Jul 30, 2026 |
| RBC Capital | Sector Perform | Sector Perform | Maintain | Jul 30, 2026 |
| Barclays | Overweight | Overweight | Maintain | Jul 30, 2026 |
| Scotiabank | Sector Perform | Sector Perform | Maintain | Jul 16, 2026 |
| Citigroup | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Jul 10, 2026 |
| Oppenheimer | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Jul 8, 2026 |
| CIBC | Outperform | Neutral | Upgrade | Jul 7, 2026 |
| Wells Fargo | Overweight | Overweight | Maintain | Apr 30, 2026 |
| TD Cowen | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Apr 30, 2026 |
| Baird | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Apr 16, 2026 |
| JP Morgan | Overweight | Overweight | Maintain | Apr 10, 2026 |
| Bernstein | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Jan 5, 2026 |
| Morgan Stanley | Equal Weight | Equal Weight | Maintain | Dec 17, 2025 |
| BMO Capital | Market Perform | Market Perform | Maintain | Jul 30, 2025 |
| Raymond James | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Jul 22, 2025 |
| HSBC | Buy | Hold | Upgrade | Apr 25, 2025 |
| Jefferies | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Jan 23, 2025 |
| Argus Research | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Oct 31, 2024 |
| Truist Securities | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Oct 30, 2024 |
| Erste Group | Hold | Buy | Downgrade | Jun 14, 2024 |
| B of A Securities | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Jul 20, 2023 |
| Deutsche Bank | Hold | Hold | Maintain | Feb 6, 2023 |
| Goldman Sachs | Neutral | Buy | Downgrade | Mar 13, 2020 |
| KeyBanc | Overweight | Downgrade | Oct 18, 2019 | |
| Bank of America | Neutral | Buy | Downgrade | Oct 18, 2019 |
| Stifel Nicolaus | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Jul 8, 2019 |
| Argus | Buy | Buy | Maintain | May 5, 2018 |
| Credit Suisse | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Feb 20, 2018 |
| Macquarie | Outperform | Neutral | Upgrade | Jan 3, 2018 |
| Wedbush | Neutral | Outperform | Downgrade | Oct 13, 2016 |
| Imperial Capital | In Line | In Line | Maintain | Feb 19, 2016 |
| Wunderlich Securities | Hold | Buy | Downgrade | Feb 19, 2014 |
| Wunderlich | Hold | Buy | Downgrade | Feb 19, 2014 |
Named analyst price targets
Upside is calculated against the persisted current price $207.15. FMP does not supply a rating on these named-analyst rows.
| Firm | Analyst | 52W target | Price when posted | Upside | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CIBC | Analyst unavailable | $244 | $228.98 | +17.8% | Jul 7, 2026 |
| Oppenheimer | Analyst unavailable | $264 | $223.13 | +27.4% | Jan 30, 2026 |
| Scotiabank | Analyst unavailable | $250 | $222.79 | +20.7% | Jan 21, 2026 |
| UBS | Analyst unavailable | $260 | $217.86 | +25.5% | Jan 9, 2026 |
| Bernstein | Connor Cerniglia | $260 | $217.94 | +25.5% | Jan 5, 2026 |
| Goldman Sachs | Analyst unavailable | $256 | $216.62 | +23.6% | Nov 24, 2025 |
| Wells Fargo | Analyst unavailable | $238 | $204.51 | +14.9% | Nov 13, 2025 |
| Robert W. Baird | Analyst unavailable | $242 | $196.77 | +16.8% | Nov 4, 2025 |
| Truist Financial | Tobey Sommer | $260 | $202.72 | +25.5% | Oct 29, 2025 |
| Scotiabank | Konark Gupta | $254 | $202.71 | +22.6% | Oct 29, 2025 |
| Oppenheimer | Noah Kaye | $262 | $204.23 | +26.5% | Oct 29, 2025 |
| Scotiabank | Konark Gupta | $264 | $219.25 | +27.4% | Oct 10, 2025 |
| CIBC | Kevin Chiang | $228 | $217.6 | +10.1% | Oct 30, 2024 |
| BMO Capital | Devin Dodge | $220 | $216.55 | +6.2% | Oct 30, 2024 |
| Scotiabank | Konark Gupta | $225 | $216.99 | +8.6% | Oct 30, 2024 |
| Truist Financial | Tobey Sommer | $250 | $219.11 | +20.7% | Oct 29, 2024 |
| Bank of America Securities | Michael Feniger | $225 | $208.26 | +8.6% | Oct 29, 2024 |
| Scotiabank | Konark Gupta | $220 | $209.09 | +6.2% | Oct 3, 2024 |
| BMO Capital | Devin Dodge | $213 | $198.48 | +2.8% | Jul 26, 2024 |
| Robert W. Baird | David Manthey | $216 | $199.92 | +4.3% | Jul 26, 2024 |
| BMO Capital | Jeffrey Silber | $212 | $201.64 | +2.3% | Jun 3, 2024 |
| Deutsche Bank | Faiza Alwy | $241 | $208.33 | +16.3% | May 22, 2024 |
| Robert W. Baird | David Manthey | $222 | $212.15 | +7.2% | Apr 30, 2024 |
| CIBC | Kevin Chiang | $220 | $211.73 | +6.2% | Apr 29, 2024 |
| Robert W. Baird | David Manthey | $214 | $207.53 | +3.3% | Apr 23, 2024 |
| RBC Capital | Walter Spracklin | $211 | $206.93 | +1.9% | Apr 8, 2024 |
| Deutsche Bank | Analyst unavailable | $151 | $151.82 | -27.1% | Feb 6, 2023 |
| Citigroup | Analyst unavailable | $180 | $151.62 | -13.1% | Feb 2, 2023 |
| UBS | Analyst unavailable | $165 | $152.02 | -20.3% | Jan 10, 2023 |
| Citigroup | Bryan Burgmeier | $183 | $157.67 | -11.7% | Jan 6, 2023 |
| Raymond James | Analyst unavailable | $173 | $166.23 | -16.5% | Apr 27, 2022 |
| RBC Capital | Analyst unavailable | $169 | $164.15 | -18.4% | Apr 27, 2022 |
| Scotiabank | Mark Neville | $180 | $166.76 | -13.1% | Apr 27, 2022 |
| Argus Research | David Coleman | $180 | $153.95 | -13.1% | Oct 27, 2021 |
| Bank of America Securities | Michael Feniger | $154 | $153.95 | -25.7% | Oct 27, 2021 |
| Oppenheimer | Noah Kaye | $152 | $144.14 | -26.6% | Jul 16, 2021 |
| UBS | Jon Windham | $150 | $135.06 | -27.6% | Apr 29, 2021 |
| Stifel Nicolaus | Michael E. Hoffman | $155 | $134.12 | -25.2% | Apr 28, 2021 |
| CIBC | Kevin Chiang | $140 | $134.12 | -32.4% | Apr 28, 2021 |
Track every rating change on WM the moment it posts. Free to start.
Start freeCompany context
Snapshot as of publicationWaste Management, Inc. (WM) functions as a premier provider of environmental waste solutions across North America, serving a diverse client base that includes residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers. The company's core operations involve comprehensive collection services, which include gathering and transporting both waste materials and recyclables from their initial point of generation to designated transfer stations, material recovery facilities (MRFs), or final disposal sites. Waste Management maintains an extensive network of facilities, owning, developing, and operating landfill gas-to-energy plants within the United States, in addition to managing numerous transfer stations.…
Historical context
All WM earningsIndustrials peers this season
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| FPS Forgent Power Solutions, Inc. | FY2026 Q4 · Calendar Q3 2026 | +4.3% | +9.5% | Forgent Power Solutions pairs record results with an aggressive FY27 buildout |
| CPRT Copart, Inc. | FY2026 Q4 · Calendar Q3 2026 | -8.7% | -2.6% | Copart pairs international growth with ACV investment amid higher costs |
| SUNB Sunbelt Rentals Holdings Inc | FY2027 Q1 · Calendar Q3 2026 | +19.2% | +5.9% | Sunbelt raises FY27 outlook as specialty rental demand accelerates |
| FRO Frontline Plc | FY2026 Q2 · Calendar Q3 2026 | +8.0% | +1.0% | Frontline posts a record quarter as tanker rates remain elevated |
| DCI Donaldson Company, Inc. | FY2026 Q4 · Calendar Q3 2026 | +1.8% | +2.1% | Donaldson posts record FY26 and targets further growth |
Latest beats and misses
Who reports nextBeat on EPS
- AZOFY2026 Q4 · September 22, 2026+3.6% EPS+3.3% move
- FPSFY2026 Q4 · September 15, 2026+4.3% EPS+9.5% move
- TCOMFY2026 Q2 · September 15, 2026+22.3% EPS+3.0% move
- KRFY2026 Q2 · September 11, 2026+2.8% EPS+2.7% move
- ADBEFY2026 Q3 · September 10, 2026+0.8% EPS+1.4% move
- ORCLFY2027 Q1 · September 10, 2026+10.3% EPS-1.7% move
Get the WM recap when the next report posts
One email per quarter with the scorecard, the market reaction and what changed on the call. No account needed.
Sources
- Earnings call transcript and parsed analysis · 2026-07-30T02:06:02.835963+00:00
- FN2 earnings calendar · 2026-09-02T01:23:14.593608+00:00
- Polygon adjusted daily market bars · 2026-09-23T17:10:59.620034+00:00
- Financial Modeling Prep analyst price-target consensus and quote snapshot · 2026-09-23T17:10:59.617407+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 2026-09-23. For educational purposes only; not investment advice.