Waste Management, Inc. (WM)

Waste Management, Inc. stock has experienced a positive trend, with its share price increasing by 6.45% from January 13, 2025, to January 9, 2026. As of January 8, 2026, the stock was up 4.09% over the past 30 days and 5.46% over the past 12 months. Key events impacting the stock include the announcement of a 14.5% dividend increase for 2026, extending its streak of annual dividend growth to 23 consecutive years. The company also authorized a new $3 billion share repurchase program, planning to return approximately 90% of free cash flow to shareholders over the next year. Waste Management is expected to release its fiscal Q4 2025 results on January 28, 2026, with analysts projecting an adjusted EPS growth of 15.9% for the quarter.

Demand seasonality for Waste Management, Inc.'s products and services generally follows historical patterns. However, the company has noted that its first-quarter performance can be impacted by weather conditions. There are also indications of seasonal demand influencing import volumes, with forecasts for year-over-year import volume declines in late 2025. While specific detailed seasonal fluctuations for all services are not explicitly detailed, the nature of waste generation often sees some variations throughout the year, potentially influenced by factors like population density changes during holidays or seasonal economic activities.

Waste Management, Inc. is North America's leading provider of comprehensive environmental solutions, operating primarily in the environmental services sector and waste management industry. The company offers a wide array of services including waste collection, transfer, disposal, and recycling for residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers. WM's major products and services encompass the collection and hauling of waste, recyclables, yard debris/organics, and hazardous materials, as well as dumpster and portable toilet rentals. The company also plays a significant role in resource recovery and clean energy, operating landfill disposal sites that produce landfill gas used as renewable natural gas (RNG) for generating electricity, and waste-to-energy plants. Additionally, WM provides sustainability advisory services.

Waste Management, Inc. operates extensively across North America, providing environmental services to nearly 21 million customers in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. The company's vast network includes hundreds of collection operations, transfer stations, active landfill disposal sites, recycling plants, waste-to-energy plants, and beneficial-use landfill gas projects.

In the past year, Waste Management has maintained a strong brand reputation, marked by several recognitions. The company was honored to be a sponsor of GreenBiz23, a leading event for sustainable business, where it led the zero-waste program. WM was also a Presenting Sponsor at a Washington Post Live event focused on climate, where its Chief Sustainability Officer discussed enabling sustainability progress. In March 2025, WM was recognized for its commitment to business integrity through robust ethics, compliance, and governance programs. The company has also been consistently recognized for its climate action, securing a place on global environmental impact nonprofit CDP's prestigious 'A List' in previous years.

Waste Management, Inc. has a diverse ownership structure, with a significant concentration in institutional investors. Approximately 38.30% of the company's stock is owned by Institutional Investors, 0.20% by Insiders, and 61.49% by Public Companies and Individual Investors. Major institutional shareholders include Vanguard Group Inc., BlackRock, Inc., Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust, State Street Corp, VTSMX - Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Investor Shares, VFINX - Vanguard 500 Index Fund Investor Shares, Geode Capital Management, Llc, Morgan Stanley, Ameriprise Financial Inc, and Parnassus Investments /ca. These institutional holdings give them substantial influence over corporate actions and strategic direction.