News about recycling

Waste Management (WM) returned 0.19% over the six months to October 15, compared with 21.5% for the Insider Monkey Billionaire Index and 15.74% for the State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust. The article credits WM's advantage to its hard-to-replicate network of landfills, transfer stations and collection routes, along with its pricing power. In the second quarter of 2026, weaker-than-expected waste volumes led management to lower its revenue outlook, yet WM still expanded margins and maintained full-year earnings and free cash flow guidance. Other growth areas include automated recycling facilities that cut labor cost per ton by 30% versus older plants, renewable natural gas from landfills, and the Stericycle business, whose integration took longer than expected. WM trades at 29.4x trailing and 22.52x forward earnings, versus 30.18x and 26.32x for Republic Services and 37.54x and 18.08x for Waste Connections, and the article views its valuation as not a bargain but relatively reasonable given its moat.