Correction, 18 September 2026: an earlier version of this post described April 28, 2026 as the end of the quarter. It is the date the results were reported.
What changed
$WM reported results on April 28, 2026. EPS came in at $1.81, up from $1.67 in the same period a year earlier — a year-over-year gain of 8.4%. Quarterly revenue grew 3.5% year over year. We don't have guidance commentary to work with, so this recap focuses on what the reported figures and underlying fundamentals tell us.
The earnings growth is real and consistent with what you'd expect from a business that moves slowly but steadily. Waste Management operates in a near-monopolistic corner of the economy — route density, long-term municipal contracts, and high switching costs give it pricing power that shows up in the numbers over time.
Recibe el resumen semanal de ACCE
Rentabilidad de los índices, repaso de las selecciones y los mayores cambios de puntuación, cada domingo. Sin relleno.
What it means
The ACCE score sits at 56/100 — a middling read that reflects genuine tension in the stock right now. The breakdown tells the story clearly: Quality scores 72, Momentum 63, Growth 48, Value 39. The business is well-run and the stock has some near-term price support, but the valuation is a problem.
The trailing P/E of 277.6 is an outlier that warrants context — it likely reflects a one-time item compressing reported earnings in a prior period rather than a structurally broken earnings stream. The forward P/E of 28.9 is a more useful anchor for where the market expects normalized earnings to land. Even so, 28.9x is not cheap for a company growing revenue at 3.5%.
The 6-model fair value estimate of $184.04 sits 23.1% below the current price of $239.23. That gap is the loudest signal in this data set. The analyst consensus target of $257.92 points the other direction, implying modest upside from current levels — so there's a real disagreement between model-based valuation and sell-side targets.
On quality metrics, $WM looks solid. ROE of 29.9% is strong for an industrial company. Net margin of 11.0% and FCF yield of 2.9% confirm the business converts revenue into cash at a healthy rate, and earnings quality is flagged as strong. The dividend yield of 1.4% adds a small income component, though it won't move the needle for yield-focused buyers.
The 1-year return of 4.2% trails most broad market benchmarks, which fits the low-Growth and low-Value scores. The stock isn't broken — it's a defensive, cash-generative compounder — but at the current price, buyers are paying a premium for stability that the fair-value models don't fully support.
For the full current price and live data, see acceinvestments.com/stocks/WM.
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