WCN NYSE Refuse Systems Financials FY2016βFY2025
Waste Connections, Inc. had $9.5B of revenue in fiscal 2025, up 6.1% on the year before. Over five years, revenue changed +11.7% a year on average.
Last close Β· Oct 23, 2026
$186.60
0.9%Hi! I read Waste Connections, Inc.βs latest annual report (fiscal 2025). Here is what stands out:
Good So-so Weak
Are sales growing?
+6.1%
Yes. Sales grew 6.1% last year.
Does it make a profit?
11.4%
Yes. It keeps 11.4% of every sale as profit.
Does profit turn into cash?
13.0%
Yes. 13.0% of sales ends up as free cash.
Is debt under control?
3.0x
Keep an eye on it. Repaying its debt would take 3.0 years of operating profit.
How healthy are the accounts?
6 / 9
Mixed. It passes 6 of 9 health tests.
How is the share priced?
41.7x
One share costs 41.7 times its yearly profit per share.
Rules of thumb on reported numbers. A starting point, not a recommendation.
Is it selling more, and how much does it keep?
KIRA Β· Waste Connections, Inc. had $9.5B of revenue in fiscal 2025, up 6.1% on the year before. Over five years, revenue changed +11.7% a year on average. Its operating margin was 18.1%, up 6.1Β pts: of every 100 in sales, about 18 is left after running the business.
In plain words: Revenue is all the money customers paid. The margins show how many cents of each dollar of sales are left over at each step: after making the product (gross), after running the business (operating) and after everything, tax included (net).
Revenue
Revenue
Margins, % of revenue
Margins, % of revenue
KIRA Β· Waste Connections, Inc. made $1.1B of net profit in fiscal 2025. From fiscal 2016 to 2025, diluted EPS grew 16.3% a year.
Loss periods are shown in red.
In plain words: Net income is the profit left after every cost and tax. Earnings per share (EPS) splits that profit across every share, so it shows what one share earned.
Net income
Net income
Diluted EPS
Diluted EPS
How much cash comes in, and where does it go?
KIRA Β· Free cash flow was $1.2B in fiscal 2025, 13.0% of revenue.
Cash from operations minus capital spending.
In plain words: Profit on paper is not the same as cash in the bank. Free cash flow is the cash left after paying to run and maintain the business: the money it can hand back to shareholders, save or invest.
Free cash flow
Free cash flow
Cash from operations vs capital spending
Cash from operations vs capital spending
KIRA Β· Waste Connections, Inc. returned $839M to shareholders in fiscal 2025, 68% of free cash flow. The diluted share count fell 0.3%.
In plain words: Companies hand cash back in two ways: dividends (cash paid to shareholders) and buybacks (buying back their own shares, so each remaining share owns a bigger slice).
Dividends and buybacks
Dividends and buybacks
Diluted shares outstanding (annual)
KIRA Β· In the last 12 months, insiders bought $7.6M and sold $6.5M of shares on the open market.
Open-market purchases and sales by officers, directors and 10% owners, from Form 4 filings. βPlanβ marks trades under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan.
In plain words: Insiders are the people who run or own a big part of the company. Buying with their own money can signal confidence; selling often has personal reasons, like taxes or diversifying.
Bought, 12 months
$7.6M
1 insider
Sold, 12 months
$6.5M
10 insiders
Of sales under plans
0%
$0.0M
| Date | Insider | Trade | Shares | Price | Value | Filing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 19, 2026 | III Robert NielsenSR VP Operations | Sold | 700 | $170.00 | $0.1M | Form 4 |
| Aug 18, 2026 | Philip RivardSR VP Business Development | Sold | 2,500 | $166.57 | $0.4M | Form 4 |
| Aug 13, 2026 | Susan NethertonSR VP People, Training & Dev | Sold | 1,750 | $166.00 | $0.3M | Form 4 |
| Jul 29, 2026 | III Robert NielsenSR VP Operations | Sold | 300 | $173.10 | $0.1M | Form 4 |
| Jul 28, 2026 | Robert Michael CloningerSR VP, Deputy General Counsel | Sold | 2,811 | $171.03 | $0.5M | Form 4 |
| Jun 5, 2026 | Jason CraftExecutive Vice President & COO | Sold | 1,500 | $156.59 | $0.2M | Form 4 |
| Jun 5, 2026 | Patrick James SheaExec VP, General Counsel & Sec | Sold | 7,500 | $156.26 | $1.2M | Form 4 |
| May 14, 2026 | III Robert NielsenSR VP Operations | Sold | 500 | $155.56 | $0.1M | Form 4 |
| May 13, 2026 | III Robert NielsenSR VP Operations | Sold | 290 | $151.00 | $0.0M | Form 4 |
| May 12, 2026 | III Robert NielsenSR VP Operations | Sold | 337 | $153.00 | $0.1M | Form 4 |
| May 12, 2026 | Ronald J MittelstaedtPresident & CEO, Director | Bought | 50,000 | $152.24 | $7.6M | Form 4 |
| Apr 30, 2026 | Eric HansenSenior Vice President and CIO | Sold | 6,000 | $164.82 | $1.0M | Form 4 |
| Apr 27, 2026 | James LittleExecutive VP Engineering | Sold | 2,605 | $163.98 | $0.4M | Form 4 |
| Mar 4, 2026 | Derek TanSR VP Chief Accounting Officer | Sold | 1,173 | $171.03 | $0.2M | Form 4 |
| Dec 10, 2025 | III Robert NielsenSR VP Operations | Sold | 2,000 | $167.59 | $0.3M | Form 4 |
| Oct 28, 2025 | Edward E GuilletDirector | Sold | 9,000 | $174.44 | $1.6M | Form 4 |
Can it carry its debts, and how well does it use its money?
KIRA Β· Waste Connections, Inc. owes $8.8B more than it holds in cash, about 3.0 years of operating profit.
Cash, debt and the ratios that show how comfortably Waste Connections, Inc. can carry it.
In plain words: What the company owns and what it owes. More cash than debt is a cushion for bad times; a lot of debt leaves less room when business slows down.
Cash vs debt (incl. leases)
| Fiscal year end | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash and short-term investments | $147M | $78.6M | $78.4M | $62.4M | $46.0M |
| Debt incl. finance leases | $5.1B | $6.9B | $6.8B | $8.1B | $8.8B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 2.7x | 3.2x | 3.0x | 3.6x | 3.0x |
| Debt / equity | 0.7x | 1.0x | 0.9x | 1.0x | 1.1x |
| Interest coverage | 6.4x | 6.1x | 4.5x | 3.3x | 5.1x |
| Current ratio | 0.8x | 0.7x | 0.7x | 0.7x | 0.6x |
| Quick ratio | 0.8x | 0.7x | 0.7x | 0.7x | 0.6x |
| Total assets | $14.7B | $17.1B | $17.9B | $19.8B | $21.1B |
| Total liabilities | $7.7B | $10.0B | $10.2B | $12.0B | $12.9B |
| Shareholders' equity | $7.0B | $7.1B | $7.7B | $7.9B | $8.2B |
| Net debt (β = net cash) | $4.9B | $6.8B | $6.7B | $8.0B | $8.8B |
KIRA Β· Its return on capital was 7.6%: every 100 invested in the business earned about 8 in a year.
After-tax operating income as a share of the money invested in the business: debt plus equity, minus cash.
In plain words: How much profit the business makes on the money put into it. A higher percentage means each dollar invested works harder.
Return on capital, equity and assets (annual)
KIRA Β· Waste Connections, Inc. passes 6 of 9 financial health tests (Piotroski F-score).
Nine pass/fail tests of profitability, funding and efficiency. 8β9 is strong, 0β2 weak.
In plain words: Nine yes/no tests of financial health, one point each. A green tick is a pass: 7 to 9 points is solid, 0 to 3 is weak.
| Test | FY16 | FY17 | FY18 | FY19 | FY20 | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net income is positive | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| Cash from operations is positive | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| Return on assets rose | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| Cash from operations exceeds net income | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| Debt fell relative to assets | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| Current ratio rose | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| Share count didn't rise | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| Gross margin rose | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| Revenue rose relative to assets | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| F-score | β / 3 | 7 / 9 | 5 / 9 | 5 / 9 | 5 / 9 | 7 / 9 | 6 / 9 | 6 / 9 | 5 / 9 | 6 / 9 |
| Accruals ratio | β4.9% | β5.3% | β7.0% | β7.4% | β8.7% | β7.5% | β7.5% | β7.8% | β8.5% | β6.5% |
| Altman Z'' | 1.81 | 2.21 | 2.23 | 2.17 | 2.01 | 2.02 | 1.78 | 1.81 | 1.57 | 1.77 |
Every number, year by year.
Amounts in USD. Hover a ratioβs name for its definition.
In plain words: Every number we have, year by year. Download it as a spreadsheet if you want to dig deeper.
| Fiscal year | FY16 | FY17 | FY18 | FY19 | FY20 | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income statement | ||||||||||
| Revenue | $3.4B | $4.6B | $4.9B | $5.4B | $5.4B | $6.2B | $7.2B | $8.0B | $8.9B | $9.5B |
| Gross profit | $1.4B | $1.9B | $2.1B | $2.2B | $2.2B | $2.5B | $2.9B | $3.3B | $3.7B | $4.0B |
| Operating income | $452M | $627M | $832M | $838M | $412M | $1.0B | $1.2B | $1.2B | $1.1B | $1.7B |
| Interest expense | $92.7M | $125M | $132M | $147M | $162M | $163M | $202M | $275M | $327M | $335M |
| Pretax income | $361M | $509M | $707M | $706M | $254M | $771M | $1.0B | $984M | $763M | $1.4B |
| Income tax | $114M | β$68.9M | $160M | $139M | $49.9M | $152M | $213M | $221M | $146M | $341M |
| Net income | $247M | $577M | $547M | $567M | $205M | $618M | $836M | $763M | $618M | $1.1B |
| Diluted EPS | $1.07 | $2.18 | $2.07 | $2.14 | $0.78 | $2.36 | $3.24 | $2.95 | $2.39 | $4.17 |
| Diluted shares | 0.23B | 0.26B | 0.26B | 0.26B | 0.26B | 0.26B | 0.26B | 0.26B | 0.26B | 0.26B |
| Cash flow | ||||||||||
| Cash from operations | $795M | $1.2B | $1.4B | $1.5B | $1.4B | $1.7B | $2.0B | $2.1B | $2.2B | $2.4B |
| Capital expenditure | $345M | $479M | $546M | $634M | $597M | $744M | $913M | $934M | $1.1B | $1.2B |
| Free cash flow | $451M | $708M | $865M | $906M | $811M | $954M | $1.1B | $1.2B | $1.2B | $1.2B |
| Depreciation and amortization | $464M | $632M | $680M | $744M | $752M | $813M | $919M | $1.0B | $1.2B | $1.2B |
| Stock-based compensation | $44.8M | $39.4M | $43.8M | $42.7M | $45.8M | $58.2M | $63.5M | $70.4M | $77.9M | $79.4M |
| Acquisitions | $17.1M | $411M | $830M | $737M | $389M | $960M | $2.2B | $677M | $2.1B | $818M |
| Share buybacks | β | β | $58.9M | β | $106M | $339M | $425M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $506M |
| Dividends paid | $92.5M | $132M | $153M | $175M | $200M | $220M | $243M | $271M | $302M | $334M |
| Dividends and buybacks | $92.5M | $132M | $211M | $175M | $306M | $559M | $668M | $271M | $302M | $839M |
| Balance sheet | ||||||||||
| Cash and short-term investments | $154M | $434M | $319M | $327M | $617M | $147M | $78.6M | $78.4M | $62.4M | $46.0M |
| Total debt | $3.6B | $3.9B | $4.2B | $4.4B | $4.7B | $5.0B | $6.9B | $6.8B | $8.1B | $8.8B |
| Finance lease liabilities | β | β | β | β | $3.8M | $10.5M | $11.5M | $10.0M | $9.2M | $16.0M |
| Current assets | $743M | $1.2B | $1.1B | $1.1B | $1.4B | $1.0B | $1.1B | $1.1B | $1.2B | $1.3B |
| Current liabilities | $692M | $803M | $887M | $1.0B | $1.0B | $1.2B | $1.5B | $1.7B | $1.9B | $2.1B |
| Property and equipment, net | $4.7B | $4.8B | $5.2B | $5.5B | $5.3B | $5.7B | $7.0B | $7.2B | $8.0B | $8.7B |
| Goodwill | $4.4B | $4.7B | $5.0B | $5.5B | $5.7B | $6.2B | $6.9B | $7.4B | $8.0B | $8.4B |
| Intangible assets | $1.1B | $1.1B | $1.1B | $1.2B | $1.2B | $1.4B | $1.7B | $1.6B | $2.0B | $2.0B |
| Total assets | $11.1B | $12.0B | $12.6B | $13.7B | $14.0B | $14.7B | $17.1B | $17.9B | $19.8B | $21.1B |
| Total liabilities | $5.4B | $5.7B | $6.2B | $6.8B | $7.1B | $7.7B | $10.0B | $10.2B | $12.0B | $12.9B |
| Shareholders' equity | $5.6B | $6.3B | $6.5B | $6.9B | $6.9B | $7.0B | $7.1B | $7.7B | $7.9B | $8.2B |
| Margins | ||||||||||
| Gross margin | 42.0% | 41.6% | 41.8% | 40.6% | 39.8% | 40.6% | 39.9% | 40.9% | 41.8% | 42.4% |
| Operating margin | 13.4% | 13.5% | 16.9% | 15.5% | 7.6% | 16.9% | 17.2% | 15.4% | 12.0% | 18.1% |
| EBITDA margin | 27.1% | 27.2% | 30.7% | 29.4% | 21.4% | 30.1% | 30.0% | 27.9% | 25.0% | 31.1% |
| Net margin | 7.3% | 12.5% | 11.1% | 10.5% | 3.8% | 10.0% | 11.6% | 9.5% | 6.9% | 11.4% |
| FCF margin | 13.3% | 15.3% | 17.6% | 16.8% | 14.9% | 15.5% | 15.4% | 14.9% | 13.2% | 13.0% |
| Returns | ||||||||||
| Return on capital | 3.4% | 6.4% | 6.2% | 6.1% | 3.0% | 7.0% | 7.1% | 6.7% | 5.4% | 7.6% |
| Return on capital employed | 4.3% | 5.6% | 7.1% | 6.6% | 3.2% | 7.7% | 8.0% | 7.6% | 6.0% | 9.0% |
| Return on equity | 4.4% | 9.7% | 8.6% | 8.5% | 3.0% | 8.9% | 11.9% | 10.3% | 7.9% | 13.4% |
| Return on assets | 2.2% | 5.0% | 4.4% | 4.3% | 1.5% | 4.3% | 5.3% | 4.4% | 3.3% | 5.3% |
| Return on tangible equity | 129.7% | 115.5% | 185.8% | 218.4% | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| Growth | ||||||||||
| Revenue growth | β | 37.2% | 6.3% | 9.5% | 1.1% | 13.0% | 17.2% | 11.2% | 11.2% | 6.1% |
| Net income growth | β | 134.0% | β5.2% | 3.7% | β63.9% | 202.0% | 35.2% | β8.7% | β19.0% | 74.3% |
| EPS growth | β | 103.7% | β5.0% | 3.4% | β63.6% | 202.6% | 37.3% | β9.0% | β19.0% | 74.5% |
| FCF growth | β | 57.1% | 22.2% | 4.7% | β10.4% | 17.6% | 16.3% | 7.5% | β1.7% | 5.3% |
| Share count change | β | 14.4% | 0.0% | 0.0% | β0.3% | β0.7% | β1.4% | 0.0% | 0.2% | β0.3% |
| Financial health | ||||||||||
| Net debt / EBITDA | 3.8x | 2.8x | 2.5x | 2.6x | 3.5x | 2.7x | 3.2x | 3.0x | 3.6x | 3.0x |
| Debt / equity | 0.6x | 0.6x | 0.6x | 0.6x | 0.7x | 0.7x | 1.0x | 0.9x | 1.0x | 1.1x |
| Interest coverage | 4.9x | 5.0x | 6.3x | 5.7x | 2.5x | 6.4x | 6.1x | 4.5x | 3.3x | 5.1x |
| Current ratio | 1.1x | 1.5x | 1.2x | 1.1x | 1.4x | 0.8x | 0.7x | 0.7x | 0.7x | 0.6x |
| Quick ratio | 1.1x | 1.5x | 1.2x | 1.1x | 1.4x | 0.8x | 0.7x | 0.7x | 0.7x | 0.6x |
| Capital allocation | ||||||||||
| Capex / revenue | 10.2% | 10.4% | 11.1% | 11.8% | 11.0% | 12.1% | 12.7% | 11.6% | 11.8% | 12.5% |
| Stock comp / revenue | 1.3% | 0.9% | 0.9% | 0.8% | 0.8% | 0.9% | 0.9% | 0.9% | 0.9% | 0.8% |
| Payouts / FCF | 20.5% | 18.6% | 24.4% | 19.3% | 37.7% | 58.6% | 60.2% | 22.7% | 25.8% | 68.0% |
| Quality scores | ||||||||||
| Piotroski F-score | β | 7.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 7.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 5.0 | 6.0 |
| Altman Z'' | 1.8 | 2.2 | 2.2 | 2.2 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 1.6 | 1.8 |
| Accruals ratio | β4.9% | β5.3% | β7.0% | β7.4% | β8.7% | β7.5% | β7.5% | β7.8% | β8.5% | β6.5% |
Source: SEC EDGAR XBRL filings (CIK 0001318220). Data updated October 24, 2026. Quarterly fourth quarters are the full year minus the first nine months. For information only β not investment advice. Check the original filings before relying on any figure.
