By the numbers
Full-year 2025 revenue: $25.2B
Up 14.2% year over year
Q4 net income: $742M
Up 24.1% year over year
Q4 operating earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization: $1.925B
Up 14.2% yer over year, adjusted margin 31.3%
- Financial picture: During a Thursday earnings call, WM CEO Jim Fish highlighted the company’s “disciplined execution,” leading to its best full-year adjusted operating EBITDA margin of 30.1%. He highlighted efficiencies from ongoing tech and automation investments, which help offset headwinds from lower commodity prices, and previewed improvements in the Healthcare Solutions segment as notable revenue drivers.
- Healthcare Solutions improvements: After a rocky Q3 due in part to ongoing integration of Stericycle and its ERP system, executives said the sector was now turning a corner, though some analysts pointed out customer churn and lower-than-expected revenue as concerns. But customer call volume is down, Fish said, and cross selling and operating cost optimizations are expected to pick up in 2026. Segment Q4 revenue was $615 million, while full-year revenue was $2.5 billion. WM expects its Healthcare Solutions business to grow revenue by around 3% this year, mainly driven by price.
- Acquisitions: WM invested more than $400 million in tuck-in acquisitions in 2025, said CFO David Cross. Rollover from solid waste acquisitions is expected to contribute about $65 million of revenue in 2026 and $25 million of adjusted operating EBITDA. Fish expects acquisition spending for 2026 to be somewhere in the standard $100 million to $200 million range.
- Price and volume: Chief operating officer John Morris noted “strong, balanced growth” from pricing, with core price of 6.2% in Q4. Meanwhile, MSW tons were down 1.7% year over year, and Fish noted that challenging weather in December was likely a contributing factor. The company anticipates “steady residential volume improvement” in 2026.
- Sustainability infrastructure plan: In 2025, WM completed seven renewable natural gas facilities and nine recycling automation projects. WM plans to spend about $85 million in 2026 on two “recently approved” RNG facilities and one new recycling growth project that are each expected to be completed by 2028. WM predicts it could earn about $1 billion by 2027 from the adjusted operating EBITDA from its recycling processing and renewable energy segments, along with royalties from selling landfill gas.
- RNG progress: In 2026, WM is planning to bring six more RNG facility projects online. Chief Sustainability Officer Tara Hemmer said WM is “really pleased” with progress on its renewable natural gas generation. Volume is doubling this year to around 21 million to 22 million mmBtus, she said, and the volume not allocated to fleet use will be sold on the voluntary market. About 60% of the volume has been contracted at a blended average price of about $27 per mmBtu. The remaining 40% is expected to be sold at market rates of about $24.50 per MMBtu, Hemmer said.
- Recycling investments: In 2025, WM completed automation upgrades at five recycling facilities and added facilities in four new markets, which contributed to strong volumes in 2025, Fish said. Four more recycling facility projects are planned to come online this year. “The value of our recycling investments is clear, particularly when you consider our recycling segment delivered over 22% operating EBITDA growth despite nearly 20% lower commodity prices in 2025,” Fish said.
- Recycled commodity value: For Q4, blended average price for recycled commodities in Q4 was $62 per ton, compared to about $87 per ton the previous year. Hemmer is optimistic that OCC prices could improve this year due to “green shoots” in the fiber markets. That could boost blended commodity prices to about $65 per ton in the first half of the year and possibly closer to $70 in the second half. Yet, she said, “we're not expecting any material movement on plastic pricing.”
- 2026 expectations: Projected 2026 revenue is between $26.4 billion and $26.6 billion, driven by ongoing Healthcare Solutions optimizations and continued improvements and investments in sustainability initiatives, Fish said. Projected adjusted operating EBITDA margin is 30.8% and 31%. WM estimates “strong growth” in the collection and disposal business, driven mainly by price. Core price in the year could be between 5.4% and 5.8%.
