Waste Connections, Inc.

What they do

Waste Connections provides non-hazardous waste collection, transfer and disposal services, including by rail, along with resource recovery through recycling and renewable fuels generation. It also provides non-hazardous oil and natural gas E&P waste treatment, recovery and disposal services in several basins across the U.S. and Canada, as well as intermodal services for cargo and solid waste containers in the Pacific Northwest. Operations are run on a decentralized basis through six geographic operating segments, each with a regional vice president and regional controller.

Revenue drivers

• Solid waste collection, transfer and disposal — The core business: collection routes, transfer stations and company-owned or operated landfills, with internalization of waste into company landfills, third-party tipping fees, and transfer-station aggregation cited as the main sources of vertical-integration profit. The company operates in mostly exclusive and secondary/rural markets across 46 U.S. states and six Canadian provinces.
• Resource recovery (recycling and renewable fuels) — Recovery of resources primarily through recycling and renewable fuels generation, including landfill gas recovery and beneficial reuse. Management cited 'comparatively lower commodity values' as an ongoing drag in the second quarter of 2026, though it also referenced 'improving commodities' as an upside to the raised full-year outlook.
• E&P waste treatment, recovery and disposal — A niche business handling non-hazardous oil and natural gas exploration and production waste in several basins across the U.S. and Canada. The 10-K describes early-mover advantage in rural basins as improving market positioning and returns given limited third-party-owned disposal alternatives.
• Intermodal services — Movement of cargo and solid waste containers in the Pacific Northwest, described in the filings as an additional service line alongside the waste operations.

Recent performance

Second quarter 2026 revenue was $2.562 billion, up 6.4% from $2.407 billion a year earlier. Net income was $296.4 million, or $1.17 per diluted share, versus $290.3 million and $1.12 a year ago; adjusted net income was $381.7 million, or $1.50 per diluted share. Adjusted EBITDA rose 6.8% to $840.1 million, a 32.8% margin, described as 70 basis points of underlying margin expansion. Operating income was $437.6 million and included $58.5 million primarily from impairments related to landfill closure and post-closure cost adjustments and $7.9 million in transaction-related expenses. First-half 2026 revenue was $4.932 billion and adjusted EBITDA was $1.610 billion.

Strategy

Waste Connections targets markets where it can operate efficiently, including secondary and rural markets, seeking substantial presence through exclusive contracts, vertical integration or asset positioning. It manages operations on a decentralized basis through six geographic segments and pursues both internal and acquisition-based growth, with management stating acquisitions closed to date represent over $100 million in annualized revenue. The company targets disposal capacity proximate to the waste stream and focuses on vertically integrated collection-through-landfill service where it owns or operates landfills. It has committed $500 million to long-term sustainability targets covering reduced Scope 1 and 2 emissions and intensity, expanded resource recovery processing, landfill gas recovery and beneficial reuse, and on-site leachate treatment, with progress incorporated into compensation metrics. Alongside growth, it repurchased a record $614.5 million of stock year to date through the second quarter, about 1.5% of shares outstanding.

Risks

• Competition and pricing — The industry is highly competitive, with national, regional and local competitors that may bid at lower prices, plus counties, municipalities and solid waste districts with access to user fees, tax revenues and tax-exempt financing.
• Cost inflation outpacing price increases — The 10-K states price increases may not be adequate to offset increased costs, and that contractual, economic, competitive or market conditions sometimes limit or delay pricing; Q2 2026 results cited rapidly spiking fuel and related costs.
• Chiquita Canyon ETLF event — The filings flag the Elevated Temperature Landfill event at the Chiquita Canyon Landfill, including related leachate, closure and post-closure cost estimates and capital expenditures.
• Commodity and fuel price volatility — Results are exposed to recyclable commodity values, which were a drag in Q2 2026, and to fuel, oil and natural gas demand, prices and price volatility, which the 10-K lists as forward-looking risk areas.

Outlook

Management raised full-year 2026 guidance to revenue of $10.02 billion to $10.05 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $3.33 billion to $3.34 billion, citing recent commodity values, ongoing fuel cost recovery and acquisitions closed to date. The company described itself as well-positioned for another outsized year of acquisition activity and noted potential upside from improving commodity trends and incremental acquisitions. CEO Ronald J. Mittelstaedt characterized the quarter as a top-to-bottom beat driven by operational execution despite geopolitical instability.