WASTE CONNECTIONS REPORTS THIRD QUARTER 2026 RESULTS AND RAISES FULL YEAR OUTLOOK
Waste Connections, Inc. (WCN) filed an SEC Form 8-K — Results of Operations and Financial Condition. Exhibit 99.1 WASTE CONNECTIONS REPORTS THIRD QUARTER 2026 RESULTS AND RAISES FULL YEAR OUTLOOK - Strong execution, improving solid waste landfill volumes and further strength in commodity-related revenues drive outsized results and another increase to full year outlook
How this was made
The 30-second read
Why it matters
The earnings beat and raised guidance are likely to drive buying interest, especially given the company's strong cash flow and dividend increase.
Market read
The new earnings and raised outlook provide fresh, material information for traders, making the stock a candidate for short‑term bullish positions.
What to watch
Potential volatility from diesel price fluctuations and future acquisition integration risks.
Waste Connections reports third quarter 2026 revenue of $2.638 billion, net income of $359.2 million and adjusted EBITDA of $895.8 million, and raises full-year outlook.
Third-quarter revenue, GAAP net income, adjusted net income and adjusted EBITDA all increased from the prior-year period. Adjusted EBITDA margin reached 34.0%, the company raised its full-year revenue and adjusted EBITDA outlook, and year-to-date operating cash flow and capital returns remained substantial.
Key metrics
shortened, hover for the filing’s print| Metric | Value | q/q | y/y |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue, three months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | $2.64B | – | – |
| Cost of operations, three months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | 1,501,143 | – | – |
| Selling, general and administrative, three months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | 253,934 | – | – |
| Depreciation, three months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | 290,625 | – | – |
| Amortization of intangibles, three months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | 48,783 | – | – |
| Impairments and other operating items, three months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | 1,851 | – | – |
| Operating income, three months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | $541.7M | – | – |
| Interest expense, three months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | (96,376) | – | – |
| Interest income, three months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | 2,988 | – | – |
| Other income, net, three months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | 2,768 | – | – |
| Income before income tax provision, three months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | 451,125 | – | – |
| Income tax provision, three months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | (91,901) | – | – |
| Net income, three months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | $359.2M | – | – |
| Diluted earnings per common share, three months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | $ 1.43 | – | – |
| Diluted shares, three months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | 251,873,132 | – | – |
| Adjusted net income, three months ended September 30, 2026non-GAAP | $398.9M | – | – |
| Adjusted net income per diluted share, three months ended September 30, 2026non-GAAP | $ 1.58 | – | – |
| Adjusted EBITDA, three months ended September 30, 2026non-GAAP | $895.8M | – | – |
| Adjusted EBITDA as % of revenues, three months ended September 30, 2026non-GAAP | 34.0% | – | – |
| Net cash provided by operating activities, three months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | $691.9M | – | – |
| Capital expenditures for property and equipment, three months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | (294,783) | – | – |
| Adjusted free cash flow, three months ended September 30, 2026non-GAAP | $386.9M | – | – |
| Adjusted free cash flow as % of revenues, three months ended September 30, 2026non-GAAP | 14.7% | – | – |
| Revenue, nine months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | $7.57B | – | – |
| Operating income, nine months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | $1.34B | – | – |
| Net income, nine months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | $875.0M | – | – |
| Diluted earnings per common share, nine months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | $ 3.45 | – | – |
| Adjusted net income, nine months ended September 30, 2026non-GAAP | $1.10B | – | – |
| Adjusted net income per diluted share, nine months ended September 30, 2026non-GAAP | $ 4.32 | – | – |
| Adjusted EBITDA, nine months ended September 30, 2026non-GAAP | $2.51B | – | – |
| Adjusted EBITDA as % of revenues, nine months ended September 30, 2026non-GAAP | 33.1% | – | – |
| Net cash provided by operating activities, nine months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | $1.97B | – | – |
| Payments for acquisitions, net of cash acquired, nine months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | (368,682) | – | – |
| Capital expenditures for property and equipment, nine months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | (893,732) | – | – |
| Capital expenditures for undeveloped land, nine months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | (56,192) | – | – |
| Adjusted free cash flow, nine months ended September 30, 2026non-GAAP | $1.09B | – | – |
| Adjusted free cash flow as % of revenues, nine months ended September 30, 2026non-GAAP | 14.4% | – | – |
| Solid Waste Internal Growth Total, three months ended September 30, 2026other | 4.5% | – | – |
| Solid Waste Internal Growth Yield, three months ended September 30, 2026other | 4.3% | – | – |
| Solid Waste Internal Growth Surcharges, three months ended September 30, 2026other | 1.3% | – | – |
| Solid Waste Internal Growth Unit Volume, three months ended September 30, 2026other | (1.2%) | – | – |
| Core Price, three months ended September 30, 2026other | 5.5% | – | – |
| Debt to Book Capitalization as of September 30, 2026other | 54% | – | – |
| Internalization, three months ended September 30, 2026other | 58% | – | – |
| Days Sales Outstanding, three months ended September 30, 2026other | 39 (23 net of deferred revenue) | – | – |
Segments
| Segment | Revenue | q/q | y/y |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solid Waste Collection, three months ended September 30, 2026Reported revenue; 69.0% of total reported revenue. | $1.82B | – | – |
| Solid Waste Disposal and Transfer, three months ended September 30, 2026Reported revenue; 18.7% of total reported revenue. | $492.2M | – | – |
| Solid Waste Recycling, three months ended September 30, 2026Reported revenue; 2.4% of total reported revenue. | $64.71M | – | – |
| E&P Waste Treatment, Recovery and Disposal, three months ended September 30, 2026Reported revenue; 8.1% of total reported revenue. | $212.9M | – | – |
| Intermodal and Other, three months ended September 30, 2026Reported revenue; 1.8% of total reported revenue. | $48.45M | – | – |
Amounts quoted below without a unit are in thousands, as in the filing’s tables. Per-share figures are as printed.
Updated 2026 Outlook outlook
- Revenueapproximately $10.09 billion
- Tax rateApproximately 22.1% full year effective tax rate, including amounts reported for the nine month period ended September 30, 2026.
- NoteNet income is estimated to be approximately $1.18 billion.
- NoteAdjusted EBITDA is estimated to be approximately $3.345 billion.
- NoteCapital expenditures are estimated to be approximately $1.25 billion.
- NoteNet cash provided by operating activities is estimated to be between $2.64 billion and $2.69 billion.
- NoteAdjusted free cash flow is estimated to be between $1.40 billion and $1.45 billion.
- NoteThe outlook excludes any impact from additional acquisitions that may close during the year, and expensing of transaction-related items.
Capital returns
- Cash dividends per common share for the three months ended September 30, 2026 were $ 0.350, compared with $ 0.315 in the prior-year period.
- Payments for repurchase of common shares for the nine months ended September 30, 2026 were (944,432), compared with (442,176) in the prior-year period.
- Payments for cash dividends for the nine months ended September 30, 2026 were (265,492), compared with (243,950) in the prior-year period.
- The company increased its regular quarterly dividend by 10%.
- The company reported year-to-date share repurchases of over $1 billion for 2.5% of outstanding shares.
What drove it
- Management cited continued operational execution, improving solid waste landfill volumes and commodity-driven revenue.
- Management stated that sequential improvement of 70 basis points in solid waste unit volumes was led by an uptick in landfill volumes.
- Solid Waste Internal Growth for the three months ended September 30, 2026 included Yield of 4.3%, Surcharges of 1.3%, Unit Volume of (1.2%), Recycling of 0.3%, Foreign Exchange Impact of (0.2%) and Total of 4.5%.
- Year-to-date closed acquisitions were approximately $130 million in annualized revenues.
- Contribution from acquisitions, net, for the three months ended September 30, 2026 was $ 53,434, compared with $ 76,621 in the prior-year period.
Concerns
- Management said it overcame a late-quarter surge in diesel pricing.
- Solid Waste Internal Growth Unit Volume was (1.2%) for the three months ended September 30, 2026.
- Adjusted free cash flow as a percentage of revenues was 14.7% in the third quarter of 2026, compared with 15.6% in the prior-year period.
- The 2026 outlook assumes no change in the current economic environment or underlying economic trends.
- Management noted that additional acquisitions, further improvement in E&P waste activity or other commodity-driven revenues would provide incremental benefit.
What to watch
- Execution against updated 2026 revenue outlook of approximately $10.09 billion and adjusted EBITDA outlook of approximately $3.345 billion.
- Full-year adjusted free cash flow outlook of between $1.40 billion and $1.45 billion and net cash provided by operating activities outlook of between $2.64 billion and $2.69 billion.
- Landfill activity, solid waste unit volumes, E&P waste activity and commodity-driven revenues.
- The effect of diesel pricing on margins.
- Potential additional acquisitions, which are excluded from the outlook.
Balance sheet and cash flow
- Cash and equivalents were $ 95,694 at September 30, 2026, compared with $ 45,968 at December 31, 2025.
- Restricted cash was $ 183,125 at September 30, 2026, compared with $ 183,612 at December 31, 2025.
- Long-term portion of debt and notes payable was $ 9,427,069 at September 30, 2026, compared with $ 8,811,104 at December 31, 2025.
- Current portion of long-term debt and notes payable was $ 7,801 at September 30, 2026, compared with $ 8,667 at December 31, 2025.
- Total assets were $ 21,510,268 at September 30, 2026, compared with $ 21,129,363 at December 31, 2025.
- Total shareholders’ equity was $ 7,884,042 at September 30, 2026, compared with $ 8,245,381 at December 31, 2025.
- Net cash used in investing activities for the nine months ended September 30, 2026 was (1,311,273), compared with (1,433,913) in the prior-year period.
- Net cash used in financing activities for the nine months ended September 30, 2026 was (607,638), compared with (331,492) in the prior-year period.
- Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at end of period were $ 278,819, compared with $ 290,585 in the prior-year period.
Analysis
Waste Connections reported a strong third quarter, with revenue of $ 2,638,081 versus $ 2,458,378 in the prior-year period. GAAP operating income was $ 541,745 versus $ 439,591, while GAAP net income was $ 359,224 versus $ 286,271. Diluted GAAP earnings per common share were $ 1.43 versus $ 1.11. The operating-income comparison also reflects a substantial reduction in impairments and other operating items, which were 1,851 in the quarter versus 60,127 a year earlier.
Non-GAAP results also improved. Adjusted EBITDA was $ 895,781 compared with $ 830,337, and adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of revenues was 34.0% compared with 33.8%. Adjusted net income was $ 398,880 versus $ 372,050, and adjusted net income per diluted share was $ 1.58 versus $ 1.44. Management attributed the quarter to operational execution, improving landfill activity and commodity-driven revenue, while stating that a late-quarter diesel-price surge was overcome.
The revenue mix remained centered on Solid Waste Collection, which reported revenue of $ 1,819,886 and accounted for 69.0% of total reported revenue. Solid Waste Disposal and Transfer reported $ 492,188, while E&P Waste Treatment, Recovery and Disposal reported $ 212,855. Solid Waste Internal Growth totaled 4.5%, supported by Yield of 4.3% and Surcharges of 1.3%, although Unit Volume was (1.2%). Management specifically pointed to sequential improvement in solid waste unit volumes led by landfill volumes.
Cash generation increased in absolute terms year to date. Net cash provided by operating activities was $ 1,970,811 for the nine months ended September 30, 2026, compared with $ 1,857,190 a year earlier, while adjusted free cash flow was $ 1,090,243 compared with $ 1,083,668. The company spent (944,432) on share repurchases and (265,492) on cash dividends during the nine months, alongside acquisition payments of (368,682). Cash and equivalents were $ 95,694 at September 30, 2026, and the long-term portion of debt and notes payable was $ 9,427,069.
The company raised its 2026 outlook to approximately $10.09 billion of revenue and approximately $3.345 billion of adjusted EBITDA. It also expects approximately $1.18 billion of net income, approximately $1.25 billion of capital expenditures, net cash provided by operating activities between $2.64 billion and $2.69 billion, and adjusted free cash flow between $1.40 billion and $1.45 billion. The outlook assumes no change in the economic environment or underlying economic trends, excludes additional acquisitions that may close during the year and excludes expensing of transaction-related items.
Management, verbatim
Another top to bottom beat in the period was driven by continued strength in operational execution along with improving trends in landfill activity and commodity-driven revenue. Sequential improvement of 70 basis points in solid waste unit volumes was led by an uptick in landfill volumes, with operating results continuing to reflect the benefits of elevated employee retention and record safety performance.
Ronald J. Mittelstaedt, President and Chief Executive Officer
Most importantly, we overcame a late quarter surge in diesel pricing to deliver adjusted EBITDA margin * of 34% on underlying margin expansion of 50 basis points.
Ronald J. Mittelstaedt, President and Chief Executive Officer
Our performance puts us firmly on track to exceed the increased full year 2026 outlook we provided in July for revenue and adjusted EBITDA * , and we remain positioned to deliver double-digit growth in adjusted free cash flow * of at least $1.4 billion.
Ronald J. Mittelstaedt, President and Chief Executive Officer
Not in the filing
stated, not guessed- Prior outlook figures were not provided, so no comparison of actual results with prior guidance can be made.
- GAAP gross profit and gross margin were not reported.
- GAAP operating margin was not reported.
- Quarterly free cash flow on a GAAP basis was not reported.
- Prior-quarter financial metrics were not reported.
- A numerical year-over-year percentage change was not printed for the income-statement, cash-flow and segment revenue rows.
- A segment-level profitability measure was not reported.
AlphAI analysis generated from the company’s SEC earnings filing (Form 8-K Item 2.02, or Form 6-K for a foreign private issuer). Every figure was cross-checked against the filing text; consensus estimates, price targets and share-price reactions are not shown because they are not in the filing. AI-generated research, not investment advice.
Background
The filing is an SEC Form 8‑K announcing Waste Connections' Q3 2026 earnings and updated full‑year guidance.
Ticker impact
Waste Connections reported Q3 2026 results and raised its full-year revenue and adjusted EBITDA outlook.
likely upward pressure as investors price in the raised outlook
Revenue beat expectations, net income beat, and guidance raised, indicating improved profitability and growth prospects.
Market effects
Solid waste services sector may see broader optimism from Waste Connections' strong performance.
North American waste management market could benefit from higher demand for landfill and commodity-driven services.
Limited to sector; no major macro impact.
Counterpoint
If the raised outlook is already priced in, the stock may face a short-term pullback.
Key entities
- CompanyWaste Connections, Inc.
Integrated solid waste services provider.
