William Blair Predicts Lower Earnings for Waste Connections

Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) – Investment analysts at William Blair reduced their Q4 2025 earnings estimates for Waste Connections in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, October 23rd. William Blair analyst T. Romeo now forecasts that the business services provider will earn $1.27 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $1.29. The consensus estimate for Waste Connections’ current full-year earnings is $5.28 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Waste Connections’ Q1 2026 earnings at $1.17 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $1.41 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.53 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $1.44 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $5.55 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $6.24 EPS.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 6.65% and a return on equity of 16.07%. Waste Connections’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.35 earnings per share. Waste Connections has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $199.00 to $196.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. CIBC restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, July 25th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday. Barclays reiterated a “negative” rating on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group set a $195.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $210.63.

Waste Connections Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE WCN opened at $176.76 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $45.36 billion, a PE ratio of 73.65, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.62. Waste Connections has a 12-month low of $169.36 and a 12-month high of $201.66. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $176.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $185.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. This is a boost from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 5th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is 52.50%.

Institutional Trading of Waste Connections

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MGO One Seven LLC increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 23.0% during the third quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 8,965 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,576,000 after buying an additional 1,674 shares during the last quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY boosted its position in Waste Connections by 0.4% during the third quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 28,696 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,045,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its position in Waste Connections by 32.2% during the third quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 1,494 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares during the period. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Waste Connections by 1.1% during the third quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 29,791 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,237,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its position in Waste Connections by 19.8% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 7,512 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,321,000 after purchasing an additional 1,240 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Company Profile

Waste Connections, Inc provides non-hazardous waste collection, transfer, disposal, and resource recovery services in the United States and Canada. It offers collection services to residential, commercial, municipal, industrial, and exploration and production (E&P) customers; landfill disposal services; and recycling services for various recyclable materials, including compost, cardboard, mixed paper, plastic containers, glass bottles, and ferrous and aluminum metals.