Waste Management, Inc. WM is scheduled to release fourth-quarter 2023 results on Feb 12, after market close.
WM’s earnings surprise history has been unimpressive. It surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in two of the four trailing quarters and missing on two instances. The negative surprise was 1%, on average.
Q4 Expectations
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the top line is currently pegged at $5.19 billion, up 5.1% from the year-ago actual figure. Revenue management programs and organic growth are likely to benefit the company.
The consensus estimate for earnings per share is pegged at $1.52, suggesting 16.9% growth from the prior-year levels. Strong price discipline and optimized cost structure are likely to aid bottom-line performance.
Segmental Expectations
Our estimate for fourth-quarter 2023 revenues from Collection and Disposal is currently pegged at $3.53 billion, indicating 4.1% rise from fourth-quarter 2022 reported figure. The expected continuation of strong organic growth in the segment is likely to have contributed in this uptick.
Our estimate for Landfill’s revenues is currently pegged at $1.24 billion, implying 7.2% gain from the year-ago reported figure. The growth is likely to have been due to the expected increase in bookings.
Our estimate for the Transfer segment’s revenues is pegged at $580.1 million, suggesting 7.2% jump from the year-ago figure. The Recycling segment’s revenues are expected to be $373.5 million, indicating a 3.8% increase from the year-ago reported figure.
Our estimate for adjusted EBITDA is pegged at $1.49 billion, indicating 9.5% growth from the year-ago figure.
What Our Model Says
Our proven model predicts an earnings beat for WM this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
WM has an Earnings ESP of +0.46% and a Zacks Rank of 2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Other Stocks to Consider
Here are a few other stocks from the broader Business Services sector, which according to our model, also have the right combination of elements to beat on earnings this season.
Waste ConnectionsWCN: The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fourth-quarter revenues is pegged at $2.03 billion, indicating growth of 8.6% from the year ago figure. For earnings, the consensus mark is pegged at $1.08 per share, suggesting 21.4% rise from the year-ago quarter. WCN beat the consensus estimate in each of the past four quarters with an average surprise of 1.48%.
WCN currently has an Earnings ESP of +0.05% and a Zacks Rank of 2. It is scheduled to declare its fourth-quarter 2023 results on Feb 13.
Fidelity NationalFIS: The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fourth-quarter revenues is pegged at $2.52 billion, indicating a decline of 32.2% from the year ago figure. For earnings, the consensus mark is pegged at 95 cents per share, implying 44.4% plunge from a year ago. FIS beat the consensus estimate in three of the past four quarters and missed on the other instance. It has a negative surprise of 7%, on average.
FIS currently has an Earnings ESP of +3.40% and a Zacks Rank of 3. It is scheduled to declare fourth-quarter 2023 results on Feb 26.
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