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Waste Connections

WCN
45
Waste Management · Industrials
Also trades as: WCN.TO
Winston Score
45
Winston is serious
Mixed quality — meaningful strengths and weaknesses.
Data as of Aug 23, 2026 · filings through Jun 30, 2026
How the score breaks down
Quality
Good
Growth
Mixed
Cash Flow
Exceptional
Stability
Good
Valuation
Good
Dividends
Good

Winston Score History

The full picture

Waste Connections picks up trash, recycling, and hazardous waste for homes, businesses, and cities across North America. The company owns and operates garbage trucks, transfer stations, and landfills, serving millions of residential and commercial customers. It is one of the three largest solid waste companies in the United States and also has a significant presence in Canada.

The company makes money by charging customers regular fees to collect and dispose of their waste, similar to a subscription. Waste Connections focuses on smaller, less competitive markets — often rural and suburban areas — where it faces fewer rivals and can maintain stable pricing. This geographic strategy gives it a durable competitive position, since landfills and collection routes are expensive to replicate. The main growth driver is acquiring smaller, regional waste haulers, but rising costs for fuel, labor, and environmental compliance remain ongoing risks to profitability.

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Growth Profile

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

+6.4% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Slow revenue growth

EPS Growth

-176.8% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Earnings declining

Insider Activity

0.3%ownership

Flat

Insider ownership roughly steady over the past year

Cash Position

Cash flow positive

$98M cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↑ Burn rate improving

Company generates more cash than it spends — no dilution risk from fundraising

Growth context

Waste Connections is growing revenue at 6% year-over-year. The Winston Score measures business quality today — these growth metrics show what could matter tomorrow.

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Score breakdown

Every number that matters to educated investors.

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Quality

Profit per sale
Gross Margin
42.3%
Healthy — 42.3% gross margin
Profit after running costs
Operating Margin
17.1%
Healthy — 17.1% operating margin
Return on the money invested
ROCE
9.7%
Below par — 9.7% return on capital

ROIC between 5% and 15%. They earn 5 to 15 cents back per year on every dollar invested.

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Growth

Sales growth
Sales YoY
+6.1%
Slow sales growth (+6.1% YoY)
Profit growth
EPS YoY
-13.7%
Earnings shrinking (-13.7% YoY)

Earnings per share down more than 10%. Either a bad year, or a real decline.

How steady the profit is
EPS Consistency
4/8 quarters
Earnings inconsistent quarter-to-quarter

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Cash Flow

Profit that turns into cash
Cash Conversion
236%
Turns 236% of profit into real cash
Spare cash per sale
FCF Margin
12.5%
Converts sales into free cash efficiently (12.5%)

FCF margin between 10% and 20%. Every $100 in sales becomes $10 to $20 in real cash.

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Stability

What it owes vs what it owns
Debt / Equity
1.18
Elevated debt (1.18)
Covers its interest
Interest Cover
4.78x
Adequate interest coverage (4.8x)

Interest coverage between 3 and 8. Profits cover interest several times over.

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Valuation

Price vs profit
P/E Ratio (TTM)
40.9x
no trend
Pricey — P/E 40.9

P/E over 35. The market is pricing in heavy, sustained growth.

Cheaper or dearer next year
P/E vs Forward
+16.1
GROWING
Earnings expected to grow meaningfully — cheaper on forward P/E (40.9 → 24.8)

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Dividends

Dividend
Dividend Yield
0.81%
no trend
Small dividend — 0.81% yield

Modest yield. The bulk of any return needs to come from price appreciation.

Dividend record
Dividend Growth
+11.1%
no trend
Dividend growing fast (11.1% YoY)

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