Topic: How To Invest

Pat: What is your view on Waste Management Inc.? Thank you.

Article Excerpt

Waste Management Inc., $58.21, symbol WM on New York (Shares outstanding: 445.7 million; Market cap: $26.1 billion,www.wm.com), is the largest solid waste disposal company in North America. The company operates about 265 landfills, 300 transfer stations and 600 collection operations. Waste Management has moved up to new highs since reporting strong results in the three months ended December 31, 2015. Excluding one-time items, it earned $320 million, or $0.71 a share. That’s up from $278 million, or $0.60 a share, a year earlier. It also beats the consensus forecast of $0.68. The improvement came from Waste Management’s focus on controlling costs and pricing its new contracts high enough to protect its profit margins. The company has also increased its customer retention by providing better service. Revenue fell 5.6% in the quarter, to $3.25 billion from $3.44 billion. The decline was partly due to the sale of less-important businesses. The higher U.S. dollar also cut the contribution of foreign revenues. Waste Management recently…