Revenue growth has cooled to 7.3% in 2026Q3 from 13.3% in 2024Q3 while gross margin held at 43.1% and operating margin reached 20.5%, though SG&A growth of roughly 25% since 2024Q4 versus about 13% revenue growth lifted the overhead ratio from 9.1% to 10.0% and the anomalous 29.1% gross margin in 2025Q4 warrants explicit reconciliation.
Waste Connections, Inc. (WCN) annual income statement — 29-year revenue, gross profit & net income history
| Metric | TTM | Dec'25 | Dec'24 | Dec'23 | Dec'22 | Dec'21 | Dec'20 | Dec'19 | Dec'18 | Dec'17 | Dec'16 | Dec'15 | Dec'14 | Dec'13 | Dec'12 | Dec'11 | Dec'10 | Dec'09 | Dec'08 | Dec'07 | Dec'06 | Dec'05 | Dec'04 | Dec'03 | Dec'02 | Dec'01 | Dec'00 | Dec'99 | Dec'98 | Dec'97 |
|---|
| Sales/Revenue | 9.98B | 9.5B | 8.92B | 8.02B | 7.21B | 6.15B | 5.45B | 5.39B | 4.92B | 4.63B | 3.38B | 2.12B | 2.08B | 1.93B | 1.66B | 1.46B | 1.37B | 1.3B | 907.31M | 1.04B | 803.43M | 748.82M | 161.41M | 563.51M | 498.66M | 377.53M | 304.36M | 182.6M | 54M | 6.2M |
| Revenue Growth % | 6.69% | 6.55% | 11.19% | 11.23% | 17.24% | 12.95% | 1.06% | 9.46% | 6.32% | 37.16% | 59.44% | 1.83% | 7.8% | 16.08% | 13.6% | 6.92% | 5.55% | 42.85% | -12.97% | 29.76% | 7.29% | 363.93% | -71.36% | 13% | 32.08% | 24.04% | 66.68% | 238.15% | 770.97% | - |
| Cost of Goods Sold | 6.05B | 5.8B | 5.19B | 4.74B | 4.34B | 3.65B | 3.28B | 3.2B | 2.87B | 2.7B | 1.96B | 1.18B | 1.14B | 1.06B | 956.36M | 995.63M | 929.78M | 895.51M | 627.15M | 708.8M | 553.22M | 499.63M | 123.76M | 316.84M | 281.33M | 210.59M | 174.51M | 111.3M | 36.4M | 3.8M |
| COGS % of Revenue | - | 61.04% | 58.21% | 59.14% | 60.12% | 59.4% | 60.17% | 59.36% | 58.21% | 58.41% | 57.99% | 55.61% | 54.75% | 55.21% | 57.56% | 68.07% | 67.96% | 69.09% | 69.12% | 67.99% | 68.86% | 66.72% | 76.67% | 56.23% | 56.42% | 55.78% | 57.34% | 60.95% | 67.41% | 61.29% |
| Gross Profit | 3.93B | 3.7B | 3.73B | 3.28B | 2.88B | 2.5B | 2.17B | 2.19B | 2.06B | 1.93B | 1.42B | 939.88M | 940.78M | 863.98M | 705.26M | 467.06M | 438.29M | 400.58M | 280.16M | 333.7M | 250.21M | 249.19M | 37.65M | 246.67M | 217.33M | 166.94M | 129.84M | 71.3M | 17.6M | 2.4M |
| Gross Margin % | 39.37% | 38.96% | 41.79% | 40.86% | 39.88% | 40.6% | 39.83% | 40.64% | 41.79% | 41.59% | 42.01% | 44.39% | 45.25% | 44.79% | 42.44% | 31.93% | 32.04% | 30.91% | 30.88% | 32.01% | 31.14% | 33.28% | 23.33% | 43.77% | 43.58% | 44.22% | 42.66% | 39.05% | 32.59% | 38.71% |
| Gross Profit Growth % | - | -0.67% | 13.74% | 13.96% | 15.16% | 15.13% | -0.95% | 6.45% | 6.83% | 35.79% | 50.89% | -0.1% | 8.89% | 22.5% | 51% | 6.56% | 9.41% | 42.98% | -16.04% | 33.37% | 0.41% | 561.84% | -84.74% | 13.5% | 30.18% | 28.57% | 82.11% | 305.11% | 633.33% | - |
| Operating Expenses | 2.15B | 1.98B | 2.66B | 2.04B | 1.63B | 1.46B | 1.76B | 1.35B | 1.22B | 1.3B | 965.85M | 1B | 491.51M | 470.53M | 387.12M | 157.38M | 155.35M | 150.16M | 96.05M | 108.29M | 82.39M | 75.09M | 23.38M | 101.71M | 86.34M | 73.02M | 52.61M | 30.7M | 9.6M | 1.8M |
| OpEx % of Revenue | - | 20.84% | 29.82% | 25.44% | 22.65% | 23.7% | 32.26% | 25.09% | 24.88% | 28.04% | 28.61% | 47.3% | 23.64% | 24.4% | 23.3% | 10.76% | 11.36% | 11.59% | 10.59% | 10.39% | 10.26% | 10.03% | 14.48% | 18.05% | 17.32% | 19.34% | 17.29% | 16.81% | 17.78% | 29.03% |
| Selling, General & Admin | 994.58M | 946.64M | 855.79M | 774.09M | 671.45M | 592.63M | 522.29M | 530.84M | 503.82M | 476.97M | 382.26M | 233.25M | 227.33M | 209.94M | 184.11M | 157.38M | 155.35M | 150.16M | 96.05M | 108.29M | 82.39M | 75.09M | 23.38M | 54.37M | 47.37M | 32.01M | 25.42M | 15.7M | 5.3M | 600K |
| SG&A % of Revenue | - | 9.96% | 9.59% | 9.65% | 9.31% | 9.63% | 9.59% | 9.85% | 10.23% | 10.3% | 11.32% | 11.02% | 10.93% | 10.88% | 11.08% | 10.76% | 11.36% | 11.59% | 10.59% | 10.39% | 10.26% | 10.03% | 14.48% | 9.65% | 9.5% | 8.48% | 8.35% | 8.6% | 9.81% | 9.68% |
| Research & Development | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| R&D % of Revenue | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Operating Expenses | 4M | 1.03B | 1.8B | 1.27B | 962.21M | 865.04M | 1.23B | 821.3M | 721.18M | 821.65M | 583.59M | 768.16M | 264.18M | 260.59M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 101.71M | 86.34M | 73.02M | 52.61M | 30.7M | 9.6M | 1.8M |
| Operating Income | 1.78B | 1.72B | 1.07B | 1.24B | 1.24B | 1.04B | 412.43M | 837.78M | 832.24M | 627.1M | 452.3M | -61.53M | 449.27M | 393.44M | 327.34M | 309.68M | 282.95M | 250.42M | 184.11M | 225.41M | 167.81M | 174.09M | 14.27M | 144.95M | 130.99M | 93.92M | 77.23M | 40.6M | 8M | 600K |
| Operating Margin % | 17.8% | 18.13% | 11.97% | 15.41% | 17.22% | 16.9% | 7.57% | 15.55% | 16.91% | 13.54% | 13.4% | -2.91% | 21.61% | 20.4% | 19.7% | 21.17% | 20.68% | 19.32% | 20.29% | 21.62% | 20.89% | 23.25% | 8.84% | 25.72% | 26.27% | 24.88% | 25.38% | 22.23% | 14.81% | 9.68% |
| Operating Income Growth % | - | 61.35% | -13.64% | -0.47% | 19.48% | 152.07% | -50.77% | 0.66% | 32.71% | 38.65% | 835.06% | -113.7% | 14.19% | 20.19% | 5.7% | 9.45% | 12.99% | 36.02% | -18.32% | 34.32% | -3.61% | 1119.88% | -90.15% | 10.66% | 39.47% | 21.6% | 90.23% | 407.5% | 1233.33% | - |
| EBITDA | 3.08B | 2.95B | 2.23B | 2.24B | 2.16B | 1.85B | 1.16B | 1.58B | 1.51B | 1.26B | 916.21M | 207.9M | 707.21M | 637.31M | 520.92M | 472.05M | 435.8M | 392.67M | 268.33M | 318.54M | 240.78M | 241.56M | 53.89M | 194.7M | 172.16M | 131.65M | 104.43M | 55.6M | 12.3M | 1.8M |
| EBITDA Margin % | 30.82% | 31.09% | 25.02% | 27.92% | 29.97% | 30.12% | 21.39% | 29.35% | 30.73% | 27.2% | 27.14% | 9.82% | 34.01% | 33.04% | 31.35% | 32.27% | 31.86% | 30.3% | 29.57% | 30.56% | 29.97% | 32.26% | 33.39% | 34.55% | 34.52% | 34.87% | 34.31% | 30.45% | 22.78% | 29.03% |
| EBITDA Growth % | 32.3% | 32.41% | -0.36% | 3.63% | 16.65% | 59.05% | -26.36% | 4.56% | 20.1% | 37.48% | 340.69% | -70.6% | 10.97% | 22.34% | 10.35% | 8.32% | 10.98% | 46.34% | -15.76% | 32.3% | -0.32% | 348.25% | -72.32% | 13.1% | 30.77% | 26.07% | 87.82% | 352.03% | 583.33% | - |
| D&A (Non-Cash Add-back) | 1.3B | 1.23B | 1.16B | 1B | 918.96M | 813.01M | 752.4M | 743.92M | 680.49M | 632.48M | 463.91M | 269.43M | 257.94M | 243.86M | 193.58M | 162.36M | 152.85M | 142.25M | 84.22M | 93.13M | 72.96M | 67.46M | 39.62M | 49.75M | 41.17M | 37.73M | 27.2M | 15M | 4.3M | 1.2M |
| EBIT | 1.91B | 1.77B | 1.23B | 1.34B | 1.27B | 1.08B | 845.15M | 861.22M | 872.93M | 748.15M | 571.01M | 439.89M | 459.86M | 410.12M | 327.34M | 308.64M | 275.33M | 244.27M | 185.87M | 225.45M | 163.37M | 174.78M | 15.1M | 145.4M | 129.02M | 93.92M | 77.23M | 41.02M | 10.01M | -1.3M |
| Net Interest Income | -349.22M | -319.5M | -280.58M | -250.19M | -194.89M | -178.62M | -175.72M | -132.58M | -118.56M | -121.54M | -84.43M | -59.16M | -61.67M | -71.36M | -53.25M | -42.74M | -40.99M | -51.94M | -34.41M | -36.36M | -28.23M | -24.36M | -5.12M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Interest Income | 13.24M | 12.18M | 11.05M | 9.52M | 5.71M | 2.89M | 5.53M | 10M | 6.8M | 5.36M | 594.76K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 514.98K | 611.6K | 1.54M | 2.85M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Interest Expense | 362.46M | 331.68M | 291.63M | 259.71M | 200.61M | 181.51M | 181.25M | 142.58M | 125.37M | 126.9M | 85.02M | 59.16M | 61.67M | 71.36M | 53.25M | 43.26M | 41.6M | 53.48M | 37.26M | 36.36M | 28.23M | 24.36M | 5.12M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Income/Expense | -312M | -299.48M | -304.73M | -252.81M | -193.23M | -268.88M | -158.51M | -131.89M | -125.1M | -118.59M | -90.93M | -64.75M | -63.61M | -72.52M | -62.24M | -44.3M | -49.22M | -59.64M | -35.5M | -36.32M | -32.67M | -23.67M | -4.29M | -42.05M | -41.26M | -43.27M | -29.73M | -20.86M | -4.71M | -2M |
| Pretax Income | 1.46B | 1.42B | 762.93M | 983.5M | 1.05B | 770.74M | 253.91M | 705.89M | 707.14M | 508.51M | 361.37M | -126.29M | 385.66M | 320.92M | 265.1M | 265.39M | 233.73M | 190.79M | 148.61M | 189.1M | 135.14M | 150.42M | 9.98M | 102.55M | 88.58M | 50.65M | 47.5M | 20.1M | 5.2M | -5.4M |
| Pretax Margin % | 14.68% | 14.98% | 8.55% | 12.26% | 14.54% | 12.53% | 4.66% | 13.1% | 14.36% | 10.98% | 10.7% | -5.96% | 18.55% | 16.64% | 15.95% | 18.14% | 17.08% | 14.72% | 16.38% | 18.14% | 16.82% | 20.09% | 6.18% | 18.2% | 17.76% | 13.41% | 15.61% | 11.01% | 9.63% | -87.1% |
| Income Tax | 327.22M | 342.63M | 146.36M | 220.68M | 212.96M | 152.25M | 49.92M | 139.21M | 159.99M | -68.91M | 114.04M | -31.59M | 152.34M | 124.92M | 105.44M | 103.93M | 92.6M | 70.24M | 49.08M | 65.16M | 47.1M | 49.86M | -6.68M | 37.23M | 33.11M | 19.93M | 19.31M | 10.9M | 2.4M | -300K |
| Effective Tax Rate % | 22.34% | 24.08% | 19.18% | 22.44% | 20.3% | 19.75% | 19.66% | 19.72% | 22.62% | -13.55% | 31.56% | 25.02% | 39.5% | 38.92% | 39.77% | 39.16% | 39.62% | 36.82% | 33.02% | 34.46% | 34.86% | 33.15% | -66.98% | 36.31% | 37.38% | 39.36% | 40.65% | 54.23% | 46.15% | 5.56% |
| Net Income | 1.14B | 1.08B | 617.57M | 762.8M | 835.66M | 618.05M | 204.68M | 566.84M | 546.87M | 576.82M | 246.54M | -95.76M | 232.53M | 195.66M | 159.09M | 160.56M | 140.05M | 119.48M | 88.95M | 107.76M | 75.46M | 87.07M | 16.66M | 65.6M | 55.47M | 30.53M | 28.19M | 9.2M | 1.8M | -5.1M |
| Net Margin % | 11.4% | 11.37% | 6.92% | 9.51% | 11.59% | 10.05% | 3.76% | 10.52% | 11.11% | 12.46% | 7.3% | -4.52% | 11.18% | 10.14% | 9.57% | 10.98% | 10.24% | 9.22% | 9.8% | 10.34% | 9.39% | 11.63% | 10.32% | 11.64% | 11.12% | 8.09% | 9.26% | 5.04% | 3.33% | -82.26% |
| Net Income Growth % | 82.85% | 74.96% | -19.04% | -8.72% | 35.21% | 201.96% | -63.89% | 3.65% | -5.19% | 133.96% | 357.45% | -141.18% | 18.84% | 22.98% | -0.91% | 14.64% | 17.22% | 34.31% | -17.45% | 42.81% | -13.34% | 422.63% | -74.6% | 18.26% | 81.69% | 8.3% | 206.4% | 411.11% | 135.29% | - |
| Net Income (Continuing) | 1.14B | 1.08B | 616.57M | 762.83M | 836M | 618.49M | 203.99M | 566.68M | 547.15M | 577.42M | 247.32M | -94.69M | 233.33M | 196M | 0 | 161.46M | 141.13M | 120.55M | 99.53M | 123.93M | 88.03M | 100.56M | 16.66M | 65.81M | 54.95M | 30.71M | 28.19M | 9.23M | 2.27M | -3.7M |
| Discontinued Operations | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -55.61M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Minority Interest | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.97M | 4.95M | 4.61M | 4.17M | 4.85M | 5.58M | 5.4M | 7.36M | 6.58M | 5.56M | 5.13M | 4.97M | 4.78M | 4.27M | 3.23M | 668K | 30.22M | 27.99M | 26.36M | 24.42M | 23.93M | 23.08M | 19.82M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| EPS (Diluted) | 4.52 | 4.18 | 2.39 | 2.95 | 3.24 | 2.36 | 0.78 | 2.19 | 2.07 | 2.18 | 1.07 | -0.52 | 1.24 | 1.05 | 0.87 | 0.97 | 0.77 | 0.61 | 0.64 | 0.63 | 0.49 | 0.52 | 0.44 | 0.43 | 0.37 | 0.22 | 0.23 | 0.09 | 0.02 | -0.18 |
| EPS Growth % | 85.42% | 74.9% | -18.98% | -8.95% | 37.29% | 202.56% | -64.38% | 5.8% | -5.05% | 103.74% | 305.77% | -141.94% | 18.1% | 20.69% | -10.31% | 25.97% | 26.23% | -4.69% | 1.59% | 28.57% | -5.77% | 18.18% | 2.33% | 16.22% | 68.18% | -4.35% | 153.03% | 318.89% | 112.06% | - |
| EPS (Basic) | - | 4.19 | 2.39 | 2.96 | 3.25 | 2.37 | 0.78 | 2.20 | 2.07 | 2.19 | 1.07 | -0.52 | 1.25 | 1.05 | 0.87 | 0.98 | 0.78 | 0.61 | 0.65 | 0.64 | 0.51 | 0.53 | 0.46 | 0.45 | 0.39 | 0.22 | 0.24 | 0.10 | 0.03 | -0.12 |
| Diluted Shares Outstanding | 251.87M | 256.47M | 258.66M | 258.15M | 258.04M | 261.73M | 263.69M | 264.53M | 264.4M | 264.3M | 231.08M | 185.24M | 187.18M | 186.25M | 182.74M | 170.38M | 175.34M | 180.76M | 160.69M | 157.49M | 158.42M | 162.71M | 166.96M | 166.41M | 163.65M | 140.11M | 121.47M | 100.89M | 62.39M | 43.1M |
| Basic Shares Outstanding | 251.34M | 255.8M | 257.97M | 257.55M | 257.38M | 261.17M | 263.19M | 263.79M | 263.65M | 263.68M | 230.33M | 184.16M | 186.32M | 185.4M | 181.76M | 169.08M | 173.47M | 178.68M | 157.56M | 153.54M | 153.31M | 157.61M | 157.21M | 143.41M | 140.49M | 137.04M | 117.96M | 94.44M | 52.72M | 43.1M |
| Dividend Payout Ratio | - | 30.89% | 48.94% | 35.48% | 29.08% | 35.63% | 97.66% | 30.88% | 27.9% | 22.88% | 37.54% | - | 25.33% | 26.18% | 27.95% | 22.15% | 6.11% | - | 9.25% | - | - | 12.04% | 174.9% | 14.79% | 10.6% | - | - | 5.43% | 11.11% | - |
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying WCN stock.
For fiscal year 2025, Waste Connections, Inc. (WCN) reported total revenue of $9.50B. This represents a 153180.6% increase compared to $6.2M in 1997.
Waste Connections, Inc. (WCN) is profitable, generating $1.08B in net income for the fiscal year ending 2025 with a net profit margin of 11.4%.
Waste Connections, Inc. (WCN) reported an operating income of $1.72B, resulting in an operating profit margin of 18.1%. This margin reflects the operational efficiency of the business before interest and taxes.
Waste Connections, Inc. (WCN) generated $3.70B in gross profit for the year, representing a gross profit margin of 39.0%. This demonstrates the company's core pricing power and production efficiency.
Key Metrics
Top Statement Risk
Chiquita Canyon cost escalation
Metrics are mathematically derived from official filings.
Growth Halves From 2024 Peaks
Revenue growth has cooled from 13.3% in 2024Q3 to 7.3% in 2026Q3, per Waste Connections' quarterly income statements, with the four most recent quarters clustering tightly between 6.4% and 7.3%, indicating the 2024 acquisition-led boost has faded toward a steadier mid-single-digit run rate.
The halving of growth from double digits to the 6-7% range appears more a function of the 2024 comparison base—when tuck-in deals were likely contributing materially—than of demand erosion, since the top line has never contracted in any of the ten quarters shown. The stability of the last four prints suggests pricing-over-inflation in secondary markets remains intact, but investors should weigh that against the premium multiple WCN carries versus WM and RSG, which implies the market expects more than a mid-single-digit base case.
Margin Outlier Obscures 42% Baseline
Waste Connections held gross margins in a tight 42.0%-43.1% band in nine of ten quarters, yet 2025Q4's 29.1%—on $1.7B of COGS against $2.4B of revenue—appears to reflect a discrete charge, per the company's reported figures, an outlier that warrants explicit reconciliation before extrapolating.
The roughly 13-point miss in a single quarter implies an event-sized cost item rather than a structural reset, since margins immediately returned to 42.6% in 2026Q1 and reached 43.1% by 2026Q3, the highest in the series. That pattern is consistent with landfill-specific exposure rather than cyclical pricing weakness, but if any portion of that charge recurs—Chiquita Canyon remediation being the obvious candidate—the sustainable ceiling may sit closer to 41-42% than the headline 43% suggests.
Overhead Drift Tests Pricing Gains
SG&A climbed from $208.9M in 2024Q4 to $260.5M in 2026Q2—roughly 25% growth against approximately 13% revenue growth over the same span, based on Waste Connections' reported income statements—lifting the overhead ratio from about 9.1% to 10.0% of sales.
A rising SG&A ratio is the opposite of operating leverage, which suggests integration, corporate support, or compliance costs are expanding faster than the top line rather than being absorbed by it. Operating margin nonetheless improved to 20.5% in 2026Q3, implying gross-margin expansion and price realization have so far covered the overhead drift; whether that offset persists as municipal contract resets lag wage inflation is the central swing factor for incremental margins.
2024Q4 Loss Anchors Recovery Arc
The 2024Q4 net loss of $196.0M, on $2.3B of revenue and a -8.8% operating margin, is the only loss-making quarter in ten, per Waste Connections' income statements; recovery to $359.2M of net income in 2026Q3 suggests the driver was non-recurring rather than structural.
Because revenue actually grew 6.6% year over year in that loss quarter while gross margin collapsed to 29.1%, the event appears cost-driven rather than demand-driven, isolating the impairment or charge to the expense side of the statement. The subsequent normalization of operating margin to 15.4% by 2026Q1 and 20.5% by 2026Q3 supports the non-recurring reading, and it also means 2025 and 2026 EPS comparisons should be read against a depressed prior-year denominator only for that single quarter.
Clean Earnings, Uneven Tax Conversion
Stock-based compensation of $17.6M-$24.0M per quarter represents under 1% of quarterly revenue, while operating-to-net income conversion ranged from roughly 60% to 67% across the last four quarters, per Waste Connections' filings—a spread that appears to reflect tax and non-operating variability rather than core profitability.
With SBC immaterial relative to a $2.6B quarterly revenue base, reported EPS appears to have limited dilution noise compared with higher-growth industrial peers, which supports the quality of the $1.43 print in 2026Q3. The wider variance sits below the operating line: the dip to approximately 60% conversion in 2026Q1 versus 67% in 2026Q2 suggests non-operating items or rate timing are moving quarter to quarter, so investors should not treat the trailing tax rate as a run-rate assumption.
Volatility Beneath the Beat-and-Raise
Q2 2026 delivered $2.6B of revenue yet EPS of $1.14 missed consensus by $0.01 before full-year guidance was raised, per consensus estimates alongside reported results—a pattern, together with 2025Q4's 29.1% gross margin, that suggests cost variance may be less transient than the guidance raise implies.
A short-seller would argue the headline narrative of pricing power masks genuine margin volatility: gross margin swung 13 points in one quarter, SG&A grew about 25% over eight quarters versus 13% revenue growth, and EPS growth has alternated between -7.5% and 28.8% within four quarters. Combined with rural wage pressure and Chiquita Canyon's open-ended cost profile, the counter-case is that WCN's 42-43% gross margin and 20% operating margin are achievable only in clean quarters, warranting closer inspection of the below-gross-line items before underwriting further multiple expansion.