Waste Connections Reports Q4 Earnings Deficit and Revenue Growth

Waste Connections faced a challenging Q4 with a net loss of $196 million, yet managed to achieve revenue growth, bringing in $2.260 billion. Investors may need to weigh the implications of this mixed performance.

Date: 13-02-2025

AI Rating: 4

Earnings Per Share (EPS): Waste Connections reported an EPS of -$0.76 in Q4, a significant drop from $0.49 the previous year. Analysts had projected $1.19 per share, indicating a strong miss on expectations.
Net Income: The company recorded a net loss of $196 million compared to a profit of $126.75 million in the same quarter last year. This steep decline signals troubling profitability issues.
Revenue Growth: Despite the negative earnings, Waste Connections reported revenue of $2.260 billion in Q4, an increase from $2.035 billion year-over-year. This indicates positive growth in sales, although it didn't translate to profitability.
Analyst Projection vs. Actual: The significant difference between the analysts' EPS projection of $1.19 and the actual adjusted EPS of $1.16 shows a slight underperformance, but the adjusted earnings still reflect a strong operational performance when excluding items.
Overall Assessment: The report shows a stark contradiction between revenue growth and profitability, which could create uncertainty among investors. The loss reported raises questions about the long-term sustainability of the profit margins, and the missed EPS expectations could lead to downward adjustments in stock valuation moving forward.

Stocks: WCN