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Here's How Much a $1000 Investment in Waste Management Made 10 Years Ago Would Be Worth Today

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How much a stock's price changes over time is important for most investors, since price performance can both impact your investment portfolio and help you compare investment results across sectors and industries.

Another thing that can drive investing is the fear of missing out, or FOMO. This particularly applies to tech giants and popular consumer-facing stocks.

What if you'd invested in Waste Management (WM - Free Report) ten years ago? It may not have been easy to hold on to WM for all that time, but if you did, how much would your investment be worth today?

Waste Management's Business In-Depth

With that in mind, let's take a look at Waste Management's main business drivers.

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management Inc. is a leading provider of comprehensive waste management services in North America. The company provides collection, transfer, recycling and resource recovery, as well as disposal services to residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers. It is also a leading developer, operator and owner of waste-to-energy and landfill gas-to-energy facilities in the United States.

Waste Management provides collection services that include picking up and transporting waste and recyclable materials from the point of generation to a transfer station, disposal site or material recovery facility (MRF). The company owns, develops, and operates landfill gas-to-energy facilities in the United States. It owns and operates transfer stations.

Waste Management also provides materials processing, commodities recycling and recycling brokerage services. It also offers construction and remediation services; services associated with the disposal of fly ash and residue, in-plant services comprising full-service waste management solutions and consulting services; and specialized disposal services for oil and gas exploration and production operations.

The company faces intense competition from governmental, quasi-governmental and private organizations in all aspects of its operations. It competes mainly with large national waste management companies, municipalities and counties that manage their own waste collection and disposal operations. It also competes with regional and local companies of different sizes and financial resources.

Waste Management's operating revenues remain higher in summer months, mainly due to higher construction and demolition waste volumes. Also, in certain regions, volumes industrial and residential waste increase during summer months. Hence, revenues in second and third quarters are significantly higher than first and fourth quarters.

As of Dec 31, 2023, Waste Management had roughly 48,000 full-time employees. Around 8,400 were in administrative and sales positions and the rest in operations. Approximately 8,200 employees were covered by collective bargaining agreements.

Formerly known as USA Waste Services, Inc., the company changed name to Waste Management, Inc. in 1998.

Bottom Line

Anyone can invest, but building a successful investment portfolio takes a combination of a few things: research, patience, and a little bit of risk. So, if you had invested in Waste Management a decade ago, you're probably feeling pretty good about your investment today.

A $1000 investment made in July 2014 would be worth $4,947.14, or a 394.71% gain, as of July 17, 2024, according to our calculations. Investors should note that this return excludes dividends but includes price increases.

The S&P 500 rose 186% and the price of gold increased 79.63% over the same time frame in comparison.

Looking ahead, analysts are expecting more upside for WM.

Waste Management has been executing its core operating initiatives of focused differentiation, continuous improvement, and instilling price and cost discipline to achieve better margins. Strength across traditional solid waste business boosts the company's cash flow and earnings. Successful cost-reduction initiatives have helped it achieve better margins. Consistent dividend payments and share buybacks boost investors' confidence and positively impact earnings per share. Partly due to these tailwinds, the company’s shares have moved up 25% in the past year. On the flip side, operating in a highly competitive and consolidated waste industry weighs on the company's top line. National, regional, and local companies give tough competition to Waste Management. Seasonality and higher financing costs are other concerns.

The stock is up 6.25% over the past four weeks, and no earnings estimate has gone lower in the past two months, compared to 1 higher, for fiscal 2024. The consensus estimate has moved up as well.

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