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Waste Management (WM) to Post Q4 Earnings: What's in Store?

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Waste Management, Inc. (WM - Free Report) is scheduled to report fourth-quarter 2019 results on Feb 13, before the bell.

The company’s shares have gained 29.7% over the past year, compared with 22.6% growth of the industry it belongs to.

Collection and Disposal Likely to Boost Top Line

Increased yield in collection and disposal business, higher collection and landfill volume growth, and acquisitions are likely to have offset the weakness in the company’s recycling line of business. This is expected to get reflected in the to-be-reported quarter’s revenues, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for which is pegged at $3.95 billion, indicating growth of 2.8% from the year-ago quarter's reported figure. In third-quarter 2019, revenues of $3.96 billion increased 3.8% year over year.

Waste Management, Inc. Revenue (TTM)

Earnings Expectations

Improved operating results, mainly in the collection and disposal business, are likely to have boosted Waste Management’s bottom line. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in the to-be-reported quarter is pegged at $1.17, indicating 3.5% year-over-year growth. In third-quarter 2019, adjusted earnings of $1.19 came ahead of the year-ago figure by 3.5%.

What Our Model Says

Our proven model predicts an earnings beat for Waste Management this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they're reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Waste Management has an Earnings ESP of +2.90% and a Zacks Rank #2.

Others Stocks to Consider

Here are a few other stocks from the broader Zacks Business Services sector that investors may consider as our model shows that these too have the right combination of elements to beat on fourth-quarter 2019 earnings:

SailPoint Technologies has an Earnings ESP of +4.92% and a Zacks Rank #2. The company is slated to report results on Feb 24. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Republic Services (RSG - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +2.67% and a Zacks Rank #2. The company is slated to release results on Feb 13.

Fidelity National Information Services (FIS - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +0.30% and a Zacks Rank #2. The company is slated to release results on Feb 13.

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