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Waste Connections (WCN) Q4 Earnings & Revenues Top Estimates
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Waste Connections (WCN - Free Report) reported solid fourth-quarter 2019 results, wherein the company’s earnings and revenues surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate.
Adjusted earnings of 69 cents per share beat the consensus estimate by 11.3% and increased 9.5% year over year. Revenues of $1.36 billion beat the consensus mark by 1.5% and improved 7.9% year over year.
Over the past year, shares of Waste Connectionshave gained 25.4% compared with 22.6% growth of the industry it belongs to.
Let’s check out the numbers in detail.
Revenues by Segment
Solid Waste Collection segment revenues increased 11.4% year over year to $972.39 million. The segment accounted for 71.4% of total revenues.
Solid Waste Disposal and Transfersegment revenues increased 4.9% from the year-ago quarter to $283.37 million. The segment contributed 20.8% to total revenues.
E&P Waste Treatment, Recovery and Disposal segment revenues decreased 2.3% from the year-ago quarter to $62.48 million. The segment contributed 4.6% to total revenues.
Intermodal and Other segment revenues declined 9.1% to $30.52 million. The segment accounted for 2.2% of total revenues.
Solid Waste Recycling segment revenues declined 69.6% year over year to $13.20 million. The segment accounted for 1% of total revenues.
Operating Results
Adjusted EBITDA in the fourth quarter was $419 million compared with $397.19 million in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted EBITDA margin came in at 30.8% compared with 31.5% in the year-ago quarter.
Operating income totaled $194.18 million compared with $199.98 million in the year-ago quarter. Operating margin was 14.3% compared with 15.8% in the year-ago quarter.
Waste Connections, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Waste Connections exited fourth-quarter 2019 with cash and cash equivalents of $326.74 million compared with $303.78 million at the end of the prior quarter. Long-term debt was $4.35 billion compared with $4.04 billion at the end of the prior quarter.
The company generated $355.12 million of cash from operating activities in the reported quarter. Adjusted free cash flow was $153.84 million and capital expenditures totaled $200.88 million.
Waste Connections paid out dividend of $48.72 million in the reported quarter.
2020 Outlook
Waste Connections unveiled its guidance for 2020. The company expects revenues in the range of $5.725-$5.775 billion. The Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5.77 billion lies within the guided range.
Adjusted EBITDA is expected in the range of $1.760-$1.785 billion (indicating 30.7%-30.9% of revenues). Net cash provided by operating activities is anticipated to be $1.600-$1.625 billion. Capital expenditures are expected at $625 million. Adjusted free cash flow is expected to be $975.0 million-$1.0 billion.
Investors interested in the broader Zacks Business Services sector are awaiting fourth-quarter 2019 earnings of key players like Verisk (VRSK - Free Report) , TransUnion (TRU - Free Report) and Green Dot (GDOT - Free Report) . While Verisk and TransUnion are slated to report their results on Feb 18, Green Dot is scheduled to release on Feb 19.
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Waste Connections (WCN) Q4 Earnings & Revenues Top Estimates
Waste Connections (WCN - Free Report) reported solid fourth-quarter 2019 results, wherein the company’s earnings and revenues surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate.
Adjusted earnings of 69 cents per share beat the consensus estimate by 11.3% and increased 9.5% year over year. Revenues of $1.36 billion beat the consensus mark by 1.5% and improved 7.9% year over year.
Over the past year, shares of Waste Connections have gained 25.4% compared with 22.6% growth of the industry it belongs to.
Let’s check out the numbers in detail.
Revenues by Segment
Solid Waste Collection segment revenues increased 11.4% year over year to $972.39 million. The segment accounted for 71.4% of total revenues.
Solid Waste Disposal and Transfersegment revenues increased 4.9% from the year-ago quarter to $283.37 million. The segment contributed 20.8% to total revenues.
E&P Waste Treatment, Recovery and Disposal segment revenues decreased 2.3% from the year-ago quarter to $62.48 million. The segment contributed 4.6% to total revenues.
Intermodal and Other segment revenues declined 9.1% to $30.52 million. The segment accounted for 2.2% of total revenues.
Solid Waste Recycling segment revenues declined 69.6% year over year to $13.20 million. The segment accounted for 1% of total revenues.
Operating Results
Adjusted EBITDA in the fourth quarter was $419 million compared with $397.19 million in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted EBITDA margin came in at 30.8% compared with 31.5% in the year-ago quarter.
Operating income totaled $194.18 million compared with $199.98 million in the year-ago quarter. Operating margin was 14.3% compared with 15.8% in the year-ago quarter.
Waste Connections, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Waste Connections, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Waste Connections, Inc. Quote
Balance Sheet and Cash Flow
Waste Connections exited fourth-quarter 2019 with cash and cash equivalents of $326.74 million compared with $303.78 million at the end of the prior quarter. Long-term debt was $4.35 billion compared with $4.04 billion at the end of the prior quarter.
The company generated $355.12 million of cash from operating activities in the reported quarter. Adjusted free cash flow was $153.84 million and capital expenditures totaled $200.88 million.
Waste Connections paid out dividend of $48.72 million in the reported quarter.
2020 Outlook
Waste Connections unveiled its guidance for 2020. The company expects revenues in the range of $5.725-$5.775 billion. The Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5.77 billion lies within the guided range.
Adjusted EBITDA is expected in the range of $1.760-$1.785 billion (indicating 30.7%-30.9% of revenues). Net cash provided by operating activities is anticipated to be $1.600-$1.625 billion. Capital expenditures are expected at $625 million. Adjusted free cash flow is expected to be $975.0 million-$1.0 billion.
Zacks Rank & Upcoming Releases
Currently, Waste Connections carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Investors interested in the broader Zacks Business Services sector are awaiting fourth-quarter 2019 earnings of key players like Verisk (VRSK - Free Report) , TransUnion (TRU - Free Report) and Green Dot (GDOT - Free Report) . While Verisk and TransUnion are slated to report their results on Feb 18, Green Dot is scheduled to release on Feb 19.
Breakout Biotech Stocks with Triple-Digit Profit Potential
The biotech sector is projected to surge beyond $775 billion by 2024 as scientists develop treatments for thousands of diseases. They’re also finding ways to edit the human genome to literally erase our vulnerability to these diseases.
Zacks has just released Century of Biology: 7 Biotech Stocks to Buy Right Now to help investors profit from 7 stocks poised for outperformance. Our recent biotech recommendations have produced gains of +50%, +83% and +164% in as little as 2 months. The stocks in this report could perform even better.
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