RSG
Republic Services Inc.
stock NYSE

I did not realize Waste Management (WM) was down and will consider it again soon.
In that Sector, I like WM the best. I like Clean Harbors (CLH) a very specialty hazardous waste disposal company, great disposal facilities, etc. too but I like WM better.
I do like Republic Services (RSG) because of their strength in landfills.
Regarding your question I think these are slower growth stocks that pay a dividend and they are in an industry that is difficult for new businesses to enter. Thus an advantage. There will always be a need for residential, business and hazardous waste disposal.

I have WCN in my portfolio and to be honest it is down 7% since I bought in. Worst performing stock in my portfolio and I am heavily concentrated in it.
Waste collection is not cyclical but some parts of their revenue stream is such as renewable energy credits, construction and demolition, and E&P. The biggest loss from WM would be the recycling prices per tonne and construction and demolition waste as the economy isn’t the best.
Oil has been spiking due to the Middle East war and that affects their fleet trucks and while the Trump administration isn’t helping either with renewable energy credits (OBB bill tax/credit cuts). With that said, E&P revenue stream would help during oil surges but WM is not heavily invested in E&P waste as much as WCN and they’re usually laggers in data.
Competition is currently between the big 4 (WM, RSG, WCN, and GFL). They all compete and bid for contracts (except WCN, they’re specialized in rural/urban areas with less competition) which actually lowers pricing power and margins. They’re all aiming for mid single digits top end growth this year and thru the next few compared to double digit growth in the past. They’re basically going through revaluation this year by voluntarily lowering top line and to focus on bottom line (EPS). The main think for these companies is EPS and FCF growth. I haven’t done my research on WM, but for WCN, they’re projecting 6% revenue growth but double digit EPS and FCF growth for full FY of 2026.
Personally, I picked WCN because of their specialization in urban and rural areas and their modest M&A such as their adaptation to E&P acquisitions in Western Canada as oil is booming. These reasons are why WCN has the highest margins. The only downside side is the Chiquita landfill closure and the cost for the next decade. Even though it’ll cost roughly $100m-$150m annually for this landfill, it only affects a small percentile of their FCF. If you are a long term investor and once that is over in the next decade, FCF will spike.

I have WM in my portfolio and it has been a staple for the past 5 years, was absolutely wonderful to see it stay flat or even slightly in the green in 2022 while everything else was getting destroyed.
It’s not a cyclical sector. There is of course the very basic “trash is always getting produced and needs to be picked up” argument. But another thing you need to consider is landfill scarcity. There is limited landfill space and our production of waste isn’t slowing down. Companies like WM and RSG own A LOT of the non-muni owned landfill real estate in North America (in the U.S. especially).
Also regarding your disappointment at how it’s been performing recently, don’t even worry about it. This is just sector rotation, we’re in a very risk-on market right now with the semi trade still being hot. You will be very grateful to have a stake in this sector when we inevitably experience another risk-off period.

I did not realize Waste Management (WM) was down and will consider it again soon.
In that Sector, I like WM the best. I like Clean Harbors (CLH) a very specialty hazardous waste disposal company, great disposal facilities, etc. too but I like WM better.
I do like Republic Services (RSG) because of their strength in landfills.
Regarding your question I think these are slower growth stocks that pay a dividend and they are in an industry that is difficult for new businesses to enter. Thus an advantage. There will always be a need for residential, business and hazardous waste disposal.

I have WCN in my portfolio and to be honest it is down 7% since I bought in. Worst performing stock in my portfolio and I am heavily concentrated in it.
Waste collection is not cyclical but some parts of their revenue stream is such as renewable energy credits, construction and demolition, and E&P. The biggest loss from WM would be the recycling prices per tonne and construction and demolition waste as the economy isn’t the best.
Oil has been spiking due to the Middle East war and that affects their fleet trucks and while the Trump administration isn’t helping either with renewable energy credits (OBB bill tax/credit cuts). With that said, E&P revenue stream would help during oil surges but WM is not heavily invested in E&P waste as much as WCN and they’re usually laggers in data.
Competition is currently between the big 4 (WM, RSG, WCN, and GFL). They all compete and bid for contracts (except WCN, they’re specialized in rural/urban areas with less competition) which actually lowers pricing power and margins. They’re all aiming for mid single digits top end growth this year and thru the next few compared to double digit growth in the past. They’re basically going through revaluation this year by voluntarily lowering top line and to focus on bottom line (EPS). The main think for these companies is EPS and FCF growth. I haven’t done my research on WM, but for WCN, they’re projecting 6% revenue growth but double digit EPS and FCF growth for full FY of 2026.
Personally, I picked WCN because of their specialization in urban and rural areas and their modest M&A such as their adaptation to E&P acquisitions in Western Canada as oil is booming. These reasons are why WCN has the highest margins. The only downside side is the Chiquita landfill closure and the cost for the next decade. Even though it’ll cost roughly $100m-$150m annually for this landfill, it only affects a small percentile of their FCF. If you are a long term investor and once that is over in the next decade, FCF will spike.

I have WM in my portfolio and it has been a staple for the past 5 years, was absolutely wonderful to see it stay flat or even slightly in the green in 2022 while everything else was getting destroyed.
It’s not a cyclical sector. There is of course the very basic “trash is always getting produced and needs to be picked up” argument. But another thing you need to consider is landfill scarcity. There is limited landfill space and our production of waste isn’t slowing down. Companies like WM and RSG own A LOT of the non-muni owned landfill real estate in North America (in the U.S. especially).
Also regarding your disappointment at how it’s been performing recently, don’t even worry about it. This is just sector rotation, we’re in a very risk-on market right now with the semi trade still being hot. You will be very grateful to have a stake in this sector when we inevitably experience another risk-off period.