Advertisement
Australia markets closed
  • ALL ORDS

    8,153.70
    +80.10 (+0.99%)
     
  • AUD/USD

    0.6497
    -0.0039 (-0.59%)
     
  • ASX 200

    7,896.90
    +77.30 (+0.99%)
     
  • OIL

    82.48
    +1.13 (+1.39%)
     
  • GOLD

    2,233.40
    +20.70 (+0.94%)
     
  • Bitcoin AUD

    108,873.84
    +983.19 (+0.91%)
     
  • CMC Crypto 200

    885.54
    0.00 (0.00%)
     

Does Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Deserve A Spot On Your Watchlist?

It's common for many investors, especially those who are inexperienced, to buy shares in companies with a good story even if these companies are loss-making. But the reality is that when a company loses money each year, for long enough, its investors will usually take their share of those losses. A loss-making company is yet to prove itself with profit, and eventually the inflow of external capital may dry up.

Despite being in the age of tech-stock blue-sky investing, many investors still adopt a more traditional strategy; buying shares in profitable companies like Waste Management (NYSE:WM). While profit isn't the sole metric that should be considered when investing, it's worth recognising businesses that can consistently produce it.

View our latest analysis for Waste Management

How Quickly Is Waste Management Increasing Earnings Per Share?

If you believe that markets are even vaguely efficient, then over the long term you'd expect a company's share price to follow its earnings per share (EPS) outcomes. That makes EPS growth an attractive quality for any company. We can see that in the last three years Waste Management grew its EPS by 12% per year. That growth rate is fairly good, assuming the company can keep it up.

ADVERTISEMENT

It's often helpful to take a look at earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margins, as well as revenue growth, to get another take on the quality of the company's growth. EBIT margins for Waste Management remained fairly unchanged over the last year, however the company should be pleased to report its revenue growth for the period of 9.9% to US$20b. That's a real positive.

In the chart below, you can see how the company has grown earnings and revenue, over time. For finer detail, click on the image.

earnings-and-revenue-history
earnings-and-revenue-history

The trick, as an investor, is to find companies that are going to perform well in the future, not just in the past. While crystal balls don't exist, you can check our visualization of consensus analyst forecasts for Waste Management's future EPS 100% free.

Are Waste Management Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?

Since Waste Management has a market capitalisation of US$62b, we wouldn't expect insiders to hold a large percentage of shares. But we do take comfort from the fact that they are investors in the company. We note that their impressive stake in the company is worth US$107m. We note that this amounts to 0.2% of the company, which may be small owing to the sheer size of Waste Management but it's still worth mentioning. This still shows shareholders there is a degree of alignment between management and themselves.

Is Waste Management Worth Keeping An Eye On?

As previously touched on, Waste Management is a growing business, which is encouraging. For those who are looking for a little more than this, the high level of insider ownership enhances our enthusiasm for this growth. These two factors are a huge highlight for the company which should be a strong contender your watchlists. Still, you should learn about the 1 warning sign we've spotted with Waste Management.

The beauty of investing is that you can invest in almost any company you want. But if you prefer to focus on stocks that have demonstrated insider buying, here is a list of companies with insider buying in the last three months.

Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

Join A Paid User Research Session
You’ll receive a US$30 Amazon Gift card for 1 hour of your time while helping us build better investing tools for the individual investors like yourself. Sign up here