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How Waste Management (WM) makes money
Waste Management (WM) made $6.8B of revenue in the third quarter 2026 (Q3 2026), +6% from a year earlier. Collection and Disposal brought in $5.6B (81%); Healthcare Solutions brought in $651M (10%); Recycling Processing and Sales brought in $441M (6%). Of every dollar of revenue, 19¢ was left as operating profit, 12¢ was left as net earnings.
Drawing the Sankey…
Revenue by segment, Q3 2026
| Segment | Revenue | Share | Q/Q | Y/Y |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Collection and Disposal | $5.6B | 81.5% | — | +5% |
| ↳ East Tier | $2.4B | 35.3% | — | +3% |
| ↳ West Tier | $2.4B | 34.4% | — | +6% |
| ↳ Other Ancillary | $808M | 11.8% | — | +7% |
| Healthcare Solutions | $651M | 9.5% | — | +4% |
| Recycling Processing and Sales | $441M | 6.4% | — | +19% |
| Renewable Energy | $167M | 2.4% | — | +45% |
| Corporate and Other | $8.0M | 0.1% | — | +14% |
Where each dollar of revenue goes
| Line | Q3 2026 | % of revenue |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $6.8B | 100.0% |
| Operating profit | $1.3B | 18.7% |
| Income tax | $224M | 3.3% |
| Net earnings | $820M | 12.0% |
| Operating cash flow | $1.6B | 24.0% |
| Free cash flow | $983M | 14.4% |
Revenue, quarter by quarter
| Quarter | Revenue | Y/Y |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $6.8B | +6% |
| Q2 2026 | $6.7B | +4% |
| Q1 2026 | $6.2B | +4% |
| Q4 2025 | $6.3B | +7% |
| Q3 2025 | $6.4B | +15% |
| Q2 2025 | $6.4B | +19% |
| Q1 2025 | $6.0B | +17% |
From Waste Management's 10-Q filed Oct 28, 2026 (on EDGAR).
Questions
How does Waste Management make money?
Waste Management (WM) made $6.8B of revenue in the third quarter 2026 (Q3 2026), +6% from a year earlier. Collection and Disposal brought in $5.6B (81%); Healthcare Solutions brought in $651M (10%); Recycling Processing and Sales brought in $441M (6%). Of every dollar of revenue, 19¢ was left as operating profit, 12¢ was left as net earnings.
What is Waste Management's biggest business?
Collection and Disposal: $5.6B in the third quarter 2026, 81% of revenue, +5% from a year earlier.
What is Waste Management's profit margin?
Net earnings were $820M, 12.0% of revenue, in the third quarter 2026; the operating margin was 18.7%.
Updated Nov 8, 2026. Read automatically from SEC filings and public data; errors are possible. Not investment advice.