By the numbers
Q4 revenue: $2.26B
Up 11% year over year
Full-year net income: $617.6M
Down from $762.8 million year over year
Full-year adjusted EBITDA: $2.9B
Up 15% year over year and representing 32.5% of revenue
- Financial picture: During a Thursday earnings call, CEO Ron Mittelstaedt said 2024 was an “extraordinary year” due to notable revenue growth and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, as well as record acquisition activity, better safety metrics and lower employee turnover. “We've achieved the balance and service quality pricing, retention, and acquisition integration that we've been working towards over the past 18 months.”
- “Record year” for acquisition activity: Waste Connections closed 24 acquisitions in 2024, which represent about $750 million in annualized revenue. Deals included acquisitions meant to be internalized into its existing disposal network, “plus new market entries and a number of tuck-ins to existing operations,” Mittelstaedt said. That’s compared to 2023, when the company completed 13 acquisitions.
- 2025 acquisition plans: Mittelstaedt said the company has either already closed or is expected to close acquisitions worth over $75 million in annualized revenue during Q2. That would bring the 2025 expected revenue contribution from acquisitions to over $300 million, he said.
- Chiquita Canyon landfill closure management: In the wake of the Jan. 1 closure of the Chiquita Canyon landfill in California, Waste Connections has “successfully redirected a significant portion” of waste to another central California landfill, though executives did not name the landfill or the volume amounts. Chiquita Canyon closed due to numerous legal, regulatory and permitting challenges.
- Chiquita Canyon management costs: In Q4, Waste Connections spent $116.1 million in site costs and $480.8 million “to increase our closure and post closure liability” for the site, CFO Mary Anne Whitney noted. The company will continue to manage the site and its post-closure agreements, including efforts to address an ongoing “elevated temperature landfill” event causing odor issues that cost $224 million in 2024 and could cost between $100 to $150 million to manage in 2025.
- Volumes: Solid waste volumes in Q4 were down 2.7%, which Whitney said excluded a 50 basis point negative volume impact caused by “ramping down activity” to prepare for the Chiquita closure. As far as full-year 2024 volumes, tons were up 3% year over year, adjusting for the Chiquita closure, she said. MSW tons were up 6%, mainly due to storm cleanup activity in Florida and internalizing tons in the Northeast at its Arrowhead landfill in Alabama. That landfill has ramped up operations and now accepts about 7,000 tons a day.
- 2025 expectations: Waste Connections estimates 2025 revenue will be between $9.45 billion to $9.6 billion and a net income range of between $1.18 billion and $1.22 billion. Expected adjusted EBITDA margin expansion could be 80 basis points, reaching 33.3%.
