All three tenses have at least two readings, so the archetype blend applies as printed.
All nine metrics read as filed from the record.
What did they actually do?
Has it survived what it has been through?
1 warning event since 2017; the latest 2020-07-15.
From the record
Waste Management, Inc.'s filings since 2017 show 1 warning event: a debt default or acceleration notice (8-K item 2.04, the latest 2020-07-15) (its current reports).
A production reading, recomputed from the filings on every data build, read from EDGAR Nov 13, 2026.
What has it actually done, year after year?
+7.1% a year over 10 filed years; profitable in 10 of 10.
From the record
Waste Management, Inc.'s 10 filed years say what it did: revenue went from $14 billion in fiscal 2016 to $25 billion in fiscal 2025, up 7.1% a year; it rose in 8 of 9 years; the deepest fall was 2% from fiscal 2019 to fiscal 2020; net income was positive in 10 of 10 of those years (its annual reports).
What it rests on
A production reading, recomputed from the filings on every data build, read from EDGAR Nov 13, 2026.
How has it treated the people who own it?
Share count shrank 0.9% a year. 32% of cash flow returned. Insiders: 36 sales, 0 purchases.
From the record
Over the 3 fiscal years to 2025-12-31, Waste Management, Inc.'s diluted share count shrank about 0.9% a year, and dividends and buybacks returned about 32% of its operating cash flow over 3 years (its filed statements). Its officers and directors filed 36 sales (29 under scheduled 10b5-1 plans) and 0 purchases of their own stock on the open market in the year to 2026-11-09 (their Form 4 filings).
What it rests on
A production reading, recomputed from the filings on every data build, read from EDGAR Nov 13, 2026.
What are they doing right now?
Is it financially healthy right now?
ROE 27%: 27¢ of profit per shareholder dollar. Leverage 78%: owes 78¢ per asset dollar.
From the record
Return on equity: in the fiscal year ended 2025-12-31, Waste Management, Inc. earned about 27 cents of profit for every dollar of shareholders' money, and gross profitability: its products earned about 22 cents per dollar of everything the company owns (revenue less the cost of revenue). Leverage: it owed about 78 cents per dollar of assets, and net share issuance: its share count grew 0.2% over the year (the filed statements).
What it rests on
A production reading, recomputed from the filings on every data build, read from EDGAR Nov 13, 2026.
How strong is its position in its industry?
top 32% of 10 in its family; net margin 10.7%.
From the record
Waste Management, Inc.'s standing among 10 graded names in its industry family: revenue of $25 billion in fiscal 2025 ranks in the top 6% by size; a net margin of 10.7% ranks in the top 35%; revenue growth of 8.6% a year over the last 3 filed years ranks in the bottom 45% (its annual reports).
What it rests on
A production reading, recomputed from the filings on every data build, read from EDGAR Nov 13, 2026.
What are the people in charge doing?
top 45% of 6 in its family for leadership; chief executive since 2016.
From the record
Waste Management, Inc.'s leadership, from its insiders' filings and its current reports: the chief executive on the record is Fish, James C Jr (Chief Executive Officer, as filed), filing under that title since 2016-11-15, 10 years (top 8% of its family); the 21 officers and directors filing in the last fifteen months have been on the record a median of 5.7 years (bottom 42%); 10 officer or director changes were reported on Form 8-K since 2023-11-13, against the 21 people in charge now (bottom 31%; fewer changes for each person reads higher) (the Form 4 record, its Form 8-K reports). Years count from a person's first filing in the SEC's data sets, which begin in 2006, so each is a floor.
What it rests on
A production reading, recomputed from the filings on every data build, read from EDGAR Nov 13, 2026.
What are they set up to do next?
How much room does it have to grow?
bottom 47% of 10 in its family for room to expand.
From the record
Waste Management, Inc.'s room to grow, from the newest filed statements (fiscal 2025): cash of $201 million against debt of $22 billion leaves -48% of its assets as net cash, bottom 5% of its family; cash from operations less capital spending is 11.2% of revenue (top 35%); a gross margin of 40.4% (top 28%) (its annual report).
What it rests on
A production reading, recomputed from the filings on every data build, read from EDGAR Nov 13, 2026.
What could actually drive growth from here?
top 34% of 9 in its family for growth drivers.
From the record
Waste Management, Inc.'s growth drivers, from the filed years to fiscal 2025: revenue grew 8.6% a year over the last three filed years against 7.1% over all 10, speeding up (top 17% of its family); the newest year grew 14.2% (top 28%); capital spending grew 7.6% a year (bottom 44%) (its annual reports). Waste Management, Inc. reported 7 lines of business in fiscal 2025: East Tier Region Areas at $9.0 billion (36%), West Tier Region Areas at $8.7 billion (35%), All Other at $2.9 billion (12%), and 4 more; 5 of 7 grew against the year before (its annual report).
What it rests on
A production reading, recomputed from the filings on every data build, read from EDGAR Nov 13, 2026.
Did its newest year beat what its own record pointed to?
top 44% of 8 in its family for expectations against reality.
From the record
Waste Management, Inc.'s newest year against its own record: revenue of $25 billion in fiscal 2025 came in 7.9% above the $23 billion its prior three years' pace pointed to (top 19% of its family); net income of $2.7 billion against a prior three-year average of $2.4 billion (bottom 44%); a net margin of 10.7% against 11.7% before (bottom 44%) (its annual reports).
What it rests on
A production reading, recomputed from the filings on every data build, read from EDGAR Nov 13, 2026.
The grade is the company against its own industry, from its filings. It is not a view on the share price. How the grade is made