Waste Connections, Inc. (WCN) Valuation

Valuation

Model-based estimates, not advice. The DCF is the discounted-cash-flow value per share; compare it with the price, not as a target.

DCF fair value

-52.6%

$88.78

vs $187.46 price

Levered DCF

$91.33

After debt service

Piotroski score

7 / 9

Strong

Altman Z-score

3.12

Safe zone

Rating

B-

Overall 3 / 5

Ratios by fiscal year

Margins and yields are shares of revenue, equity or price; multiples are ×.

Metric	FY2025	FY2024	FY2023	FY2022	FY2021	FY2020	FY2019	FY2018
P/E	41.85×	71.79×	50.43×	40.79×	57.5×	131.5×	41.27×	35.87×
P/B	5.45×	5.63×	5×	4.8×	5.09×	3.94×	3.45×	3.03×
P/S	4.72×	4.96×	4.79×	4.73×	5.79×	4.96×	4.44×	3.98×
EV / EBITDA	18.04×	22.01×	19.35×	18.82×	21.5×	19.58×	17.55×	15.07×
Gross margin	39.0%	41.8%	40.9%	39.9%	40.6%	39.8%	40.6%	41.8%
Operating margin	18.1%	12.0%	15.4%	17.2%	16.9%	7.6%	15.5%	16.9%
Net margin	11.4%	6.9%	9.5%	11.6%	10.0%	3.8%	10.5%	11.1%
Current ratio	0.62×	0.65×	0.68×	0.74×	0.84×	1.37×	1.12×	1.23×
Debt / equity	1.14×	1.07×	0.91×	1×	0.75×	0.71×	0.66×	0.64×
Interest coverage	5.19×	3.66×	4.76×	6.19×	5.73×	2.28×	5.88×	6.64×
Dividend yield	0.7%	0.7%	0.7%	0.7%	0.6%	0.7%	0.7%	0.8%
Payout ratio	30.9%	48.9%	35.5%	29.1%	35.6%	97.7%	30.9%	27.9%

Key metrics by fiscal year

Metric	FY2025	FY2024	FY2023	FY2022	FY2021	FY2020	FY2019	FY2018
Return on equity	13.1%	7.9%	9.9%	11.8%	8.8%	3.0%	8.2%	8.5%
Return on invested capital	6.8%	4.8%	5.9%	6.3%	6.2%	2.5%	5.3%	5.5%
Return on assets	5.1%	3.1%	4.3%	4.9%	4.2%	1.5%	4.1%	4.3%
Free cash flow yield	2.7%	2.7%	3.1%	3.3%	2.7%	2.8%	3.7%	4.4%
Earnings yield	2.4%	1.4%	2.0%	2.4%	1.7%	0.8%	2.4%	2.8%
Enterprise value	$54.2B	$52.6B	$45.4B	$41.1B	$40.7B	$31.3B	$28.2B	$23.4B
Net debt / EBITDA	3.11×	3.49×	2.96×	3.21×	2.68×	2.68×	2.63×	2.47×
Cash conversion cycle (days)	-2	-0	-4	-5	11	17	-5	-1