Waste Connections (WCN) Q3 FY2026 earnings: revenue $2.6 billion, up 7.3% on the year
Waste Connections, Inc. (WCN) reported revenue of $2.6 billion for Q3 FY2026, the quarter ended 30 September 2026, up 7.3% on the same quarter a year earlier. Net income was $359 million, up 25.5% on the year, and diluted earnings per share $1.43. The figures are the company's own, from the 10-Q it filed with the SEC on 22 October 2026.
Revenue$2.6 billionup 7.3%
Net income$359 millionup 25.5%
Diluted EPS$1.43
QuarterQ3 FY2026ended 30 September 2026
The quarter, against the one before and a year earlier
| Line | Q3 FY2026 | Q2 FY2026 | Q3 FY2025 | Change on the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 2,638 | 2,562 | 2,458 | +7.3% |
| Cost of revenue | 1,501 | 1,479 | 1,407 | +6.7% |
| Gross profit | 1,137 | 1,082 | 1,052 | +8.1% |
| Gross margin | 43.1% | 42.3% | 42.8% | |
| Selling, general and administrative | 254 | 260 | 236 | +7.4% |
| Operating income | 542 | 438 | 440 | +23.2% |
| Operating margin | 20.5% | 17.1% | 17.9% | |
| Interest expense | 96.4 | 91.2 | 84.4 | +14.1% |
| Pre-tax income | 451 | 384 | 375 | +20.4% |
| Income tax | 91.9 | 87.3 | 88.5 | +3.8% |
| Effective tax rate | 20.4% | 22.8% | 23.6% | |
| Net income | 359 | 296 | 286 | +25.5% |
| Net margin | 13.6% | 11.6% | 11.6% | |
| Diluted EPS | $1.43 | $1.17 | $1.11 | +28.8% |
$ million except per share.
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Free cash flow is operating cash flow less capital expenditure; the effective tax rate is income tax over pre-tax income; margins are the line over revenue. Gross profit is revenue less cost of revenue, and operating income is revenue less the company's own total costs, where the statement does not print those lines. Those four are arithmetic on the filed numbers; everything else is as filed. Money is in $ million as the company files it, or in $ billion by the switch above the tables; per share figures and share counts are as they are.Cash flow and capital returned
| Line | Q3 FY2026 | Q2 FY2026 | Q3 FY2025 | Change on the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating cash flow | 692 | 733 | 677 | +2.1% |
| Capital expenditure | 295 | 302 | 297 | -0.8% |
| Free cash flow | 397 | 431 | 380 | +4.4% |
| Free cash flow margin | 15.1% | 16.8% | 15.5% | |
| Cash from investing | -349 | -606 | -414 | n/a |
| Cash from financing | -325 | -186 | -239 | n/a |
| Depreciation and amortisation | 339 | 326 | 315 | +7.6% |
| Share-based compensation | 20.3 | 24.0 | 18.5 | +9.8% |
| Buybacks | 330 | 331 | 442 | -25.3% |
| Dividends paid | 88.4 | 88.4 | 81.0 | +9.1% |
| Dividend per share | $0.35 | $0.35 | $0.32 | +11.1% |
| Diluted shares, weighted | 252m | 254m | 258m | -2.2% |
| Shares outstanding at period end | 250m | 252m | 256m | -2.2% |
Cash flow lines for the quarter; where the company files them year to date, the quarter is the difference between two filings.
Balance sheet at quarter end
| Line | Q3 FY2026 | Q2 FY2026 | Q3 FY2025 | Change on the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shareholders' equity | 7,884 | 7,921 | 8,093 | -2.6% |
| Non-controlling interest | n/a | n/a | 0.0 | n/a |
| Debt | 9,427 | 9,284 | 8,621 | +9.3% |
| Operating lease liabilities | 275 | 271 | 270 | +1.7% |
| Other liabilities | 3,924 | 3,924 | 3,797 | +3.3% |
| Total liabilities and equity | 21,510 | 21,399 | 20,782 | +3.5% |
| Fixed assets | 9,005 | 8,965 | 8,423 | +6.9% |
| Goodwill | 8,414 | 8,388 | 8,275 | +1.7% |
| Intangible assets | 1,968 | 1,973 | 2,004 | -1.8% |
| Cash and equivalents | 95.7 | 98.2 | 118 | -18.6% |
| Receivables | 1,106 | 1,070 | 1,070 | +3.4% |
| Other assets | 921 | 905 | 893 | +3.1% |
| Total assets | 21,510 | 21,399 | 20,782 | +3.5% |
Questions
What was Waste Connections' revenue in Q3 FY2026?
Waste Connections (WCN) reported revenue of $2.6 billion for Q3 FY2026, the quarter ended 30 September 2026, up 7.3% on the same quarter a year earlier.
How much did Waste Connections earn in Q3 FY2026?
Net income for Q3 FY2026 was $359 million, up 25.5% on the year, and diluted earnings per share $1.43.
When did Waste Connections report Q3 FY2026 results?
Waste Connections filed its 10-Q for the quarter ended 30 September 2026 with the SEC on 22 October 2026.
Quarterly results, the last 20 quarters
| Q4 FY2021 * | Q1 FY2022 | Q2 FY2022 | Q3 FY2022 | Q4 FY2022 * | Q1 FY2023 | Q2 FY2023 | Q3 FY2023 | Q4 FY2023 * | Q1 FY2024 | Q2 FY2024 | Q3 FY2024 | Q4 FY2024 * | Q1 FY2025 | Q2 FY2025 | Q3 FY2025 | Q4 FY2025 * | Q1 FY2026 | Q2 FY2026 | Q3 FY2026 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 1,624 | 1,646 | 1,816 | 1,880 | 1,869 | 1,901 | 2,021 | 2,065 | 2,036 | 2,073 | 2,248 | 2,338 | 2,260 | 2,228 | 2,407 | 2,458 | 2,373 | 2,371 | 2,562 | 2,638 |
| Cost of revenue | 981 | 990 | 1,088 | 1,121 | 1,138 | 1,147 | 1,197 | 1,205 | 1,196 | 1,222 | 1,301 | 1,344 | 1,325 | 1,291 | 1,393 | 1,407 | 1,364 | 1,361 | 1,479 | 1,501 |
| Gross profit | 643 | 657 | 729 | 759 | 731 | 754 | 824 | 860 | 840 | 851 | 947 | 994 | 936 | 937 | 1,014 | 1,052 | 1,009 | 1,010 | 1,082 | 1,137 |
| Gross margin | 40% | 40% | 40% | 40% | 39% | 40% | 41% | 42% | 41% | 41% | 42% | 43% | 41% | 42% | 42% | 43% | 43% | 43% | 42% | 43% |
| SG&A | 157 | 163 | 168 | 187 | 178 | 194 | 216 | 196 | 193 | 221 | 229 | 223 | 211 | 250 | 243 | 236 | 230 | 251 | 260 | 254 |
| Operating income | 249 | 274 | 330 | 327 | 312 | 315 | 344 | 353 | 225 | 367 | 425 | 475 | -199 | 390 | 460 | 440 | 421 | 364 | 438 | 542 |
| Operating margin | 15% | 17% | 18% | 17% | 17% | 17% | 17% | 17% | 11% | 18% | 19% | 20% | -9% | 18% | 19% | 18% | 18% | 15% | 17% | 21% |
| Interest expense | 38.6 | 41.3 | 45.1 | 51.2 | 64.8 | 68.4 | 67.5 | 69.0 | 69.7 | 78.5 | 82.4 | 83.5 | 82.4 | 80.9 | 82.8 | 84.4 | 86.5 | 87.7 | 91.2 | 96.4 |
| Pre-tax income | 212 | 229 | 283 | 286 | 251 | 252 | 278 | 292 | 161 | 289 | 356 | 400 | -282 | 313 | 389 | 375 | 341 | 284 | 384 | 451 |
| Tax rate | 22% | 21% | 21% | 17% | 23% | 22% | 25% | 22% | 22% | 21% | 23% | 23% | n/a | 23% | 25% | 24% | 24% | 23% | 23% | 20% |
| Net income | 166 | 180 | 224 | 237 | 194 | 198 | 209 | 229 | 127 | 230 | 275 | 308 | -196 | 242 | 290 | 286 | 258 | 219 | 296 | 359 |
| Net margin | 10% | 11% | 12% | 13% | 10% | 10% | 10% | 11% | 6% | 11% | 12% | 13% | -9% | 11% | 12% | 12% | 11% | 9% | 12% | 14% |
| Diluted EPS | $0.63 | $0.69 | $0.87 | $0.92 | $0.75 | $0.77 | $0.81 | $0.89 | $0.49 | $0.89 | $1.07 | $1.19 | -$0.76 | $0.93 | $1.12 | $1.11 | $1.01 | $0.86 | $1.17 | $1.43 |
| Operating cash flow | 428 | 441 | 533 | 526 | 522 | 442 | 574 | 554 | 556 | 490 | 611 | 558 | 569 | 542 | 638 | 677 | 557 | 546 | 733 | 692 |
| Capital expenditure | 265 | 152 | 219 | 247 | 294 | 176 | 218 | 221 | 318 | 170 | 217 | 272 | 397 | 212 | 285 | 297 | 384 | 297 | 302 | 295 |
| Free cash flow | 163 | 289 | 314 | 280 | 228 | 267 | 356 | 333 | 237 | 320 | 394 | 286 | 172 | 329 | 353 | 380 | 173 | 249 | 431 | 397 |
| Buybacks | 33.4 | 425 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 0.0 | n/a | 0.0 | 0.4 | 442 | 63.3 | 284 | 331 | 330 |
| Dividends paid | 59.4 | 59.4 | 59.4 | 58.9 | 65.3 | 65.8 | 65.4 | 65.7 | 73.8 | 73.6 | 73.7 | 74.0 | 81.0 | 81.5 | 81.5 | 81.0 | 89.9 | 88.7 | 88.4 | 88.4 |
| Shares outstanding | 260m | 257m | 257m | 257m | 257m | 257m | 258m | 258m | 258m | 258m | 258m | 258m | 258m | 258m | 258m | 256m | 256m | 254m | 252m | 250m |
| Filing | 10-K | 10-Q | 10-Q | 10-Q | 10-K | 10-Q | 10-Q | 10-Q | 10-K | 10-Q | 10-Q | 10-Q | 10-K | 10-Q | 10-Q | 10-Q | 10-K | 10-Q | 10-Q | 10-Q |
Each quarter as filed, linked to its filing.
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* The fourth quarter is the full year less the first three quarters, because the company files the year and not the quarter on its own. A fourth quarter's EPS, and its diluted share count where shown, are from the company's results press release for that quarter, checked against the company's filed figures or a second data source. Money is in $ million as the company files it, or in $ billion by the switch above the tables; per share figures and the share count are as they are. Free cash flow is operating cash flow less capital expenditure; the effective tax rate is income tax over pre-tax income; margins are the line over revenue. Gross profit is revenue less cost of revenue, and operating income is revenue less the company's own total costs, where the statement does not print those lines. Cash flow lines filed year to date are the difference between two filings. Shares outstanding are at the period end where the balance sheet tags them, otherwise the count on the filing's cover page. A derived fourth-quarter EPS is left blank when a split in the year makes the arithmetic meaningless.10-Q for the period ended 30 September 2026, filed 22 October 2026: the filing.