Free cash flow
Waste Connections Free cash flow increased by 44.3% to $249.00M in Q1 2026 compared to the prior quarter. Year-over-year, this metric declined by 24.3%, from $329.08M to $249.00M. Over 4 years (FY 2021 to FY 2025), Free cash flow shows an upward trend with a 6.7% CAGR. This is a positive signal — higher values indicate stronger performance for this metric.
Analysis
How to read this metric
An increase suggests strong operational efficiency and the ability to self-fund future innovation or return capital to shareholders, while a decrease may indicate heavy capital expenditure cycles or declining operational profitability.
Detailed definition
Free cash flow represents the cash generated by a company after accounting for cash outflows to support operations and m...
Peer comparison
High-growth semiconductor and AI infrastructure peers typically prioritize reinvestment, so free cash flow margins are often compared against R&D intensity and capital expenditure requirements of industry rivals.
free_cash_flowHistorical Data
| Q2 '21 | Q3 '21 | Q4 '21 | Q1 '22 | Q2 '22 | Q3 '22 | Q4 '22 | Q1 '23 | Q2 '23 | Q3 '23 | Q4 '23 | Q1 '24 | Q2 '24 | Q3 '24 | Q4 '24 | Q1 '25 | Q2 '25 | Q3 '25 | Q4 '25 | Q1 '26 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $273.48M | $213.40M | $163.43M | $288.58M | $313.67M | $279.57M | $227.99M | $266.57M | $356.00M | $332.75M | $237.50M | $320.36M | $394.16M | $286.18M | $172.24M | $329.08M | $352.89M | $380.28M | $172.59M | $249.00M |
| QoQ Change | — | -22.0% | -23.4% | +76.6% | +8.7% | -10.9% | -18.5% | +16.9% | +33.5% | -6.5% | -28.6% | +34.9% | +23.0% | -27.4% | -39.8% | +91.1% | +7.2% | +7.8% | -54.6% | +44.3% |
| YoY Change | — | — | — | — | +14.7% | +31.0% | +39.5% | -7.6% | +13.5% | +19.0% | +4.2% | +20.2% | +10.7% | -14.0% | -27.5% | +2.7% | -10.5% | +32.9% | +0.2% | -24.3% |
Free cash flow at Other Companies
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is Waste Connections's free cash flow?
- Waste Connections (WCN) reported free cash flow of $249.00M in Q1 2026.
- How has Waste Connections's free cash flow changed year-over-year?
- Waste Connections's free cash flow decreased by 24.3% year-over-year, from $329.08M to $249.00M.
- What is the long-term trend for Waste Connections's free cash flow?
- Over 4 years (2021 to 2025), Waste Connections's free cash flow has grown at a 6.7% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), from $953.91M to $1.23B.
- What does free cash flow mean?
- The cash a company has left over after paying for its operating expenses and capital investments.