Free cash flow
Waste Management Free cash flow increased by 5.1% to $851.00M in Q1 2026 compared to the prior quarter. Year-over-year, this metric grew by 125.7%, from $377.00M to $851.00M. Over 4 years (FY 2021 to FY 2025), Free cash flow shows an upward trend with a 3.7% 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.
cf_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 | $647.00M | $720.00M | $217.00M | $840.00M | $497.00M | $425.00M | $187.00M | $384.00M | $510.00M | $590.00M | $340.00M | $699.00M | $487.00M | $577.00M | $396.00M | $377.00M | $813.00M | $816.00M | $810.00M | $851.00M |
| QoQ Change | — | +11.3% | -69.9% | +287.1% | -40.8% | -14.5% | -56.0% | +105.3% | +32.8% | +15.7% | -42.4% | +105.6% | -30.3% | +18.5% | -31.4% | -4.8% | +115.6% | +0.4% | -0.7% | +5.1% |
| YoY Change | — | — | — | — | -23.2% | -41.0% | -13.8% | -54.3% | +2.6% | +38.8% | +81.8% | +82.0% | -4.5% | -2.2% | +16.5% | -46.1% | +66.9% | +41.4% | +104.5% | +125.7% |
Free cash flow at Other Companies
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is Waste Management's free cash flow?
- Waste Management (WM) reported free cash flow of $851.00M in Q1 2026.
- How has Waste Management's free cash flow changed year-over-year?
- Waste Management's free cash flow increased by 125.7% year-over-year, from $377.00M to $851.00M.
- What is the long-term trend for Waste Management's free cash flow?
- Over 4 years (2021 to 2025), Waste Management's free cash flow has grown at a 3.7% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), from $2.43B to $2.82B.
- What does free cash flow mean?
- The cash a company has left over after paying for its operating expenses and capital investments.