Waste Management management check
WM · Industrials · Environmental & Facilities Services · CEO Mr. James C. Fish, Jr.
Filings as of
3 good · 3 to watch · 0 flagged, across the seven questions below.
- Good
Have owners done well?
Beat its chosen peers$100 invested at the start of fiscal 2021 grew to $202, against $196 for the peer group the company picked itself.
- Watch
Does pay follow performance?
Pay only loosely tracked returnsOver 5 years, the CEO's pay actually paid (equity valued at the share price) had a correlation of 0.00 with shareholder return. 1 means pay moved in step; below 0, the opposite way.
- Good
What does the CEO cost owners?
0.7% of net income$19.0m of reported pay in fiscal 2025, against $2.7bn of net income.
- n/a
Do they own the stock?
No recent CEO filingLight activity: no buys, $885k sold in six months.
- Good
Are owners being diluted?
Share count shrinkingDiluted shares changed -0.3% a year over the last three fiscal years. Stock-based pay was 0.7% of revenue in the latest year.
- Watch
Is leadership stable?
10 leadership filings in 3 yearsCEO in the pay table: Mr. James C. Fish, Jr.. 10 filings under 8-K item 5.02 (officers or directors leaving or joining, or new pay arrangements) in the last 3 years.
- Watch
Are the books clean?
An annual report was amendedNo restatements, auditor changes or late filings since 2021. 1 amended annual report.
Against the S&P 500
Each check's score (0–100) and how it compares: the share of ranked S&P 500 companies it matches or beats, and the median in Industrials.
| Check | Score | At or above | Sector median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner returns | 54 | 55 | |
| Pay for performance | 50 | 86 | |
| CEO cost | 63 | 48 | |
| Skin in the game | — | — | 55 |
| Dilution | 54 | 62 | |
| Stable leadership | 75 | 75 | |
| Clean books | 70 | 100 |
Closest peers
Others in Environmental & Facilities Services, by management score. Waste Management is 57th of 81 in its sector.
- 262RSGRepublic Services64
- 299ADPAutomatic Data Processing61
- 300WMWaste Management61
- 305ITWIllinois Tool Works61
- 336VLTOVeralto59
- 370ROLRollins, Inc.56
Pay versus performance
From the proxy statement filed March 31, 2026. "Actually paid" values stock awards at the share price, so it rises and falls with the stock.
| Fiscal year | CEO | CEO pay | Actually paid | Other executives (avg) | $100 became | Peers | Net income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Mr. James C. Fish, Jr. | $19.0m | $27.5m | $4.9m | $202 | $196 | $2.7bn |
| 2024 | — | $17.1m | $24.5m | $4.9m | $182 | $186 | $2.7bn |
| 2023 | — | $14.6m | $26.6m | $4.0m | $160 | $156 | $2.3bn |
| 2022 | — | $14.8m | $13.0m | $5.2m | $137 | $132 | $2.2bn |
| 2021 | — | $13.1m | $44.3m | $3.6m | $144 | $140 | $1.8bn |
The board says pay is tied most to Operating EBITDA. Its other key measures: TSR Relative to the S&P 500, Cash Flow Generation, Margin Performance Measure, Internal Revenue Growth.
Insiders and the CEO's stake
Light activity: no buys, $885k sold in six months.
- SoldRafael CarrascoSVP of Enterprise Strategy$585kJun 5, 2026
- SoldJohn A. CarrollVP & Chief Accounting Officer$300kSep 4, 2026
Leadership and governance on file
- Aug 26, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 13, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Mar 13, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Mar 6, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Aug 27, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Aug 22, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 14, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Feb 28, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Mar 6, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Mar 1, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 10, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Mar 10, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
Latest shareholder vote results: May 14, 2026, including the say-on-pay vote.
Where the money went
Over 2021–2025: $10.1bn returned to owners in buybacks and dividends, 86% of net income, and $572.0m of pay in stock.
| Fiscal year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $17.9bn | $19.7bn | $20.4bn | $22.1bn | $25.2bn |
| Net income | $1.8bn | $2.2bn | $2.3bn | $2.7bn | $2.7bn |
| Stock-based pay | $108.0m | $84.0m | $93.0m | $118.0m | $169.0m |
| Buybacks | $1.4bn | $1.5bn | $1.3bn | $262.0m | — |
| Dividends | $970.0m | $1.1bn | $1.1bn | $1.2bn | $1.3bn |
| Diluted shares | 423m | 415m | 407m | 403m | 404m |
Educational only, not investment advice. Figures are as filed with the SEC: pay from the proxy's pay-versus-performance table, capital allocation from 10-K XBRL data, insider trades from Form 4s over the last six months, events from the last 5 years of filings. The peer group is the one the company chose. See the method.