{"id":20097,"date":"2023-08-31T23:56:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-31T15:56:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/?p=20097"},"modified":"2025-11-23T10:44:33","modified_gmt":"2025-11-23T02:44:33","slug":"waste-management-wm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2023\/08\/31\/waste-management-wm\/","title":{"rendered":"Quasi-monopoly Waste Management (WM)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_82_2 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #ffffff;color:#ffffff\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #ffffff;color:#ffffff\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2023\/08\/31\/waste-management-wm\/#My_book_contents_related_to_Waste_Management\" >My book contents related to Waste Management<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2023\/08\/31\/waste-management-wm\/#The_most_famous_shareholder\" >The most famous shareholder<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2023\/08\/31\/waste-management-wm\/#Company_Profile\" >Company Profile<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2023\/08\/31\/waste-management-wm\/#Not_just_waste_management\" >Not just waste management<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2023\/08\/31\/waste-management-wm\/#Dirty_trash_is_profitable\" >Dirty trash is profitable<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2023\/08\/31\/waste-management-wm\/#Only_two_other_smaller_contenders\" >Only two other smaller contenders<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2023\/08\/31\/waste-management-wm\/#Moats\" >Moats<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2023\/08\/31\/waste-management-wm\/#Business_is_sustainable\" >Business is sustainable<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2023\/08\/31\/waste-management-wm\/#Barrier_to_entry_is_high\" >Barrier to entry is high<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2023\/08\/31\/waste-management-wm\/#Related_businesses_are_also_profitable\" >Related businesses are also profitable<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2023\/08\/31\/waste-management-wm\/#Licenses_are_highly_regulated\" >Licenses are highly regulated<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2023\/08\/31\/waste-management-wm\/#Services_provided_by_WM\" >Services provided by WM<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-13\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2023\/08\/31\/waste-management-wm\/#Waste_removal\" >Waste removal<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-14\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2023\/08\/31\/waste-management-wm\/#Green_recycling\" >Green recycling<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-15\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2023\/08\/31\/waste-management-wm\/#Methane_separation\" >Methane separation<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-16\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2023\/08\/31\/waste-management-wm\/#Tax_incentives\" >Tax incentives<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-17\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2023\/08\/31\/waste-management-wm\/#Business\" >Business<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-18\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2023\/08\/31\/waste-management-wm\/#Performance\" >Performance<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-19\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2023\/08\/31\/waste-management-wm\/#Business_cant_go_away\" >Business can&#8217;t go away<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-20\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2023\/08\/31\/waste-management-wm\/#Future_outlook\" >Future outlook<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-21\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2023\/08\/31\/waste-management-wm\/#Capital_market_performance\" >Capital market performance<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-22\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2023\/08\/31\/waste-management-wm\/#Government_favour\" >Government favour<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-23\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2023\/08\/31\/waste-management-wm\/#Share_price_performance\" >Share price performance<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-24\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2023\/08\/31\/waste-management-wm\/#Dividend\" >Dividend<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-25\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2023\/08\/31\/waste-management-wm\/#Valuation_is_not_cheap\" >Valuation is not cheap<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-26\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2023\/08\/31\/waste-management-wm\/#Conclusion\" >Conclusion<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-27\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2023\/08\/31\/waste-management-wm\/#Related_articles\" >Related articles<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"My_book_contents_related_to_Waste_Management\"><\/span>My book contents related to Waste Management<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>I have introduced the company<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Waste_management\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> Waste Management (<\/a>ticker: WM) in my book, and the content in the book will not be repeated. Investors are invited to refer to me at:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The introduction on page 179 in the 3-8 subsections of the book <a href=\"https:\/\/www.books.com.tw\/products\/0010935641?sloc=main\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">&#8220;The Rules of 10 Baggers<\/a>&#8220;.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Introduction on pages 120-121 in the 2-3 subsections of the book &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.books.com.tw\/products\/0010889106?sloc=main\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Rules of Super Growth Stocks Investing<\/a>&#8220;.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_most_famous_shareholder\"><\/span>The most famous shareholder<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>As of August 2024, 83% of the $48 billion portfolio of billionaire Bill Gates&#8217; Bill Gates Trust is invested in 4 stocks. The Bill Gates Trust holds more than 35 million shares of Waste Management shares, valued at $7.3 billion. It is his third largest holding, accounting for 16% of the total investment portfolio of the Bill Gates Trust Fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Company_Profile\"><\/span>Company Profile<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Not_just_waste_management\"><\/span>Not just waste management<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Waste Management is a quasi-monopoly that recently changed its name to WM because it is now more than just a fledgling waste management company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Dirty_trash_is_profitable\"><\/span>Dirty trash is profitable<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>So what does garbage have to attract investors? Peter Lynch said in his book &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2021\/06\/05\/one-up-on-wall-street\/\">&#8220;One Up on Wall Street&#8221;, Peter Lynch&#8217;s great book for investing newbie<\/a>&#8220;: Most people hate dirty, but as an investor, you should like it; because the dirtier the business looks, , the more profitable it is!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Only_two_other_smaller_contenders\"><\/span>Only two other smaller contenders<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Trash will not disappear in our society. Waste Management is one of the only major waste disposal companies in the United States. Republic Services (ticker: RSG) is the second largest in the industry, Waste Connections (ticker: WCN)  is the third, that&#8217;s all, other players are small, like Clean Harbors (ticker: CLH),  and can be ignored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Moats\"><\/span>Moats<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Business_is_sustainable\"><\/span>Business is sustainable<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Earning steady and predictable profits from businesses involving landfills, renewable energy tax credits are sustainable business income. Sustainability businesses are also complementary and profitable when commodity prices are low or when economic conditions are bad, such as now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Barrier_to_entry_is_high\"><\/span>Barrier to entry is high<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>That&#8217;s because they control America&#8217;s landfills. I would say that Waste Management has about 260 landfills and 340 transfer stations across the country. The biggest competitor, Republic, has 206.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Related_businesses_are_also_profitable\"><\/span>Related businesses are also profitable<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>So they control the business, and as I said, we&#8217;re producing as much trash as we&#8217;ve ever been, and even recyclables are a big part of the business. So ownership of these landfills is really a barrier to entry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Licenses_are_highly_regulated\"><\/span>Licenses are highly regulated<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s a highly regulated industry in the sense that anything to do with waste, trash or recycling has regulations, but isn&#8217;t protected by those regulations. You do need a permit for these landfills, and they&#8217;re not handed out like candy anymore. Therefore, their influence in this field has been very deep-rooted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Services_provided_by_WM\"><\/span>Services provided by WM<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Waste_removal\"><\/span>Waste removal<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>This is also understandable to most people. The most primitive service provided by WM when it was founded\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500that is, general garbage removal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Green_recycling\"><\/span>Green recycling<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reuse materials are making it more profitable to extract energy from landfills and sift green-economy hot commodities like detergent bottles and cardboard boxes from trash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;In the past, cardboard might have been mixed with waste paper. Now we can sort out more of this cardboard and pack it specifically, and the price of cardboard is much higher than that of waste paper.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>WM said the value of the mixed commodity produced at its automated material recycling facility was up around 15% per tonne. The machines not only recycle more and more valuable stuff, but the recovered material is cleaner and can be sold at a higher price than mixed paper, the company says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Methane_separation\"><\/span>Methane separation<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>WM and Republic are building plants to separate methane from decaying garbage emissions and introduce it into the natural gas grid to be burned in power plants, furnaces and kitchens. They&#8217;re also equipping recycling facilities with the latest automation to better sort and process materials for consumer-goods companies that are under pressure to keep their packaging out of landfills and oceans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Landfill gas production will increase eightfold and is expected to generate an additional earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of more than $500 million by the end of 2026, WM said. The actual fuel sells for $2.50, which is about the same price as recent gas from geological wells. The other is an expected $23.50 payment premium through renewable energy tax credits, which is in line with recent deals, according to energy information firm Platts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Tax_incentives\"><\/span>Tax incentives<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Landfill owners predict hundreds of millions of dollars in additional profits due to increased demand for recycled materials and tax incentives to generate energy from emissions that would otherwise enter the atmosphere. None of the company&#8217;s business outlooks announced so far have taken into account the at least $250 million in tax breaks WM expects to receive for building a new waste gasification plant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Business\"><\/span>Business<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Performance\"><\/span>Performance<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>They generated $20 billion in revenue, $3 billion in operating income.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Business_cant_go_away\"><\/span>Business can&#8217;t go away<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>This is a relatively safe investment. It&#8217;s a relatively recession-resistant business because even in the center of the pandemic, we&#8217;re still producing a lot of waste, not that much because people aren&#8217;t in the office, they&#8217;re in the office. Commercial business is tough. But it&#8217;s relatively recession-resistant because in good times and bad, we&#8217;re still producing all the waste that needs to be collected, transported, and disposed of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Future_outlook\"><\/span>Future outlook<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>WM, which operates more than 250 landfills, is in its second year of a four-year plan to spend $1.2 billion to add 20 waste gasification plants and spend $1 billion to expand and automate its recycling operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The company expects the new and upgraded facility to increase its recycling of reusable materials by 25% by 2025. Letting the machines dry to dispose of trash and unsavory messes would also reduce labor costs, the management team said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Capital_market_performance\"><\/span>Capital market performance <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Government_favour\"><\/span>Government favour<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Since U.S. President Joe Biden (Joe Biden) signed a package of bills involving climate change, taxation and health care in August 2022, the stock prices of WM and Republic Services, the largest companies in the U.S. waste disposal industry, have hit record highs in the first half of 2023. reached a record high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Share_price_performance\"><\/span>Share price performance<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Shares of Waste Management have soared about 95% over the past five years. That&#8217;s a pretty good number for a utility company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Dividend\"><\/span>Dividend<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Waste Management has increased its dividend for 17 years in a row, and it&#8217;s currently yielding about 1.7%, which isn&#8217;t astronomical. That&#8217;s probably the average yield for the S&amp;P 500 right now, but it&#8217;s still pretty good, and as I said, they increase their dividend every year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Valuation_is_not_cheap\"><\/span>Valuation is not cheap<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>So it&#8217;s a very interesting company, not as cheap as some of the other utilities we mentioned, this trades at about 27 times Republic Services&#8217; forward earnings and 26 times forward earnings. So just be together. As a result, the price has seen some growth again, trading at a premium to the S&amp;P 500. Overall, this is a fantastic business that will remain consistent over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Conclusion\"><\/span>Conclusion<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Remember, Waste Management is not just a waste management company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"157\" height=\"49\" src=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/05\/wm.jpg\" alt=\"Waste Management\" class=\"wp-image-20098\" style=\"width:157px;height:49px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">credit: Waste Management<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Related_articles\"><\/span>Related articles<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2023\/08\/31\/waste-management-wm\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Quasi-monopoly Waste Management (WM)<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2025\/05\/15\/oligopoly-enterprise\/\">The world&#8217;s most well-known oligopoly companies<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2023\/01\/18\/nextera-energy\/\">How does Renewable Energy Giant NextEra Energy make money?<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/07\/29\/american-water-works\/\">How does American Water Works make money?<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2021\/06\/05\/one-up-on-wall-street\/\">&#8220;One Up on Wall Street&#8221;, Peter Lynch&#8217;s great book for investing newbie<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2025\/11\/22\/bet-on-dominant-player\/\">Bet on dominant player, don&#8217;t predict<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2025\/05\/15\/oligopoly-enterprise\/\">The world&#8217;s most well-known oligopoly companies<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/09\/13\/there-are-indeed-monopoly\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">There are indeed monopoly in this world<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2023\/03\/08\/monopolies-or-oligopolies\/\">How do monopolies or oligopolies work in the real world?<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2023\/02\/23\/industries-with-moat\/\">Industries with moat and going downhill<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2021\/06\/08\/tech-antitrust-governance\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Antitrust and governance faced by Chinese and American technology giants<\/a>\uff02<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2021\/05\/21\/how-should-investors-view-companies-being-included-in-the-antitrust-investigation-list\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Investors should not afraid of antitrust investigation on your holdings<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>Disclaimer<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>The content of this site is the author\u2019s personal opinions and is for reference only. I am not responsible for the correctness, opinions, and immediacy of the content and information of the article. Readers must make their own judgments.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>I shall not be liable for any damages or other legal liabilities for the direct or indirect losses caused by the readers&#8217; direct or indirect reliance on and reference to the information on this site, or all the responsibilities arising therefrom, as a result of any investment behavior.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Waste Management is a quasi-monopoly that recently changed its name to WM<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20098,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[479,490,43],"tags":[1360,995,994,996],"class_list":["post-20097","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-utility","category-entry-barrier","category-peter-lynch","tag-clh","tag-rsg","tag-wcn","tag-wm"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20097","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20097"}],"version-history":[{"count":27,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20097\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40146,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20097\/revisions\/40146"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20098"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20097"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20097"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20097"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}