GURUFOCUS.COM » STOCK LIST » Industrials » Waste Management » Waste Management Inc (NYSE:WM) » Definitions » Altman Z-Score

Waste Management (Waste Management) Altman Z-Score

: 3.49 (As of Today)
View and export this data going back to 1991. Start your Free Trial

The Altman Z-Score is a model designed to predict the likelihood of a company going bankrupt within the next two years. Created by American finance professor Edward Altman in 1968, the model is specifically designed for publicly traded manufacturing companies with assets greater than $1 million.

Good Sign:

Altman Z-score of 3.48 is strong.

Waste Management has a Altman Z-Score of 3.49, indicating it is in Safe Zones. This implies the Altman Z-Score is strong.

The zones of discrimination were as such:

When Altman Z-Score <= 1.8, it is in Distress Zones.
When Altman Z-Score >= 3, it is in Safe Zones.
When Altman Z-Score is between 1.8 and 3, it is in Grey Zones.

The historical rank and industry rank for Waste Management's Altman Z-Score or its related term are showing as below:

WM' s Altman Z-Score Range Over the Past 10 Years
Min: 2.29   Med: 2.96   Max: 3.48
Current: 3.48

During the past 13 years, Waste Management's highest Altman Z-Score was 3.48. The lowest was 2.29. And the median was 2.96.


Waste Management Altman Z-Score Historical Data

The historical data trend for Waste Management's Altman Z-Score can be seen below:

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.

* Premium members only.

Waste Management Annual Data
Trend Dec14 Dec15 Dec16 Dec17 Dec18 Dec19 Dec20 Dec21 Dec22 Dec23
Altman Z-Score
Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only 2.93 2.68 3.36 3.10 3.24

Waste Management Quarterly Data
Mar19 Jun19 Sep19 Dec19 Mar20 Jun20 Sep20 Dec20 Mar21 Jun21 Sep21 Dec21 Mar22 Jun22 Sep22 Dec22 Mar23 Jun23 Sep23 Dec23
Altman Z-Score Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only 3.10 3.20 3.28 3.06 3.24

Competitive Comparison

For the Waste Management subindustry, Waste Management's Altman Z-Score, along with its competitors' market caps and Altman Z-Score data, can be viewed below:

* Competitive companies are chosen from companies within the same industry, with headquarter located in same country, with closest market capitalization; x-axis shows the market cap, and y-axis shows the term value; the bigger the dot, the larger the market cap. Note that "N/A" values will not show up in the chart.


Waste Management Altman Z-Score Distribution

For the Waste Management industry and Industrials sector, Waste Management's Altman Z-Score distribution charts can be found below:

* The bar in red indicates where Waste Management's Altman Z-Score falls into.



Waste Management Altman Z-Score Calculation

Altman Z-Score model is an accurate forecaster of failure up to two years prior to distress. It can be considered the assessment of the distress of industrial corporations.

Waste Management's Altman Z-Score for today is calculated with this formula:

Z=1.2*X1+1.4*X2+3.3*X3+0.6*X4+1.0*X5
=1.2*-0.0129+1.4*0.4367+3.3*0.1073+0.6*3.2019+1.0*0.6223
=3.49

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency. GuruFocus does not calculate Altman Z-Score when X4 or X5 value is 0.

Trailing Twelve Months (TTM) ended in Dec. 2023:
Total Assets was $32,823 Mil.
Total Current Assets was $3,804 Mil.
Total Current Liabilities was $4,226 Mil.
Retained Earnings was $14,334 Mil.
Pre-Tax Income was 644 + 872 + 809 + 696 = $3,021 Mil.
Interest Expense was -128 + -127 + -125 + -120 = $-500 Mil.
Revenue was 5217 + 5198 + 5119 + 4892 = $20,426 Mil.
Market Cap (Today) was $83,016 Mil.
Total Liabilities was $25,927 Mil.

* Note that for stock reported semi-annually or annually, GuruFocus uses latest annual data as the TTM data.

X1=Working Capital/Total Assets
=(Total Current Assets - Total Current Liabilities)/Total Assets
=(3804 - 4226)/32823
=-0.0129

X2=Retained Earnings/Total Assets
=14334/32823
=0.4367

X3=Earnings Before Interest and Taxes/Total Assets
=(Pre-Tax Income - Interest Expense)/Total Assets
=(3021 - -500)/32823
=0.1073

X4=Market Value Equity/Book Value of Total Liabilities
=Market Cap/Total Liabilities
=83016.221/25927
=3.2019

X5=Revenue/Total Assets
=20426/32823
=0.6223

The zones of discrimination were as such:

Distress Zones - 1.81 < Grey Zones < 2.99 - Safe Zones

Waste Management has a Altman Z-Score of 3.49 indicating it is in Safe Zones.

Study by Altman found that companies that are in Distress Zone have more than 80% of chances of bankruptcy in two years.


Waste Management  (NYSE:WM) Altman Z-Score Explanation

X1: The Working Capital/Total Assets (WC/TA) ratio is a measure of the net liquid assets of the firm relative to the total capitalization. Working capital is defined as the difference between current assets and current liabilities. Ordinarily, a firm experiencing consistent operating losses will have shrinking current assets in relation to total assets. Altman found this one proved to be the most valuable liquidity ratio comparing with the current ratio and the quick ratio. This is however the least significant of the five factors.

X2: Retained Earnings/Total Assets: the RE/TA ratio measures the leverage of a firm. Retained earnings is the account which reports the total amount of reinvested earnings and/or losses of a firm over its entire life. Those firms with high RE, relative to TA, have financed their assets through retention of profits and have not utilized as much debt.

X3, Earnings Before Interest and Taxes/Total Assets (EBIT/TA): This ratio is a measure of the true productivity of the firm's assets, independent of any tax or leverage factors. Since a firm's ultimate existence is based on the earning power of its assets, this ratio appears to be particularly appropriate for studies dealing with corporate failure. This ratio continually outperforms other profitability measures, including cash flow.

X4, Market Value of Equity/Book Value of Total Liabilities (MVE/TL): The measure shows how much the firm's assets can decline in value (measured by market value of equity plus debt) before the liabilities exceed the assets and the firm becomes insolvent.

X5, Revenue/Total Assets (S/TA): The capital-turnover ratio is a standard financial ratio illustrating the sales generating ability of the firm's assets.

Read more about Altman Z-Score and the original research.


Be Aware

Altman Z-Score does not apply to financial companies.


Waste Management Altman Z-Score Related Terms

Thank you for viewing the detailed overview of Waste Management's Altman Z-Score provided by GuruFocus.com. Please click on the following links to see related term pages.


Waste Management (Waste Management) Business Description

Address
800 Capitol Street, Suite 3000, Houston, TX, USA, 77002
WM ranks as the largest integrated provider of traditional solid waste services in the United States, operating 259 active landfills and about 337 transfer stations. The company serves residential, commercial, and industrial end markets and is also a leading recycler in North America.
Executives
Charles C Boettcher officer: Sr VP Chief Legal Officer 800 CAPITOL STREET 3000, HOUSTON TX 77002
Fish James C Jr officer: SVP, Eastern Group 800 CAPITOL STREET 3000, HOUSTON TX 77002
John C Pope director 810 S. RIDGE RD, LAKE FOREST IL 60045
John A. Carroll officer: VP & Chief Accounting Officer 800 CAPITOL STREET 3000, HOUSTON TX 77002
Tara J. Hmmer officer: SVP Operat Safety Envir Compl 800 CAPITOL STREET 3000, HOUSTON X1 77002
Michael J. Watson officer: Sr. VP-Chief Customer Officer 800 CAPITOL STREET 3000, HOUSTON TX 77002
Christopher P. Desantis officer: SVP Operations - East 800 CAPITOL STREET 3000, HOUSTON TX 77002
Bruce E. Chinn director 800 CAPITOL STREET 3000, HOUSTON TX 77002
John J Morris officer: Chief Strategy Officer 800 CAPITOL STREET 3000, HOUSTON TX 77002
Devina A Rankin officer: VP & Treasurer 800 CAPITOL STREET 3000, HOUSTON TX 77002
Rafael Carrasco officer: SVP Operations 800 CAPITOL STREET 3000, HOUSTON TX 77002
Kelly C. Rooney officer: SVP Chief People Officer 800 CAPITOL STREET #3000, HOUSTON TX 77002
Leslie K Nagy officer: VP & Chief Accounting Officer 5 GREENWAY PLAZA, SUITE 100, HOUSTON TX 77046
Donald J Smith officer: Sr. VP - Operations 800 CAPITOL STREET 3000, HOUSTON TX 77002
Nikolaj H Sjoqvist officer: SVP, Chief Digital Officer 800 CAPITOL STREET 3000, HOUSTON X1 77002