Casella Waste Systems

CWST · Nasdaq · Industrials · Financials, fiscal 2016 to 2025

CWST · Last close · November 6, 2026

$98.21

Casella Waste Systems' revenue rose 17.9% to $1.8 billion in fiscal 2025. Its operating margin was 3.5%, down from 4.7% a year earlier. Free cash flow was $85 million, up 8.4%. The diluted share count rose 6.5%.

CASELLA WASTE SYSTEMS, INC. Latest fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 10-K filed February 20, 2026 · 0000911177-26-000008 Updated November 5, 2026

Revenue

$1.8B

17.9%

Operating margin

3.5%

1.2 pts

Net income

$8M

41.9%

Free cash flow

$85M

8.4%

Return on capital

1.6%

0.7 pts

Market cap

$6.3B

Nov 6 close

P/E

—

Over 200x

Operating margin is operating income as a share of revenue. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending. Return on capital is after-tax operating income as a share of the money invested in the business: debt plus equity, minus cash. Market cap is the last closing share price times the latest diluted share count, so it is approximate. P/E is the last close divided by diluted earnings per share over the last four quarters, or the latest fiscal year where the quarters aren't available; there is none when the company made a loss.

Charts show fiscal years, from the 10-K filings.

What Casella Waste Systems does

Casella Waste Systems is a regional waste company based in Rutland, Vermont. It collects, transfers, recycles and disposes of solid waste for homes, businesses, towns, institutions and industrial customers. It also runs organics services and operates landfills. It works in eleven states in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, from Maine to West Virginia.

Casella manages its waste operations in three regions: Eastern, Western and Mid-Atlantic. A fourth segment, Resource Solutions, handles materials processing, industrial recycling and organics for larger customers with more varied waste and recycling needs. Corporate functions such as legal, tax and information technology make up a fifth segment. It earns money from collection fees, disposal and transfer fees, and sales of recycled materials.

Growth by acquisition is a major part of its strategy. It closed nine acquisitions in 2025, mostly in the Mid-Atlantic region, and on January 1, 2026 it closed the purchase of RGL, Inc. It says it faces substantial competition in solid waste services.

Its biggest risks, as it describes them

Competition in solid waste services, including disruptive new waste technologies.
Struggling to get or keep permits, or to expand the permitted capacity of its landfills.
Rising diesel fuel prices or shortages, and swings in the prices it gets for recycled materials.
Rising costs and lawsuits linked to PFAS and other emerging contaminants.
Its operations being concentrated in a few regions, so a regional downturn hits harder.

From Casella Waste Systems's annual report on Form 10-K, filed February 20, 2026, in our words; the 10-K has the full description and every risk factor. Updated with each new annual report.

Income statement

Revenue and net income

US$ billions, fiscal years; net losses in red. Revenue on the left axis, net income on the right; zero is the same line on both.

Revenue (left axis)Net income (right axis)

Gross profit, R&D and operating income

US$ billions, fiscal years. Gross profit is revenue minus the cost of what was sold; research and development is one of the costs paid from it; what remains after all operating costs is operating income. Losses in red.

Gross profitResearch and developmentOperating income

Margins

Percent of revenue

GrossOperatingNetFree cash flow

From fiscal 2018 to 2025, earnings per share fell 3.1% a year and net income grew 3.1% a year, as new shares raised the share count by 44% and diluted each share's earnings.

Diluted earnings per share

US$ per share, fiscal years, restated for any stock splits; loss years in red.

Returns on capital

Return on capital and on equity

Percent. Return on capital is after-tax operating income over the money invested in the business (debt plus equity, minus cash); return on equity is net income over shareholders' equity. Both use the average of opening and closing balances.

Return on capitalReturn on equity

Balance sheet

Cash and debt

US$ billions, at each fiscal year end. Debt includes finance leases.

Cash and short-term investmentsDebt

Assets, liabilities and equity

US$ billions, at each fiscal year end. Assets equal liabilities plus equity; negative equity in red.

Total assetsTotal liabilitiesShareholders' equity

Debt and liquidity ratios

Times. Debt to equity, current assets over current liabilities, and net debt over EBITDA (a full year's).

Debt to equityCurrent ratioNet debt to EBITDA

Five years at a glance

Fiscal year end	FY21	FY22	FY23	FY24	FY25
Cash and short-term investments	34	71	221	383	124
Debt incl. finance leases	552	594	1,043	1,133	1,155
Net debt (negative means net cash)	519	523	823	750	1,031
Net debt to EBITDA	2.9x	2.4x	3.3x	2.4x	2.8x
Debt to equity	1.3x	1.2x	1.0x	0.7x	0.7x
Interest coverage	3.7x	4.0x	1.7x	1.2x	1.0x
Current ratio	1.0x	1.2x	1.5x	2.0x	1.3x
Quick ratio	1.0x	1.2x	1.5x	2.0x	1.3x

US$ millions unless stated, at each fiscal year end. Net debt to EBITDA is debt minus cash, divided by operating income before depreciation and amortization: roughly how many years of those earnings the net debt equals. Debt to equity is debt as a multiple of shareholders' equity. Interest coverage is operating income divided by interest expense. The current ratio is current assets over current liabilities; the quick ratio leaves out inventory.

Cash flow

Cash from operations, capital spending and free cash flow

US$ billions, fiscal years. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending; negative years in red.

Cash from operationsCapital spendingFree cash flow

Stock-based compensation and buybacks

US$ billions, fiscal years. Shares paid to employees (stock-based compensation, a cost that uses no cash) against cash spent buying shares back. Buybacks that only match it leave the share count roughly where it was.

Stock-based compensationShare buybacks

Dividends and buybacks

US$ billions, cash paid in each fiscal year

DividendsShare buybacks

Diluted share count

Weighted-average diluted shares, millions

Projections

Project Casella Waste Systems' revenue, net income and earnings per share five years ahead in a bull, a base and a bear case with your own figures, and see the share prices your P/E estimates give them, or value it with a discounted cash flow model. Every projected figure is yours: it is not a forecast of ours.

Open Casella Waste Systems' projections

Insider trades

Over the 12 months between November 7, 2025 and November 6, 2026, no insider bought Casella Waste Systems shares on the open market, and 8 insiders sold $5.5 million, $500,616 of it under trading plans set up in advance.

Buys and sells by month

US$ millions, open-market purchases (up) and sales (down) by officers, directors and 10% owners in each month.

BoughtSold

Date	Insider	Trade	Shares	Price	Value	Filing
Sep 3, 2026	Michael K BurkeDirector	Sold	1,100	$95.26	$104,786	Form 4
Aug 26, 2026	Michael K BurkeDirector	Sold	1,100	$92.99	$102,289	Form 4
Aug 14, 2026	Douglas R CasellaVice Chairman, Bd of Directors, Director	Sold	1,343	$91.12	$122,374	Form 4
Aug 13, 2026	Douglas R CasellaVice Chairman, Bd of Directors, Director	Sold	15,157	$91.05	$1.4 million	Form 4
May 26, 2026	Michael K BurkeDirector	Sold	2,305	$87.56	$201,826	Form 4
May 19, 2026	Edmond ColettaPresident & CEO	Sold	12,500	$89.56	$1.1 million	Form 4
Mar 16, 2026	John W CasellaDirector	Sold plan	1,744	$87.77	$153,071	Form 4
Mar 16, 2026	Edmond ColettaPresident & CEO	Sold plan	988	$87.81	$86,756	Form 4
Mar 16, 2026	Bradford John HelgesonExecutive VP and CFO	Sold plan	405	$87.73	$35,531	Form 4
Mar 16, 2026	Shelley E. SaywardSenior VP & General Counsel	Sold plan	362	$87.73	$31,758	Form 4
Mar 16, 2026	Sean StevesSr VP & COO of SW Ops	Sold plan	197	$87.80	$17,297	Form 4
Mar 16, 2026	Kevin DrohanVP & Chief Accounting Officer	Sold plan	85	$87.73	$7,457	Form 4

The latest 12 of 24 trades. Open-market purchases and sales by officers, directors and 10% owners, from their Form 4 filings with the SEC: one row per person, day and filing, at the day's average price. Grants, option exercises and shares withheld for tax aren't counted. Insiders buy and sell for many reasons, such as taxes, spreading their savings or a plan set up months earlier, so a trade on its own says little about where a company is heading. For information only, not investment advice. Insider trades at all companies

Indicators

Four widely used measures, worked out from the company's filings. The cutoffs are the ones their authors or users go by, not a verdict of ours.

Indicator	FY23	FY24	FY25
Piotroski F-score	6 of 9	5 of 9	4 of 9
Rule of 40	22.7%	28.2%	22.6%
Altman Z''	1.12	1.61	1.11
Accruals ratio	−10.4%	−9.3%	−9.8%

Piotroski F-score: how many of nine simple tests of profitability, funding and efficiency the company passed in the year (Piotroski, 2000); 8 or 9 is strong, 0 to 2 weak. Rule of 40: revenue growth plus free cash flow margin; software investors treat 40% or more as the bar. Altman Z'': working capital, retained earnings, operating income and equity weighed against assets and liabilities (Altman, 1995); Altman puts above 2.6 in the safe zone and below 1.1 in the distress zone. Accruals ratio: net income minus cash from operations, over average total assets; lower means profit is backed by cash.

The nine F-score tests

Test	FY23	FY24	FY25
Net income is positive	Pass	Pass	Pass
Cash from operations is positive	Pass	Pass	Pass
Return on assets rose	Fail	Fail	Fail
Cash from operations exceeds net income	Pass	Pass	Pass
Debt fell relative to assets	Fail	Pass	Pass
Current ratio rose	Pass	Pass	Fail
Share count didn't rise	Fail	Fail	Fail
Gross margin rose	Pass	Fail	Fail
Revenue rose relative to assets	Pass	Fail	Fail
F-score	6 of 9	5 of 9	4 of 9

Companies that report no gross profit are scored on the other eight.

Compare

Put Casella Waste Systems side by side with any other company we cover: revenue, growth, margins, cash flow and returns, with ten years of charts.

Similar companies

Company	Year	Revenue growth	Operating margin	Free cash flow margin	Return on capital	Net debt to EBITDA	F-score	Compare
Casella Waste Systems	FY25	17.9%	3.5%	4.6%	1.6%	2.8x	4
Healthcare Services Group	FY25	7.1%	—	7.6%	—	—	—	Compare
GEO Group	FY25	8.6%	9.8%	−4.8%	6.3%	4.1x	6	Compare
Rollins	FY25	11.0%	19.3%	17.3%	31.0%	0.6x	6	Compare
Veralto	FY25	6.0%	23.2%	18.4%	28.1%	0.5x	6	Compare

Each company's latest fiscal year. Fiscal years end in different months, so the periods don't line up exactly. Free cash flow margin is free cash flow as a share of revenue. Net debt to EBITDA is explained under the balance sheet, and the F-score under Indicators.

10 years of figures

Fiscal year	FY16	FY17	FY18	FY19	FY20	FY21	FY22	FY23	FY24	FY25
Income statement
Revenue	565	599	661	743	775	889	1,085	1,264	1,557	1,837
Revenue growth	3.4%	6.1%	10.2%	12.5%	4.2%	14.8%	22.0%	16.5%	23.1%	17.9%
Gross profit	183	194	207	235	259	307	362	432	530	620
Research and development	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Operating income	45	−13	40	53	59	78	95	80	73	64
Net income	−7	−22	6	32	91	41	53	25	14	8
Diluted EPS (US$)	−0.17	−0.52	0.15	0.66	1.86	0.80	1.03	0.46	0.23	0.12
Diluted shares (millions)	41	42	44	48	49	52	52	55	60	64
Cash flow
Cash from operations	80	108	121	117	140	183	217	233	281	330
Capital expenditure	54	65	73	103	108	123	131	155	203	245
Free cash flow	26	43	48	14	32	59	86	78	78	85
Dividends paid	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Share buybacks	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Acquisitions	3	5	89	75	32	171	78	852	469	224
Stock-based compensation	3	6	8	7	8	12	8	9	12	14
Balance sheet at fiscal year end
Cash and short-term investments	2	2	4	4	154	34	71	221	383	124
Debt incl. finance leases	509	482	544	513	540	552	594	1,043	1,133	1,155
Total assets	632	615	732	932	1,194	1,284	1,449	2,536	3,230	3,303
Total liabilities	656	653	748	809	832	861	951	1,514	1,679	1,735
Shareholders' equity	−24	−38	−16	123	362	422	498	1,022	1,551	1,569
Margins and ratios
Gross margin	32.4%	32.4%	31.4%	31.6%	33.4%	34.5%	33.4%	34.2%	34.0%	33.8%
Operating margin	8.0%	−2.1%	6.0%	7.1%	7.7%	8.7%	8.8%	6.4%	4.7%	3.5%
Net margin	−1.2%	−3.6%	1.0%	4.3%	11.8%	4.6%	4.9%	2.0%	0.9%	0.4%
Free cash flow margin	4.6%	7.1%	7.2%	1.8%	4.1%	6.7%	8.0%	6.2%	5.0%	4.6%
Rule of 40 (growth + FCF margin)	8.0%	13.2%	17.4%	14.3%	8.3%	21.5%	30.0%	22.7%	28.2%	22.6%
Return on capital	7.4%	−2.1%	8.2%	9.2%	8.6%	6.5%	6.9%	3.9%	2.3%	1.6%
Return on equity	—	—	—	59.2%	37.6%	10.5%	11.5%	3.3%	1.1%	0.5%
Return on assets	−1.1%	−3.5%	0.9%	3.8%	8.6%	3.3%	3.9%	1.3%	0.5%	0.2%
Net debt to EBITDA	4.7x	9.7x	4.9x	3.8x	2.6x	2.9x	2.4x	3.3x	2.4x	2.8x

US$ millions unless stated. Where a later 10-K restated a year, the latest filed figure is shown. Download all figures (CSV, US$ millions)

Source: Casella Waste Systems' Form 10-K filings, from SEC EDGAR. For information only, not investment advice. The Filing Desk is not affiliated with Casella Waste Systems.