Document and Entity Information - shares	3 Months Ended
Document and Entity Information - shares	Mar. 31, 2019	Apr. 22, 2019
Document And Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2019
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2019
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Registrant Name	WASTE MANAGEMENT INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000823768
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		424,759,439

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS - USD ($) $ in Millions	Mar. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 57	$ 61
Accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $30 and $29, respectively	1,830	1,931
Other receivables	251	344
Parts and supplies	105	102
Other assets	245	207
Total current assets	2,488	2,645
Property and equipment, net of accumulated depreciation and amortization of $18,355 and $18,264, respectively	12,390	11,942
Goodwill	6,479	6,430
Other intangible assets, net	570	572
Restricted trust and escrow accounts	366	296
Investments in unconsolidated entities	334	406
Other assets	746	359
Total assets	23,373	22,650
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable	899	1,037
Accrued liabilities	1,158	1,117
Deferred revenues	512	522
Current portion of long-term debt	1,043	432
Total current liabilities	3,612	3,108
Long-term debt, less current portion	9,323	9,594
Deferred income taxes	1,297	1,291
Landfill and environmental remediation liabilities	1,866	1,828
Other liabilities	858	553
Total liabilities	16,956	16,374
Commitments and contingencies
Waste Management, Inc. stockholders’ equity:
Common stock, $0.01 par value; 1,500,000,000 shares authorized; 630,282,461 shares issued	6	6
Additional paid-in capital	4,978	4,993
Retained earnings	9,924	9,797
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)	(53)	(87)
Treasury stock at cost, 205,555,810 and 206,299,352 shares, respectively	(8,440)	(8,434)
Total Waste Management, Inc. stockholders’ equity	6,415	6,275
Noncontrolling interests	2	1
Total equity	6,417	6,276
Total liabilities and equity	$ 23,373	$ 22,650

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (Parenthetical) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Mar. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
Allowance for doubtful accounts	$ 30	$ 29
Accumulated depreciation and amortization	$ 18,355	$ 18,264
Common stock, par value	$ 0.01	$ 0.01
Common stock, shares authorized	1,500,000,000	1,500,000,000
Common stock, shares issued	630,282,461	630,282,461
Treasury stock, shares	205,555,810	206,299,352

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2019	Mar. 31, 2018
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
Operating revenues	$ 3,696	$ 3,511
Costs and expenses:
Operating	2,298	2,184
Selling, general and administrative	409	373
Depreciation and amortization	366	347
Restructuring	2	2
Net gain from divestitures		(3)
Total costs and expenses	3,075	2,903
Income from operations	621	608
Other income (expense):
Interest expense, net	(96)	(91)
Equity in net losses of unconsolidated entities	(9)	(7)
Other, net	(54)	1
Total other income (expense)	(159)	(97)
Income before income taxes	462	511
Income tax expense	115	116
Consolidated net income	347	395
Less: Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests		(1)
Net income attributable to Waste Management, Inc.	$ 347	$ 396
Basic earnings per common share	$ 0.82	$ 0.91
Diluted earnings per common share	$ 0.81	$ 0.91

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2019	Mar. 31, 2018
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
Consolidated net income	$ 347	$ 395
Derivative instruments, net	2	2
Available-for-sale securities, net	5	(1)
Foreign currency translation adjustments	28	(32)
Post-retirement benefit obligation, net	(1)
Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax	34	(31)
Comprehensive income	381	364
Less: Comprehensive loss attributable to noncontrolling interests		(1)
Comprehensive income attributable to Waste Management, Inc.	$ 381	$ 365

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2019	Mar. 31, 2018
Cash flows from operating activities:
Consolidated net income	$ 347	$ 395
Adjustments to reconcile consolidated net income to net cash provided by operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization	366	347
Deferred income tax expense (benefit)	1	(15)
Interest accretion on landfill liabilities	23	23
Provision for bad debts	10	12
Equity-based compensation expense	27	23
Net gain on disposal of assets	(2)	(5)
(Gain) loss from divestitures, asset impairments and other, net	55	(3)
Equity in net losses of unconsolidated entities, net of dividends	9	7
Change in operating assets and liabilities, net of effects of acquisitions and divestitures:
Receivables	212	183
Other current assets	(9)	(8)
Other assets	(3)	(1)
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities	(117)	(119)
Deferred revenues and other liabilities	(29)	(30)
Net cash provided by operating activities	890	809
Cash flows from investing activities:
Acquisitions of businesses, net of cash acquired	(394)	(246)
Capital expenditures	(471)	(400)
Proceeds from divestitures of businesses and other assets (net of cash divested)	12	14
Other, net	53	(5)
Net cash used in investing activities	(800)	(637)
Cash flows from financing activities:
New borrowings		61
Debt repayments	(56)	(80)
Net commercial paper borrowings	357	471
Common stock repurchase program	(68)	(250)
Cash dividends	(223)	(206)
Exercise of common stock options	25	23
Tax payments associated with equity-based compensation transactions	(30)	(28)
Other, net	37	(29)
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities	42	(38)
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash and cash equivalents		(1)
Increase in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash and cash equivalents	132	133
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period	183	293
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash and cash equivalents at end of period	$ 315	$ 426

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (Parenthetical) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Mar. 31, 2019	Mar. 31, 2018
Reconciliation of cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash and cash equivalents at end of period:
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 57	$ 52
Restricted cash and cash equivalents included in other current assets	97	70
Restricted cash and cash equivalents included in restricted trust and escrow accounts	161	304
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash and cash equivalents at end of period	$ 315	$ 426

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Millions	Common Stock [Member]	Additional Paid-In Capital [Member]	Retained Earnings [Member]	Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss [Member]	Treasury Stock [Member]	Noncontrolling Interests [Member]	Total
Beginning balance at Dec. 31, 2017	$ 6	$ 4,933	$ 8,588	$ 8	$ (7,516)	$ 23	$ 6,042
Beginning balance, shares at Dec. 31, 2017	630,282				(196,964)
Equity roll forward
Adoption of new accounting standards			85	(5)			80
Consolidated net income			396			(1)	395
Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax				(31)			(31)
Cash dividends declared			(206)				(206)
Equity-based compensation transactions, net of tax		(17)	4		$ 57		44
Equity-based compensation transaction, shares					1,483
Common stock repurchase program					$ (258)		(258)
Common stock repurchase program, shares					(3,031)
Other, net						(1)	(1)
Other, net, shares					1
Ending balance at Mar. 31, 2018	$ 6	4,916	8,867	(28)	$ (7,717)	21	6,065
Ending balance, shares at Mar. 31, 2018	630,282				(198,511)
Beginning balance at Dec. 31, 2018	$ 6	4,993	9,797	(87)	$ (8,434)	1	6,276
Beginning balance, shares at Dec. 31, 2018	630,282				(206,299)
Equity roll forward
Consolidated net income			347				347
Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax				34			34
Cash dividends declared			(223)				(223)
Equity-based compensation transactions, net of tax		(15)	3		$ 58		46
Equity-based compensation transaction, shares					1,421
Common stock repurchase program					$ (64)		(64)
Common stock repurchase program, shares					(679)
Other, net						1	1
Other, net, shares					1
Ending balance at Mar. 31, 2019	$ 6	$ 4,978	$ 9,924	$ (53)	$ (8,440)	$ 2	$ 6,417
Ending balance, shares at Mar. 31, 2019	630,282				(205,556)

Basis of Presentation	3 Months Ended
Basis of Presentation	Mar. 31, 2019
Basis of Presentation
Basis of Presentation	1. Basis of Presentation The financial statements presented in this report represent the consolidation of Waste Management, Inc., a Delaware corporation; its wholly-owned and majority-owned subsidiaries; and certain variable interest entities for which Waste Management, Inc. or its subsidiaries are the primary beneficiaries as described in Note 14. Waste Management, Inc. is a holding company and all operations are conducted by its subsidiaries. When the terms “the Company,” “we,” “us” or “our” are used in this document, those terms refer to Waste Management, Inc., its consolidated subsidiaries and consolidated variable interest entities. When we use the term “WM,” we are referring only to Waste Management, Inc., the parent holding company. We are North America’s leading provider of comprehensive waste management environmental services. We partner with our residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers and the communities we serve to manage and reduce waste at each stage from collection to disposal, while recovering valuable resources and creating clean, renewable energy. Our “Solid Waste” business is operated and managed locally by our subsidiaries that focus on distinct geographic areas and provides collection, transfer, disposal, and recycling and resource recovery services. Through our subsidiaries, we are also a leading developer, operator and owner of landfill gas-to-energy facilities in the United States (“U.S.”). We evaluate, oversee and manage the financial performance of our Solid Waste business subsidiaries through our 17 Areas. We also provide additional services that are not managed through our Solid Waste business, which are presented in this report as “Other.” Additional information related to our segments is included in Note 8. The Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements as of March 31, 2019 and for the three months ended March 31, 2019 and 2018 are unaudited. In the opinion of management, these financial statements include all adjustments, which, unless otherwise disclosed, are of a normal recurring nature, necessary for a fair presentation of the financial position, results of operations, comprehensive income, cash flows, and changes in equity for the periods presented. The results for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of results for the entire year. The financial statements presented herein should be read in conjunction with the financial statements included in our Annual Report on Form 10‑K for the year ended December 31, 2018. In preparing our financial statements, we make numerous estimates and assumptions that affect the accounting for and recognition and disclosure of assets, liabilities, equity, revenues and expenses. We must make these estimates and assumptions because certain information that we use is dependent on future events, cannot be calculated with precision from available data or simply cannot be calculated. In some cases, these estimates are difficult to determine, and we must exercise significant judgment. In preparing our financial statements, the most difficult, subjective and complex estimates and the assumptions that present the greatest amount of uncertainty relate to our accounting for landfills, environmental remediation liabilities, long-lived asset impairments and reserves associated with our insured and self-insured claims. Actual results could differ materially from the estimates and assumptions that we use in the preparation of our financial statements. Adoption of New Accounting Standard Leases — In February 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2016‑02 associated with lease accounting. There were further amendments, including practical expedients, with the issuance of ASU 2018-01 in January 2018, ASU 2018-11 in July 2018 and ASU 2018-20 in December 2018. On January 1, 2019, we adopted these ASUs using the optional transition method which allows entities to continue to apply historical accounting guidance in the comparative periods presented in the year of adoption. Accordingly, our financial statements for the reported periods after January 1, 2019 are presented under this amended guidance, while prior period amounts are not adjusted and continue to be reported in accordance with historical accounting guidance. We elected to apply the following package of practical expedients on a consistent basis permitting entities not to reassess: (i) whether any expired or existing contracts are or contain a lease; (ii) lease classification for any expired or existing leases and (iii) whether initial direct costs for any expired or existing leases qualify for capitalization under the amended guidance. The impact of adopting the amended guidance primarily relates to the recognition of lease assets and lease liabilities on the balance sheet for all leases previously classified as operating leases. We recognized $385 million of right-of-use assets and $385 million of related lease liabilities as of January 1, 2019 for our contracts that are classified as operating leases. Leases with an initial term of 12 months or less have not been recorded on the balance sheet. Our accounting for financing leases, which were formerly referred to as capital leases, remained substantially unchanged. There were no other material impacts on our consolidated financial statements. See Note 4 for additional information and disclosures related to our adoption of this amended guidance. New Accounting Standard Pending Adoption Financial Instrument Credit Losses — In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016‑13 associated with the measurement of credit losses on financial instruments. The amended guidance replaces the current incurred loss impairment methodology of recognizing credit losses when a loss is probable, with a methodology that reflects expected credit losses and requires consideration of a broader range of reasonable and supportable information to assess credit loss estimates. The amended guidance is effective for the Company on January 1, 2020. We are assessing the provisions of this amended guidance and evaluating the impact on our consolidated financial statements. Reclassifications When necessary, reclassifications have been made to our prior period financial information to conform to the current year presentation and are not material to our consolidated financial statements.

Landfill and Environmental Remediation Liabilities

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2019

Landfill and Environmental Remediation Liabilities

Landfill and Environmental Remediation Liabilities

2. Landfill and Environmental Remediation Liabilities

Liabilities for landfill and environmental remediation costs are presented in the table below (in millions):


	March 31, 2019						December 31, 2018
			Environmental						Environmental
	Landfill		Remediation		Total		Landfill		Remediation		Total
Current (in accrued liabilities)	$	132	$	26	$	158	$	143	$	26	$	169
Long-term		1,659		207		1,866		1,617		211		1,828
	$	1,791	$	233	$	2,024	$	1,760	$	237	$	1,997

The changes to landfill and environmental remediation liabilities for the three months ended March 31, 2019 are reflected in the table below (in millions):


			Environmental
	Landfill		Remediation
December 31, 2018	$	1,760	$	237
Obligations incurred and capitalized		17		—
Obligations settled		(13)		(5)
Interest accretion		23		1
Revisions in estimates and interest rate assumptions		1		—
Acquisitions, divestitures and other adjustments		3		—
March 31, 2019	$	1,791	$	233

At several of our landfills, we provide financial assurance by depositing cash into restricted trust funds or escrow accounts for purposes of settling our final capping, closure, post-closure and environmental remediation obligations. Generally, these trust funds are established to comply with statutory requirements and operating agreements. See Note 14 for additional information related to these trusts.

Debt

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2019

Debt

Debt

3. Debt

The following table summarizes the major components of debt as of each balance sheet date (in millions) and provides the maturities and interest rate ranges of each major category as of March 31, 2019:


	March 31,		December 31,
	2019		2018
$2.75 billion revolving credit facility (weighted average interest rate of 3.1% as of December 31, 2018)	$	—	$	11
Commercial paper program (weighted average interest rate of 2.8% as of March 31, 2019 and 2.9% as of December 31, 2018)		1,354		990
Senior notes, maturing through 2045, interest rates ranging from 2.4% to 7.75% (weighted average interest rate of 4.3% as of March 31, 2019 and December 31, 2018)		6,222		6,222
Tax-exempt bonds, maturing through 2048, fixed and variable interest rates ranging from 1.35% to 4.3% (weighted average interest rate of 2.4% as of March 31, 2019 and 2.35% as of December 31, 2018)		2,354		2,388
Financing leases and other, maturing through 2040, interest rates up to 9%		486		467
Debt issuance costs, discounts and other		(50)		(52)
		10,366		10,026
Current portion of long-term debt		1,043		432
	$	9,323	$	9,594

Debt Classification

As of March 31, 2019, we had $2.2 billion of debt maturing within the next 12 months, including (i) $1.4 billion of short-term borrowings under our commercial paper program; (ii) $680 million of tax-exempt bonds with term interest rate periods that expire within the next 12 months, which is prior to their scheduled maturities and (iii) $139 million of other debt with scheduled maturities within the next 12 months, including $72 million of tax-exempt bonds. Of the $1.4 billion of short-term borrowings outstanding under our commercial paper program as of March 31, 2019 that are supported by our long-term U.S. and Canadian revolving credit facility (“$2.75 billion revolving credit facility”), we have the intent and ability to refinance or maintain approximately $450 million of these borrowings on a long-term basis and we have classified these amounts as long-term debt. As of March 31, 2019, we have classified an additional $680 million of debt maturing in the next 12 months as long-term because we have the intent and ability to refinance these borrowings on a long-term basis as supported by the forecasted available capacity under our $2.75 billion revolving credit facility, as discussed below. The remaining $1.0 billion is classified as current obligations.

As of March 31, 2019, we also have $268 million of variable-rate tax-exempt bonds that are supported by letters of credit under our $2.75 billion revolving credit facility. The interest rates on our variable-rate tax-exempt bonds are generally reset on either a daily or weekly basis through a remarketing process. All recent tax-exempt bond remarketings have successfully placed Company bonds with investors at market-driven rates and we currently expect future remarketings to be successful. However, if the remarketing agent is unable to remarket our bonds, the remarketing agent can put the bonds to us. In the event of a failed remarketing, we have the availability under our $2.75 billion revolving credit facility to fund these bonds until they are remarketed successfully. Accordingly, we have also classified these borrowings as long-term in our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet as of March 31, 2019.

Access to and Utilization of Credit Facilities and Commercial Paper Program

$2.75 Billion Revolving Credit Facility — Our $2.75 billion revolving credit facility provides us with credit capacity to be used for either cash borrowings or to support letters of credit or commercial paper. The rates we pay for outstanding U.S. or Canadian loans are generally based on LIBOR or CDOR, respectively, plus a spread depending on the Company’s debt rating assigned by Moody’s Investors Service and Standard and Poor’s. As of March 31, 2019, we had no borrowings outstanding under this facility. We had $572 million of letters of credit issued and $1.4 billion of outstanding borrowings under our commercial paper program, both supported by this facility, leaving unused and available credit capacity of $824 million as of March 31, 2019. WM Holdings, a wholly-owned subsidiary of WM, guarantees all of the obligations under the $2.75 billion revolving credit facility.

Commercial Paper Program — We have a commercial paper program that enables us to borrow funds for up to 397 days at competitive interest rates. The rates we pay for outstanding borrowings are based on the term of the notes. The commercial paper program is fully supported by our $2.75 billion revolving credit facility. As of March 31, 2019, we had $1.4 billion of outstanding borrowings under our commercial paper program.

Other Letter of Credit Facilities — As of March 31, 2019, we utilized $542 million of other letter of credit facilities, which are both committed and uncommitted, with terms maturing through December 2020.

Debt Borrowings and Repayments

$2.75 Billion Revolving Credit Facility — During the three months ended March 31, 2019, we repaid C$15 million, or $11 million, of Canadian borrowings under our $2.75 billion revolving credit facility with available cash.

Commercial Paper Program — During the three months ended March 31, 2019, we had net cash borrowings of $357 million (net of the related discount on issuance). The proceeds from these borrowings were primarily used to support our acquisition of Petro Waste Environmental LP (“Petro Waste”), which is discussed further in Note 9, and for general corporate purposes.

Tax-Exempt Bonds — During the three months ended March 31, 2019, we repaid $34 million of our tax-exempt bonds with available cash.

Financing Leases and Other — The increase during the three months ended March 31, 2019, is primarily related to $30 million of non-cash financing arrangements, partially offset by $11 million of net cash repayments of debt at maturity.

Leases

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2019

Leases

Leases

4. Leases

Our operating lease activities primarily consist of leases for real estate, landfills and heavy equipment. Our financing lease activities primarily consist of leases for heavy equipment. Leases with an initial term of 12 months or less are not recorded on the balance sheet and are recognized as lease expense on a straight-line basis over the lease term. Most leases include one or more options to renew, with renewal terms generally ranging from one to 10 years. The exercise of lease renewal options is at our sole discretion. Certain leases also include options to purchase the leased property. The depreciable life of assets and leasehold improvements is limited by the expected lease term, unless there is a transfer of title or purchase option reasonably certain of exercise. Certain of our lease agreements include rental payments based on usage and other lease agreements include rental payments adjusted periodically for inflation; these payments are treated as variable lease payments. Our lease agreements do not contain any material residual value guarantees or material restrictive covenants.

Supplemental balance sheet information as of March 31, 2019 for our leases is as follows (in millions):


Leases	Classification
Assets
Long-term:
Operating	Other assets	$	388
Financing	Property and equipment, net of accumulated depreciation and amortization		228
Total lease assets		$	616

Liabilities
Current:
Operating	Accrued liabilities	$	85
Financing	Current portion of long-term debt		22
Long-term:
Operating	Other liabilities		303
Financing	Long-term debt, less current portion		185
Total lease liabilities		$	595

Our operating lease expense for the three months ended March 31, 2019 was $28 million and is included in operating and selling, general and administrative expenses in our Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations. Our financing lease expense for the three months ended March 31, 2019 was $14 million and is included in depreciation and amortization expense and interest expense, net in our Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations.

Minimum contractual obligations for our leases (undiscounted) as of March 31, 2019 are as follows (in millions):


		Operating(a)		Financing(a)
2019 (excluding three months ended March 31, 2019)	$	67	$	28
2020		82		34
2021		59		31
2022		46		31
2023		42		29
Thereafter		414		188
Total	$	710	$	341

(a)

Includes $167 million and $61 million of undiscounted future minimum obligations related to additional operating and financing leases, respectively, which have not yet commenced.

Cash paid for our operating and financing leases was $22 million and $8 million, respectively, for the three months ended March 31, 2019. Right-of-use assets obtained in exchange for lease obligations for our operating leases were $23 million for the three months ended March 31, 2019. The amount related to our financing leases was not material to our consolidated financial statements.

As of March 31, 2019, the weighted average remaining lease terms of our operating and financing leases were 16 years and 12 years, respectively. The weighted average discount rates used to determine the lease liabilities as of March 31, 2019 for our operating and financing leases were 3.75% and 4.33%, respectively.

Income Taxes	3 Months Ended
Income Taxes	Mar. 31, 2019
Income Taxes
Income Taxes	5. Income Taxes Our effective income tax rate for the three months ended March 31, 2019 and 2018 was 24.8% and 22.7%, respectively. We evaluate our effective income tax rate at each interim period and adjust it as facts and circumstances warrant. The differences between federal income taxes computed at the federal statutory rate and reported income taxes for the three months ended March 31, 2019 and 2018 were primarily due to the unfavorable impact of state and local income taxes offset, in part, by the favorable impact of federal tax credits and excess tax benefits related to equity-based compensation. The three months ended March 31, 2019 was also unfavorably impacted by an impairment as discussed below. Investments Qualifying for Federal Tax Credits — We have significant financial interests in entities established to invest in and manage low-income housing properties and a refined coal facility. We support the operations of these entities in exchange for a pro-rata share of the tax credits they generate. The low-income housing investments and the coal facility’s refinement processes qualify for federal tax credits that we expect to realize through 2030 under Sections 42 and 45D, and through 2019 under Section 45, respectively, of the Internal Revenue Code. We account for our investments in these entities using the equity method of accounting, recognizing our share of each entity’s results of operations and other reductions in the value of our investments in equity in net losses of unconsolidated entities, in our Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations. During the three months ended March 31, 2019 and 2018, we recognized $9 million and $6 million of net losses and a reduction in our income tax expense of $15 million and $10 million, respectively, primarily because of tax credits realized from these investments. Interest expense associated with our investments in low-income housing properties was not material for the periods presented. See Note 14 for additional information related to these unconsolidated variable interest entities. Tax Implications of Impairment — We recognized a $52 million impairment charge during the three months ended March 31, 2019 which was not deductible for tax purposes. See Note 10 for additional information.

Earnings Per Share

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2019

Earnings Per Share

Earnings Per Share

6. Earnings Per Share

Basic and diluted earnings per share for the three months ended March 31 were computed using the following common share data (shares in millions):


	2019	2018
Number of common shares outstanding at end of period	424.7	431.8
Effect of using weighted average common shares outstanding	(0.2)	1.5
Weighted average basic common shares outstanding	424.5	433.3
Dilutive effect of equity-based compensation awards and other contingently issuable shares	2.4	2.5
Weighted average diluted common shares outstanding	426.9	435.8
Potentially issuable shares	7.6	8.2
Number of anti-dilutive potentially issuable shares excluded from diluted common shares outstanding	3.0	3.0

Commitments and Contingencies	3 Months Ended
Commitments and Contingencies	Mar. 31, 2019
Commitments and Contingencies.
Commitments and Contingencies	7. Commitments and Contingencies Financial Instruments — We have obtained letters of credit, surety bonds and insurance policies and have established trust funds and issued financial guarantees to support tax-exempt bonds, contracts, performance of landfill final capping, closure and post-closure requirements, environmental remediation and other obligations. Letters of credit generally are supported by our $2.75 billion revolving credit facility and other credit facilities established for that purpose. These facilities are discussed further in Note 3. Surety bonds and insurance policies are supported by (i) a diverse group of third-party surety and insurance companies; (ii) an entity in which we have a noncontrolling financial interest or (iii) a wholly-owned insurance captive, the sole business of which is to issue surety bonds and/or insurance policies on our behalf. Management does not expect that any claims against or draws on these instruments would have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. We have not experienced any unmanageable difficulty in obtaining the required financial assurance instruments for our current operations. In an ongoing effort to mitigate risks of future cost increases and reductions in available capacity, we continue to evaluate various options to access cost-effective sources of financial assurance. Insurance — We carry insurance coverage for protection of our assets and operations from certain risks including general liability, automobile liability, workers’ compensation, real and personal property, directors’ and officers’ liability, pollution legal liability and other coverages we believe are customary to the industry. Our exposure to loss for insurance claims is generally limited to the per incident deductible under the related insurance policy. Our exposure could increase if our insurers are unable to meet their commitments on a timely basis. We have retained a significant portion of the risks related to our general liability, automobile liability and workers’ compensation claims programs. “General liability” refers to the self-insured portion of specific third-party claims made against us that may be covered under our commercial General Liability Insurance Policy. For our self-insured portions, the exposure for unpaid claims and associated expenses, including incurred but not reported losses, is based on an actuarial valuation or internal estimates. The accruals for these liabilities could be revised if future occurrences or loss development significantly differ from such valuations and estimates. We use a wholly-owned insurance captive to insure the deductibles for our general liability, automobile liability and workers’ compensation claims programs. We do not expect the impact of any known casualty, property, environmental or other contingency to have a material impact on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. Guarantees — In the ordinary course of our business, WM and WM Holdings enter into guarantee agreements associated with their subsidiaries’ operations. Additionally, WM and WM Holdings have each guaranteed all of the senior debt of the other entity. No additional liabilities have been recorded for these intercompany guarantees because all of the underlying obligations are reflected in our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. See Note 15 for additional information. As of March 31, 2019, we have guaranteed the obligations and certain performance requirements of third parties in connection with both consolidated and unconsolidated entities, including (i) guarantees to cover certain market value losses for approximately 775 homeowners’ properties adjacent to or near 18 of our landfills and (ii) guarantees totaling $73 million for performance obligations of our Wheelabrator business, divested in 2014. In February 2019, Wheelabrator was acquired by a third party, at which time we agreed to continue to provide such guarantees through July 2019. We have also agreed to indemnify certain third-party purchasers against liabilities associated with divested operations prior to such sale. Additionally, under certain of our acquisition agreements, we have provided for additional consideration to be paid to the sellers if established financial targets or other market conditions are achieved post-closing, and we have recognized liabilities for these contingent obligations based on an estimate of the fair value of these contingencies at the time of acquisition. We do not believe that these contingent obligations will have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial condition, results of operations or cash flows, and we do not expect the financial impact of operational and financial performance guarantees to materially exceed the recorded fair value. Environmental Matters — A significant portion of our operating costs and capital expenditures could be characterized as costs of environmental protection. The nature of our operations, particularly with respect to the construction, operation and maintenance of our landfills, subjects us to an array of laws and regulations relating to the protection of the environment. Under current laws and regulations, we may have liabilities for environmental damage caused by our operations, or for damage caused by conditions that existed before we acquired a site. In addition to remediation activity required by state or local authorities, such liabilities include potentially responsible party (“PRP”) investigations. The costs associated with these liabilities can include settlements, certain legal and consultant fees, as well as incremental internal and external costs directly associated with site investigation and clean-up. Estimating our degree of responsibility for remediation is inherently difficult. We recognize and accrue for an estimated remediation liability when we determine that such liability is both probable and reasonably estimable. Determining the method and ultimate cost of remediation requires that a number of assumptions be made. There can sometimes be a range of reasonable estimates of the costs associated with the likely site remediation alternatives identified in the environmental impact investigation. In these cases, we use the amount within the range that is our best estimate. If no amount within a range appears to be a better estimate than any other, we use the amount that is the low end of such range. If we used the high ends of such ranges, our aggregate potential liability would be approximately $140 million higher than the $233 million recorded in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet as of March 31, 2019. Our ultimate responsibility may differ materially from current estimates. It is possible that technological, regulatory or enforcement developments, the results of environmental studies, the inability to identify other PRPs, the inability of other PRPs to contribute to the settlements of such liabilities, or other factors could require us to record additional liabilities. Our ongoing review of our remediation liabilities, in light of relevant internal and external facts and circumstances, could result in revisions to our accruals that could cause upward or downward adjustments to our balance sheet and income from operations. These adjustments could be material in any given period. As of March 31, 2019, we have been notified by the government that we are a PRP in connection with 75 locations listed on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (“EPA’s”) Superfund National Priorities List (“NPL”). Of the 75 sites at which claims have been made against us, 15 are sites we own. Each of the NPL sites we own was initially developed by others as a landfill disposal facility. At each of these facilities, we are working in conjunction with the government to evaluate or remediate identified site problems, and we have either agreed with other legally liable parties on an arrangement for sharing the costs of remediation or are working toward a cost-sharing agreement. We generally expect to receive any amounts due from other participating parties at or near the time that we make the remedial expenditures. The other 60 NPL sites, which we do not own, are at various procedural stages under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980, as amended, known as CERCLA or Superfund. The majority of proceedings involving NPL sites that we do not own are based on allegations that certain of our subsidiaries (or their predecessors) transported hazardous substances to the sites, often prior to our acquisition of these subsidiaries. CERCLA generally provides for liability for those parties owning, operating, transporting to or disposing at the sites. Proceedings arising under Superfund typically involve numerous waste generators and other waste transportation and disposal companies and seek to allocate or recover costs associated with site investigation and remediation, which costs could be substantial and could have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial statements. At some of the sites at which we have been identified as a PRP, our liability is well defined as a consequence of a governmental decision and an agreement among liable parties as to the share each will pay for implementing that remedy. At other sites, where no remedy has been selected or the liable parties have been unable to agree on an appropriate allocation, our future costs are uncertain. On October 11, 2017, the EPA issued its Record of Decision (“ROD”) with respect to the previously proposed remediation plan for the San Jacinto waste pits in Harris County, Texas. McGinnes Industrial Maintenance Corporation (“MIMC”), an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of WM, operated some of the waste pits from 1965 to 1966 and has been named as a site PRP. In 1998, WM acquired the stock of the parent entity of MIMC. MIMC has been working with the EPA and other named PRPs as the process of addressing the site proceeds. On April 9, 2018, MIMC and International Paper Company entered into an Administrative Order on Consent agreement with the EPA to develop a remedial design for the EPA’s selected remedy for the site. Allocation of responsibility among the PRPs for the selected remedy has not been established. As of March 31, 2019 and December 31, 2018, the recorded liability for MIMC’s estimated potential share of the EPA’s selected remedy and related costs was $55 million. MIMC’s ultimate liability could be materially different from current estimates. Item 103 of the SEC’s Regulation S-K requires disclosure of certain environmental matters when a governmental authority is a party to the proceedings, or such proceedings are known to be contemplated, unless we reasonably believe that the matter will result in no monetary sanctions, or in monetary sanctions, exclusive of interest and costs, of less than $100,000. The following matters are disclosed in accordance with that requirement. We do not currently believe that the eventual outcome of any such matters, individually or in the aggregate, could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. On July 10, 2013, the EPA issued a Notice of Violation ("NOV") to Waste Management of Wisconsin, Inc., an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of WM, alleging violations of the Resource Conservation Recovery Act concerning acceptance of certain waste that was not permitted to be disposed of at the Metro Recycling & Disposal Facility in Franklin, Wisconsin. The parties are exchanging information and working to resolve the NOV. The Hawaii Department of Health and the EPA have asserted civil penalty claims against Waste Management of Hawaii, Inc. (“WMHI”), an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of WM, based on stormwater discharges at the Waimanalo Gulch Sanitary Landfill following two major rainstorms in December 2010 and January 2011 and alleged violations of stormwater permit requirements prior to and after the storms. WMHI operates the landfill for the City and County of Honolulu. From time to time, we are also named as defendants in personal injury and property damage lawsuits, including purported class actions, on the basis of having owned, operated or transported waste to a disposal facility that is alleged to have contaminated the environment or, in certain cases, on the basis of having conducted environmental remediation activities at sites. Some of the lawsuits may seek to have us pay the costs of monitoring of allegedly affected sites and health care examinations of allegedly affected persons for a substantial period of time even where no actual damage is proven. While we believe we have meritorious defenses to these lawsuits, the ultimate resolution is often substantially uncertain due to the difficulty of determining the cause, extent and impact of alleged contamination (which may have occurred over a long period of time), the potential for successive groups of complainants to emerge, the diversity of the individual plaintiffs’ circumstances, and the potential contribution or indemnification obligations of co-defendants or other third parties, among other factors. Additionally, we often enter into agreements with landowners imposing obligations on us to meet certain regulatory or contractual conditions upon site closure or upon termination of the agreements. Compliance with these agreements inherently involves subjective determinations and may result in disputes, including litigation. Litigation — As a large company with operations across the U.S. and Canada, we are subject to various proceedings, lawsuits, disputes and claims arising in the ordinary course of our business. Many of these actions raise complex factual and legal issues and are subject to uncertainties. Actions that have been filed against us, and that may be filed against us in the future, include personal injury, property damage, commercial, customer, and employment-related claims, including purported state and national class action lawsuits related to: alleged environmental contamination, including releases of hazardous material and odors; sales and marketing practices, customer service agreements and prices and fees; and federal and state wage and hour and other laws. The plaintiffs in some actions seek unspecified damages or injunctive relief, or both. These actions are in various procedural stages, and some are covered, in part, by insurance. We currently do not believe that the eventual outcome of any such actions will have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. WM’s charter and bylaws provide that WM shall indemnify against all liabilities and expenses, and upon request shall advance expenses to any person, who is subject to a pending or threatened proceeding because such person is or was a director or officer of the Company. Such indemnification is required to the maximum extent permitted under Delaware law. Accordingly, the director or officer must execute an undertaking to reimburse the Company for any fees advanced if it is later determined that the director or officer was not permitted to have such fees advanced under Delaware law. Additionally, the Company has direct contractual obligations to provide indemnification to each of the members of WM’s Board of Directors and each of WM’s executive officers. The Company may incur substantial expenses in connection with the fulfillment of its advancement of costs and indemnification obligations in connection with actions or proceedings that may be brought against its former or current officers, directors and employees. Multiemployer Defined Benefit Pension Plans — About 20% of our workforce is covered by collective bargaining agreements with various local unions across the U.S. and Canada. As a result of some of these agreements, certain of our subsidiaries are participating employers in a number of trustee-managed multiemployer defined benefit pension plans (“Multiemployer Pension Plans”) for the covered employees. In connection with our ongoing renegotiation of various collective bargaining agreements, we may discuss and negotiate for the complete or partial withdrawal from one or more of these Multiemployer Pension Plans. A complete or partial withdrawal from a Multiemployer Pension Plan may also occur if employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement vote to decertify a union from continuing to represent them. Any other circumstance resulting in a decline in Company contributions to a Multiemployer Pension Plan through a reduction in the labor force, whether through attrition over time or through a business event (such as the discontinuation or nonrenewal of a customer contract, the decertification of a union, or relocation, reduction or discontinuance of certain operations) may also trigger a complete or partial withdrawal from one or more of these pension plans. We do not believe that any future liability relating to our past or current participation in, or withdrawals from, the Multiemployer Pension Plans to which we contribute will have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or liquidity. However, liability for future withdrawals could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations or cash flows for a particular reporting period, depending on the number of employees withdrawn and the financial condition of the Multiemployer Pension Plan(s) at the time of such withdrawal(s). Tax Matters — We participate in the IRS’s Compliance Assurance Process, which means we work with the IRS throughout the year towards resolving any material issues prior to the filing of our annual tax return. Any unresolved issues as of the tax return filing date are subject to routine examination procedures. We are currently in the examination phase of IRS audits for the 2017 through 2019 tax years and expect these audits to be completed within the next 24 months. We are also currently undergoing audits by various state and local jurisdictions for tax years that date back to 2013. Additionally, we are under audit by the Canada Revenue Agency for the 2014 tax year. We maintain a liability for uncertain tax positions, the balance of which management believes is adequate. Results of audit assessments by taxing authorities are not currently expected to have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

Segment and Related Information

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2019

Segment and Related Information

Segment and Related Information

8. Segment and Related Information

We evaluate, oversee and manage the financial performance of our Solid Waste business subsidiaries through our 17 Areas. The 17 Areas constitute our operating segments and we have evaluated the aggregation criteria and concluded that, based on the similarities between our Areas, including the fact that our Solid Waste business is homogenous across geographies with the same services offered across the Areas, aggregation of our Areas is appropriate for purposes of presenting our reportable segments. Accordingly, we have aggregated our 17 Areas into three tiers that we believe have similar economic characteristics and future prospects based in large part on a review of the Areas’ income from operations margins. The economic variations experienced by our Areas are attributable to a variety of factors, including regulatory environment of the Area; economic environment of the Area, including level of commercial and industrial activity; population density; service offering mix and disposal logistics, with no one factor being singularly determinative of an Area’s current or future economic performance.

Tier 1 is comprised of our operations across the Southern U.S., with the exception of Southern California and the Florida peninsula, and also includes the New England states, the tri-state area of Michigan, Indiana and Ohio, and Western Canada. Tier 2 includes Southern California, Eastern Canada, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Tier 3 encompasses all the remaining operations including the Pacific Northwest and Northern California, the Mid-Atlantic region of the U.S., the Florida peninsula, Illinois and Missouri.

The operating segments not evaluated and overseen through the 17 Areas are presented herein as “Other” as these operating segments do not meet the criteria to be aggregated with other operating segments and do not meet the quantitative criteria to be separately reported.

Summarized financial information concerning our reportable segments for the three months ended March 31 is shown in the following table (in millions):


	Gross		Intercompany		Net		Income
	Operating		Operating		Operating		from
	Revenues		Revenues		Revenues		Operations
2019
Solid Waste:
Tier 1	$	1,486	$	(271)	$	1,215	$	394
Tier 2		643		(121)		522		136
Tier 3		1,736		(334)		1,402		313
Solid Waste		3,865		(726)		3,139		843
Other (a)		588		(31)		557		(28)
		4,453		(757)		3,696		815
Corporate and Other		—		—		—		(194)
Total	$	4,453	$	(757)	$	3,696	$	621

2018
Solid Waste:
Tier 1	$	1,373	$	(241)	$	1,132	$	365
Tier 2		613		(111)		502		122
Tier 3		1,633		(309)		1,324		291
Solid Waste		3,619		(661)		2,958		778
Other (a)		607		(54)		553		(23)
		4,226		(715)		3,511		755
Corporate and Other		—		—		—		(147)
Total	$	4,226	$	(715)	$	3,511	$	608

(a)“Other” includes (i) our Strategic Business Solutions (“WMSBS”) organization; (ii) those elements of our landfill gas-to-energy operations and third-party subcontract and administration revenues managed by our Energy and Environmental Services (“EES”) and WM Renewable Energy organizations that are not included in the operations of our reportable segments; (iii) our recycling brokerage services and (iv) certain other expanded service offerings and solutions. In addition, our “Other” segment reflects the results of non-operating entities that provide financial assurance and self-insurance support for our Solid Waste business, net of intercompany activity.

The mix of operating revenues from our major lines of business for the three months ended March 31 are as follows (in millions):


	2019		2018
Commercial	$	1,026	$	955
Residential		640		614
Industrial		680		637
Other		109		101
Total collection		2,455		2,307
Landfill		864		805
Transfer		412		375
Recycling		291		312
Other (a)		431		427
Intercompany (b)		(757)		(715)
Total	$	3,696	$	3,511

(a)

The “Other” line of business includes (i) our WMSBS organization; (ii) our landfill gas-to-energy operations; (iii) certain services within our EES organization, including our construction and remediation services and our services associated with the disposal of fly ash and (iv) certain other expanded service offerings and solutions. In addition, our “Other” line of business reflects the results of non-operating entities that provide financial assurance and self-insurance support for our Solid Waste business, net of intercompany activity.

(b)

Intercompany revenues between lines of business are eliminated in the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements included within this report.

Fluctuations in our operating results may be caused by many factors, including period-to-period changes in the relative contribution of revenue by each line of business, changes in commodity prices and general economic conditions. In addition, our revenues and income from operations typically reflect seasonal patterns. Our operating revenues tend to be somewhat higher in summer months, primarily due to the higher construction and demolition waste volumes. The volumes of industrial and residential waste in certain regions where we operate also tend to increase during the summer months. Our second and third quarter revenues and results of operations typically reflect these seasonal trends.

Service disruptions caused by severe storms, extended periods of inclement weather or climate extremes resulting from climate change can significantly affect the operating results of the Areas affected. On the other hand, certain destructive weather and climate conditions, such as wildfires in the Western U.S. and hurricanes that most often impact our operations in the Southern and Eastern U.S. during the second half of the year, can increase our revenues in the Areas affected. While weather-related and other event driven special projects can boost revenues through additional work for a limited time, as a result of significant start-up costs and other factors, such revenue can generate earnings at comparatively lower margins.

Acquisitions	3 Months Ended
Acquisitions	Mar. 31, 2019
Acquisitions
Acquisitions	9. Acquisitions Petro Waste — On March 8, 2019, Waste Management Energy Services Holdings, LLC, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of WM, acquired Petro Waste. The acquired business provides comprehensive oilfield environmental services and solid waste disposal facilities in the Permian Basin and The Eagle Ford Shale. The acquisition is intended to expand our offerings and enhance the quality of solid waste disposal services for oil and gas exploration and production operations in Texas. Our purchase price is expected to be primarily allocated to seven landfills, which are included in our property and equipment. The allocation of purchase price for Petro Waste is preliminary and is subject to standard post-closing adjustments. The acquisition was funded with borrowings under our commercial paper program. For the three months ended March 31, 2019, the impact of the acquisition was not material to our consolidated financial statements.

Asset Impairments and Unusual Items	3 Months Ended
Asset Impairments and Unusual Items	Mar. 31, 2019
Asset Impairments and Unusual Items
Asset Impairments and Unusual Items	10. Asset Impairments During the three months ended March 31, 2019, we recognized in Other, net a $52 million impairment charge related to our minority-owned investment in a waste conversion technology business. We wrote down our investment to its estimated fair value as the result of recent third-party investor’s transactions in these securities. The fair value of our investment was not readily determinable; thus, we determined the fair value utilizing a combination of quoted price inputs for the equity in our investment (Level 2) and certain management assumptions pertaining to investment value (Level 3).

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2019

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)

11. Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)

The changes in the balances of each component of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax, which is included as a component of Waste Management, Inc. stockholders’ equity, are as follows (in millions, with amounts in parentheses representing decreases to accumulated other comprehensive income):


					Foreign		Post-
			Available-		Currency		Retirement
	Derivative		for-Sale		Translation		Benefit
	Instruments		Securities		Adjustments		Obligations		Total
Balance, December 31, 2018	$	(32)	$	23	$	(76)	$	(2)	$	(87)
Other comprehensive income (loss) before reclassifications, net of tax expense (benefit) of $0, $1, $0 and $0, respectively		—		5		28		—		33
Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive (income) loss, net of tax (expense) benefit of $1, $0, $0 and $0, respectively		2		—		—		(1)		1
Net current period other comprehensive income (loss)		2		5		28		(1)		34
Balance, March 31, 2019	$	(30)	$	28	$	(48)	$	(3)	$	(53)

We had no active derivatives outstanding during the reported period. Amounts reclassified out of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) associated with our previously terminated cash flow hedges were not material for the periods presented.

Common Stock Repurchase Program	3 Months Ended
Common Stock Repurchase Program	Mar. 31, 2019
Common Stock Repurchase Program
Common Stock Repurchase Program	12. Common Stock Repurchase Program The Company repurchases shares of its common stock as part of capital allocation programs authorized by our Board of Directors. During the three months ended March 31, 2019, we repurchased 0.7 million shares of our common stock in open market transactions in compliance with Rule 10b5-1 and Rule 10b-18 of the Exchange Act for $64 million, inclusive of per-share commissions, for a weighted average price per share of $94.35. These repurchases were made under our prior $1.25 billion Board of Directors authorization announced in December 2017. In January 2019, we paid $4 million related to our share repurchases in December 2018. We announced in December 2018 that the Board of Directors authorized up to $1.5 billion in future share repurchases, which superseded and replaced remaining authority under any prior Board of Directors authorization for share repurchases after the completion of our open market repurchases noted above. Any future share repurchases pursuant to this authorization of our Board of Directors will be made at the discretion of management and will depend on factors similar to those considered by the Board of Directors in making dividend declarations, including our net earnings, financial condition, cash required for future business plans, growth and acquisitions and other factors the Board of Directors may deem relevant. As a result of the pending acquisition discussed in Note 16, we expect to scale back our share repurchases in 2019 to a level sufficient to offset dilution from stock-based compensation plans.

Fair Value Measurements

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2019

Fair Value Measurements

Fair Value Measurements

13. Fair Value Measurements

Assets and Liabilities Accounted for at Fair Value

Our assets and liabilities that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis include the following (in millions):


	March 31,		December 31,
	2019		2018
Fair Value Measurements Using:
Quoted prices in active markets (Level 1):
Money market funds	$	163	$	70
		163		70

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY (Parenthetical) - $ / shares	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2019	Mar. 31, 2018
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY
Cash dividends declared per common share	$ 0.5125	$ 0.465