Reflecting On Waste Management Stocks’ Q3 Earnings: Enviri (NYSE:NVRI)

What Happened?

A number of stocks jumped in the afternoon session after the US president announced a framework for a future deal with Greenland. 

Wall Street saw a broad-based rally, with the S&P 500 gaining 1.2% as investor concerns over global trade tensions eased. The positive sentiment followed an announcement that reversed course on plans to impose tariffs linked to Greenland, which had caused steep market losses earlier in the week. This recovery reflected renewed optimism in the market, as the threat of a widening trade conflict appeared to subside, encouraging investors to move back into equities.

The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks.

Among others, the following stocks were impacted:

• Specialty Equipment Distributors company Herc jumped 3.5%. Is now the time to buy Herc? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Automobile Manufacturing company Lucid jumped 2.6%. Is now the time to buy Lucid? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Energy Products and Services company Ameresco jumped 3.2%. Is now the time to buy Ameresco? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Custom Parts Manufacturing company Stratasys jumped 3.3%. Is now the time to buy Stratasys? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Waste Management company Perma-Fix jumped 3.2%. Is now the time to buy Perma-Fix? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.

Zooming In On Herc (HRI)

Herc’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 40 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.

The biggest move we wrote about over the last year was 6 months ago when the stock dropped 17.9% on the news that the company issued a disappointing full-year forecast that overshadowed its second-quarter financial results. 

While the equipment rental company's revenue grew 18.2% year-over-year to $1.00 billion, it reported a net loss of $35 million. This loss stemmed primarily from $73 million in costs related to its acquisition of H&E Equipment Services and a $49 million asset impairment. The market reacted negatively to the company's updated guidance for the full year, with its revenue projection falling 15% below analyst expectations. The acquisition also increased Herc's debt load and pushed its net leverage ratio to 3.8x, amplifying concerns about the company's financial stability amid the costly integration process.

Herc is up 11.8% since the beginning of the year, but at $170.29 per share, it is still trading 19.3% below its 52-week high of $211.06 from January 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Herc’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $2,362.

Wrapping up Q3 earnings, we look at the numbers and key takeaways for the waste management stocks, including Montrose and its peers.

Waste management companies can possess licenses permitting them to handle hazardous materials. Furthermore, many services are performed through contracts and statutorily mandated, non-discretionary, or recurring, leading to more predictable revenue streams. However, regulation can be a headwind, rendering existing services obsolete or forcing companies to invest precious capital to comply with new, more environmentally-friendly rules. Lastly, waste management companies are at the whim of economic cycles. Interest rates, for example, can greatly impact industrial production or commercial projects that create waste and byproducts.

The 9 waste management stocks we track reported a mixed Q3. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 2.6%.

Luckily, waste management stocks have performed well with share prices up 12.3% on average since the latest earnings results.

Montrose

Founded to protect a tree-lined two-lane road, Montrose provides air quality monitoring, environmental laboratory testing, compliance, and environmental consulting services.

Montrose reported revenues of $224.9 million, up 25.9% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 10.9%. Overall, it was an exceptional quarter for the company with a solid beat of analysts’ organic revenue estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

Montrose Chief Executive Officer and Director, Vijay Manthripragada, commented, “I am thrilled to announce another outstanding quarter as our record 2025 continues. The credit goes to our ~3,500 colleagues around the world to whom I am incredibly grateful. Demand for our services is elevated, driven by broader market forces, increased domestic industrial production in our key geographies and state and provincial regulations. This is our third consecutive quarter of record results, including free cash flow1 generation that exceeded expectations. Our outperformance year to date is primarily due to strong organic growth across all three of our segments and the resultant operating leverage, which continues to drive margin accretion. "

Montrose achieved the biggest analyst estimates beat, fastest revenue growth, and highest full-year guidance raise of the whole group. Investor expectations, however, were likely higher than Wall Street’s published projections, leaving some wishing for even better results (analysts’ consensus estimates are those published by big banks and advisory firms, not the investors who make buy and sell decisions). The stock is down 14% since reporting and currently trades at $21.12.

We think Montrose is a good business, but is it a buy today? Read our full report here, it’s free.

Best Q3: Perma-Fix

Tackling hazardous waste challenges since 1990, Perma-Fix provides environmental waste treatment services.

Perma-Fix reported revenues of $17.45 million, up 3.8% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 7.1%. The business had a stunning quarter with a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ revenue estimates.

The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 6.9% since reporting. It currently trades at $13.76.

Weakest Q3: Clean Harbors

Established in 1980, Clean Harbors provides environmental and industrial services like hazardous and non-hazardous waste disposal and emergency spill cleanups.

Clean Harbors reported revenues of $1.55 billion, up 1.3% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 1.6%. It was a disappointing quarter as it posted a significant miss of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates and a significant miss of analysts’ EPS estimates.

Clean Harbors delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates in the group. Interestingly, the stock is up 4.1% since the results and currently trades at $256.30.

Read our full analysis of Clean Harbors’s results here.

Waste Management

Headquartered in Houston, Waste Management is a provider of comprehensive waste management services in North America.

Waste Management reported revenues of $6.44 billion, up 14.9% year on year. This print lagged analysts' expectations by 0.9%. Overall, it was a slower quarter as it also logged a miss of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates and a slight miss of analysts’ revenue estimates.

The stock is up 3.6% since reporting and currently trades at $221.40.

Read our full, actionable report on Waste Management here, it’s free.

Republic Services

Processing several million tons of recyclables annually, Republic provides waste management services for residences, companies, and municipalities.

Republic Services reported revenues of $4.21 billion, up 3.3% year on year. This number came in 0.8% below analysts' expectations. It was a slower quarter as it also recorded a significant miss of analysts’ sales volume estimates and a slight miss of analysts’ revenue estimates.

The stock is flat since reporting and currently trades at $212.00.

Read our full, actionable report on Republic Services here, it’s free.

The end of an earnings season can be a great time to discover new stocks and assess how companies are handling the current business environment. Let’s take a look at how Clean Harbors and the rest of the waste management stocks fared in Q3.

Waste management companies can possess licenses permitting them to handle hazardous materials. Furthermore, many services are performed through contracts and statutorily mandated, non-discretionary, or recurring, leading to more predictable revenue streams. However, regulation can be a headwind, rendering existing services obsolete or forcing companies to invest precious capital to comply with new, more environmentally-friendly rules. Lastly, waste management companies are at the whim of economic cycles. Interest rates, for example, can greatly impact industrial production or commercial projects that create waste and byproducts.

The 9 waste management stocks we track reported a mixed Q3. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 2.6%.

Luckily, waste management stocks have performed well with share prices up 15.4% on average since the latest earnings results.

Weakest Q3: Clean Harbors

Established in 1980, Clean Harbors provides environmental and industrial services like hazardous and non-hazardous waste disposal and emergency spill cleanups.

Clean Harbors reported revenues of $1.55 billion, up 1.3% year on year. This print fell short of analysts’ expectations by 1.6%. Overall, it was a disappointing quarter for the company with a significant miss of analysts’ adjusted operating income and EPS estimates.

“Our third-quarter performance reflected continued growth in our Technical Services and Safety-Kleen Environmental Services revenues,” said Eric Gerstenberg, Co-Chief Executive Officer.

Clean Harbors delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates of the whole group. Interestingly, the stock is up 8.5% since reporting and currently trades at $267.02.

Read our full report on Clean Harbors here, it’s free.

Best Q3: Perma-Fix

Tackling hazardous waste challenges since 1990, Perma-Fix provides environmental waste treatment services.

Perma-Fix reported revenues of $17.45 million, up 3.8% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 7.1%. The business had a stunning quarter with a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ revenue estimates.

The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 13.8% since reporting. It currently trades at $14.64.

Enviri

Cooling America’s first indoor ice rink in the 19th century, Enviri offers steel and waste handling services.

Enviri reported revenues of $574.8 million, flat year on year, in line with analysts’ expectations. It was a disappointing quarter as it posted full-year EBITDA guidance missing analysts’ expectations significantly and a significant miss of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

Interestingly, the stock is up 52.3% since the results and currently trades at $18.57.

Read our full analysis of Enviri’s results here.

Montrose

Founded to protect a tree-lined two-lane road, Montrose provides air quality monitoring, environmental laboratory testing, compliance, and environmental consulting services.

Montrose reported revenues of $224.9 million, up 25.9% year on year. This print beat analysts’ expectations by 10.9%. Overall, it was an exceptional quarter as it also recorded a solid beat of analysts’ organic revenue estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

Montrose achieved the biggest analyst estimates beat, fastest revenue growth, and highest full-year guidance raise among its peers. The stock is down 3.9% since reporting and currently trades at $23.62.

Read our full, actionable report on Montrose here, it’s free.

Casella Waste Systems

Starting with the founder picking up garbage with a pickup truck he purchased using savings from high school, Casella offers waste management services for businesses, residents, and the government.

Casella Waste Systems reported revenues of $485.4 million, up 17.9% year on year. This number surpassed analysts’ expectations by 1.9%. Aside from that, it was a mixed quarter as it also logged a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates but a significant miss of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates.

Casella Waste Systems had the weakest full-year guidance update among its peers. The stock is up 26.5% since reporting and currently trades at $104.80.

Read our full, actionable report on Casella Waste Systems here, it’s free.