On November 4, 2024, we completed our acquisition of all outstanding shares of Stericycle for $62.00 per share in cash. The acquisition expands our offerings in the U.S., Canada and parts of Western Europe.

The Company's sustainability growth strategy includes significant planned investments in our WM Renewable Energy and Recycling Processing and Sales segments, while increasing automation and reducing labor dependency.

Company expects to resume share repurchases once the Company's leverage returns to targeted levels, which is currently projected to be about 18 months after the November 2024 acquisition of Stericycle.

Strategic decisions with respect to our asset portfolio may result in impairments to our assets. Execution of our strategy, including growth through acquisitions, such as our recent Stericycle acquisition, and our planned and ongoing expansion of our Recycling Processing and Sales and WM Renewable Energy segments, has caused, and may in the future, cause us to incur substantial additional indebtedness, which may divert capital away from our traditional business operations and other financial plans, and may introduce additional risks and volatility to our financial performance.

The Company reduced overall (5.8%), OSHA recordable (2.2%), and Lost Time (2.4%) injuries in 2024 and remains focused on the prevention of serious injuries.

We may be unsuccessful in implementing our technology-led automation and optimization strategy and other improvements to operational efficiency and such efforts may not yield the intended result.

The benefits we expect to receive from the acquisition of Stericycle depend on the performance of the Stericycle business and its ability to achieve financial and operational targets and strategic goals. Should the Stericycle business be unsuccessful in achieving financial and operational targets and implementing the WM Healthcare Solutions business strategy, it could negatively impact our realization of benefits from the acquisition, as well as our stock price and our future business and financial results.

The legislative and regulatory framework for security, privacy and data protection issues worldwide is rapidly evolving and becoming increasingly demanding and is likely to remain uncertain for the foreseeable future. Applicable laws require businesses to provide notice under certain circumstances to individuals whose personal information has been disclosed in a data breach.

The impact of climate change, and the adoption of climate change legislation or regulations restricting emissions of greenhouse gases, could increase our costs to operate.

The environmental services industry is highly competitive, and if we cannot successfully compete in the marketplace, our business, financial condition and operating results may be materially adversely affected.

Increasing customer preference for alternatives to landfill disposal and bans on certain types of waste could reduce our landfill volumes and cause our revenues and operating results to decline.

We encounter intense competition from governmental, quasi-governmental and private sources in all aspects of our operations. We face intense competition based on pricing and quality of service. We also compete for business based on breadth of service offerings.

We believe that investing in automation to improve processes and drive operational efficiency combined with a focus on the cost to serve our customers will yield an attractive profit margin and enhanced service quality.

We mitigate some of the effects of price fluctuation through the contract terms pursuant to which we sell commodities, such as floor pricing.

We are actively working with policymakers to help them understand the challenges involving the electrification of heavy-duty collection vehicles. If regulation requires widespread adoption of electric powered vehicles before the technology improves, we may suffer operational inefficiencies and incur higher operating costs.

We continue to invest in businesses and technologies that are designed to offer services and solutions ancillary or supplementary to our current operations. The solutions and services include (i) waste collection, processing and recycling; (ii) the development, operation and marketing of waste processing facilities and technologies; (iii) operation of RNG plants and (iv) the development and operation of organic recycling technologies.

Our Company, our customers, and the economy in general are increasingly dependent on continuous information technology systems and digital tools to conduct operations. Should these systems be compromised or cease to function effectively, we may face substantial costs to repair or replace them, as well as potential liability, loss of crucial data, reputational harm, and interruptions to our services or operations.

Inability to adapt to and manage the benefits and risks of artificial intelligence could expose us to liability or put us at a disadvantage. Artificial intelligence could disrupt certain aspects of our business and change use of technology in ways that are not yet known.

During 2024, the Company allocated $3,231 million of available cash to capital expenditures. We also allocated $1,472 million of available cash to our shareholders during 2024 through dividends and common stock repurchases.

During 2024, the Company allocated $3,231 million of available cash to capital expenditures. We also allocated $1,472 million of available cash to our shareholders during 2024 through dividends and common stock repurchases.

As a result of the Stericycle acquisition, the Company has temporarily suspended share repurchases. We expect to resume share repurchases once the Company's leverage returns to targeted levels, which is currently projected to be about 18 months after the November 2024 acquisition of Stericycle.

Consistent with our Company's long-standing commitment to sustainability and environmental stewardship, we have published our 2024 Sustainability Report, providing details on our sustainability-related performance and outlining progress towards our 2030 sustainability goals.

Jurisdictions are increasingly taking action to reduce greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions through a broad range of climate policies. Landfills are one of the focal points for advancing climate-related goals, and we are actively working with policymakers to promote recognition of the significant reductions in GHG emissions that our industry already has achieved and the work being done to further measure and reduce emissions.

We may not be able to achieve our sustainability-related goals, including reduction of our greenhouse gas emissions, or execute on our sustainability-related growth strategy and initiatives, within planned timelines or anticipated budget, which could damage our reputation and negatively impact the benefits anticipated from our investments.

Market disruption, including labor shortages, external strikes, and supply chain constraints, and macroeconomic pressures, including inflation, have recently had, and may in the future have, an adverse impact on our business and results of operations.

The regulatory environment in which we operate is influenced by changes in governmental administrations and leadership. The priorities set forth under the prior U.S. presidential administration, for example, were generally in favor of increasing regulation, while the new administration is generally anticipated to reverse course on many regulatory policies.

In 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a number of decisions that will affect the future of federal regulation, including Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo. The Loper decision overturned the Chevron doctrine, which had held that a court must give deference to a regulatory agency's reasonable interpretation of an ambiguous statute the agency implements.