Waste Management (NYSE: WM) reported Q3 EPS of $0.74, $0.03 better than the analyst estimate of $0.71. Revenue for the quarter came in at $3.38 billion versus the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion.

David P. Steiner, President and Chief Executive Officer of Waste Management, commented, “Our third quarter results reflect the impact of our continued commitment to core price, disciplined growth, and cost controls, all of which are driving improvement in our key operating metrics. Each of our net income, operating income and margin, operating EBITDA and margin, and earnings per diluted share improved when compared to the third quarter of 2014.(c)

“We made good progress on improving volumes in the third quarter, as internal revenue growth from our traditional solid waste volumes improved 180 basis points compared to the third quarter of 2014, and we saw positive volume growth in our very profitable industrial line of business. Internal revenue growth from volumes has improved each quarter since the first quarter of 2015, and we expect them to continue to strengthen into 2016 with our continued focus on adding higher margin volumes, and avoiding volume growth at below market rates. In addition, we generated strong free cash flow in the third quarter, allowing us to return $472 million to our shareholders.”

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