The end of the earnings season is always a good time to take a step back and see who shined (and who not so much). Let’s take a look at how environmental and facilities services stocks fared in Q1, starting with BrightView (NYSE: BV).

Many environmental and facility services are non-discretionary (sports stadiums need to be cleaned after events), recurring, and performed through longer-term contracts. This makes for more predictable and stickier revenue streams. Additionally, there has been an increasing focus on emissions and water conservation over the last decade, driving innovation in the sector and demand for new services. Despite these tailwinds, environmental and facility services companies are still at the whim of economic cycles. Interest rates, for example, can greatly impact commercial construction projects that drive incremental demand for these services.

The 13 environmental and facilities services stocks we track reported a strong Q1. As a group, revenues were in line with analysts’ consensus estimates while next quarter’s revenue guidance was 1.2% below.

Thankfully, share prices of the companies have been resilient as they are up 6.4% on average since the latest earnings results.

BrightView (NYSE: BV)

An official field consultant for Major League Baseball, BrightView (NYSE: BV) offers landscaping design, development, and maintenance.

BrightView reported revenues of $662.6 million, down 1.5% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 2.5%. Overall, it was an exceptional quarter for the company with a solid beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

BrightView achieved the highest full-year guidance raise of the whole group. The stock is up 8.1% since reporting and currently trades at $15.72.

Is now the time to buy BrightView? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Best Q1: Aris Water (NYSE: ARIS)

Primarily serving the oil and gas industry, Aris Water (NYSE: ARIS) is a provider of water handling and recycling solutions.

Aris Water reported revenues of $120.5 million, up 16.5% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 6.5%. The business had a stunning quarter with an impressive beat of analysts’ sales volume estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

Aris Water delivered the biggest analyst estimates beat among its peers. The market seems unhappy with the results as the stock is down 7.8% since reporting. It currently trades at $23.47.

Is now the time to buy Aris Water? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Perma-Fix (NASDAQ: PESI)

Tackling hazardous waste challenges since 1990, Perma-Fix (NASDAQ: PESI) provides environmental waste treatment services.

Perma-Fix reported revenues of $13.92 million, up 2.2% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 9%. It was a disappointing quarter as it posted a significant miss of analysts’ EBITDA and EPS estimates.

Perma-Fix delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates in the group. Interestingly, the stock is up 16% since the results and currently trades at $10.27.

Read our full analysis of Perma-Fix’s results here.

Republic Services (NYSE: RSG)

Processing several million tons of recyclables annually, Republic (NYSE: RSG) provides waste management services for residences, companies, and municipalities.

Republic Services reported revenues of $4.01 billion, up 3.8% year on year. This number lagged analysts' expectations by 0.9%. More broadly, it was a mixed quarter as it also recorded a solid beat of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates but sales volume in line with analysts’ estimates.

The stock is up 4.1% since reporting and currently trades at $250.21.

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

Waste Connections (NYSE: WCN)

Operating a network of municipal solid waste landfills in the U.S. and Canada, Waste Connections (NYSE: WCN) is North America's third-largest waste management company providing collection, disposal, and recycling services.

Waste Connections reported revenues of $2.23 billion, up 7.5% year on year. This result was in line with analysts’ expectations. It was a very strong quarter as it also logged a solid beat of analysts’ organic revenue estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates.

The stock is down 1.9% since reporting and currently trades at $191.53.

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

Market Update

As a result of the Fed’s rate hikes in 2022 and 2023, inflation has come down from frothy levels post-pandemic. The general rise in the price of goods and services is trending towards the Fed’s 2% goal as of late, which is good news. The higher rates that fought inflation also didn't slow economic activity enough to catalyze a recession. So far, soft landing. This, combined with recent rate cuts (half a percent in September 2024 and a quarter percent in November 2024) have led to strong stock market performance in 2024. The icing on the cake for 2024 returns was Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. Presidential Election in early November, sending major indices to all-time highs in the week following the election. Still, debates around the health of the economy and the impact of potential tariffs and corporate tax cuts remain, leaving much uncertainty around 2025.

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