Republic Services Earnings: An Early Look

Updated

Earnings season is in full swing, with huge numbers of companies having already given their latest numbers to investors. The key to making smart investment decisions with stocks releasing their quarter reports is to anticipate how they'll do before they announce results, leaving you fully prepared to respond quickly to whatever inevitable surprises arise. That way, you'll be less likely to make an uninformed knee-jerk reaction to news that turns out to be exactly the wrong move.

Let's turn to Republic Services . The trash hauler and recycling company has done a good job standing up to competition, recovering strongly over the past quarter. Let's take an early look at what's been happening with Republic Services over the past quarter and what we're likely to see in its quarterly report on Thursday.

Stats on Republic Services

Analyst EPS Estimate

$0.43

Change From Year-Ago EPS

(19%)

Revenue Estimate

$2 billion

Change From Year-Ago Revenue

(1.2%)

Earnings Beats in Past 4 Quarters

2


Source: Yahoo! Finance.

Will Republic Services clean up this quarter?
Republic Services has analysts expecting slow but steady growth for the foreseeable future. Despite year-over-year drops in earnings and revenue this quarter, analysts expect 2013 to be a better year for the company, with steady progress into 2014 as well. The stock has reflected that enthusiasm, moving higher by about 18% since early November.

Republic Services is about much more than just hauling trash. With the opportunity to cash in on valuable initiatives like recycling, landfill gas, and waste-to-energy technology, Republic Services is fighting rival Waste Management and waste-to-energy leader Covanta to get the best trash feedstock they can find.

Republic is also looking at projects to take advantage of energy-related projects that build on its trash business. The company has an agreement with Clean Energy Fuels to supply landfill gas for Clean Energy's natural-gas fueling stations. Also, Republic recently completed a solar field on an existing landfill site, taking advantage of otherwise unusable land to produce electricity for commercial and residential use.

One thing to look for in this quarter's report is any sign that Republic could decide to spin off its land and property assets as a real estate investment trust. That could save Republic on its tax bill and give investors greater income, but with Waste Management making a statement saying it wasn't planning to convert in the immediate future, shares gave back most of their initial gains on the REIT speculation.

Republic's recent results have suffered from municipal budget pressures and a decline in waste. But over the long haul, the trash hauler has plenty of potential to grow and thrive for the foreseeable future.

Can Republic Services top Waste Management?
Find out whether Republic or Waste Management will be the leader in the trash industry going forward by checking out our premium research report on Waste Management. Inside, you'll find out everything Waste Management has been doing as our analysts assess whether Waste Management is a better buy than Republic and its competitors. Just click here now for access.

Click here to add Republic Services to My Watchlist, which can find all of our Foolish analysis on it and all your other stocks.

The article Republic Services Earnings: An Early Look originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Dan Caplinger has no position in any stocks mentioned. You can follow him on Twitter @DanCaplinger. The Motley Fool recommends Clean Energy Fuels, Republic Services, and Waste Management. The Motley Fool owns shares of Waste Management. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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