Waste Connections, Inc.

Good morning and welcome to the Waste Connections Q3 2022 Earnings Conference Call. All participants will be in listen-only mode. Should you need assistance, please signal a conference specialist by pressing the star key, followed by zero. After today's presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. To ask a question, you may press star then one on your telephone keypad. To withdraw your question, please press star then two. Please note that this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Worthing Jackman, President and CEO, please go ahead.

Thank you, operator, and good morning. And congrats to the Astros after a no-no last night. Yes, Jason Kraft, you can pay me now. I'd like to welcome everyone to this conference call to discuss our third quarter results and to provide a detailed outlook for the fourth quarter and updated outlook for 2022, as well as some early thoughts about 2023. I'm joined this morning by Marianne Whitney, our CFO. As noted in our earnings release, strong execution once again provided for better than expected results, driven in the third quarter by continued acceleration of solid waste pricing and higher E&P activity, along with acquisitions closed during the period. Most notably, we overcame 50 basis points in incremental headwinds, primarily from the precipitous decline in recycled commodity values in September. to beat our outlook and expand adjusted EBITDA margin both sequentially and on a year-over-year basis, excluding the dilutive impact from acquisitions completed since a year-ago period. Our outperformance through the third quarter and acquisitions closed year-to-date enhance our visibility for expected double-digit revenue and adjusted free cash flow growth in 2023, led by pricing expected to remain at elevated levels plus contributions from acquisitions already signed or closed year-to-date. In addition, we expect underlying margin expansion to overcome headwinds from recent decreases in recycled commodity values. Before we get into much more detail, let me turn the call over to Mary Ann for our forelooking disclaimer and other housekeeping items.

Thank you, Worthing, and good morning. The discussion during today's call includes forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Actual results could differ materially from those made in such forward-looking statements due to various risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause actual results to differ are discussed both in the cautionary statement included in our November 2nd earnings release and in greater detail in Waste Connections filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Securities Commissions or similar regulatory authorities in Canada. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, as there may be additional risks of which we are not presently aware or that we currently believe are immaterial, which could have an adverse impact on our business. We make no commitment to revise or update any forward-looking statements in order to reflect events or circumstances that may change after today's date. On the call, we will discuss non-GAAP measures such as adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net income attributable to waste connections on both the dollar basis and per diluted share, and adjusted free cash flow. Please refer to our earnings releases for a reconciliation of such non-GAAP measures to the most comparable GAAP measures. Management uses certain non-GAAP measures to evaluate and monitor the ongoing financial performance of our operations. Other companies may calculate these non-GAAP measures differently. I will now turn the call back over to Worthing.