Waste Management, Inc.

After the speaker's presentation, there will be a question and answer session. To ask a question during the session, you will need to press star 11 on your telephone. You will then hear an automated message advising Johannes Rave. Please note that today's conference may be recorded. I will now hand the conference over to your speaker host, Ed Ago, Vice President of Investillations. Please go ahead.

Thank you, Olivia. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us for our third quarter 2025 earnings conference call. With me this morning are Jim Fish, Chief Executive Officer, John Morris, President and Chief Operating Officer, and Davina Rankin, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. You will hear prepared comments from each of them today. Jim will cover high-level financials and provide a strategic update. John will cover an operating overview, and Davina will cover the details of the financials. Before we get started, please note that we have filed a form 8K that includes the earnings press release and is available on our website at www.wm.com. The Form 8-K, the press release, and the schedules for the press release include important information. During the call, you will hear forward-looking statements, which are based on current expectations, projections, or opinions about future periods. All forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. Some of these risks and uncertainties are discussed in today's press release and in our files with the SEC, including our most recent Form 10-K and Form 10-Qs. John will discuss our results in the areas of yield and volume, which, unless stated otherwise, are more specifically references to internal revenue growth or IRG from yield or volume. During the call, Jim, John, and Davina will discuss operating EBITDA, which is income from operations before depreciation and amortization. References to the WM legacy business are total WM results excluding the WM healthcare solution segment. Any comparisons, unless otherwise stated, will be with the prior year period. Net income, EPS, income from operations and margin, operating EBITDA and margin, operating expense and margin, and SG&A expense and margin have been adjusted to enhance comparability by excluding certain items that management believes do not reflect a fundamental business performance or results of operations. These adjusted measures, in addition to free cash flow, are non-GAAP measures. Please refer to the earnings press release and tables, which can be found on the company's website at www.wm.com, for reconciliations to the most comparable GAAP measures and additional information about our use of non-GAAP measures. This call is being recorded and will be available 24 hours a day beginning approximately 1 p.m. Eastern time today. To hear a replay of the call, access the WM website at www.investors.wm.com. Time-sensitive information provided during today's call, which is occurring on October 28, 2025, may no longer be accurate at the time of a replay. Any redistribution, retransmission, or rebroadcast of this call in any form without the express written consent of WM is prohibited. Now I'll turn the call over to WM CEO, Jim Fish.

Okay, thanks, Ed, and thank you all for joining us. Our team delivered another strong quarter of operational and financial performance. This led to third quarter operating EBITDA growth of more than 15% and free cash flow growth of nearly 33%. These strong results reflect the hard work of our teams, the resilience of our business model, and the value of the intentional investments we've made across our business. Our collection and disposal business continues to be the engine behind our growth, contributing more than half of the year-over-year increase in operating EBITDA. The business drove strong, organic revenue growth, and we're particularly pleased with our ability to attract robust disposal volumes to our network. MSW grew 5% in a quarter, and special waste volumes grew 5.5%, driven by new event work. We also remain focused on maximizing customer lifetime value through our pricing strategies and leveraging technology to optimize our cost structure. And we continue to pursue token acquisition opportunities to extend our network and drive further internalization. Turning to WM Healthcare Solutions. The strategic value of the medical waste platform within WM's portfolio is more evident than ever. We've successfully integrated the people and operations of healthcare solutions into the existing management and operating structure of our 16 areas. This not only streamlines our operating model, but also allows us to apply our playbook, the WM way, across the acquired business, fostering a culture of customer focus, continuous improvement, and accountability. This aligned structure accelerates collaboration and unlocks new opportunities for growth. As an example, one of our top hospital customers has increased their annual spend with us by over $5 million after choosing us as their single provider solution across their multi-state network. This is precisely the type of cross-selling opportunity that gives us confidence in the long-term value of our combined offering. In our sustainability businesses, our solid performance is the direct result of success in managing contract structures and leveraging innovative technologies. Even as recycled commodity prices declined nearly 35 percent compared to last year, our recycling segment operating even grew by 18 percent, which is a phenomenal result. Our new renewable natural gas facilities drove higher year-over-year contributions from the renewable energy segment. Though growth was lower sequentially due to the timing of RIN sales, our full year growth expectations remain consistent with our initial outlook. I'm proud of the momentum we're building in this final stretch of 25, and even more excited about the opportunities ahead. These last several years, including this one, have been years of deliberate and disciplined investment in technology and automation in our fleet, in new recycling and renewable energy renewable natural gas facilities, and in a premier medical waste platform. Each of these investments was made with intention and with a long-term view positioning us to serve our customers better while structurally lowering our cost to serve. We're pleased to share that 2026 is setting up to be a year of harvesting the benefits of our investments, which will be partially evident in our free cash flow, as our early view for next year suggests free cash flow approaching $3.8 billion. We remain thoughtful and disciplined in our capital allocation, and we fully expect to translate this performance into commensurate returns for our shareholders. In closing, WM is exceptionally well positioned for future success. Our long-term strategy is delivering, and the investments we've made are paying off. As always, our results are a testament to the hard work and dedication of our people, and I sincerely appreciate the contributions of each and every team member. I'll now turn the call over to John to discuss our operational results.