The Foolish investing philosophy is all about holding onto great businesses through thick and thin. But beyond revenue and profits, great businesses often need to prove they can withstand pressure – from economic downturns to shifting consumer trends and rising competition.
Waste Connections (TSX: WCN) fits that definition perfectly. While it may have a boring-sounding business, its numbers, growth fundamentals, and the strategy behind it are anything but boring. With steady growth, expanding margins, and a growing dividend, it continues to prove itself as a strong pick for patient investors.
Let’s take a closer look at some key factors that make Waste Connections one of the smartest buy-and-hold stocks in Canada – and why it could quietly reward long-term investors.
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Why Waste Connections is a top buy-and-hold stock
One key factor that makes Waste Connections an amazing buy-and-hold stock is its ability to keep delivering results even amid a tough economic environment. If you don’t know it already, this firm mainly provides non-hazardous waste collection, transfer, disposal, and recycling, primarily in the U.S., with select operations in Canada. It also handles resource recovery and oilfield waste treatment through its specialized facilities.
WCN stock currently trades at $231.85 per share and carries a market cap of $59.4 billion. Though the stock has pulled back about 12% over the last year, it has gained over 78% in the past five years and more than 460% over the past decade. Despite recent weakness in share price, Waste Connections continues to grow its business and return value to shareholders.
It pays a quarterly dividend, which was just raised by 11.1%, which gives it an annualized dividend yield of nearly 0.9%. While this yield may look small, it reflects the company’s strategy of reinvesting heavily into long-term growth while still offering consistent, rising payouts.
Stable growth even in a tough environment
In the third quarter of 2025, Waste Connections reported a 5.1% YoY (year-over-year) increase in revenue to US$2.5 billion, which exceeded Street analysts’ expectations. It posted adjusted earnings of US$1.44 per share, up 6.7% from a year ago.
What helped drive this growth was strong pricing across its solid waste operations and disciplined cost control. Despite some ongoing pressure from commodity prices, the company managed to expand its underlying solid waste margins by 80 basis points. Although volumes fell slightly due to the shedding of low-margin contracts, the company continued to focus on profitable growth.
Focused strategy with long-term rewards in mind
So far this year, Waste Connections has closed or signed acquisitions worth about US$300 million in annualized revenue, including two large private companies in Florida. In addition, the company expects even more merger and acquisition activity going into early 2026, which could add depth and efficiency to its operations without unnecessary risks.
Meanwhile, WCN is also investing in technology and automation to further expand profit margins. From digitizing operations to real-time route optimization and customer engagement tools, these efforts are already showing results.
Even with commodity headwinds and volume softness in certain regions, the company has stayed firm on its guidance and continues to generate strong free cash flow, which reached US$1.1 billion in the first nine months of 2025.
Built to quietly compound over time
Whether it’s through smart acquisitions, consistent dividend hikes, or solid free cash flow, Waste Connections is one of those companies that simply knows how to deliver – and keep doing it across cycles. And that’s what makes it a smart long-term pick for Canadian investors.
