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By the numbers
Q1 net loss: $4.8M
Compared to a net loss of $4.1 million in Q1 2024
Q1 adjusted EBITDA: $86.4M
Up 21.7% year over year
- Financial picture: CEO John Casella noted a strong start to the year during Casella Waste Systems’ Q1 earnings call on Friday. Revenues, adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization and adjusted free cash flow were all up over 20% year over year, he said. Challenging winter weather impacted operations in the Northeast earlier this year, but “our business is performing well, and our guidance for the year remains unchanged,” he said.
- Pricing progress: Solid waste pricing was up 5.6% year over year, driven by 5.8% collection price growth and 5.5% disposal price growth, according to an earnings release. Casella’s landfill business grew 7% organically due to both price and volume contributions, added President Ned Coletta, in part because Casella continues to focus on internalizing more of its own tons, he explained. Pricing guidance for the year is about 5%.
- Volumes: Landfill volumes were up 3.9% year over year, while collection volume was down 1.7% in the quarter due in part to weak roll-off tons and less transfer station volume, Coletta said. Along with increased internalization, the company has “revamped our sales efforts,” which drove a 7.4% volume growth in its national accounts business, which continues “to gain traction with larger accounts in our new geographies.”
- M&A updates: John Casella said the company acquired four businesses so far in 2025 representing about $50 million in annualized revenue. Those include a tuck-in in the western New York market, he said. The company’s active M&A pipeline is worth over $500 million in revenue. The company maintains about $900 million in liquidity for future M&A, Coletta said, which will focus mainly on densifying its existing footprint, establishing markets adjacent to its coverage areas and growing strategically along the Eastern Seaboard, John Casella said.
- Tariff considerations: Casella’s exposure to tariff impacts is low, due partly to its focus on domestic business, executives said. “We've seen virtually no efforts by vendors today to pass on tariff-related increases, but we're closely monitoring the situation,” Coletta added, “and we're in dialogue with key vendors to understand potential impacts as the situation evolves.”
- Resource Solutions updates: Casella’s resource solutions segment, which includes recycling operations, reported recycling and other processing revenue up 7.4%. Average commodity revenue per ton was “relatively flat” compared with this time last year, and Coletta said overall commodity prices have been stable recently. The fiber market has recently experienced softness, but volume and revenue from plastics and aluminum have somewhat offset that, he said.
- Recycling facility updates: Casella’s recently upgraded Willimantic Recycling Facility in Connecticut came back online in January. The company confirmed the facility is on track to deliver $4 million of EBITDA in 2025. Casella is in the process of identifying other recycling facilities that “could potentially benefit from conversions in the coming years,” Coletta said.
- Fleet optimization: Casella continues its plan for route optimization, onboard computing and truck automation. In 2025, the company plans to add 40 more automated trucks and eliminate about 50 rear load trucks. In 2024 it added 17 automated trucks and eliminated 22 rear loaders.
