GFL Environmental Inc.
- Open
- 42.87
- Day high
- 43.05
- Day low
- 42.48
- Prev close
- 42.59
- Volume
- 160K
- Mkt cap
- $18.5B
- P/E (TTM)
- —
- EPS (TTM)
- —
- P/B
- 3.5
- P/S
- 3.7
- Yield
- 0.15%
- Per share
- $0.06
GFL Environmental Inc. (GFL) is a Industrials company listed on NYSE. The stock is down 12% over the past year. Drillr has 1 published research article covering GFL.
GFL Environmental Inc. (GFL) financials & analyst ratings
Fundamentals (TTM)
Analyst consensus · 2 analysts
Source: exchange market data + company filings. Figures are trailing-twelve-month or as most recently reported. For informational purposes only — not investment advice.
GFL earnings date, history & EPS estimates
| Report date | EPS est | EPS actual | Surprise | Revenue | Rev. surprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 30, 2026 | $0.17 | $0.14 | -17.6% | $1.4B | +2.9% |
| Apr 30, 2026 | $0.05 | $0.06 | +20.0% | $1.2B | +1.0% |
| Feb 11, 2026 | $0.14 | $0.26 | +85.7% | $1.2B | -26.3% |
| Nov 5, 2025 | $0.19 | $0.17 | -10.5% | $1.2B | -27.1% |
| Jul 30, 2025 | $0.19 | $0.19 | +0.0% | $1.2B | -27.2% |
| Apr 30, 2025 | $0.04 | $-0.06 | -250.0% | $1.1B | -28.1% |
| Jul 31, 2024 | $0.20 | $0.21 | +5.0% | $1.5B | +1.2% |
| May 1, 2024 | $-0.05 | $-0.34 | -582.3% | $1.3B | +2.1% |
| Feb 20, 2024 | $0.18 | $0.04 | -77.8% | $1.4B | +2.5% |
| Nov 1, 2023 | $0.23 | $0.24 | +4.3% | $1.4B | +2.0% |
| Jul 26, 2023 | $0.20 | $0.36 | +80.0% | $1.5B | -0.3% |
| Apr 27, 2023 | $0.01 | $0.06 | +301.3% | $1.3B | +7.7% |
GFL Environmental Inc. company profile
Overview
GFL Environmental Inc. (NYSE:GFL) is a North American diversified environmental services company founded in 2007 and headquartered in Vaughan, Canada. The company went public in March 2020 and has since grown through aggressive acquisitions and organic expansion to become one of the largest waste management companies in North America. GFL operates across Canada and the United States, providing comprehensive environmental services ranging from traditional waste collection and disposal to specialized soil remediation and liquid waste management. The company has undergone significant strategic transformation, including the recent sale of its Environmental Services division for $6 billion in early 2025, allowing it to focus primarily on its core solid waste management operations while substantially reducing debt and returning capital to shareholders.
Business
GFL Environmental operates in the waste management industry, which encompasses the collection, transportation, processing, and disposal of various types of waste materials. The industry serves as a critical infrastructure component for modern society, handling everything from household garbage to industrial byproducts and contaminated soil. The company's operations are divided into two primary business segments. The Solid Waste Management division represents the core of GFL's business, accounting for approximately 75-80% of total revenue based on recent financial reports. This segment provides comprehensive waste services including collection (picking up waste from homes, businesses, and industrial sites), transportation (moving waste to processing facilities), transfer (consolidating waste at intermediate facilities), recycling (processing recyclable materials through Material Recovery Facilities or MRFs), and disposal (final placement in landfills or waste-to-energy facilities). The division serves municipal governments, residential customers, and commercial and industrial clients across North America. The Environmental Services segment, which was recently sold in early 2025 for $6 billion, previously contributed 20-25% of revenue and specialized in more complex environmental remediation work. This included soil remediation (cleaning up contaminated land from industrial sites, gas stations, or other polluted areas), infrastructure services (civil engineering, demolition, excavation, and shoring work), and liquid waste management (collecting, processing, and disposing of industrial liquids, oils, and other hazardous materials). GFL also operates emerging business lines including Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) programs, where manufacturers pay fees for the collection and recycling of their packaging materials, and Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) facilities that capture methane from landfills and convert it into clean energy. These newer initiatives are expected to contribute significantly to future growth, with EPR projected to generate $40-50 million in EBITDA by 2025 and RNG facilities targeting $50-60 million in EBITDA contribution.
Competitive moat
GFL Environmental operates in an industry with several structural characteristics that create competitive advantages, though the strength of these moats varies by geographic market and service type. The company's primary moat stems from the high barriers to entry in waste management, which requires substantial upfront capital investments in trucks, transfer stations, landfills, and processing facilities, along with complex regulatory permits that can take years to obtain. Geographic density and route optimization provide significant competitive advantages once established in a market. Waste collection is inherently local, and companies with the highest density of customers in a given area can operate the most efficient routes, reducing costs per pickup. This creates a natural tendency toward local monopolies or duopolies. GFL has built strong market positions in key Canadian metropolitan areas and is expanding density in U.S. markets through targeted acquisitions. The company benefits from regulatory barriers as waste management is heavily regulated at municipal, provincial/state, and federal levels. Environmental permits for landfills and processing facilities are difficult and expensive to obtain, creating protection for existing operators. Additionally, many municipal contracts are long-term (5-10 years) and involve significant switching costs, providing revenue stability. However, GFL's moat strength varies significantly by market segment. In commercial and industrial waste, competition is more intense with multiple national players like Waste Management and Republic Services, along with numerous regional operators. The company faces pricing pressure and customer churn in these segments. The municipal contract business provides stronger moat characteristics due to the bidding process and long contract terms, though these contracts often come with lower margins. Potential competitive threats include larger competitors with superior scale economies, new entrants in specific markets, and potential disruption from technology-enabled waste management solutions. The industry is also facing pressure from environmental regulations that could require significant capital investments, potentially favoring larger, better-capitalized players. GFL's recent focus on higher-margin, specialized services like EPR and RNG represents an attempt to build stronger competitive differentiation, though these markets are still developing and face their own competitive dynamics.
Risks & safety
GFL Environmental presents a mixed margin of safety profile with both strengths and concerns following its recent strategic transformation. **Overall Assessment:** Moderate to low margin of safety due to high leverage and capital intensity, though recent debt reduction improves the profile. **Debt and Solvency:** - Net leverage ratio of approximately 4.0x EBITDA (down from over 5x historically) - Total debt of approximately $5.8 billion after recent $3.5 billion debt repayment from ES sale proceeds - Debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93x as of Q1 2025 - Current ratio of 0.82x indicates potential liquidity concerns - Free cash flow has been volatile, ranging from negative $99 million in Q1 2025 to positive $172 million in Q4 2024 **Valuation Metrics:** - EV/EBITDA of 31.7x appears elevated, though this may reflect transitional impacts from the ES sale - Price-to-earnings ratio of 1.9x seems unusually low, likely due to one-time items affecting earnings - Price-to-book ratio of 3.3x is reasonable for an infrastructure-heavy business - Graham number of $65.24 compared to current price around $50 suggests potential undervaluation **Other Considerations:** - Capital-intensive business model requires ongoing investment in trucks, facilities, and landfill development - Cyclical exposure to construction and industrial activity affects volume growth - Regulatory compliance costs and environmental liabilities create ongoing financial obligations
Recent development
GFL Environmental has undergone significant strategic transformation over the past few years, culminating in major portfolio changes in 2024-2025. The most significant development was the sale of the Environmental Services division for $6 billion in early 2025, which represented approximately 20-25% of the company's revenue. Management used the proceeds strategically: repaying over $3.5 billion in debt to reduce leverage from over 5x to approximately 3x EBITDA, and conducting share buybacks of over $2.5 billion to return capital to shareholders. The company has aggressively pursued margin expansion initiatives, achieving adjusted EBITDA margins that have grown from the mid-20s percentage range to over 30% in recent quarters. This improvement stems from disciplined pricing strategies (achieving 5-6% annual price increases), operational efficiency improvements, and the strategic shedding of low-margin contracts. Management has set a target of reaching mid-30s EBITDA margins through continued operational improvements. Strategic investments in higher-margin growth areas have become a key focus. The company has invested approximately $275-300 million annually in organic growth initiatives, particularly in Renewable Natural Gas facilities and Extended Producer Responsibility programs. RNG facilities are expected to contribute $50-60 million in EBITDA by 2025, while EPR contracts are projected to generate $40-50 million in EBITDA, representing significant growth from minimal contributions in prior years. GFL has also pursued an aggressive acquisition strategy, completing 39 acquisitions in 2023 and 11 in 2024, primarily focusing on smaller "tuck-in" deals that add density to existing markets rather than geographic expansion. The company has deployed $600-900 million annually in M&A activity, targeting businesses that can benefit from operational synergies and improved asset utilization. Operational improvements have included technology investments in route optimization, tablet systems for drivers, and camera technology for enhanced safety and efficiency. The company has also focused on reducing employee turnover rates from historical levels around 30% to approximately 20%, which reduces training costs and improves service quality. Leadership changes include the transition of COO responsibilities from Greg Yorston to Billy Soffera in January 2025, representing a generational shift in management.
GFL company profile · for informational purposes only — not investment advice.
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