Segment and Related Information

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2020

Segment and Related Information

Segment and Related Information

7.    Segment and Related Information

We evaluate, oversee and manage the financial performance of our Solid Waste business subsidiaries through our 17 Areas. The 17 Areas constitute operating segments and we have evaluated the aggregation criteria and concluded that, based on the similarities between our Areas, including the fact that our Solid Waste business is homogenous across geographies with the same services offered across the Areas, aggregation of our Areas is appropriate for purposes of presenting our reportable segments. Accordingly, we have aggregated our 17 Areas into three tiers that we believe have similar economic characteristics and future prospects based in large part on a review of the Areas’ income from operations margins. The economic variations experienced by our Areas are attributable to a variety of factors, including regulatory environment of the Area; economic environment of the Area, including level of commercial and industrial activity; population density; service offering mix and disposal logistics, with no one factor being singularly determinative of an Area’s current or future economic performance.

In the fourth quarter of 2019, as part of our annual review process, we analyzed the Areas’ income from operations margins for purposes of segment reporting and realigned our Solid Waste tiers to reflect recent changes in their relative economic characteristics and prospects. These changes are the results of various factors including acquisitions, divestitures, business mix and the economic climate of various geographies. As a result, we reclassified the Western Canada Area from Tier 1 to Tier 2 and the Northern California Area from Tier 3 to Tier 2. Reclassifications have been made to our prior period condensed consolidated financial information to conform to the current year presentation.

Tier 1 is comprised of our operations across the Southern U.S., with the exception of the Southern California Area and the Florida Area, and also includes the New England Area and the tri-state Area of Michigan, Indiana and Ohio. Tier 2 includes California, Canada, and the Wisconsin and Minnesota Area. Tier 3 encompasses all the remaining operations including the Pacific Northwest, the Mid-Atlantic region of the U.S., the Florida Area, and the Illinois and Missouri Valley Area.

The operating segments not evaluated and overseen through the 17 Areas are presented herein as “Other” as these operating segments do not meet the criteria to be aggregated with other operating segments and do not meet the quantitative criteria to be separately reported.

Summarized financial information concerning our reportable segments is shown in the following table (in millions):

	Gross		Intercompany		Net		Income
	Operating		Operating		Operating		from
	Revenues		Revenues(c)		Revenues		Operations(d)
Three Months Ended September 30:
2020
Solid Waste:
Tier 1	$	1,521	$	(295)	$	1,226	$	430
Tier 2		984		(209)		775		226
Tier 3		1,572		(304)		1,268		290
Solid Waste		4,077		(808)		3,269		946
Other (a)		615		(23)		592		(7)
		4,692		(831)		3,861		939
Corporate and Other (b)		—		—		—		(259)
Total	$	4,692	$	(831)	$	3,861	$	680
2019
Solid Waste:
Tier 1	$	1,576	$	(295)	$	1,281	$	436
Tier 2		998		(199)		799		226
Tier 3		1,641		(310)		1,331		298
Solid Waste		4,215		(804)		3,411		960
Other (a)		589		(33)		556		(25)
		4,804		(837)		3,967		935
Corporate and Other (b)		—		—		—		(201)
Total	$	4,804	$	(837)	$	3,967	$	734

	Gross		Intercompany		Net		Income
	Operating		Operating		Operating		from
	Revenues		Revenues(c)		Revenues		Operations(d)
Nine Months Ended September 30:
2020
Solid Waste:
Tier 1	$	4,442	$	(846)	$	3,596	$	1,139
Tier 2		2,813		(597)		2,216		596
Tier 3		4,566		(873)		3,693		776
Solid Waste		11,821		(2,316)		9,505		2,511
Other (a)		1,723		(77)		1,646		(42)
		13,544		(2,393)		11,151		2,469
Corporate and Other (b)		—		—		—		(689)
Total	$	13,544	$	(2,393)	$	11,151	$	1,780
2019
Solid Waste:
Tier 1	$	4,602	$	(853)	$	3,749	$	1,268
Tier 2		2,897		(580)		2,317		656
Tier 3		4,780		(900)		3,880		850
Solid Waste		12,279		(2,333)		9,946		2,774
Other (a)		1,757		(94)		1,663		(92)
		14,036		(2,427)		11,609		2,682
Corporate and Other (b)		—		—		—		(631)
Total	$	14,036	$	(2,427)	$	11,609	$	2,051

(a) “Other” includes (i) our Strategic Business Solutions (“WMSBS”) business; (ii) those elements of our landfill gas-to-energy operations and third-party subcontract and administration revenues managed by our Energy and Environmental Services (“EES”) and WM Renewable Energy businesses that are not included in the operations of our reportable segments; (iii) our recycling brokerage services and (iv) certain other expanded service offerings and solutions. In addition, our “Other” segment reflects the results of non-operating entities that provide financial assurance and self-insurance support for our Solid Waste business, net of intercompany activity.

Income from operations for the Other segment for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020 was impacted primarily by an increase in revenue for our WMSBS and WM Renewable Energy businesses as a result of new contract activities in the current year periods and a new renewable energy facility coming online which drove an increase in commodity sales, respectively. Additionally, the nine month period is impacted by a $16 million non-cash charge to write off certain equipment costs recorded in the prior year period offset, in part, by (i) a decrease in revenue within our EES business and (ii) the non-cash impairment of certain assets within our WM Renewable Energy business in the current year period.

(b) Corporate operating results reflect certain costs incurred for various support services that are not allocated to our reportable segments. These support services include, among other things, treasury, legal, information technology, tax, insurance, centralized service center processes, other administrative functions and the maintenance of our closed landfills. Income from operations for “Corporate and Other” also includes costs associated with our long-term incentive program and any administrative expenses or revisions to our estimated obligations associated with divested operations.

(c) Intercompany operating revenues reflect each segment’s total intercompany sales, including intercompany sales within a segment and between segments. Transactions within and between segments are generally made on a basis intended to reflect the market value of the service.

(d) Income from operations provided by our Solid Waste business is generally indicative of the margins provided by our collection, landfill, transfer and recycling lines of business. From time to time, the operating results of our reportable segments are significantly affected by certain transactions or events that management believes are not indicative or representative of our results. In 2020, we revised allocations between our segments including (i) the discontinuation of certain allocations from Corporate and Other to Solid Waste and (ii) allocating certain insurance costs from Other to Solid Waste. Reclassifications have been made to our prior period information for comparability purposes.

In the second quarter of 2020, we recognized $61 million of non-cash impairment charges, including $41 million related to our energy services assets in our Tier 1 segment. Refer to Note 9 for additional information. Our 2020 operating results were also negatively impacted by revenue declines, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, in our landfill and industrial and commercial collection businesses beginning in March 2020 and continuing through the third quarter of 2020, although we began to experience notable recoveries in volumes during the third quarter of 2020.

The mix of operating revenues from our major lines of business are as follows (in millions):

	Three Months Ended				Nine Months Ended
	September 30,				September 30,
	2020		2019		2020		2019
Commercial	$	1,025	$	1,069	$	3,016	$	3,147
Residential		662		661		1,969		1,956
Industrial		709		766		2,027		2,190
Other collection		120		130		347		361
Total collection		2,516		2,626		7,359		7,654
Landfill		946		993		2,707		2,880
Transfer		482		471		1,362		1,357
Recycling		290		245		819		800
Other (a)		458		469		1,297		1,345
Intercompany (b)		(831)		(837)		(2,393)		(2,427)
Total	$	3,861	$	3,967	$	11,151	$	11,609

(a) The “Other” line of business includes (i) our WMSBS business; (ii) our landfill gas-to-energy operations; (iii) certain services within our EES business, including our construction and remediation services and our services associated with the disposal of fly ash and (iv) certain other expanded service offerings and solutions. In addition, our “Other” line of business reflects the results of non-operating entities that provide financial assurance and self-insurance support for our Solid Waste business, net of intercompany activity. Activity related to collection, landfill, transfer and recycling within “Other” has been reclassified to the appropriate line of business for purposes of the presentation in this table.

(b) Intercompany revenues between lines of business are eliminated in the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements included within this report.

Fluctuations in our operating results may be caused by many factors, including period-to-period changes in the relative contribution of revenue by each line of business, changes in commodity prices and general economic conditions. Typically, our revenues and income from operations reflect seasonal patterns. Our operating revenues tend to be somewhat higher in summer months, primarily due to the higher construction and demolition waste volumes. The volumes of industrial and residential waste in certain regions where we operate also tend to increase during the summer months.

Our 2020 operating results were negatively impacted by COVID-19, as volumes declined beginning in March 2020 and continued through the third quarter in our landfill and industrial and commercial collection businesses, due to steps taken by national and local governments to slow the spread of the virus, including travel bans, prohibitions on group events and gatherings, shutdowns of certain businesses, curfews, shelter-in-place orders and recommendations to practice social distancing. We began to experience notable recoveries in volumes during the third quarter of 2020 with many private and

government bodies taking steps to re-open. For customers negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, we proactively waived and suspended certain ancillary service charges, deferred certain annual price increases, extended payment terms and adjusted customer service levels during the first half of 2020. Additionally, for qualifying small and medium businesses, we have provided customers with one-month of free service upon re-opening. While these customer-centric steps also contributed to the revenue decline, these impacts were immaterial. During the third quarter, improved economic conditions positioned us to resume most business practices in accordance with our contractual terms.

Service disruptions caused by severe storms, extended periods of inclement weather or climate extremes resulting from climate change can significantly affect the operating results of the Areas affected. On the other hand, certain destructive weather and climate conditions, such as wildfires in the Western U.S. and hurricanes that most often impact our operations in the Southern and Eastern U.S. during the second half of the year, can increase our revenues in the Areas affected as a result of the waste volumes generated by these events. While weather-related and other event driven special projects can boost revenues through additional work for a limited time, as a result of significant start-up costs and other factors, such revenue can generate earnings at comparatively lower margins.