Debt

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2024

Debt

Debt

3.    Debt

The following table summarizes the major components of debt at principal amounts as of each balance sheet date (in millions) and provides the maturities and interest rate ranges of each major category as of June 30, 2024:

	June 30,		December 31,
	2024		2023
Commercial paper program (weighted average interest rate of 5.5% as of June 30, 2024 and 5.6% as of December 31, 2023)	$	1,565	$	860
Senior notes, maturing through 2050, interest rates ranging from 0.75% to 7.75% (weighted average interest rate of 3.7% as of June 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023)		11,220		11,376
Canadian senior notes, C$500 million maturing September 2026, interest rate of 2.6%		366		378
Tax-exempt bonds, maturing through 2053, fixed and variable interest rates ranging from 0.55% to 5.0% (weighted average interest rate of 3.3% as of June 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023)		2,853		2,883
Financing leases and other, maturing through 2082 (weighted average interest rate of 5.0% as of June 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023) (a)		856		855
Debt issuance costs, discounts and other		(117)		(123)
		16,743		16,229
Current portion of long-term debt		242		334
Long-term debt, less current portion	$	16,501	$	15,895

(a) Excluding our landfill financing leases, the maturities of our financing leases and other debt obligations extend through 2059.

Debt Classification

As of June 30, 2024, we had approximately $3.8 billion of debt maturing within the next 12 months, including (i) $1.6 billion of short-term borrowings under our commercial paper program (net of related discount on issuance); (ii) $1.6 billion of tax-exempt bonds with term interest rate periods that expire within the next 12 months, which is prior to their scheduled maturities; (iii) $422 million of 3.125% senior notes that mature in March 2025 and (iv) $167 million of other debt with scheduled maturities within the next 12 months, including $30 million of tax-exempt bonds. As of June 30, 2024, we have classified $3.6 billion of debt maturing in the next 12 months as long-term because we have the intent and ability to refinance these borrowings on a long-term basis as supported by the forecasted available capacity under our $3.5 billion long-term U.S. and Canadian revolving credit facility (“$3.5 billion revolving credit facility”) and our issuance of $1.5 billion of senior notes in July 2024, the proceeds of which were used primarily to reduce outstanding borrowings under our commercial paper program. The remaining $242 million of debt maturing in the next 12 months is classified as current obligations.

Access to and Utilization of Credit Facilities and Commercial Paper Program

$3.5 Billion Revolving Credit Facility — In May 2024, we amended and restated our $3.5 billion U.S. and Canadian revolving credit facility, extending the term through May 2029. The agreement includes a $1.0 billion accordion feature that may be used to increase total capacity in future periods, and we have the option to request up to two one-year extensions. Waste Management of Canada Corporation and WM Quebec Inc., each an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of WMI, are borrowers under the $3.5 billion revolving credit facility, and the agreement permits borrowing in Canadian dollars up to the U.S. dollar equivalent of $375 million, with such borrowings to be repaid in Canadian dollars. WM

Holdings, a wholly-owned subsidiary of WMI, guarantees all the obligations under the $3.5 billion revolving credit facility. 

The $3.5 billion revolving credit facility provides us with credit capacity to be used for cash borrowings, to support letters of credit and to support our commercial paper program. The interest rates we pay on outstanding U.S. or Canadian loans are based on the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”) administered by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York or the Canadian Overnight Repo Rate Average (“CORRA”) administered by the Bank of Canada, respectively, plus a spread depending on our senior public debt rating assigned by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. and Standard and Poor’s Global Ratings. The spread above SOFR or CORRA can range from 0.585% to 1.025% per annum, plus applicable credit adjustments. We also pay certain other fees set forth in the $3.5 billion revolving credit facility agreement, including a facility fee based on the aggregate commitment, regardless of usage. As of June 30, 2024, we had no outstanding borrowings under this facility. We had $180 million of letters of credit issued and $1.6 billion of outstanding borrowings (net of related discount on issuance) under our commercial paper program, both supported by the facility, leaving unused and available credit capacity of $1.7 billion as of June 30, 2024.

Commercial Paper Program — We have a commercial paper program that enables us to borrow funds for up to 397 days at competitive interest rates. The rates we pay for outstanding borrowings are based on the term of the notes. The commercial paper program is fully supported by our $3.5 billion revolving credit facility. As of June 30, 2024, we had $1.6 billion of outstanding borrowings (net of related discount on issuance) under our commercial paper program. In July 2024, we issued $1.5 billion of new senior notes and used the proceeds primarily to repay outstanding commercial paper borrowings.

Other Letter of Credit Lines — As of June 30, 2024, we had utilized $846 million of other uncommitted letter of credit lines with terms maturing through December 2027.

Debt Borrowings and Repayments

Commercial Paper Program — During the six months ended June 30, 2024, we made cash repayments of $8.5 billion, which were more than offset by $9.2 billion of cash borrowings (net of related discount on issuance).

Senior Notes — During the six months ended June 30, 2024, we repaid $156 million of WMI’s 3.5% senior notes upon maturity in May 2024.