Waste Management, Inc. vs Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund — how do they compare? Waste Management, Inc. trades at $226.84 (market cap $90.68B), while Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund trades at $85.08. The key difference: Waste Management, Inc. pays a 1.56% dividend while Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund pays none. Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| WM | XLP | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $90.68B | — |
Sector | Industrials | — |
52-Week High | $246.51 | $90.00 |
52-Week Low | $196.77 | $75.61 |
Enterprise Value | $113.47B | — |
Dividend Yield | 1.56% | — |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
WM trades at $226.19, down 0.18% today, with a neutral technical signal and strong fundamentals. Recent Q2 2026 earnings beat estimates at $2.02 per share, driven by pricing discipline and margin gains. Revenue growth is steady, with 2025 revenue at $25.20 billion, though net income margin dipped to 10.74%. The stock shows a bullish analyst consensus with a $263.43 price target, supported by 20 buy ratings and no sell recommendations. Institutional activity includes mixed trades, such as Bank of America reducing holdings by 6.1% in Q1 2026 (SEC filing, 2026-08-01).
Outlook remains positive due to consistent earnings beats and operational efficiency, but risks include high valuation ratios like a P/E of 59.74 and rising debt levels, with total liabilities at $36.31 billion in 2024. Investors should weigh growth potential against margin pressures and macroeconomic headwinds affecting waste volumes.
XLP trades at $85.04, up 0.11% with a neutral technical signal. Analyst consensus is unanimously bullish with a 100% buy rating. The fund offers a defensive play in consumer staples, with recent news highlighting sector resilience amid market shifts toward quality stocks.
Outlook remains positive given strong analyst support and defensive positioning, though limited fundamental data and sector concentration risks warrant monitoring. The dividend yield adds income appeal, but reliance on broad market sentiment for consumer staples drives volatility exposure.
Trailing returns across standard periods
Waste Management ranks as the largest integrated provider of traditional solid waste services in the United States, operating approximately 260 active landfills and about 340 transfer stations. The company serves residential, commercial, and industrial end markets and is also a leading recycler in North America.
Read more on WM →In seeking to track the performance of the index, the fund employs a replication strategy. It generally invests substantially all, but at least 95%, of its total assets in the securities comprising the index. The index includes companies that have been identified as Consumer Staples companies by the GICS®. It is non-diversified.
Read more on XLP →