Research Reveals the Probability of a Soft Second Quarter for Waste Haulers

New York City, NY— Standard & Poor’s environmental services equity analyst forecasts soft second quarter earnings and has reiterated the equity STARS rankings on four waste companies. A leading provider of independent research, indices and ratings, Standard & Poor’s made this announcement through Standard & Poor’s MarketScope, its real-time market intelligence service.

“We expect a soft economy and competitive pricing to continue to have an impact on second quarter revenues for waste companies,” says Stewart Scharf, Environmental Services Equity Analyst, Standard & Poor’s Equity Research Services. “We expect these companies to focus on cost-cutting measures in an effort to improve operating earnings. Waste Management expects its recently announced staff cuts to translate into $50 million in annual savings. We are reiterating our three-STARS “Hold” opinions on Waste Management at $24.91 per share, Allied Waste Industries at $10.76 per share, and Waste Connections at $35.12 per share. We advise a four-STARS “Accumulate” ranking on the shares of Republic Services, which has superior operating margins,” concludes Scharf.

Standard & Poor’s Stock Appreciation Ranking System (STARS), which was first introduced on December 31, 1986, reflects the opinions of Standard & Poor’s equity analysts on the price appreciation potential of 1,200 U.S. stocks for the next 6-12 month period. Rankings range from five-STARS (strong buy) to one-STARS (sell).