This is the Stock I’m Retiring On: It’s Already Up 15% Since September Sheryar Siddiq Mon, November 9, 2026 at 1:20 PM EST 4 min read WM +0.37% ^GSPC +2.40% Trade WM on Coinbase Trading disclosure Trading disclosure The above button links to Coinbase. Yahoo Finance is not a broker-dealer or investment adviser and does not offer securities or cryptocurrencies for sale or facilitate trading. Coinbase pays us for certain activity generated through this link. Prices displayed are informational.
We just published our list of the 10 Stocks I Am Retiring On, and Waste Management Inc. (NYSE:WM) ranked 6th on the list.
A retirement portfolio needs businesses that can keep rewarding shareholders long after the current market narrative fades. Dividends show how important those quieter sources of return can be: according to S&P Dow Jones Indices research cited in our coverage of Dividend Aristocrat stocks, dividends have accounted for roughly 31% of the S&P 500's total return since 1926, with capital appreciation accounting for the remaining 69%. In the 1940s and 1970s, dividend income accounted for more than half of total returns. The lesson is not that every retirement investment must pay dividends, but rather that long-term shareholder gains can come from sources other than rising share prices.
Warren Buffett offers a useful test for that level of dedication. He has advised investors to buy only what they would "perfectly happy to hold if the market shut down for 10 years." Rather than relying on the potential to sell tomorrow, investors should consider how much the underlying business may make over a decade. That business-owner perspective is the common thread running through Insider Monkey's discussion of Warren Buffett's best long-term stocks to buy.
For retirement investors, the distinction between a high starting dividend and an increasing dividend is crucial. The S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats index requires components to have increased dividends for at least 25 years in a row. This is a record that spans numerous economic cycles, though it doesn't guarantee future growth. Insider Monkey's analysis of dividend growth stocks to buy and hold in 2026 looked at 68 such companies and evaluated their five-year average dividend growth rates.
Of course, financial strength is just as important as payout record. A dividend competes with debt repayments, capital spending, and other financial requirements. Liabilities are broader than debt, but the comparison shows the type of liquidity cushion worth considering alongside dividend yield.
Waste Management made the list because Matt DiLallo described it as an ideal core retirement holding, and Jeff Siegel stated he planned to hold it for decades. Its short interest came in at 1.89%, and 64 hedge funds owned shares in Q2 2026, putting it sixth in our rankings.
Waste Management, Inc. is North America's largest waste hauler, and the premium it charges is based on pricing power and cash flow. Third-quarter revenue increased by 6.3% to $6.85 billion, adjusted operational EBITDA rose by 5.8% to $2.12 billion at a 31.0% margin, and free cash flow increased by 42% to $3.01 billion through the nine months. Guidance calls for $3.75 billion to $3.85 billion in free cash flow, roughly a 4% yield on a market capitalization of almost $94 billion.
DiLallo listed WM as a key holding in his October 2026 retirement-portfolio discussion. He cited 23 years of dividend increases, an 8.7% compound annual dividend growth rate over the previous decade, and a 12.4% decrease in outstanding shares since 2015. Its A-/A3 credit ratings and beta of around 0.56 confirmed his belief that WM could combine wealth preservation and expansion, while its network of landfills and other specialized facilities bolstered the core business case.
However, the company's multiple leaves little margin for mistake. Adjusted EPS of $2.15 missed by $0.03, and shares declined around 3% following the release, with management citing lower volumes and increased fuel costs. Free cash flow also flattered by a drop in capital spending. The bigger concern is whether WM's pricing power, landfill network, recycling automation, renewable natural gas, and healthcare-waste expansion can justify a premium valuation despite moderate underlying volume growth. Insider Monkey looked into the trade-off and concluded that WM's hard-to-copy infrastructure and capacity to extract more value from existing waste could support a steady-compounding thesis.
While we acknowledge the potential of WM as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.
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This article was originally published at Insider Monkey.
