Summary
This Form 8-K/A filing by Waste Management, Inc. (WM) serves as an amendment to a previous report, primarily correcting specific details related to their second-quarter 2009 earnings announcement. The amendment clarifies the correct quarter for the earnings report (ended June 30, 2009, not March 31, 2009) and rectifies the access code for the related conference call. Investors should note that the company is discussing its financial results using certain non-GAAP financial measures, specifically highlighting adjusted operating expenses as a percentage of revenue, excluding multi-employer pension withdrawal costs.
Key Highlights
- 1Amendment clarifies that the reported earnings are for the quarter ended June 30, 2009.
- 2Corrected access code for the conference call to 16261765.
- 3Added telephone number for the archived replay of the conference call.
- 4Company is utilizing non-GAAP financial measures, including adjusted operating expenses.
- 5Focus on adjusted operating expenses as a percentage of revenue to evaluate management of normal operating costs during revenue decline.
- 6Reported operating expenses as a percentage of revenue decreased from 62.5% in Q2 2008 to 60.5% in Q2 2009.
- 7Adjusted operating expenses as a percentage of revenue (excluding pension withdrawal costs) showed a decrease to 60.2% in Q2 2009 from 62.5% in Q2 2008.
Frequently Asked Questions
This filing is an amendment to a previous 8-K report. Its main purpose is to correct two key pieces of information: the correct quarter for the earnings announcement (June 30, 2009, instead of March 31, 2009) and the accurate access code for the conference call (16261765).
The company is discussing operating expenses as a percentage of revenue, adjusted to exclude the negative impact of costs associated with withdrawing from an underfunded multi-employer pension plan. They believe this adjusted measure helps investors better evaluate the company's ability to manage its normal operating costs.
As reported, operating expenses as a percentage of revenue decreased from 62.5% in the second quarter of 2008 to 60.5% in the second quarter of 2009. When adjusted to exclude multi-employer pension withdrawal costs, the adjusted operating expenses as a percentage of revenue also decreased, from 62.5% in Q2 2008 to 60.2% in Q2 2009.
The detailed earnings release for the quarter ended June 30, 2009, is attached as Exhibit 99.1 to the original Form 8-K. The company also held a conference call to discuss these results, which can be accessed via webcast on their website (wm.com) or by phone using the provided access code and telephone numbers for live listening and archived replay.