Covered, compounding — waste pricing power. A 1.12% yield on $0.67 a quarter, raised 4.5 cents in August 2026 from $0.625, is covered at about a 38% trailing payout and about 37% of the $7.23–$7.28 adjusted 2026 EPS guidance. Q2 pricing added 5.3% on total revenue while volumes slipped — the dividend rests on price, not volume growth.
Key risk: Volume softness — if volumes keep slipping faster than price can offset, or recycled commodity prices fall further, margin and free cash flow narrow.
Changes if: The payout pushes well past about 38%, or core price growth fails to beat cost inflation.
- ✓Payout-coverage check: About 38% trailing, and about 37% of the $7.23–$7.28 adjusted 2026 EPS guidance — covered on both bases.
- ✓Yield check: 1.12% indicated — $0.67/qtr × 4 at the $240.45 close on Oct. 23, 2026. Ordinary cash dividend, not a special.
- ✓Dividend growth check: 22 years of increases, averaging about 7.4% a year over the past 5 years; the latest raise, in August 2026, lifted the quarterly dividend from $0.625 to $0.67.
What this grade doesn't say: It screens the dividend only — covered, real, compounding. It says nothing about valuation or price: a well-covered payer can still be overpriced, and its price can still fall.