Segment and Related Information (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Summarized financial information concerning our reportable segments as of December 31 and for the year then ended is shown in the following table (in millions):


							Income
	Gross		Intercompany		Net		from		Depreciation		Capital		Total
	Operating		Operating		Operating		Operations		and		Expenditures		Assets
	Revenues		Revenues(c)		Revenues		(d)(e)		Amortization		(f)		(g)(h)
Years Ended December 31:
2020
Solid Waste:
Tier 1	$	6,052	$	(1,158)	$	4,894	$	1,575	$	603	$	392	$	9,527
Tier 2		3,827		(815)		3,012		849		347		287		6,244
Tier 3		6,235		(1,187)		5,048		1,071		589		323		10,004
Solid Waste		16,114		(3,160)		12,954		3,495		1,539		1,002		25,775
Other (a)		2,364		(100)		2,264		(38)		87		75		2,064
		18,478		(3,260)		15,218		3,457		1,626		1,077		27,839
Corporate and Other (b)		—		—		—		(1,023)		45		508		1,810
Total	$	18,478	$	(3,260)	$	15,218	$	2,434	$	1,671	$	1,585	$	29,649

2019
Solid Waste:
Tier 1	$	6,136	$	(1,141)	$	4,995	$	1,719	$	551	$	508	$	7,519
Tier 2		3,865		(777)		3,088		881		327		329		5,558
Tier 3		6,386		(1,209)		5,177		1,173		585		453		8,243
Solid Waste		16,387		(3,127)		13,260		3,773		1,463		1,290		21,320
Other (a)		2,317		(122)		2,195		(161)		75		118		1,648
		18,704		(3,249)		15,455		3,612		1,538		1,408		22,968
Corporate and Other (b)		—		—		—		(906)		36		407		5,042
Total	$	18,704	$	(3,249)	$	15,455	$	2,706	$	1,574	$	1,815	$	28,010

2018
Solid Waste:
Tier 1	$	5,730	$	(1,045)	$	4,685	$	1,655	$	493	$	584	$	6,736
Tier 2		3,675		(724)		2,951		812		317		322		5,224
Tier 3		6,132		(1,146)		4,986		1,028		546		493		7,878
Solid Waste		15,537		(2,915)		12,622		3,495		1,356		1,399		19,838
Other (a)		2,487		(195)		2,292		(29)		91		72		1,571
		18,024		(3,110)		14,914		3,466		1,447		1,471		21,409
Corporate and Other (b)		—		—		—		(677)		30		200		1,487
Total	$	18,024	$	(3,110)	$	14,914	$	2,789	$	1,477	$	1,671	$	22,896

(a)

“Other” includes (i) our Strategic Business Solutions (‘WMSBS”) business; (ii) those elements of our landfill gas-to-energy operations and third-party subcontract and administration revenues managed by our Energy and Environmental (“EES”) and WM Renewable Energy businesses that are not included in the operations of our reportable segments; (iii) our recycling brokerage services and (iv) certain other expanded service offerings and solutions. In addition, our “Other” segment reflects the results of non-operating entities that provide financial assurance and self-insurance support for our Solid Waste business, net of intercompany activity.

Income from operations for the Other segment for the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 was impacted primarily by an increase in revenue for (i) our WMSBS business as a result of new contract activities in the current

year periods and (ii) our WM Renewable Energy business, as a result of a new renewable energy facility coming online, which drove an increase in commodity sales. Additionally, the twelve month period is impacted by a $16 million non-cash charge to write off certain equipment costs recorded in the prior year period offset, in part, by (i) a decrease in revenue within our EES business and (ii) the non-cash impairment of certain assets within our WM Renewable Energy business in the current year period.

(b)

Corporate operating results reflect certain costs incurred for various support services that are not allocated to our reportable segments. These support services include, among other things, treasury, legal, digital, tax, insurance, centralized service center processes, other administrative functions and the maintenance of our closed landfills. Income from operations for “Corporate and Other” also includes costs associated with our long-term incentive program and any administrative expenses or revisions to our estimated obligations associated with divested operations.

(c)	Intercompany operating revenues reflect each segment’s total intercompany sales, including intercompany sales within a segment and between segments. Transactions within and between segments are generally made on a basis intended to reflect the market value of the service.

(d)	For those items included in the determination of income from operations, the accounting policies of the segments are the same as those described in Note 3.

(e)

The income from operations provided by our Solid Waste business is generally indicative of the margins provided by our collection, landfill, transfer and recycling lines of business. From time to time, the operating results of our reportable segments are significantly affected by certain transactions or events that management believes are not indicative or representative of our results. In 2020, we revised allocations between our segments including (i) the discontinuation of certain allocations from Corporate and Other to Solid Waste and (ii) allocating certain insurance costs from Other to Solid Waste. Reclassifications have been made to our prior period information for comparability purposes.

In the second quarter of 2020, we recognized $61 million of non-cash impairment charges, including $41 million related to our energy services assets in our Tier 1 segment. Refer to Note 12 for additional information. Our 2020 operating results were also negatively impacted by revenue declines, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, in our landfill and industrial and commercial collection businesses beginning in March 2020 and continuing through the date of this report, although we began to experience improvement in volumes during the second half of 2020 when compared to the more acute impacts we experienced earlier in the year.

(f)	Includes non-cash items. Capital expenditures are reported in our reportable segments at the time they are recorded within the segments’ property and equipment balances and, therefore, may include amounts that have been accrued but not yet paid.

(g)	The reconciliation of total assets reported above to total assets in the Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31 is as follows (in millions):


	2020		2019		2018
Total assets, as reported above	$	29,649	$	28,010	$	22,896
Elimination of intercompany investments and advances		(304)		(267)		(246)
Total assets, per Consolidated Balance Sheet	$	29,345	$	27,743	$	22,650

(h) Goodwill is included within each segment’s total assets. For segment reporting purposes, our material recovery facilities are included as a component of their respective Areas and our recycling brokerage services are included as part of our “Other” operations. The following table presents changes in goodwill during the reported periods by segment (in millions):


	Solid Waste
	Tier 1		Tier 2		Tier 3		Other		Total
Balance, December 31, 2018	$	2,193	$	1,584	$	2,556	$	97	$	6,430
Acquired goodwill (a)		90		12		6		—		108
Divested goodwill		—		—		—		—		—
Impairments		—		—		—		(27)		(27)
Foreign currency translation and other		—		21		—		—		21
Balance, December 31, 2019	$	2,283	$	1,617	$	2,562	$	70	$	6,532
Acquired goodwill		1,109		374		987		—		2,470
Divested goodwill		—		(12)		(3)		—		(15)
Impairments		—		—		—		—		—
Foreign currency translation and other		(1)		9		(1)		—		7
Balance, December 31, 2020	$	3,391	$	1,988	$	3,545	$	70	$	8,994

(a)	Includes $3 million of post-closing acquisition adjustments related to prior year acquisitions.

Reconciliation of Segment Assets to Consolidated Total


	2020		2019		2018
Total assets, as reported above	$	29,649	$	28,010	$	22,896
Elimination of intercompany investments and advances		(304)		(267)		(246)
Total assets, per Consolidated Balance Sheet	$	29,345	$	27,743	$	22,650

Changes in Goodwill by Reportable Segment


	Solid Waste
	Tier 1		Tier 2		Tier 3		Other		Total
Balance, December 31, 2018	$	2,193	$	1,584	$	2,556	$	97	$	6,430
Acquired goodwill (a)		90		12		6		—		108
Divested goodwill		—		—		—		—		—
Impairments		—		—		—		(27)		(27)
Foreign currency translation and other		—		21		—		—		21
Balance, December 31, 2019	$	2,283	$	1,617	$	2,562	$	70	$	6,532
Acquired goodwill		1,109		374		987		—		2,470
Divested goodwill		—		(12)		(3)		—		(15)
Impairments		—		—		—		—		—
Foreign currency translation and other		(1)		9		(1)		—		7
Balance, December 31, 2020	$	3,391	$	1,988	$	3,545	$	70	$	8,994

(a)	Includes $3 million of post-closing acquisition adjustments related to prior year acquisitions.

Summary of operating revenues mix

The mix of operating revenues from our major lines of business for the years ended December 31 are as follows (in millions):


	2020		2019		2018
Commercial	$	4,102	$	4,229	$	3,972
Residential		2,716		2,613		2,529
Industrial		2,770		2,916		2,773
Other collection		465		482		450
Total collection		10,053		10,240		9,724
Landfill		3,667		3,846		3,560
Transfer		1,855		1,820		1,711
Recycling		1,127		1,040		1,293
Other (a)		1,776		1,758		1,736
Intercompany (b)		(3,260)		(3,249)		(3,110)
Total	$	15,218	$	15,455	$	14,914

(a)

The “Other” line of business includes (i) our WMSBS business; (ii) our landfill gas-to-energy operations; (iii) certain services within our EES business, including our construction and remediation services and our services associated with the disposal of fly ash and (iv) certain other expanded service offerings and solutions. In addition, our “Other” line of business reflects the results of non-operating entities that provide financial assurance and self-insurance support for our Solid Waste business, net of intercompany activity. Activity related to collection, landfill, transfer and recycling within “Other” has been reclassified to the appropriate line of business for purposes of presentation in this table.

(b)	Intercompany revenues between lines of business are eliminated in the Consolidated Financial Statements included within this report.

Summary of net revenue by geographic area

Net operating revenues relating to operations in the U.S. and Canada for the year ended December 31 are as follows (in millions):


	2020		2019		2018
U.S.	$	14,505	$	14,701	$	14,167
Canada		713		754		747
Total	$	15,218	$	15,455	$	14,914

Summary of Property and Equipment Net of Accumulated Depreciation and Amortization Relating to Operations by Geographic Location

Property and equipment, net of accumulated depreciation and amortization, relating to operations in the U.S. and Canada for the year ended December 31 are as follows (in millions):


	2020		2019		2018
U.S.	$	13,168	$	11,941	$	11,044
Canada		980		952		898
Total	$	14,148	$	12,893	$	11,942