WASTE MANAGEMENT INC Goodwill & Intangibles Disclosure
5. Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets
Goodwill was $13.9 billion and $13.4 billion as of December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. As discussed in Note 2, we perform our annual impairment test of goodwill balances for our reporting units using a measurement date of October 1. We will also perform interim tests if an impairment indicator exists. The $442 million increase in goodwill during 2025 is primarily related to our solid waste and recycling acquisitions. This increase was offset by a $16 million goodwill impairment charge to a business engaged in oil recovery and sludge processing services. This charge is reflected in Other Ancillary within our Collection and Disposal businesses. There were no impairments of goodwill or other intangible assets for the year ended December 31, 2024. See Notes 11 and 17 for additional information.
Goodwill is included within each segment’s total assets. For segment reporting purposes, our recycling facilities and recycling brokerage services are included within our Recycling Processing and Sales segment. In 2025, we finalized the determination of our reporting units related to the Stericycle acquisition and allocated the goodwill balance to two reporting units within our Healthcare Solutions segment using a relative fair value allocation method. The following table presents changes in goodwill during the reported periods (in millions):
Recycling | |||||||||||||||||||||
Collection and Disposal | Processing | Healthcare | |||||||||||||||||||
| | East Tier | | West Tier | | Other Ancillary | | and Sales | | Solutions | | Other | | Total | |||||||
Balance, December 31, 2023 | $ | 5,094 | $ | 3,766 | $ | 27 | $ | 366 | $ | — | $ | 1 | $ | 9,254 | |||||||
Acquired goodwill |
| 553 |
| 30 |
| — |
| 5 |
| 3,633 |
| — |
| 4,221 | |||||||
Divested goodwill |
| — |
| (4) |
| — |
| — |
| — |
| — |
| (4) | |||||||
Impairments | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||
Foreign currency translation and other |
| (32) |
| — |
| — |
| (1) |
| — |
| — |
| (33) | |||||||
Balance, December 31, 2024 | $ | 5,615 | $ | 3,792 | $ | 27 | $ | 370 | $ | 3,633 | $ | 1 | $ | 13,438 | |||||||
Acquired goodwill |
| 272 |
| 13 |
| — |
| 30 |
| — |
| — |
| 315 | |||||||
Divested goodwill |
| — |
| — |
| — |
| — |
| — |
| — |
| — | |||||||
Impairments | — | — | (16) | — | — | — | (16) | ||||||||||||||
Foreign currency translation and other (a) |
| 7 |
| (18) |
| — |
| 12 |
| 142 |
| — |
| 143 | |||||||
Balance, December 31, 2025 | $ | 5,894 | $ | 3,787 | $ | 11 | $ | 412 | $ | 3,775 | $ | 1 | $ | 13,880 | |||||||
| (a) | For our Healthcare Solutions segment, this amount includes a $131 million purchase price allocation adjustment. See Note 17 for additional information. |
Our other intangible assets consisted of the following as of December 31 (in millions):
| Customer | | Covenants | | Licenses, | | |||||||||
Trade names | and Supplier | Not-to- | Permits | ||||||||||||
| Relationships | | Compete | | and Other | | Total | ||||||||
2025 |
| | |
| |
| |
| | ||||||
Intangible assets | $ | 753 | $ | 3,571 | $ | 41 | $ | 586 | $ | 4,951 | |||||
Less: Accumulated amortization |
| (81) |
| (971) |
| (18) |
| (114) |
| (1,184) | |||||
$ | 672 | $ | 2,600 | $ | 23 | $ | 472 | $ | 3,767 | ||||||
2024 |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| | |||||
Intangible assets | $ | 821 | $ | 3,549 | $ | 44 | $ | 579 | $ | 4,993 | |||||
Less: Accumulated amortization | (21) | (673) |
| (14) |
| (97) | (805) | ||||||||
$ | 800 | $ | 2,876 | $ | 30 | $ | 482 | $ | 4,188 | ||||||
Amortization expense for other intangible assets was $421 million, $180 million and $129 million for 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively. Additional information related to other intangible assets acquired through business combinations is included in Note 17. As of December 31, 2025 and 2024, we had $956 million and $970 million, respectively, of indefinite lived trade names, licenses, permits and other intangible assets that are not subject to amortization because they do not have stated expirations or have routine, administrative renewal processes. As of December 31, 2025, we expect annual amortization expense related to other intangible assets to be $383 million in 2026, $307 million in 2027, $271 million in 2028, $223 million in 2029 and $189 million in 2030. See Note 17 for additional information related to intangibles acquired from our acquisitions.
Historical Timeline
| Fiscal Year | Filed | |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Feb 9, 2026 | Showing above |
| 2024 | Feb 19, 2025 | |
| 2023 | Feb 13, 2024 | |
| 2022 | Feb 7, 2023 | |
| 2021 | Feb 15, 2022 | |
| 2020 | Feb 22, 2021 | |
| 2019 | Feb 13, 2020 | |
| 2018 | Feb 14, 2019 | |
| 2017 | Feb 15, 2018 | |
| 2016 | Feb 16, 2017 | |
| 2015 | Feb 18, 2016 | |
About Goodwill & Intangibles Disclosures
Goodwill and intangible asset disclosures reveal the premium paid in acquisitions and how management assesses whether that premium retains its value. Since goodwill is no longer amortized under US GAAP, the annual impairment test is the only mechanism that adjusts carrying values downward — making the assumptions behind that test critically important for investors.
Key signals: a history of goodwill impairments suggests management consistently overpays for acquisitions. Watch the gap between reporting unit fair value and carrying amount — when fair value exceeds carrying amount by less than 10-20%, a small decline in business performance could trigger a write-down. For finite-lived intangibles, examine useful life assumptions across customer relationships, technology, and trade names; aggressive estimates inflate near-term earnings. Compare total intangibles-to-total-assets ratios against peers to assess acquisition dependency. Rising goodwill as a percentage of equity can signal balance sheet fragility.