S&P 500, NASDAQ Sets New Record as Fed Decision Nears

The stock market climbed on Monday, with S&P 500 and NASDAQ setting new records as the market awaits Federal Reserve’s decision on interest rates this week.

President Donald Trump also disclosed that the U.S.-China trade negotiations were going well.

Overall, S&P 500 rose 0.5% to 6,615, while NASDAQ increased 0.9% to 22,349.

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Here is the one-year chart of Waste Management (WM) as of August 18, 2025, when the stock was at $224.

Waste Management’s profit growth has slowed while its P/E remains rich, which explains why the stock is not moving.

During the past four quarters, profit growth has gone from 20% to -2%, then to -5%, and 5% last quarter (despite 19% revenue growth).

Revenue got a boost from the recent Stericycle acquisition, but that has created a headwind for profits due to the added sales and back office expenses. The stock is where David Sharek, Founder of School of Hard Stocks, think it should be.

Still, business is good. Collection and disposal drove last quarter’s growth and Landfill volumes were strong. The wildfire cleanup in California gave the company additional revenue from special waste.

WM is part of our Conservative Growth Portfolio. It is a buy-and-hold Blue Chip stock.

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