After Waste Management (NYSE: WM) reported its third-quarter results, its leadership team shared some important information with investors during the subsequent conference call. Here are the key takeaways for long-term shareholders.

1. Pricing power remains strong

We continue to focus on disciplined pricing, as demonstrated by core price continuing to exceed our full-year target. In the third quarter, our collection and disposal core price was 4.7%, and our yield was 2%. Our strong pricing led to income from operations growing 8.3% and income from operations margin improving 60 basis points. -- CEO James Fish

Waste Management's irreplaceable landfills, transfer stations, and recycling centers combine to form a wide economic moat that insulates its business from the competition. In turn, the trash titan is able to consistently raise its fees. Together with its cost-control initiatives, these price increases are fueling margin expansion and earnings growth.

2. Hurricanes boost demand

In Texas, for example, in Houston, specifically, a lot of that hurricane debris has gone to these temporary holding areas. And I assume that the reason for that was to get it off of people's yards as quickly as they could. So a lot of the debris has not yet made its way to landfills. And so we think there's some real opportunity. The collection side of the business is really handled, for the most part, by FEMA, and so we don't see a whole lot on the collection side. Where we ultimately see benefit from natural disasters is in the landfills, and then once reconstruction begins, we see it in our roll-off line of business. -- Fish

The devastation wrought by hurricanes like Harvey and Irma increased the need for landfill services. Image source: Getty Images.

While many businesses such as restaurants and retailers often see their operations damaged by the hurricanes and their aftermath, Waste Management tends to experience an uptick in demand for its services. More trash is deposited at its landfills during the cleanup process, as well as from the subsequent heightened construction activity as communities work to rebuild. In this way, Waste Management can serve as a defensive stock that could provide investors' portfolios an element of protection from the potential negative consequences of climate change.

3. More gas = more profits

[W]e're seeing a very nice payback for a CNG [compressed natural gas] truck versus the diesel truck in terms of not only the cost of fuel, but also maintenance cost. -- Fish

Advances in hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling methods have led to a boom in U.S. natural gas production. This, in turn, has ushered in a period of low natural gas prices. Waste Management has wisely taken advantage of this situation by converting a steadily increasing portion of its truck fleet from traditional diesel engines to cleaner-burning -- and more cost-efficient -- CNG-powered vehicles. This is helping to lower costs and, by extension, increase profits.