VMC

It has been about a month since the last earnings report for Vulcan Materials (VMC). Shares have added about 1% in that time frame, underperforming the S&P 500. Will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Vulcan due for a pullback? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at its latest earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important drivers. Vulcan posted solid second-quarter 2026 results, with adjusted earnings and total revenues beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate and increasing year over year.The quarter’s results reflect aggregates volume and pricing growth, commercial discipline and operating efficiencies. However, significant energy-related inflation and disruptive weather partly offset these benefits. Aggregates cash gross profit per ton increased to $12.02 from $11.88 in the year-ago quarter. VMC reported adjusted earnings of $2.59 per share in the second quarter, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.50 by 3.6%. The figure increased 5.7% from the year-ago quarter’s adjusted earnings of $2.45 per share.Quarterly revenues were $2.16 billion, up 2.5% year over year and slightly ahead of the consensus mark. Aggregates shipments increased 1% to 59.9 million tons, supported by healthy public construction activity and large projects despite weather-related disruptions in certain markets. Profitability remained resilient despite elevated energy costs. Gross profit was $625.5 million compared with $625.2 million a year ago. Operating earnings declined 3.3% year over year to $455.5 million. Net earnings attributable to Vulcan increased to $323.4 million from $320.9 million in the prior-year quarter.Adjusted EBITDA decreased 0.9% to $654 million, and the adjusted EBITDA margin narrowed to 30.3% from 31.4%. Approximately $40 million of energy-related inflation tied to higher oil prices weighed on earnings, partly offsetting benefits from pricing and operating execution. Below-the-line discipline continued to support results. Selling, administrative and general (SA&G) expenses were $141.3 million, down from $144.5 million in the prior-year quarter. SA&G, as a percentage of revenues, improved year over year to 6.6% from 6.9%, reflecting continued leverage of the company's overhead cost structure.The company recorded an $11.3 million loss on the sale of property, plant and equipment and businesses versus a $1.2 million gain a year ago. Other operating expense, net, increased to $17.4 million from $10.9 million, partly offsetting the benefits of stronger commercial execution. The Aggregates segment again did the heavy lifting. Segment sales increased 6.9% year over year to $1.76 billion, while segment gross profit climbed to $567.3 million from $559.5 million. Cash gross profit increased to $720.1 million from $703.8 million.Freight-adjusted sales price improved to $22.97 per ton from $22.11 year over year. On a mix-adjusted basis, pricing increased 5%, reflecting widespread pricing gains across the company's footprint. Cash gross profit per ton rose to $12.02 from $11.88.Freight-adjusted revenues advanced to approximately $1.38 billion from $1.31 billion, highlighting continued pricing strength. At the same time, freight-adjusted cash cost of sales per ton increased 7% to $10.95 from $10.23, primarily due to higher diesel fuel costs. Excluding diesel inflation, unit cash costs increased 3%, supported by disciplined cost management and improved plant efficiencies. Aggregates shipments increased 1% to 59.9 million tons despite significant rainfall in Texas and certain Southeastern markets. Performance in the downstream businesses reflected weather-related disruptions and recent portfolio actions. Asphalt segment revenues declined to $330 million from $368.7 million, while gross profit decreased to $49.8 million from $57.2 million. Nevertheless, the asphalt gross profit margin remained strong at 15%.Operationally, asphalt mix shipments declined to 3.4 million tons from 3.9 million tons, while the average selling price improved to $85.74 per ton from $81.26. The prior-year quarter included the Houston asphalt and construction business, which was divested during the fourth quarter of 2025.Concrete segment revenues declined to $186.8 million from $220.5 million, while gross profit was essentially flat at $8.4 million compared with $8.5 million a year ago. Ready-mixed concrete shipments decreased to 1 million cubic yards from 1.2 million cubic yards, while the average selling price increased to $189.94 from $186.52. Results reflected only two months of contributions from the California ready-mixed concrete business before its divestiture in early June. Liquidity remained healthy at quarter-end, with cash and cash equivalents of $194.2 million. The company carried $400 million of current maturities of long-term debt and $3.96 billion of long-term debt. Total debt to trailing-12-month adjusted EBITDA stood at 1.9x, below management's targeted range of 2x to 2.5x.VMC invested $176 million in maintenance and growth projects during the quarter. The company also returned $318 million to its shareholders through $250 million of share repurchases and $68 million of dividends.During the quarter, Vulcan completed the divestiture of its California ready-mixed concrete operations. The company also acquired a quarry in southern Colorado and a rail yard in Dallas-Fort Worth, further strengthening its aggregates-led growth strategy. Management reiterated its full-year adjusted EBITDA outlook of $2.4-$2.6 billion. The company expects continued aggregates price growth, supported by healthy public construction activity, large infrastructure projects and disciplined commercial execution. Vulcan also expects its ongoing focus on cost management, operating efficiencies and aggregates unit profitability to support earnings growth and cash generation throughout the remainder of 2026. In the past month, investors have witnessed a downward trend in fresh estimates. Currently, Vulcan has a average Growth Score of C, though it is lagging a lot on the Momentum Score front with an F. Charting a somewhat similar path, the stock has a grade of D on the value side, putting it in the bottom 40% for value investors. Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of D. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in. Estimates have been broadly trending downward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions indicates a downward shift. Notably, Vulcan has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Vulcan Materials Company (VMC) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. MLM enters the second half of 2026 with stronger revenues, improving organic aggregates volumes and firm demand from infrastructure and heavy nonresidential projects. Those trends support the earnings outlook, but the stock already carries a premium valuation.The investment case therefore depends on execution. Pricing discipline, acquisition contributions and efficiency initiatives are positives, while residential weakness, energy inflation and softer estimate revisions leave less room for disappointment. Second-quarter adjusted earnings of $5.00 per share topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 8.2% and increased 3.3% year over year. Revenues increased 21% to $1.95 billion and beat the consensus mark by 4.3%.Aggregates shipments rose 17% to a record 61.6 million tons, including 2.3% organic growth. That marked the fourth consecutive quarter of organic volume growth as infrastructure and heavy nonresidential activity supported demand across Martin Marietta’s footprint. Reported aggregates average selling price declined 2% to $22.74 per ton, reflecting acquisition-related and geographic mix pressure. That headline decline masks better pricing in the legacy business.Organic average selling price increased 2.1%, while organic mix-adjusted pricing advanced 3.7%. The latter measure shows continued pricing discipline even as acquired operations and faster growth in lower-priced markets diluted the reported average. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. price-consensus-chart | Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. Quote Martin Marietta raised 2026 revenue guidance to $7.2-$7.4 billion and reaffirmed adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations guidance of $2.36-$2.50 billion. Infrastructure funding, heavy nonresidential projects and recent acquisitions support the top-line outlook.The constraints are equally visible. Residential activity remains pressured by affordability, while energy costs are expected to stay elevated through year-end. Organic cost of goods sold per ton increased 3.6% in the second quarter, including a 150-basis-point headwind from higher pass-through external freight costs. MLM trades at 26.2X forward 12-month earnings, above the Zacks sub-industry’s 20.9X and its own five-year median of 25.8X. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has also moved 1.4% lower over the past four weeks.Vulcan Materials Company VMC is the nation’s largest supplier of construction aggregates, making it a natural peer for investors assessing aggregates exposure. CRH plc CRH is another relevant comparison because its Americas Materials Solutions segment supplies aggregates, cementitious materials, ready-mixed concrete and asphalt. The premium can be sustained if Martin Marietta converts stronger volumes, pricing discipline and portfolio expansion into durable earnings growth. Still, the valuation and recent estimate movement suggest that investors may want clearer evidence of margin progress before assigning more upside to the shares.MLM currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), indicating a neutral near-term earnings-revision signal. Its Value Score of D is joined by a Growth Score of F, Momentum Score of F and VGM Score of F. Since the Zacks Style Scores complement the Rank, those weak grades reinforce a patient stance rather than a fresh buying case at the current multiple. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (MLM) : Free Stock Analysis Report Vulcan Materials Company (VMC) : Free Stock Analysis Report CRH PLC (CRH) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

Image source: The Motley Fool. Wed., Jul. 29, 2026 at 10 a.m. ET Vice President of Investor Relations - Mark Warren Chief Executive Officer - Ronnie Pruitt Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer - Mary Andrews Carlisle Operator: Good morning, everyone. Welcome to the Vulcan Materials Company Second Quarter 2026 Earnings Call. My name is Bo and I will be your conference call coordinator today. Please be reminded that today's call is being recorded and will be available for replay later today at the company's website. [Operator Instructions] Now I would like to turn the call over to your host, Mr. Mark Warren, Vice President of Investor Relations for Vulcan Materials. Please go ahead, sir. Mark Warren: Thank you, operator. I'm joined today by Ronnie Pruitt, Chief Executive Officer; and Mary Andrews Carlisle, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Before we begin our prepared remarks, please note that a press release and a supplemental presentation related to this call are available at our website, vulcanmaterials.com. Today's discussion may include forward-looking statements, which are subject to risks and uncertainties. Details on these risks, other legal disclaimers and reconciliations of any non-GAAP financial measures are defined and described in our earnings release, supplemental presentation and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. [Operator Instructions] And with that, I'll turn the call over to Ronnie. Ronnie Pruitt: Thanks, Mark and thank you all for your interest in Vulcan Materials. The resiliency of our aggregates-led business and the importance of our strategic disciplines are evident in periods of inflationary pressure. I am proud of how our commercial and operating teams have navigated the first half of the year to deliver adjusted EBITDA growth and aggregates cash gross profit per ton expansion. And most importantly, they did so while keeping each other safe. In the quarter, we generated $654 million of adjusted EBITDA, approximating the prior year despite energy headwinds of almost $40 million. Our teams executed well, earning higher prices for our products in each segment and driving operational efficiencies to help offset inflationary increases in our input costs. Second quarter aggregates cash gross profit per ton topped $12 and was $0.14 higher than the prior year. Shipments increased 1% compared to the prior year and varied widely across geographies depending upon weather conditions. Aggregates freight-adjusted selling prices moved higher both sequentially and year-over-year. On a mix-adjusted basis, average selling prices in the quarter improved 5% compared to the prior year with improvement widespread across geographies. Our commercial teams continue to execute our Vulcan Way of Selling disciplines to capture value for our products and deliver solutions for our customers. Excluding diesel, aggregates freight adjusted unit cash cost of sales increased 3% compared to the prior year. Our Vulcan Way of Operating disciplines were executed well to drive efficiencies and control spending even with lower-than-expected volumes in many areas due to wet weather. From coast to coast, our teams are aligned with a relentless focus to drive compounding improvements in the profitability of our existing portfolio and to win the future in aggregates. Winning the future will also mean continuing to strategically add to our portfolio through acquisitions and greenfield projects. Both of these growth pipelines remain active, including numerous acquisition opportunities likely to be finalized this year. The strength of our balance sheet gives us the financial flexibility to pursue those opportunities that will drive the most value for our shareholders. During the second quarter, we completed several strategic portfolio actions. We finalized the divestitures of our concrete operations in California and our noncore operations in the U.S. Virgin Islands, generating cash proceeds that can be redeployed to strategically grow our aggregates business. A clear example was our acquisition of an aggregate operation from Brannan Sand & Gravel in early June. This acquisition expanded our reach into Southern Colorado and strengthened our distribution network in Dallas-Fort Worth. Our team is already hard at work capturing synergies and driving value from this strategic acquisition. In terms of the demand environment, what I see ahead of us is similar to what -- the views that I shared on the last call. We still expect strong public activity in our markets and improving private large project opportunities to drive year-over-year shipments growth in 2026. Trailing 12 months highway awards in Vulcan markets remain up double digits from a year ago, far outpacing non-Vulcan markets. The same is true for public infrastructure awards, which are up 20% year-over-year in Vulcan markets, yet down in other markets. The amount of work in the pipeline bodes well for public shipments for the next several years, providing good demand visibility, which is important for a healthy pricing environment. With the August recess upon us, as expected, there will likely be a continuing resolution to fund federal highway spending while Congress completes this work. The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee passed its BUILD America 250 Act with overwhelming bipartisan support in late May. The bill enhanced the focus on aggregate-intensive construction and shifted to a formula first distribution approach compared to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, both changes benefiting Vulcan. While the final text and timing remain uncertain, we anticipate a smooth transition between funding programs given the significant amount of IIJA funds that are yet to be spent. On the private side, large project opportunities continue to drive nonresidential activity, particularly data centers. Our footprint is well aligned with data center activity, in addition to power infrastructure expansion, recently announced LNG projects and other manufacturing opportunities. Our scale, quality and customer service make us a supplier of choice for these large complex projects. Residential construction continues to struggle due to the ongoing lack of affordability. Longer term, there remains a fundamental need for additional housing and our footprint is well positioned to benefit from an eventual recovery. With a continued expectation of modest growth in aggregate shipments in 2026, a healthy pricing environment and a solid year-to-date execution from our operating teams, we reiterate our full year adjusted EBITDA guidance range of $2.4 billion to $2.6 billion. Now I'll turn the call over to Mary Andrews to provide some additional commentary on our second quarter performance before we take your questions. Mary Carlisle: Thanks, Ronnie and good morning. The strong cash generation of our business, coupled with the recent proceeds from divestitures Ronnie commented on earlier, have the balance sheet extremely well positioned for us to continue to pursue our disciplined and balanced capital allocation strategy, reinvesting in our business, growing our franchise through strategic acquisitions and returning capital to shareholders through both dividends and share repurchases. Through the first 6 months of this year, we have invested $370 million in maintenance and growth capital projects, $75 million in a strategic aggregate acquisition and returned over $0.5 billion to shareholders, including $400 million of share repurchases. We continue to expect between $750 million and $800 million of capital expenditures for the full year. During the second quarter, we used cash on hand to pay down our outstanding commercial paper balances of approximately $200 million and maintained approximately $300 million of cash at quarter end. At June 30, net debt to adjusted EBITDA leverage stood at 1.7x, providing plenty of capacity to support an active acquisition pipeline. We are focused on improving our return on invested capital as we continue to compound profitability in our existing business and make disciplined capital allocation decisions. Our trailing 12-month return on invested capital improved 20 basis points from a year ago to 16.1% at quarter end. SAG expenses in the first 6 months were 2% lower than the prior year. Trailing 12 months expenses of $558 million or 6.9% of revenues, 30 basis points lower than the prior year period. We continue to closely manage our overhead costs. As Ronnie said, we are pleased with the first half execution and results that our teams delivered and are reaffirming our full year adjusted EBITDA outlook. Now before we take your questions, I'll pass back to Ronnie to provide an update on Vulcan's arbitration against Mexico. Ronnie Pruitt: Thanks, Mary Andrews. As previously disclosed, Vulcan pursued an arbitration against Mexico under the North American Free Trade Agreement, commonly referred to as NAFTA. We received the award on Monday. All 3 members of the tribunal found that Mexico's actions were arbitrary, grossly unfair and unjust. All 3 members of the tribunal also found that numerous actions taken by Mexico clearly violated NAFTA, including those related to the claims associated with the large majority of damages. However, the 2 members of the tribunal who wrote the majority opinion awarded us only immaterial damages. The third member dissented, disagreeing with the low damages award. As we look ahead, we remain focused on driving improved profitability in our business. And I would like to thank the men and women of Vulcan Materials for a great performance during the quarter, controlling our cost and expanding our cash gross profit per ton while keeping each other safe. Now Mary Andrews and I will be happy to take your questions. Operator: [Operator Instructions] We'll go first this morning to Anthony Pettinari with Citi. Anthony Pettinari: Ronnie, can you talk a little bit more about the puts and takes on demand and maybe specifically what gives you confidence in the second half of the year to meet the full year volume guidance? Ronnie Pruitt: Yes. Thank you. I would say, first of all, demand is tracking as we expected. And we're in outdoor sports, so we're always going to have some weather disruptions. But I would say, overall, tracking as expected. As we entered the year, we had healthy backlogs. And as we sit here today, we have healthy backlogs and our quoting activity continues to remain very robust. On the positive side, trends across public infrastructure, public highways, data centers and other forms of manufacturing are all good. And we've also seen a pickup in LNG projects along with energy generation and power infrastructure expansion, which is really being driven by the data centers. Conversely, we continue to see single-family and residential growth remain weak. But other parts of light nonres, they're going to follow rooftops. And so that's another area that as we see single-family start to recover, I think light nonres will follow. But I will also remind you of our advantaged footprint. I mean, where we're at and that matters. And when we start seeing single-family recovery, I like our footprint and I think we're in a really good position to capture that. Operator: We go next now to Tyler Brown with Raymond James. Patrick Brown: So I got a couple of questions on cost. But cost performance was pretty solid here in Q2. It maybe came in slightly better than the guidance despite fuel and let's call it, some weather friction. But Mary Andrews, if we look at the full year guide, it seems to imply that, that cost inflation is maybe a bit better in the second half than the first half. Can you just give us any color on what's kind of driving that and your -- just your confidence in hitting those trends? Ronnie Pruitt: Yes, Tyler, thank you. I'll address the first part and then I'll give it to Mary Andrews to talk about some of the numbers. But as I look at our Q2 performance, it was really good. And I would say it was better than a lot of expectations. And we dampened the impact of a $26 million diesel headwind and we really did that through our Vulcan Way of Operating disciplines. I mean when I look at our production efficiencies that we continue to focus on with VWO as well as our labor scheduling and how we continue to focus on how we're going to get the most out of that and really in the backdrop of wet weather that does impact our cost as well. So I'm very pleased with where we're at. And I think VWO continues to be something that is evident in our results and the productivity of that. For the rest of the year, I think there's other levers that we'll continue to look at as far as oil continues to be inflated. So we're going to continue to really think about our operating efficiencies and how we drive that through our process intelligence and labor efficiencies. But also there's things -- levers we can pull with our stripping. And so we're focused on things that are heavily consuming of diesel. So stripping is one of those. We'll continue to focus on that, also leverage our liquid asphalt storage that we have had. We've got one in Southern California. We recently closed on another one in Northern California. And that's another way for us on the downstream business to fight some of those headwinds of volatility in cost. Mary Carlisle: Yes. And Tyler, just to add to what Ronnie covered on some of the levers that we have in the second half, another dynamic in the second half is how unusual the second half of last year was from a cost standpoint, particularly the fourth quarter. We faced unusually concentrated repair costs and higher insurance costs last year that we don't expect to repeat this year. So those anomalies and some benefit of seasonally higher tonnage in the second half compared to the first are also things that should drive both, a much improved year-over-year performance and an improved absolute cost performance in the back half even, as Ronnie said, even if those diesel prices remain sticky, quite likely and right now at levels still similar to the second quarter. And one other thing I'd mention is since we're talking about cost is, our year-to-date SAG expense, which we've maintained at levels lower than last year. In fact, I would expect full year SAG expenses to probably be $10 million to $15 million lower now than the initial range we provided of $580 million to $590 million back in February. So overall, we are pleased with the cost execution in the first half and confident in a solid performance in the second half as well. Operator: We'll go next now to Trey Grooms with Stephens. Trey Grooms: Ronnie, you guys talked about some midyears out there in some market, midyear price increases in some markets and given the diesel backdrop. But any update you can give us on midyear increases? And then if I could sneak just one more in, just given the Mexico situation, I really appreciate your prepared comments there but any additional color you could give us at this time around the tribunal's decision there. I think they said unfair and unjust, which is, I think, an understatement here. But at any rate, any additional color there? Ronnie Pruitt: Yes, Trey, thanks. I'll take the second part first and then I'll talk about midyears second. So -- with regards to Mexico, really what I said in my prepared remarks, I'll reiterate from a standpoint of, the decision was disconcerting to us. All 3 arbitrators agreed that Mexico had clearly violated NAFTA, yet they awarded immaterial damages. And so that's really all I'm going to say about that. What I will also say, though, is that, look, we've continued to move forward with running our business. And even since the illegal taking of Calica back in 2022, we've successfully continued to supply the Gulf Coast and really meet the needs of our customers in a very dynamic market. And I would say, overall, our EBITDA has grown more than 50% over those 4 years. And so we've done things to continue to grow the company. I'm very pleased with the efforts that our people have given for that. When I look at the Gulf Coast today, it's very -- it's still a very dynamic area and it's still going to be challenged on how material gets to the Gulf Coast. And so we've still got the best distribution network along the Gulf Coast and we're going to continue to serve that through different forms and fashions. And so we remain very well positioned to supply our customers there. And remember, we still own the land and we still own the land around the port, which are 2 very valuable things when it comes to Mexico. With regards to your second part or your first part, really your pricing question, when I look at midyears, I would say they went as expected. And when I really compare them year-over-year and so that's -- we do a lot of comparisons, sequentially, I mean, we're almost 2x better than we were last year. And so we intentionally pulled midyears forward. We pulled those forward to June. And I think we've had success in that, that shows in our mix adjusted as we sit today of 5% on our pricing. I would tell you, our biggest lever to overcome fuel continues to be price. And so what you will continue to see from us is discipline around that. And I'm confident in our commercial team, our execution of Vulcan Way of Selling that we will continue to use price as our biggest lever. So if we continue to see fuel being as sticky as it is, I think you'll see us continue to be very aggressive in moving price throughout the remainder of the year. Trey Grooms: Great. And I did want to say hats off on the cost. You guys did a great job. Operator: We'll go next now to Philip Ng with Jefferies. Philip Ng: Ronnie, great color. Any more color in terms of how demand is shaping up in July? I know certainly, 2Q, you had some weather-related issues, color on that front. And you talked about orders and backlog is quite good right now, good momentum. Can you kind of quantify how things were to start the year? And I guess, how orders and backlogs perhaps from a growth standpoint is shaping up today? Ronnie Pruitt: Yes. I would tell you that as we sit today, backlogs look very similar as they did as we entered the year. And a lot of that is the puts and takes of where weather happens, geography matters. And so where those weather patterns, we had probably abnormal weather in Texas and a little bit of abnormal weather in the Southeast. As we sit here in July, I would tell you, we've continued to see strange weather patterns but shipments are continuing kind of as expected but there's a lot of puts and takes around that and where it's raining at, maybe drive somewhere else. And so that's why we continue to look at the mix adjustment of the geography impact because all markets are not the same. As I look forward and thinking about the dynamics of where we're at with the end users, I mean, I look at some of our starts momentum and referring to Dodge awards. On the highway side, I mean, North Georgia on the trailing 12 is up 189%. I mean those are -- now these are large dollar projects and we can give you some specifics of those projects. But a lot of this is the 400 toll roads and some of this public-private partnership and other ways of looking at things that are funding mechanisms outside of the federal program. Total infrastructure in the Gulf Coast is up 360% over the last 12 months. So a lot of public -- that's where we get our confidence in public. On the private side, continues to be really driven by data centers but we are seeing some other manufacturing things. And I would tell you that I think the power side of power generation and power infrastructure is going to continue to be a tailwind as we move throughout the data center build-out. And those are projects that are being reflected both in our quoting activity as well as some booking activity. We also talked about some LNG projects. We've seen that along the coast as well. And so those are different types of projects that we've seen in the past. Those have been relifted. And really, the only part that we see continue to be on the negative side is single-family. And so I believe that with the 2 legs of our stool, we continue to be confident in a year of growth. And if the other leg of the stool would kick in, I think, again, our footprint is a really dynamic footprint, very advantaged and we would get the benefit of that. Philip Ng: Ronnie, any color on warehouses? You really haven't talked much about that. Ronnie Pruitt: Yes. I mean I would tell you, we're seeing a couple of green shoots in very specific markets but overall, warehousing continues to be overall flat. I mean we're not seeing any green shoots in warehouses from an overall perspective. But I do think it's one that as we see that kind of recovery as well, again, our footprint is very advantaged on that as well. Operator: We'll go next now to Steven Fisher with UBS. Steven Fisher: Congrats again on the cost management. Just a follow up on the discussion about the large project activity. We too are hearing a lot about the momentum there. Just curious what that might look like from a timing perspective for aggregates? And based on kind of what you're seeing and hearing, is there a particular time frame when you think those will start to be more visible in your shipments? Is that sort of just on a rolling basis? Or is it more that these things are going to take a little time to ramp up, so maybe like first half of '27 or second half of '27? Just curious when we could really start to see these big projects really kind of show up in the shipments. Ronnie Pruitt: Yes. Thank you. Great question. I would tell you, we see an opportunity. I mean -- and it is going to be more of that consistent approach, even though you think about the way these bookings come into us and the influence they can have on our backlog, when you actually go to put the work in place, it's still a customer out there that's taking the material, putting it down on a public job or on a private job and it still takes their scheduling and their tools to do that. And so in the end, you're not going to see these big massive swings because a bigger job starts one place and you're always wrapping one up and you're starting another one. And so we love slow and steady. I mean, especially with the compounding interest of the nature of our business and how we're focused on growing our cash gross profit per ton. And so I would tell you our backlog shapes up, as we see it today, it's very predictable. And I would tell you slow and steady for us is what we would want to continue to see. Operator: We'll go next now to Keith Hughes with Truist. Keith Hughes: What kind of mix adjusted price are you anticipating in the guide in the second half of the year given the figures you have been rolling in all second quarter? Mary Carlisle: Yes. So Keith, for pricing cadence, I think it is playing out exactly like we saw at the beginning of the year, which would mean the lower end of the range in the first half and we'll be exiting at the upper end in the back half. And that is really reported and mix adjusted, it will just depend on what those comps look like. But I would tell you that compared to our pricing plans coming into the year, we are executing just as we expected it playing out like we thought. Keith Hughes: And on volume, would it be similar to where you're at the higher end of the range in the second half versus the first half, same trend? Ronnie Pruitt: I think the volume was the opposite. We were at the higher end in the first half and I think it will continue to be consistent in the second half. And obviously, weather is always a factor in the fourth quarter. But I would say that we look at it today and we think to hit our range that we said, I mean, it really is kind of continuing the shipping paces that we've seen throughout the second quarter and the second half would be similar to that. Operator: We'll go next now to Kathryn Thompson with Thompson Research Group. Kathryn Thompson: You gave a lot of great color on end markets and what's driving demand. And we'd like to step back and look at the forest for the trees. And just conceptually, more things are going to be made in the U.S. -- built in the U.S. from a variety of different parts. And granted, as you said earlier, there's been a lot of focus on data centers but it's a bit more than that. You did touch on -- comments on power. It'd be helpful if you could pull the string a little bit more on that on a couple of different levels. First, where are you seeing the power expansion? And then what type because there's now a variety of different power type structures. So it's not just in Texas but it's also in other parts of the U.S. And maybe just give a broader, more flesh out view of what you're seeing in power and how Vulcan is supporting that growth. Ronnie Pruitt: Yes, you're absolutely right, Kathryn. Thank you. I would say it's a lot of different forms. And so we've still got a combination of renewables. So we're still seeing solar work. We bid several solar manufacturing wins. And then we're seeing -- I think the first phase of that is we're seeing like we have 4 projects that are converting coal-fired power plants back to natural gas. We're seeing Georgia Power, Alabama Power be very active in those kind of projects. Obviously, in Texas, we're seeing a lot of growth there. But we're also seeing this combination of some of the dollars you see tied up with these data centers is because they include power. And so it's hard when you look at the data center numbers when you talk about dollars and then you start kind of stripping that out, well, what is that is the real data center itself and what part of that is power. But I would tell you, a lot of these are, now to get them approved, they're coming with full power supply to the data center. So we're seeing a mix of that. I would say, overall, when we look at our quoting activity in the category of power generation, we're just seeing a lot more quoting activity. Now I'm not going to tell you it's going to go as fast as data centers because you and I both know that approval process is going to look a little different. And so we just see it as another form of healthy forward-looking demand of our products. And again, I mean, we like slow and steady and we like our ability to continue to compound our cash gross profit in -- over the future. And so I just see this as another area of future aggregate demand that's going to be needed and it's very aggregate intensive. Operator: We'll go next now to Angel Castillo at Morgan Stanley. Angel Castillo Malpica: Ronnie, just wanted to go back to price a little bit. You noted, I guess, a little bit of a pull forward here on price. And if I heard correctly, I think you mentioned that you might still pull the price lever throughout the remainder of the year. So just wanted to make sure or clarify, I guess, does that mean that you might still be announcing additional price increases in the second half? And if that's right, I guess, how should we think about the likelihood of that? Is it just energy price dependent? And to the extent that you do move forward with any additional price, I guess, how should we think about the implications on Jan 1 increases and the ability to do those? Ronnie Pruitt: Yes. I think we'll be giving you a lot more color on that on our next call. I mean, look, as we went into the midyears, we pulled them forward anticipating what all was doing to us at the time. At that time, we were also anticipating that this was going to be short-lived. As we see it continue to drag on, I mean, that's where we've told you in the past and we'll continue to be very disciplined around -- price is our biggest lever when it comes to overcoming headwinds like this and inflationary pressures. And so what I'm saying is that continues to be our strongest lever and we're evaluating that as we speak. And we will continue to protect our margins and we have to. I mean that's what -- these inflationary things are hitting us. They're hitting our customers. They're hitting everyone. So it's not like there's one side of the supply chain that's isolated in that. And so our expectations would be that we continue to be very disciplined around our pricing approach. And so I would tell you, more color on that as we work through the year. But it's a very fluid situation with what we see oil prices doing and they just became more sticky than 3 months ago, we thought it would be a little less sticky than this and they haven't been. And so we're going to continue to look at that. But again, that's our biggest lever. So we'll continue to exercise our ability to protect the margins that we have. Angel Castillo Malpica: That's very helpful. And then maybe just on the M&A pipeline. I guess some of your closest peers have done some larger, more kind of transformative deals. So I was hoping you could just talk about your -- I guess, your pipeline of potential M&A, just whether that includes anything more transformative? Or just remind us how we should be thinking about the evolution of your strategy, just key areas of interest and potential size of that pipeline and what you have coming forward? Ronnie Pruitt: Yes. I would say, in my prepared remarks, I said we have a healthy pipeline and we will most likely see some of those transition or transactions close in the second half of the year. But those transactions for us are going to continue to be very, very aggregate discipline. I mean, look, we're good at what we do. We're good at aggregates. We're going to be the most pure-play aggregate company when all these other deals that are announced in the market gets done. And so we like what we do. And so what you will see out of us is very much disciplined approach to continuing to do what we're good at and that's producing and driving value for our shareholders based on the aggregate business. And so nothing we do or nothing we have in the pipeline or anything you see us announce in the future will be of any surprise. Operator: We'll take our next question now from Rohit Seth at B. Riley. Rohit Seth: Just in your prepared remarks, you had touched on the BUILD 250 Act, when you compare and contrast to the IIJA. You mentioned something about more new construction in the BUILD 250. I just wonder if you can elaborate on that. Ronnie Pruitt: Yes, Rohit, I would tell you, as we look at the BUILD America 250 and 2 things there. Really, when we look at the aggregate intensity of the projects that we believe will happen because of going back to a matching program instead of the grants program. And that's one that we believe when you go back to the old formulas that we've experienced in the past, you're really going to rely on getting money to states where the miles are, which is where Vulcan's footprint is. And so that's why we continue to say that's going to be better aggregate intensive for us as well as the bridge program. And so as you unwind kind of the headline number and remember with IIJA, there was a lot of other stuff in it. There was a lot of green projects, a lot of buses and other things that had no aggregate consumption whatsoever. It was a great headline number. But when you unpack it all, we really focused on what was moving the needle with aggregates, you really talk about highway, those infrastructure projects and then you layer in the bridge side. And so as we look at it today with what came out of the House version of it, we're pleased with that. And I think the Senate will take that on. And as I said, we're most likely going to get a continuing resolution. We'fine with that. We think we're in a good place with the House version of it, we're pleased with. And we think the Senate has the ability to add more to that. But it's going to be more aggregate intense, which is good for us. Rohit Seth: So ultimately, the takeaway for you guys is the BUILD 250 is better for the business than IIJA was? Ronnie Pruitt: I think when you wind back to what was truly focused on highway, infrastructure and bridges, yes. Operator: We'll go next now to Ivan Yi with Wolfe Research. Ivan Yi: Sticking with pricing, just a quick clarification. Are any of the midyear price increases included in your unchanged guidance or the midyear is incremental to that? And then also, costs exceeded pricing by about 200 basis points. When do you expect this price cost spread to inflect positive? Can we see pricing exceed costs in 3Q and 4Q? Ronnie Pruitt: Yes. I would say as we exit the year, we talked about that on our last call. Look, when we came into the year, we said costs were going to be higher on the front end and price was going to be slower to develop and we would exit the year with price being higher and cost being lower, which is what's in our guidance and you can see that. I would tell you that when we look at our guidance, I mean, all of it's in. I mean when we think about what's happening in the midyears, we think about where we're at in all the markets, I mean, that's what our best view of it is today. And again, what's not in it is, if we decide to pull things forward and try to move the price again for the remainder of the year, that's not in there. But as we sit today with the success we had in midyears and where we see things as we sit today, that is in our numbers. I mean that's where we're saying that 4% to 6% and we said we'll exit the year at the higher end of that range of the 4% to 6%. And so the pricing will continue to accelerate throughout the year and costs will continue to decelerate. Mary Carlisle: Yes. And in terms of margins, Ivan, obviously, the second quarter was pressured with the higher energy and we do expect those inflationary energy headwinds to continue in the second half. But I think for the second half, we should see some expansion in gross margin year-over-year, driven largely by the fourth quarter. The margins likely will still -- on a gross margin basis are likely to still be down in the third quarter, growing in the fourth quarter and up a little bit overall in the back half. Operator: We'll go next now to Michael Dudas with Vertical Research. Michael Dudas: Maybe you can, Ronnie, share some thoughts on over the last 18, 24 months, some of the acquisitions, acquisitions you've made, certainly, we think about the one in North Carolina, how progress has been in -- on a pricing, marketing front, product mix front getting to the targets where you'd anticipate? And just quickly on the Colorado or -- it seems like it was opportunistic. Is there any -- is that a focus area part of the country that you are taking another look at? Ronnie Pruitt: Yes. I'll -- let me talk about the kind of the past first and then we'll talk about the present. When I think about the acquisitions that we did over the last 2 years and really referring to Superior as well as Wake. In Superior, look, we've executed exactly what we said. We said we're going to go buy this business. We're going to evaluate the downstream. We wanted it for its aggregates. We were able to execute that. We were able to spin off and redeploy the downstream assets to a very good company in California Portland, will be a very good customer of ours long term. But in the end, we were able to do exactly what we said. We're going to buy the business for the aggregates we wanted. I would tell you in the market there and that market, there wasn't as many separation between where a Vulcan price market would have been and where Superior was but there was some and we've been able to focus on getting those operations up to more like a Vulcan standard market when it comes to pricing. And I'm very pleased with the execution of our California team. And it's not easy when you buy these companies to integrate them and then spin things off and our California team really stepped up and performed well through all of this time and uncertainty of getting that thing done. When it comes to Wake, I'm extremely pleased with where we're at. I would tell you, we said going into -- when we closed on Wake that it was significantly below the Vulcan standard when it came to what we felt like the value of those products should be. And that team and instituting our Vulcan Way of Selling and the disciplines around that and really the ownership of that local team as well has really performed well. And I would tell you, we said it was going to take a couple of years and I would tell you, we're right on schedule. I mean, I'm very pleased with where we're at. The acquisition is doing exactly what we thought it would. And so as we look forward, I mean, that's the things that we're going to be really good at. We're going to continue to focus on those kind of businesses that are aggregates led, the things we can institute Vulcan Way of Selling, institute Vulcan Way of Operating and continue to drive margin improvement. Brannan was an opportunity for us. When you look at Brannan, it's a small one. It's an entrant into Colorado, yes. About half of the volume out of that, let's roughly say about 1 million to 1.5 million tons of annual production out of Brannan, about half of that stays locally. It's on the south side of Denver. So it does reach into the Southern Denver market. But the other half comes to DFW, Dallas-Fort Worth. And the rail facility that we acquired there, if you were leaving Fort Worth driving west, the rail facility is just on the west side of Fort Worth and then you would hit our Weatherford quarry. And so very complementary to our market strategy there. Again, dealing with selling to the same customers that we're already familiar with, that are familiar with Vulcan and our strategy and what we're going to do. And so I'd say Brannan is a small, it's pretty much a bolt-on but it also gives us some access to a new market. And I would say the things that I talk about in the future, those are the things that we're going to continue to focus on. The ones that we can do, the ones that are very aggregate intensive, the ones that are easy for us to integrate and the ones that we can continue to institute Vulcan Way of Operating and Vulcan Way of Selling disciplines in and drive margin improvement. So I'm very pleased with where we're at. Operator: We'll go next now to Brent Thielman of Oppenheimer. Brent Thielman: Ronnie, when you look across the footprint, I wanted to get your reaction just to how competitors have responded with price increases. Are you seeing any higher frequency of attempts to capture share by competitors just by holding price? Maybe there was a view energy cost inflation would be temporary so they're in a holding pattern? Or has the response been pretty rational just to higher costs? And I guess also just wondering if any of that's implicit in your volume outlook as well. Ronnie Pruitt: Yes. I would tell you, look, I mean, at the end of the day, inflationary pressures, whether they're diesel or whether there are other factors involved in it, no one is immune to that. And so everybody feels it. And that includes -- our downstream customers feel it. And so everyone feels it. And I would tell you the reactions and the disciplines and all those things have been as expected. I mean I would -- everyone is in this for the long term, even though we're measured in very short-term increments of quarter-to-quarter. I mean we still have to focus on this business long term. And I would tell you, we're in a great position to continue to execute on what we do with Vulcan Way of Selling, Vulcan Way of Operating. I mean I think our competitors feel the same pressures that we do. And so in the end, no one is immune to diesel. Everyone has to use it and it's just part of the production process and everything we touch. And so I would tell you, when things like that happen, everybody feels it. Will everybody react the same? I don't know. But in the end, I think we're in a very disciplined market and I like the position we're in. Operator: We'll go next now to David MacGregor at Longbow Research. David S. MacGregor: Ronnie, I guess I wanted -- you talked about the continuing resolution and it's pretty clear that's where we're heading. I wonder if I could get you to just talk a little bit about how you grow shipments in that kind of environment. And I guess, the quick and dirty is, nothing changes in a continuing resolution. We just kind of stay the course. But I wonder if I could get you to just maybe give us a little more of a nuanced look and then the -- what changes in terms of the competitive position? Does it trigger change in how you may win in non-res business? How do people respond to that condition? Ronnie Pruitt: Yes. I mean, look, this is not abnormal for us to go through a continuing resolution. We've had lots of them in the past and we'll have probably lots of them in the future. And that's just kind of the way that the D.C. model and getting things through the House and the Senate work. I would tell you, we don't see it as any change. Look, the continuing resolution continues the spend at current levels. You got a lot of carryover with IIJA. And I think that's going to be the unique thing about the transition of this bill. Historically, we haven't had that much carryover between bill-to-bill. And so we still -- when we talk about the 60% of funds that are still going to be spent as a carryover. So you've got that. You've got really healthy state budgets as well. And so remember, federal spending is only 1/3 of the way we look at public funding. And so I think we're in a good position. But I mean, look, we want slow and steady growth. And we've said through all of IIJA, everyone was waiting on, well, when is that big step change coming? It wasn't going to happen. I mean it's going to be slow and steady because that's the way work is performed. That's the way the states let it. That's the way the contractors look at it and that's the way they actually perform the work. And so I look at it, I don't see any disruption as far as the public side. I think we're going to continue to be slow and steady. I think public will continue to be in growth mode. I think we've got healthy states. I think we've got healthy local measures. I think we've got other ways we're funding projects as well. And so I don't see any disruption of, is it going to change the way you look at private nonres and large projects and all that? No, I don't believe so. We've got good visibility and we continue to rely on public being very steady. David S. MacGregor: Does it change how you think about CapEx even into that state? Ronnie Pruitt: No, it does not. Operator: We'll go next now to Brian Brophy at Stifel. Brian Brophy: Just kind of continuing the conversation on the public side. Realize it's a moving target but what are your latest thoughts on when we may see a new federal infrastructure bill? Ronnie Pruitt: I would tell you, we're definitely headed straight towards a continuing resolution and then time will tell whether that's before midterms or not. I wouldn't get caught up in it because at the end, I think the continuing -- we've had them where they've lasted a year. We've had them where they've lasted longer than a year. In the end, we've got a healthy level of spending. And remember, a continuing resolution continues that healthy level of spending. And so I don't want to try to predict that. I mean, if you can predict anything in D.C. today, good luck. So in the end, let's just focus on, we've got methods in place to continue public funding at a very healthy spot and we're pleased with that. Operator: We'll go next now to Garrett Greenblatt at JPMorgan. Garrett Samuel Greenblatt: On the demand side, power generation has come off a few times earlier in the call. I'm curious if you could help us size out the impact of that to demand volumes. I think when we think about data centers, it's something like 3% to 5% of the overall volumes. I wonder if you could put some numbers around power generation and where that could go over the next couple of years into 2027, 2028? Ronnie Pruitt: Yes. I mean it's hard to predict today. It represents a very low percentage because if you think about power generation in the country, it's been a very slow growth area because of the way that they have to plan capital, the way they have to get their approvals. We haven't seen power generation being a tailwind for a long time. And so I think you look at it in terms of the next 4 to 5 years and not the next year because it's not going to be a short-term blip. I mean these are things that take a lot of planning, a lot of regulatory. Each individual state has its own ways that they're going to have to address that. And so I would look at it as another form of aggregate consumption long term that's going to build in consistency in aggregate supply. But I wouldn't get ahead of it saying it's going to look similar to data centers because it just can't move that fast. Operator: Mr. Pruitt, it appears we have no further questions, sir. I'd like to turn the conference back to you for any closing comments. Ronnie Pruitt: Thank you, Bo and thank you all for joining our call today. Our first half results demonstrate the resiliency of our uniquely advantaged pure-play aggregates business. I am confident that we have the right strategy and the right people to execute that strategy to create long-term value for our shareholders. We look forward to speaking with you next quarter. Thank you. Operator: Thank you, Mr. Pruitt and thank you, Ms. Carlisle. Again, ladies and gentlemen, this will conclude the Vulcan Materials Company's Second Quarter Earnings Call. Again, thanks so much for joining us, everyone and we wish you all a great day. Goodbye. Before you buy stock in Vulcan Materials, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Vulcan Materials wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $397,405!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,344,091!* Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 953% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 214% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of August 7, 2026. This article is a transcript of this conference call produced for The Motley Fool. While we strive for our Foolish Best, there may be errors, omissions, or inaccuracies in this transcript. As with all our articles, The Motley Fool does not assume any responsibility for your use of this content, and we strongly encourage you to do your own research, including listening to the call yourself and reading the company's SEC filings. Please see our Terms and Conditions for additional details, including our Obligatory Capitalized Disclaimers of Liability. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Vulcan Materials (VMC) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript was originally published by The Motley Fool

Interested in Vulcan Materials Company? Here are five stocks we like better. Q2 adjusted EBITDA was $654 million, roughly flat year over year, as higher pricing and operating efficiencies offset nearly $40 million in energy-related costs. Aggregates shipments rose 1%, while mix-adjusted selling prices increased 5%. Vulcan maintained full-year adjusted EBITDA guidance of $2.4 billion to $2.6 billion, supported by public infrastructure, highways, data centers and other large projects, though residential construction remains weak. Management expects pricing realization to approach the upper end of its 4%–6% target range by year-end and margins to improve in the second half. The company returned more than $500 million to shareholders in the first half, including $400 million in buybacks, while continuing acquisitions focused on aggregates. In its Mexico arbitration, the tribunal found multiple NAFTA violations but awarded Vulcan only immaterial damages. Don’t Try to Catch These 3 Falling Knives Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) said second-quarter adjusted EBITDA was $654 million, roughly in line with the prior-year period, as higher prices and operating efficiencies helped offset nearly $40 million in energy-related headwinds. Chief Executive Officer Ronnie Pruitt said the company’s aggregates-focused business demonstrated resilience during inflationary pressures. Aggregates shipments rose 1% from a year earlier, though results varied by geography because of weather conditions. Aggregates cash gross profit per ton exceeded $12 and increased $0.14 year over year. → Microsoft Just Flipped the AI Spending Narrative Overnight 3 Infrastructure Stocks Riding the U.S. Building Boom Freight-adjusted aggregates selling prices increased both sequentially and from the prior year. On a mix-adjusted basis, average selling prices rose 5% year over year, with gains across geographies. Excluding diesel, freight-adjusted unit cash costs of sales increased 3%. “Our teams executed well, earning higher prices for our products in each segment and driving operational efficiencies to help offset inflationary increases in our input costs,” Pruitt said. → 2 Unique Space ETFs That Could Upend the Industry 3 Construction Stocks Set to Surge on Tariff-Driven Demand Vulcan reaffirmed its full-year adjusted EBITDA guidance of $2.4 billion to $2.6 billion. Management continues to expect modest aggregates shipment growth in 2026, supported by public infrastructure activity and private large-project construction, while residential construction remains weak. Pruitt said the company entered the year with healthy backlogs and continued to see healthy backlogs and robust quoting activity. He cited favorable trends in public highways, public infrastructure, data centers, manufacturing projects, liquefied natural gas projects and power infrastructure. → MarketBeat Week in Review – 07/27- 07/31 Trailing-12-month highway awards in Vulcan’s markets were up double digits from a year earlier, while public infrastructure awards in those markets increased 20%, according to the company. Pruitt said Vulcan’s footprint is aligned with data-center activity and associated power-generation and power-infrastructure investment. Residential construction, particularly single-family activity, remains constrained by affordability, management said. Warehousing activity was broadly flat, although Pruitt said the company has seen limited “green shoots” in specific markets. Management expects large projects to contribute to shipments on a gradual, ongoing basis rather than producing major swings in volume. Pruitt characterized the outlook as “slow and steady,” noting that project schedules determine when customers take delivery of material. Management said pricing is tracking its plans, with price realization expected to move toward the upper end of its previously discussed 4% to 6% range by year-end. Vulcan pulled some midyear price increases forward into June, and Pruitt said the company could consider additional pricing actions if diesel costs remain elevated. “Our biggest lever to overcome fuel continues to be price,” Pruitt said, adding that the company intends to protect margins amid persistent inflationary pressure. Diesel was a significant headwind in the quarter, including a $26 million impact discussed during the question-and-answer session. Vulcan said operating disciplines, production efficiencies, labor scheduling and other actions mitigated part of the impact. Management also cited opportunities to manage diesel-intensive activities and use liquid asphalt storage assets in its downstream business. Chief Financial Officer Mary Andrews Carlisle said the second half should benefit from easier comparisons, as the company faced unusually concentrated repair and insurance costs during the second half of 2025. Seasonally higher shipment volumes should also support cost performance. Vulcan expects full-year selling, administrative and general expenses to be $10 million to $15 million below its initial February forecast of $580 million to $590 million. Carlisle said gross margins may remain down year over year in the third quarter but are expected to improve in the fourth quarter, resulting in modest overall expansion in the second half. The company said it spent $370 million on maintenance and growth capital projects in the first half, invested $75 million in a strategic aggregates acquisition and returned more than $500 million to shareholders, including $400 million of share repurchases. Full-year capital expenditures are still expected to total $750 million to $800 million. Vulcan paid down approximately $200 million of outstanding commercial paper during the second quarter and ended June with about $300 million in cash. Net debt to adjusted EBITDA was 1.7 times at June 30. Trailing-12-month return on invested capital increased 20 basis points year over year to 16.1%. During the quarter, Vulcan completed divestitures of its California concrete operations and non-core U.S. Virgin Islands operations. It also acquired an aggregates operation from Brannan Sand & Gravel in early June, expanding its presence in southern Colorado and strengthening distribution in the Dallas-Fort Worth market. Pruitt said the company’s acquisition pipeline remains active and that several opportunities could be finalized this year. He said future transactions would remain focused on aggregates-led businesses where Vulcan can apply its selling and operating disciplines. Vulcan also provided an update on its arbitration against Mexico under the North American Free Trade Agreement. Pruitt said all three tribunal members found Mexico’s actions were arbitrary, grossly unfair and unjust, and found that numerous actions violated NAFTA. However, the two tribunal members who issued the majority opinion awarded Vulcan only immaterial damages, while the third member dissented from the damages determination. Pruitt called the result disconcerting but said Vulcan has continued supplying Gulf Coast customers since the 2022 taking of its Calica operation. He said the company still owns the land and surrounding port property in Mexico and remains positioned to serve the Gulf Coast through its distribution network. Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE: VMC) is a U.S.-based producer of construction materials that supplies the building and infrastructure markets. The company's primary products include construction aggregates such as crushed stone, sand and gravel, as well as asphalt mixes and ready-mixed concrete. These materials are used in a wide range of projects including highways, commercial and residential construction, and public infrastructure. Vulcan operates an integrated network of quarries, asphalt plants and concrete facilities to produce and deliver materials to contractors, municipalities and private developers. This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected]. The article "Vulcan Materials Q2 Earnings Call Highlights" was originally published by MarketBeat. View MarketBeat's top stocks for August 2026.

Our analysts just identified a stock with the potential to be the next Nvidia. Tell us how you invest and we'll show you why it's our #1 pick. Tap here. Management attributed the quarter's performance to the 'Vulcan Way of Operating' (VWO) and 'Vulcan Way of Selling' (VWS) disciplines, which helped maintain adjusted EBITDA despite a $40 million headwind from energy costs. Aggregates cash gross profit per ton expanded to over $12, driven by a 5% improvement in mix-adjusted average selling prices and operational efficiencies that limited unit cash cost increases to 3% excluding diesel. The company is executing a strategic pivot toward a pure-play aggregates model, highlighted by the divestiture of concrete operations in California and non-core assets in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Public sector demand remains a primary growth driver, with highway awards in Vulcan markets up double digits and infrastructure awards up 20% year-over-year, significantly outperforming non-Vulcan markets. Private sector activity is increasingly bifurcated; while residential construction remains weak due to affordability issues, large-scale projects like data centers and LNG facilities are providing robust demand offsets. Management emphasized their 'advantaged footprint' as a critical differentiator, noting that their markets are specifically aligned with high-growth infrastructure and private industrial activity. Full-year 2026 adjusted EBITDA guidance was reiterated at $2.4 billion to $2.6 billion, assuming modest shipment growth and continued pricing strength. Management expects a 'price-cost spread' inflection in the second half of the year, with pricing acceleration and cost deceleration leading to gross margin expansion, particularly in the fourth quarter. The guidance framework assumes diesel prices remain 'sticky' at Q2 levels, with management prepared to use aggressive pricing as the primary lever to protect margins if energy costs persist. Public funding visibility is supported by a significant carryover of unspent IIJA funds, which management believes will ensure a smooth transition during any federal continuing resolution periods. The acquisition pipeline remains active with numerous opportunities likely to close in 2026, supported by a net debt to adjusted EBITDA leverage of 1.7x. The NAFTA arbitration tribunal ruled that Mexico's actions against Vulcan were 'arbitrary, grossly unfair and unjust,' yet awarded only 'immaterial damages,' a decision management described as disconcerting. Despite the legal setback in Mexico, management noted they still own the land and port assets at Calica and have successfully grown company-wide EBITDA by over 50% since the 2022 illegal taking. Full-year SAG expense expectations were lowered by $10 million to $15 million from the initial February range, reflecting tighter overhead management. The proposed BUILD America 250 Act is viewed as more 'aggregate-intensive' than the IIJA due to its focus on formula-based highway and bridge funding rather than 'green' transit projects. One stock. Nvidia-level potential. 30M+ investors trust Moby to find it first. Get the pick. Tap here. Management stated that backlogs remain as healthy as they were at the start of the year, with robust quoting activity in public infrastructure and data centers. While weather caused regional disruptions in Texas and the Southeast during Q2, the underlying demand from large-scale projects is expected to provide 'slow and steady' growth. Management intentionally pulled mid-year price increases forward to June to combat energy volatility, achieving sequential pricing gains nearly double those of the prior year. If diesel costs do not subside, the company will remain 'very aggressive' in moving prices throughout the remainder of the year to protect margins. Data center growth is acting as a catalyst for broader power infrastructure expansion, including coal-to-gas conversions and solar manufacturing projects. While currently a small percentage of total volume, power generation is viewed as a long-term, aggregate-intensive tailwind that will build consistency in demand over the next 4 to 5 years. The recent Brannan Sand & Gravel acquisition provides a strategic entry into Southern Colorado while strengthening the Dallas-Fort Worth distribution network. Management confirmed that previous acquisitions like Wake and Superior are meeting integration targets, with Wake specifically on track to reach 'Vulcan standard' pricing within the expected two-year window.

Commercial Discipline and Cost Control Drive Continued Expansion in Aggregates Unit Profitability Execution in Aggregates Underpins Reaffirmed Full Year Earnings Outlook BIRMINGHAM, Ala., July 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE: VMC), the nation's largest producer of construction aggregates, today announced results for the quarter ended June 30, 2026. Ronnie Pruitt, Vulcan Materials' Chief Executive Officer, said, "Commercial and operational execution drove solid results in the second quarter. Our industry-leading aggregates cash gross profit per ton grew to over $12 per ton, despite significant energy inflation and disruptive weather. These results demonstrate the resiliency of our uniquely advantaged pure-play aggregates business. "Consistent with our aggregates growth strategy, during the second quarter we completed several portfolio enhancing actions. The pipeline for strategic acquisitions remains active, and we have the financial strength and flexibility to capitalize on the most value-accretive opportunities." Financial Highlights Include: Segment Results AggregatesContinued pricing discipline and operational execution drove gross profit growth despite energy headwinds and challenging weather-related operating conditions throughout the quarter. Segment gross profit increased to $567 million ($9.47 per ton), and cash gross profit improved to $720 million ($12.02 per ton). As compared to the prior year, second quarter aggregates shipments increased 1 percent and continued to benefit from healthy public construction activity and large projects. Shipments in Texas and certain Southeastern markets were impacted by significant rainfall, particularly in May and June. The pricing environment remains positive with widespread growth across the Company's footprint. Freight-adjusted selling prices increased 5 percent on a mix-adjusted basis (4 percent, or $0.86 per ton, on a reported basis) as compared to the prior year's second quarter. Freight-adjusted unit cash cost of sales increased 7 percent, or $0.72 per ton, over the prior year. Excluding the impact of higher diesel fuel costs, cash cost of sales increased 3 percent, reflecting a continued focus on cost management and operating efficiencies. Asphalt and ConcreteNon-aggregates segment gross profit in the second quarter was $58 million, and cash gross profit was $73 million. Asphalt gross profit margin remained strong at 15 percent, despite lower shipments due to weather and higher liquid asphalt costs. The prior year results included the Company's Houston asphalt and construction business that was divested in the fourth quarter of 2025. Second quarter concrete results included two months of the Company's California ready-mixed concrete business. The divestiture of these operations was completed in early June of 2026. Selling, Administrative and General (SAG) SAG expense in the quarter was $141 million, 2 percent lower than the prior year and 30 basis points lower as a percentage of revenue. On a trailing-twelve months basis, SAG expense as a percent of total revenues was 6.9 percent and 30 basis points lower than the prior year. Financial Position, Liquidity and Capital Allocation Capital expenditures for maintenance and growth projects were $176 million in the second quarter, and the Company returned $318 million to shareholders through $250 million of common stock repurchases and $68 million of dividends. In early June, the Company completed the previously announced divestiture of its ready-mixed concrete operations in California. Additionally, the Company acquired a quarry in southern Colorado and a rail yard in Dallas-Fort Worth from Brannan Sand & Gravel. These portfolio actions align with our aggregates-led growth strategy by expanding our reach into southern Colorado and strengthening our distribution network in Dallas-Fort Worth. On a trailing-twelve months basis, return on average invested capital improved 20 basis points over the prior year to 16.1 percent. As of June 30, 2026, the ratio of total debt to trailing-twelve months Adjusted EBITDA was 1.9 times and below the Company's target range of 2.0 to 2.5 times. The Company remains well positioned for continued growth with a strong liquidity position and balance sheet profile. Outlook Regarding the Company's outlook, Mr. Pruitt said, "Our aggregates business is executing well, and we reiterate our full-year outlook to deliver between $2.4 and $2.6 billion of Adjusted EBITDA. The construction environment remains supportive of continued aggregates price growth, and large projects and public construction activity continue to support our expectation for volume growth in 2026. As always, our focus remains on compounding aggregates unit profitability to drive earnings growth and strong cash generation for our shareholders." Conference Call Vulcan will host a conference call at 9:00 a.m. CT on July 29, 2026. A webcast will be available via the Company's website at www.vulcanmaterials.com. Investors and other interested parties may access the teleconference live by calling 800-420-1459, or 203-518-9861 if outside the U.S. The conference ID is 5427524. The conference call will be recorded and available for replay at the Company's website approximately two hours after the call. About Vulcan Materials Company Vulcan Materials Company, a member of the S&P 500 Index with headquarters in Birmingham, Alabama, is the nation's largest supplier of construction aggregates – primarily crushed stone, sand and gravel – and a major producer of aggregates-based construction materials, including asphalt and ready-mixed concrete. For additional information about Vulcan, go to www.vulcanmaterials.com. Non-GAAP Financial Measures Because GAAP financial measures on a forward-looking basis are not accessible, and reconciling information is not available without unreasonable effort, we have not provided reconciliations for forward-looking non-GAAP measures, other than the reconciliation of Projected Adjusted EBITDA as included in Appendix 2 hereto. For the same reasons, we are unable to address the probable significance of the unavailable information, which could be material to future results. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENT DISCLAIMER This document contains forward-looking statements. Statements that are not historical fact, including statements about Vulcan's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Generally, these statements relate to future financial performance, results of operations, business plans or strategies, projected or anticipated revenues, expenses, earnings (including EBITDA and other measures), dividend policy, shipment volumes, pricing, levels of capital expenditures, intended cost reductions and cost savings, anticipated profit improvements and/or planned divestitures and asset sales. These forward-looking statements are sometimes identified by the use of terms and phrases such as "believe," "should," "would," "expect," "project," "estimate," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "will," "can," "may" or similar expressions elsewhere in this document. These statements are subject to numerous risks, uncertainties, and assumptions, including but not limited to general business conditions, competitive factors, pricing, energy costs, and other risks and uncertainties discussed in the reports Vulcan periodically files with the SEC. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results, developments, and business decisions may vary significantly from those expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements. The following risks related to Vulcan's business, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements: general economic and business conditions; domestic and global political, economic or diplomatic developments, including the military conflict in the Middle East involving the United States, Israel and Iran; a pandemic, epidemic or other public health emergency; Vulcan's dependence on the construction industry, which is subject to economic cycles; the timing and amount of federal, state and local funding for infrastructure; changes in the level of spending for private residential and private nonresidential construction; changes in Vulcan's effective tax rate; the increasing reliance on information technology infrastructure, including the risks that the infrastructure does not work as intended, experiences technical difficulties or is subjected to cyber-attacks; the impact of the state of the global economy on Vulcan's businesses and financial condition and access to capital markets; international business operations and relationships, including actions taken by the Mexican government with respect to Vulcan's property and operations in that country; the highly competitive nature of the construction industry; the impact of future regulatory or legislative actions, including those relating to climate change, biodiversity, land use, wetlands, greenhouse gas emissions, the definition of minerals, tax policy and domestic and international trade; the outcome of pending legal proceedings; pricing of Vulcan's products; weather and other natural phenomena, including the impact of climate change and availability of water; availability and cost of trucks, railcars, barges and ships as well as their licensed operators for transport of Vulcan's materials; energy costs; costs of hydrocarbon-based raw materials; healthcare costs; labor relations, shortages and constraints; the amount of long-term debt and interest expense incurred by Vulcan; changes in interest rates; volatility in pension plan asset values and liabilities, which may require cash contributions to the pension plans; the impact of environmental cleanup costs and other liabilities relating to existing and/or divested businesses; Vulcan's ability to secure and permit aggregates reserves in strategically located areas; Vulcan's ability to identify, close and successfully integrate acquisitions; the effect of changes in tax laws, guidance and interpretations; significant downturn in the construction industry may result in the impairment of goodwill or long-lived assets; changes in technologies, which could disrupt the way Vulcan does business and how Vulcan's products are distributed; the risks of open pit and underground mining; expectations relating to sustainability considerations; claims that our products do not meet regulatory requirements or contractual specifications; and other assumptions, risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in the reports filed by Vulcan with the SEC. All forward-looking statements in this communication are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. Vulcan disclaims and does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement in this document except as required by law. 8.4 8.518.511.6Total$625.5$625.2$1,048.2$990.5Depreciation, Depletion, Accretion and AmortizationAggregates$152.8$144.3$298.6$294.7Asphalt11.214.022.426.0Concrete3.919.08.034.5Other9.68.218.816.6Total$177.5$185.5$347.8$371.8Average Unit Sales Price and Unit ShipmentsAggregatesFreight-adjusted revenues 3$1,376.4$1,310.1$2,515.4$2,362.1Aggregates - tons59.959.3109.9107.0Freight-adjusted sales price 4$22.97$22.11$22.89$22.07Other ProductsAsphalt Mix - tons3.43.95.76.1Asphalt Mix - sales price 5$85.74$81.29$84.92$81.30Ready-mixed concrete - cubic yards1.01.22.02.1Ready-mixed concrete - sales price 5$189.94$186.60$190.20$187.831 Includes product sales (crushed stone, sand and gravel, sand, and other aggregates), as well as freight & delivery costs that we pass along to our customers, and service revenues related to aggregates.2 Includes product sales, as well as service revenues from our asphalt construction paving business.3 Freight-adjusted revenues are Aggregates segment sales excluding freight & delivery revenues and  other revenues related to services, such as landfill tipping fees, that are derived from our aggregates business.4 Freight-adjusted sales price is calculated as freight-adjusted revenues divided by aggregates unit shipments.5 Sales price is calculated by dividing revenues generated from the shipment of product (excluding service revenues generated by the segments) by total units of the product shipped. 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Vulcan Materials Company VMC posted solid second-quarter 2026 results, with adjusted earnings and total revenues beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate and increasing year over year.The quarter’s results reflect aggregates volume and pricing growth, commercial discipline and operating efficiencies. However, significant energy-related inflation and disruptive weather partly offset these benefits. Aggregates cash gross profit per ton increased to $12.02 from $11.88 in the year-ago quarter.VMC stock gained 2.2% during today’s pre-market trading hours following its earnings release. VMC reported adjusted earnings of $2.59 per share in the second quarter, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.50 by 3.6%. The figure increased 5.7% from the year-ago quarter’s adjusted earnings of $2.45 per share. Vulcan Materials Company price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Vulcan Materials Company Quote Quarterly revenues were $2.16 billion, up 2.5% year over year and slightly ahead of the consensus mark. Aggregates shipments increased 1% to 59.9 million tons, supported by healthy public construction activity and large projects despite weather-related disruptions in certain markets. Profitability remained resilient despite elevated energy costs. Gross profit was $625.5 million compared with $625.2 million a year ago. Operating earnings declined 3.3% year over year to $455.5 million. Net earnings attributable to Vulcan increased to $323.4 million from $320.9 million in the prior-year quarter.Adjusted EBITDA decreased 0.9% to $654 million, and the adjusted EBITDA margin narrowed to 30.3% from 31.4%. Approximately $40 million of energy-related inflation tied to higher oil prices weighed on earnings, partly offsetting benefits from pricing and operating execution. Below-the-line discipline continued to support results. Selling, administrative and general (SA&G) expenses were $141.3 million, down from $144.5 million in the prior-year quarter. SA&G, as a percentage of revenues, improved year over year to 6.6% from 6.9%, reflecting continued leverage of the company's overhead cost structure.The company recorded an $11.3 million loss on the sale of property, plant and equipment and businesses versus a $1.2 million gain a year ago. Other operating expense, net, increased to $17.4 million from $10.9 million, partly offsetting the benefits of stronger commercial execution. The Aggregates segment again did the heavy lifting. Segment sales increased 6.9% year over year to $1.76 billion, while segment gross profit climbed to $567.3 million from $559.5 million. Cash gross profit increased to $720.1 million from $703.8 million.Freight-adjusted sales price improved to $22.97 per ton from $22.11 year over year. On a mix-adjusted basis, pricing increased 5%, reflecting widespread pricing gains across the company's footprint. Cash gross profit per ton rose to $12.02 from $11.88.Freight-adjusted revenues advanced to approximately $1.38 billion from $1.31 billion, highlighting continued pricing strength. At the same time, freight-adjusted cash cost of sales per ton increased 7% to $10.95 from $10.23, primarily due to higher diesel fuel costs. Excluding diesel inflation, unit cash costs increased 3%, supported by disciplined cost management and improved plant efficiencies. Aggregates shipments increased 1% to 59.9 million tons despite significant rainfall in Texas and certain Southeastern markets. Performance in the downstream businesses reflected weather-related disruptions and recent portfolio actions. Asphalt segment revenues declined to $330 million from $368.7 million, while gross profit decreased to $49.8 million from $57.2 million. Nevertheless, the asphalt gross profit margin remained strong at 15%.Operationally, asphalt mix shipments declined to 3.4 million tons from 3.9 million tons, while the average selling price improved to $85.74 per ton from $81.26. The prior-year quarter included the Houston asphalt and construction business, which was divested during the fourth quarter of 2025.Concrete segment revenues declined to $186.8 million from $220.5 million, while gross profit was essentially flat at $8.4 million compared with $8.5 million a year ago. Ready-mixed concrete shipments decreased to 1 million cubic yards from 1.2 million cubic yards, while the average selling price increased to $189.94 from $186.52. Results reflected only two months of contributions from the California ready-mixed concrete business before its divestiture in early June. Liquidity remained healthy at quarter-end, with cash and cash equivalents of $194.2 million. The company carried $400 million of current maturities of long-term debt and $3.96 billion of long-term debt. Total debt to trailing-12-month adjusted EBITDA stood at 1.9x, below management's targeted range of 2x to 2.5x.VMC invested $176 million in maintenance and growth projects during the quarter. The company also returned $318 million to its shareholders through $250 million of share repurchases and $68 million of dividends.During the quarter, Vulcan completed the divestiture of its California ready-mixed concrete operations. The company also acquired a quarry in southern Colorado and a rail yard in Dallas-Fort Worth, further strengthening its aggregates-led growth strategy. Management reiterated its full-year adjusted EBITDA outlook of $2.4-$2.6 billion. The company expects continued aggregates price growth, supported by healthy public construction activity, large infrastructure projects and disciplined commercial execution.Vulcan also expects its ongoing focus on cost management, operating efficiencies and aggregates unit profitability to support earnings growth and cash generation throughout the remainder of 2026. Vulcan currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Comfort Systems USA, Inc. FIX delivered impressive second-quarter 2026 results, with earnings and revenues surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Both metrics increased sharply year over year.Comfort Systems’ quarterly performance reflected continued strength across the end markets, robust execution by the operating teams and sustained demand that drove record backlog growth, reinforcing its confidence in the business momentum. Backlog as of June 30, 2026, totaled $14.06 billion, increasing 12.9% from $12.45 billion on March 31, 2026, and jumping 73.2% from $8.12 billion reported a year ago.United Rentals, Inc. URI reported solid second-quarter 2026 results, with adjusted earnings per share and total revenues beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate and increasing year over year.Record rental revenues, higher fleet productivity and robust specialty demand supported United Rentals’ results. Fleet productivity improved 3.4% year over year. Rental revenues increased 12.7% year over year to a quarterly record of $3.85 billion. Management raised its 2026 revenue outlook to $17.5-$17.8 billion from $16.9-$17.4 billion. The adjusted EBITDA forecast increased to $7.98-$8.13 billion from $7.63-$7.88 billion.PulteGroup, Inc. PHM reported better-than-expected second-quarter 2026 results, with adjusted earnings and total revenues topping the Zacks Consensus Estimate, but declining year over year.The quarterly results reflect reduced home-closing volumes, softer average selling prices and margin compression. Ongoing softness in the housing market because of weaker consumer confidence and ongoing affordability challenges due to high mortgage rates hurt the top-line growth. The number of homes closed declined 8.4% year over year to 6,997 units. Net new orders increased 6.4% year over year to 7,536 homes. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Vulcan Materials Company (VMC) : Free Stock Analysis Report PulteGroup, Inc. (PHM) : Free Stock Analysis Report United Rentals, Inc. (URI) : Free Stock Analysis Report Comfort Systems USA, Inc. (FIX) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

Vulcan Materials (VMC) came out with quarterly earnings of $2.59 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.5 per share. This compares to earnings of $2.45 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items. This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of +3.60%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this construction materials company would post earnings of $1.12 per share when it actually produced earnings of $1.35, delivering a surprise of +20.54%. Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates three times. Vulcan, which belongs to the Zacks Building Products - Concrete and Aggregates industry, posted revenues of $2.16 billion for the quarter ended June 2026, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.04%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $2.1 billion. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates three times over the last four quarters. The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call. Vulcan shares have added about 1.1% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 8.5%. While Vulcan has underperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock? There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately. Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions. Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for Vulcan was mixed. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to perform in line with the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and the current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is $3.04 on $2.3 billion in revenues for the coming quarter and $9.30 on $8.19 billion in revenues for the current fiscal year. Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Building Products - Concrete and Aggregates is currently in the bottom 20% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1. M-tron Industries, Inc. (MPTI), another stock in the broader Zacks Construction sector, has yet to report results for the quarter ended June 2026. This company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.47 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of -11.3%. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days. M-tron Industries, Inc.'s revenues are expected to be $14.8 million, up 11.5% from the year-ago quarter. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Vulcan Materials Company (VMC) : Free Stock Analysis Report M-tron Industries, Inc. (MPTI) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Adjusted EBITDA: $654 million, approximating the prior year despite energy headwinds of almost $40 million. Aggregate Cash Gross Profit Per Ton: Topped $12, $0.14 higher than the prior year. Shipments: Increased 1% compared to the prior year. Average Selling Prices: Improved 5% compared to the prior year on a mix-adjusted basis. Aggregates Freight-Adjusted Unit Cash Cost of Sales: Increased 3% compared to the prior year, excluding diesel. Full Year Adjusted EBITDA Guidance: Reiterated at $2.4 billion to $2.6 billion. Capital Expenditures: Expected between $750 million and $800 million for the full year. Net Debt to Adjusted EBITDA Leverage: 1.7 times at June 30. Return on Invested Capital: Improved 20 basis points from a year ago to 16.1% at quarter end. SAG Expenses: 2% lower in the first six months compared to the prior year. Trailing 12 Months Expenses: $558 million, 6.9% of revenues, 30 basis points lower than the prior year period. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 7 Warning Sign with CHE. Is VMC fairly valued? Test your thesis with our free DCF calculator. Release Date: July 29, 2026 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. Vulcan Materials Co (NYSE:VMC) achieved $654 million in adjusted EBITDA for the quarter, maintaining levels similar to the previous year despite facing $40 million in energy headwinds. The company reported a 5% year-over-year improvement in average selling prices, with widespread geographical improvement. Vulcan Materials Co (NYSE:VMC) successfully completed strategic divestitures and acquisitions, including the acquisition of an aggregate operation from Brandon Sand and Gravel, enhancing its distribution network. The company maintained a strong balance sheet with a net debt to adjusted EBITDA leverage of 1.7 times, providing financial flexibility for future acquisitions. Vulcan Materials Co (NYSE:VMC) returned over half a billion dollars to shareholders in the first half of the year, including $400 million in share repurchases. The company faced significant energy headwinds, particularly from diesel costs, which impacted overall cost performance. Residential construction demand remains weak due to ongoing affordability issues, affecting overall market dynamics. The arbitration against Mexico under NAFTA resulted in only immaterial damages awarded to Vulcan Materials Co (NYSE:VMC), despite the tribunal finding Mexico's actions arbitrary and unjust. Weather disruptions affected shipments, with varying impacts across different geographies. The company anticipates continued inflationary pressures, particularly from energy costs, which may affect future cost management. Q: Can you talk about the demand outlook for the second half of the year and what gives you confidence in meeting the full-year volume guidance? A: Demand is tracking as expected, with healthy backlogs and robust quoting activity. Positive trends are seen in public infrastructure, highways, data centers, and LNG projects, although single-family residential growth remains weak. Our footprint is well-positioned to capture recovery in single-family housing when it occurs. Q: Cost performance was solid in Q2 despite fuel and weather challenges. Can you explain the drivers behind this and your confidence in managing costs for the rest of the year? A: We mitigated a $26 million diesel headwind through operational efficiencies and labor scheduling. For the rest of the year, we will focus on operating efficiencies, process intelligence, and leveraging our liquid asphalt storage to manage costs. Additionally, unusual costs from last year are not expected to repeat, which should aid in cost management. Q: Can you provide an update on mid-year price increases and the situation with Mexico? A: Mid-year price increases went as expected, with a significant improvement over last year. Regarding Mexico, the tribunal found Mexico's actions violated NAFTA but awarded immaterial damages. Despite this, we continue to supply the Gulf Coast effectively and maintain a strong distribution network. Q: How is demand shaping up in July, and can you quantify the current order and backlog situation? A: Backlogs are similar to the start of the year, with weather impacting different geographies. Public infrastructure projects, particularly in North Georgia and the Gulf Coast, show strong growth. Private demand is driven by data centers and power infrastructure, while single-family remains weak. Q: Are there any plans for additional price increases in the second half, and how does this affect future pricing strategies? A: We may consider additional price increases depending on energy prices. Pricing remains our strongest lever to manage inflationary pressures, and we will continue to evaluate this strategy to protect margins. For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.

For the quarter ended June 2026, Vulcan Materials (VMC) reported revenue of $2.16 billion, up 2.5% over the same period last year. EPS came in at $2.59, compared to $2.45 in the year-ago quarter. The reported revenue compares to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.16 billion, representing a surprise of +0.04%. The company delivered an EPS surprise of +3.6%, with the consensus EPS estimate being $2.50. While investors scrutinize revenue and earnings changes year-over-year and how they compare with Wall Street expectations to determine their next move, some key metrics always offer a more accurate picture of a company's financial health. As these metrics influence top- and bottom-line performance, comparing them to the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated helps investors project a stock's price performance more accurately. Here is how Vulcan performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts: Average unit sales price per ton - Aggregates (freight adjusted): $22.97 compared to the $22.99 average estimate based on three analysts. Average unit sales price per ton - Asphalt mix: $85.74 versus the three-analyst average estimate of $83.35. Unit Shipments - Ready-mixed concrete: 1,000.00 KCuYd compared to the 1,065.33 KCuYd average estimate based on three analysts. Unit Shipments - Aggregates: 59,900.00 KTon compared to the 60,053.69 KTon average estimate based on three analysts. Unit Shipments - Asphalt mix: 3,400.00 KTon compared to the 3,742.33 KTon average estimate based on three analysts. Average unit sales price per cubic yard - Ready-mixed concrete: $189.94 compared to the $190.72 average estimate based on three analysts. Net Sales- Aggregates intersegment sales: $-124 million compared to the $-140.86 million average estimate based on four analysts. The reported number represents a change of -9.3% year over year. Net Sales- Concrete: $186.8 million versus the four-analyst average estimate of $182.03 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of -15.3%. Net Sales- Asphalt: $330 million compared to the $374.98 million average estimate based on four analysts. The reported number represents a change of -10.5% year over year. Net Sales- Aggregates: $1.76 billion compared to the $1.76 billion average estimate based on four analysts. The reported number represents a change of +6.9% year over year. Gross Profit- Aggregates: $567.3 million versus the three-analyst average estimate of $567.56 million. Gross Profit- Asphalt: $49.8 million versus $47.94 million estimated by three analysts on average. View all Key Company Metrics for Vulcan here>>> Shares of Vulcan have returned -2.2% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +1.9% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), indicating that it could perform in line with the broader market in the near term. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Vulcan Materials Company (VMC) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research