Start here if you're new
what it is
BlueLinx is the middleman moving lumber, roofing, insulation, and other building materials to 15,000 customers across the U.S.
how it gets paid
Last year Bluelinx made $3.0B in revenue.
what just happened
Revenue hit $2.2B, while EPS came in at $1.08.
At a glance
C++ balance sheet — some cracks in the foundation
15/100 earnings predictability — expect surprises
10.9x trailing p/e — the market's not buying it — or you found a deal
5.1% return on capital — nothing to write home about
$6.19 fy2024 eps est
xvary composite: 33/100 — weak
What they do
BlueLinx is the middleman moving lumber, roofing, insulation, and other building materials to 15,000 customers across the U.S.
This is a scale-and-reach business. BlueLinx serves about 15,000 customers across major U.S. metros, so if you need truckloads of building materials fast, a broad network matters. The moat is distribution density (lots of locations and customer relationships) → getting product where it needs to go → so what: that helps keep $3.0 billion of revenue moving even when construction markets get ugly.
How they make money
$3.0B
annual revenue · revenue was roughly flat last year
total revenue
$3.0B
+0.0%
The products that matter
higher-margin building materials
Specialty Products
$1.8B · 60% of segment revenue shown
this $1.8B segment earns an 18.1% gross margin. that's the profit pool doing the heavy lifting.
18.1% margin
commodity lumber and panels
Structural Products
$1.2B · 40% of segment revenue shown
it accounts for $1.2B of revenue, but it earns less than specialty products. when this mix gets too big, profit quality falls.
40% of revenue
Key numbers
10.9x
trailing p/e
P/E -> price compared with earnings -> so what: at $67.11 against estimated FY2024 EPS of $6.19, you are paying a low multiple for a cyclical distributor.
$640M
long-term debt
Debt is 62% of capital, which means the balance sheet has less room for a housing slump.
4.2%
operating margin
Operating margin -> profit after running the business -> so what: BlueLinx has little cushion if pricing or volumes slip.
5.1%
return on capital
Return on capital -> profit earned on money invested -> so what: 5.1% is not a great payoff for a cyclical business carrying heavy debt.
Financial health
C++
strength
- balance sheet grade C++ — below average — limited financial resources
- risk rank 4 — safer than 20% of stocks
- price stability 15 / 100
- long-term debt $640M (62% of capital)
C++ — balance sheet grade and long-term debt are flagged. this stock carries more risk than average.
Total return vs. market
Return history isn't available for BXC right now.
source: institutional data · return history unavailable
What just happened
beat estimates
Revenue hit $2.2B, while EPS came in at $1.08.
The quarter showed big vs. prior year jumps from a low base, but the fuller picture is that annual revenue was flat at $3.0 billion. Gross margin was 15.1%, so this remains a low-margin distribution story.
$750M
revenue
$1.08
eps
15.1%
gross margin
the number that mattered
15.1% gross margin mattered most because a distributor lives or dies on small spreads, and BlueLinx only has a 4.2% operating margin.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
the #1 risk is the material weakness in BlueLinx's financial reporting controls.
med
material weakness in financial controls
On June 20, 2024, the auditor reported a material weakness and said controls failed to detect potential fraud in financial reporting.
If the next filings do not show remediation, the discount can persist no matter how cheap 10.9x earnings looks.
med
housing and rate sensitivity
BlueLinx sells into residential construction and repair demand. When housing slows, both volume and pricing can weaken at the same time.
This business is built on a revenue base shown here at $3.0B. A slowdown does not need to be dramatic to hurt a 15.1% gross margin.
med
leverage amplifies small mistakes
Long-term debt is $640M, or 62% of capital. That is a heavy load for a distributor with a C++ balance sheet and a 5.1% return on capital.
In plain English: if margins slip, debt gets louder fast.
med
specialty mix is doing too much work
Specialty products post an 18.1% gross margin and make up $1.8B of the revenue shown here. Structural products contribute $1.2B with lower profitability.
If the mix shifts toward structural products, the margin story breaks before the revenue story does.
$640M of debt against a business keeping 15.1% of sales before overhead is not much cushion if housing demand weakens or the control issue drags on.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
risk
whether the material weakness gets fixed
This matters more than one good quarter. If the control issue is still there in the next filing, the valuation discount has a reason to stay.
metric
specialty gross margin
18.1% is the number carrying the story. If that slips toward the 15.1% company average, the low multiple stops looking cheap.
calendar
the next earnings report
You are waiting for two answers: did mix stay favorable, and did management say anything concrete about control remediation.
trend
institutional ownership at 90.83%
That is a crowded register for a $388M company. If funds keep reducing exposure, the stock can move faster than the fundamentals do.
Analyst rankings
earnings predictability
15 / 100
in human-speak, analysts do not trust this business to deliver smooth quarters.
risk rank
4
that puts it ahead of only about 20% of stocks on safety. You own this for upside, not stability.
price stability
15 / 100
the stock has not traded like a calm compounder. It has traded like a small cyclical with leverage.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutional ownership data for BXC is being compiled.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
n/a
n/a
$67
current price
n/a
target midpoint · n/a from current
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