Start here if you're new
what it is
Vulcan makes and sells crushed stone, asphalt, and concrete for roads, buildings, and other heavy projects.
how it gets paid
Last year Vulcan Materials made $7.9B in revenue. Aggregates was the main engine at $6.0B, or 76% of sales.
why it's growing
Revenue grew 7.1% last year to $7.9B consolidated. Q4 consolidated sales in coverage were about $1.91B—that is company total, not the $6.0B full-year aggregates segment line in the table.
what just happened
Vulcan missed EPS by 2.05% while gross margin held at 28.0%.
At a glance
A balance sheet — strong enough to weather a downturn
85/100 earnings predictability — you can trust these numbers
38.3x trailing p/e — you're paying up for this one
0.7% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter
12.0% return on capital — nothing to write home about
xvary composite: 73/100 — average
What they do
Vulcan makes and sells crushed stone, asphalt, and concrete for roads, buildings, and other heavy projects.
Vulcan runs 425 aggregate sites across 23 states, plus D.C., Mexico, and the Bahamas. That is fewer places for your contractor to shop and more miles for rivals to haul. It sold 226.8 million tons in 2025, so leaving is painful because the network already exists.
How they make money
$7.9B
annual revenue · their business grew +7.1% last year
Aggregates
$6.0B
Asphalt
$0.9B
Concrete
$0.6B
Other construction products
$0.4B
The products that matter
core aggregates production
Aggregates-led model
~$6.0B aggregates · $7.9B consolidated
the segment table breaks out aggregates, asphalt, concrete, and other—aggregates is the largest line at ~$6.0B, not the entire $7.9B. net margin ~14.4% (health panel) applies to the consolidated business.
core driver
portfolio cleanup
Asset divestitures
balance sheet support
this is not a second revenue engine. it matters because management has been selling non-core assets and using the proceeds to support a balance sheet already rated A.
capital discipline
local delivery advantage
Quarry network
~14.4% net margin
not a separate segment either. it matters because rock is cheap to make and expensive to move, so local reserves and freight economics are a big part of why this business keeps about 14 cents of every revenue dollar.
the moat
Key numbers
$7.9B
annual revenue
Revenue → sales dollars → you are buying a $7.9B machine, not a tiny quarry.
28.5%
operating margin
Operating margin → profit from sales → Vulcan keeps 28.5 cents before interest and taxes, vs 14.4% net margin after the rest.
425
aggregate sites
425 sites across 23 states make hauling rock harder for rivals and boring for customers.
$353
target price
That is 15% above $306.2, so the market is already paying for most of the upside.
Financial health
A
strength
- balance sheet grade A — very strong financial position
- risk rank 2 — safer than 80% of stocks
- price stability 90 / 100
- long-term debt $4.4B (10% of capital)
- net profit margin 14.4% — keeps 14 cents of every dollar in revenue
- return on equity 14% — $0.14 profit for every $1 investors have put in
A — among the top-rated companies for balance sheet quality.
Total return vs. market
You invested $10,000 in VMC 3 years ago → it's now worth $17,250.
The index would have given you $14,540.
source: institutional data · total return
What just happened
missed estimates
Vulcan missed EPS by 2.05% while gross margin held at 28.0%.
One scrape shows ~$1.91 EPS actual vs ~$1.95 expected; wire copy below cites ~$1.70 Q4 share profit—likely GAAP vs. adjusted or different line items. ~$6.0B is aggregates FY; ~$7.9B is consolidated FY. Q4 consolidated sales were about $1.91B—do not confuse $1.91 EPS with $1.91B revenue.
~$1.91B
Q4 rev (cons.)
~$1.91
eps (Q4 · feed)
28.0%
gross margin (Q4)
EPS miss
The $1.91 print mattered because a 2.05% miss at 38.3x earnings is not cheap.
-
vulcan materials reported mixed results for the fourth quarter of 2025.the aggregates producer posted sales of $1.913 billion for the december period, supported by healthy construction activity, particularly in the southeast u.s., and higher product pricing. the figure improved modestly from a year ago, highlighting a broader uptick in domestic construction activity. on the earnings front, however, share profit of $1.70 dipped considerably versus the previous-year tally, owing largely to narrower gross margins and steady operating expenses. even so, the company delivered solid results for the full-year 2025 and, based on our model, we think moderate top- and bottom-line growth is probably in the cards for this year and next.
-
the stock has performed well of late.in fact, vmc shares recently etched fresh all-time highs back in mid-february before peeling back a bit.
-
still, since our last report three months ago, the stock has appreciated about 5% in value.at this time, the equity is ranked to mirror the broader market averages over the coming six to 12 months (timeliness: 3).
-
vulcan’s long-term business prospects are bright.first, the company has been strategically repositioning operations via asset divestitures over the past few years, with a primary focus on supporting the core aggregates business.
-
funds from asset sales have been used to strengthen the balance sheet.along with a more streamlined business structure, vulcan is poised to continue to benefit from increased construction spending at the local and state government levels in the years ahead.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
the #1 risk is a construction slowdown hitting aggregates demand before the valuation resets.
med
construction demand cools
Vulcan is tied to roads, infrastructure, and private building activity. if project starts slow down, volumes feel it fast because this snapshot shows basically one disclosed revenue engine: the $7.9B aggregates business.
when one business line drives the story, there is not much to hide behind.
med
pricing stops doing the heavy lifting
last quarter's 16.4% net margin and the full-year 13.1% net margin tell you pricing matters. if price increases stop outrunning cost pressure, earnings can flatten even if revenue still looks respectable.
a premium multiple on a middling margin story is how “steady” turns into “expensive.”
med
freight, energy, and tariff pressure
this is a heavy, local, logistics-sensitive business. input costs and transport costs do not need to explode to matter when return on capital is 10.5% and investors are already paying 38.3x earnings.
you do not need a collapse to hurt the stock. you just need less operating leverage than the market expects.
a $7.9B business earning a 13.1% net margin can absorb some pressure. a stock trading at 38.3x earnings absorbs far less.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
metric
margin holding above the full-year baseline
the gap between the 13.1% full-year net margin and the 16.4% last-quarter figure tells you how much profit is riding on pricing discipline.
calendar
the next quarterly print
watch whether the business can build on $2.82 EPS and $2.3B revenue without leaning only on price. that is the next credibility test for the premium multiple.
trend
institutional sponsorship staying steady
three straight quarters of net buying is supportive, but 366 buyers versus 326 sellers is measured demand, not mania. steady is enough here. fading is not.
risk
construction spending still doing its part
the long-term story depends on local and state project activity staying healthy. if that backdrop softens while the stock is still priced at 38.3x earnings, you will feel it twice.
Analyst rankings
short-term outlook
average
momentum score 3 — in human-speak, analysts do not see a strong near-term edge either way.
risk profile
above average
stability score 2 — safer than roughly 80% of stocks. not risk-free, just steadier than most.
chart momentum
average
technical score 3 — the chart is fine, but it is not screaming that the next leg higher has already started.
earnings predictability
85 / 100
management tends to produce readable results. you usually get fewer nasty surprises here than in most cyclical names.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutions have been net buying for 3 consecutive quarters — 366 buyers vs. 326 sellers in 4q2025. total institutional holdings: 0.1B shares. net buying for 3 quarters.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
$255
$450
$306
current price
$353
target midpoint · +15% from current · 3-5yr high: $350 (+15% · 4% ann'l return)
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