Vulcan Materials Company

What they do

Vulcan produces crushed stone, sand and gravel at 425 active aggregates facilities, plus asphalt mix at 71 plants and ready-mixed concrete at 76 plants in Alabama, Arizona, California, Maryland, New Mexico, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Washington D.C. Products are delivered by truck, ship, barge and train, and aggregates make up roughly 95% of asphalt mix and 80% of ready-mixed concrete by weight. Production and sales are halted at the Calica operations in Mexico and Puerto Cortés operations in Honduras.

Revenue drivers

• Aggregates — Core segment: 2025 sales of $6,297.2 million, up 6%, on 226.8 million tons shipped and $21.98 freight-adjusted price per ton.
• Asphalt and Concrete — Downstream, aggregates-intensive products sold in select markets: combined 2025 sales of $2,141.0 million, up 13%, with combined gross profit of $209.8 million.
• Public construction demand — Historically 40%–55% of aggregates shipments go to publicly funded construction such as highways, airports and government buildings, though few sales are made directly to government entities.
• Top-state concentration — Top ten revenue-producing states accounted for 90% of 2025 revenues and the top five for 63%, led by California, Texas, Georgia, Tennessee and Virginia.

Recent performance

Second quarter 2026 total revenues rose 3% to $2,155.8 million, with Aggregates segment sales up 7% to $1,763.0 million and freight-adjusted revenues up 5% to $1,376.4 million. Shipments rose 1% to 59.9 million tons and freight-adjusted price per ton rose 3.9% to $22.97. Aggregates gross profit increased 1% to $567.3 million and gross profit per ton was $9.47, while cash gross profit per ton reached $12.02. Asphalt and Concrete segment gross profit fell $7.5 million to $58.2 million, and operating earnings declined 3% to $455.5 million.

Strategy

Vulcan's strategy centers on an aggregates-led business, durable growth, holistic land management, and safety, health and environmental commitments. The company holds 16.6 billion tons of proven and probable aggregates reserves positioned near high-growth markets, and it serves 34 of the top 50 highest-growth metropolitan statistical areas in 23 states plus Washington D.C. Management cites barriers to entry from zoning and permitting as increasing the value of existing reserves. In the second quarter of 2026 the company completed several portfolio-enhancing actions and said its strategic acquisition pipeline remains active. It also returned capital to shareholders, with 2025 dividends of $259.8 million at $1.96 per share and share repurchases of $438.4 million at an average price of $283.82.

Risks

• Weather and seasonality — Almost all products are produced and consumed outdoors, and management cited disruptive weather and challenging weather-related operating conditions in the second quarter of 2026.
• Energy cost inflation — Management cited significant energy inflation as a headwind to second quarter 2026 results despite pricing gains.
• Halted foreign operations — Production and sales are currently halted at the Calica operations in Mexico and the Puerto Cortés operations in Honduras, with Calica matters addressed in the commitments and contingencies note.
• Public funding exposure — Approximately 40% to 55% of aggregates shipments have historically been used in publicly funded construction, so reductions in state and federal funding can curtail that activity.

Outlook

For 2026, management expects total shipments up 1% to 3% and freight-adjusted price improvement of 4% to 6%. It guides to net earnings attributable to Vulcan of $1,100 million to $1,300 million, Adjusted EBITDA of at least $2,400 million, SAG expenses of $580 million to $590 million, and capital spending of $750 million to $800 million. Total Asphalt and Concrete segment cash gross profit is expected at approximately $290 million, excluding California ready-mixed concrete assets held for sale.