Vulcan Stock Down as Q4 Earnings & Revenues Miss Estimates

Vulcan Materials Company VMC reported lower-than-expected fourth-quarter 2025 results, with adjusted earnings and revenues missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate. On a year-over-year basis, the top line increased, but the bottom line declined.

The quarterly performance of the company was supported by its aggregates-focused business and steady commercial and operational execution. Public construction activity remained healthy and continued to support shipment trends. Demand conditions stayed favorable across key regions, even as broader economic uncertainty persisted.

Looking ahead to 2026, Vulcan Materials remains positive on market conditions. The company expects public construction activity to stay strong and private nonresidential demand to improve. This combination is likely to support pricing and profitability. Continued focus on disciplined selling and efficient operations is expected to drive further earnings growth and improvement in aggregates performance.

VMC stock slipped 8.7% during today’s pre-market trading hours following its earnings release.

Vulcan Materials’ Q4 Earnings & Revenues

The quarter’s adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.70 missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.13 by 20.2%. Also, the value declined 21.7% from an adjusted EPS of $2.17 reported in the year-ago quarter.

Vulcan Materials Company Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Vulcan Materials Company price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Vulcan Materials Company Quote

Total revenues of $1.91 billion also missed the consensus mark of $1.94 billion by 1.6%, but grew 3.2% year over year.

Vulcan Materials’ Segments in Detail

Aggregates

Revenues from the segment increased 3.2% to $1.52 billion from the year-ago period. Aggregates shipments (volumes) grew 2.2% year over year to 55.1 million tons. Our model expected Aggregates revenues of $1.55 billion on 54.4 million tons of shipments.

Freight-adjusted average sales price rose to $21.78 per ton from the prior-year level of $21.41. Our estimate for the same was pegged at $22.36 per ton. Freight-adjusted revenues were up 3.9% from the prior-year quarter’s level to $1.2 billion.

Gross profit of $435.8 million increased from the prior-year figure of $486.5 million, but the gross margin contracted 430 basis points (bps) to 28.7%. Cash gross profit per ton decreased 6.7% to $10.73.

Asphalt and Concrete

Revenues in the Asphalt segment were $300.7 million (lower than our expectation of $333.4 million), down 8.1% year over year. The segment generated a gross profit of $41 million compared with $46.1 million a year ago. Volumes were down to 3.0 million tons from 3.4 million tons a year ago, with the sales price declining slightly to $82.09.

Revenues from the Concrete segment were up 29.3% year over year to $211.4 million (compared with our expectation of $185.6 million). Gross profit totaled $10.1 million, up from $4.6 million in the year-ago period. Shipments grew to 1.1 million cubic yards from 0.9 million cubic yards on a year-over-year basis. Sales prices increased 2.9% to $188.38 from $183.07 in the prior-year quarter.

Operating Highlights of Vulcan Materials

Selling, administrative and general expenses — as a percentage of total revenues — contracted 40 bps to 7.1% from a year ago.

Adjusted EBITDA during the quarter decreased year over year by 5.8% to $518 million, with adjusted EBITDA margin declining 260 bps to 27.1%.

Glimpse of Vulcan Materials’ 2025 Results

For the full year, VMC reported total revenues of $7.94 billion, up from $7.42 billion reported in 2024. Aggregates shipments during the year increased year over year to 226.8 million tons from 219.9 million tons.

The company’s gross profit increased 8.8% year over year to $2.18 billion. Adjusted EBITDA margin expanded to 29.3% from 27.7% reported a year ago.

The full-year adjusted EPS increased to $8.00 from $7.53 reported in 2024.

VMC’s Financials

As of Dec. 31, 2025, Vulcan Materials’ cash and cash equivalents were $183.3 million, down from $559.7 million at 2024-end. Long-term debt of $4.36 billion was down from $4.91 billion at 2024-end.

As of Dec. 31, total debt to trailing-12-month adjusted EBITDA was 1.9x, down from 2.6x as of Dec. 31, 2024.

In 2025, net cash provided by operating activities was $1.81 billion, up from $1.41 billion a year ago.

Vulcan Materials Unveils 2026 Guidance

Under the Aggregates segment, Vulcan Materials expects continued improvement in cash gross profit per ton compared with $11.33 in 2025. Shipment growth is expected between 1% and 3% year over year. Freight-adjusted price improvement is projected between 4% and 6%. Freight-adjusted unit cash cost is expected to increase in the low-single digits.

The total Asphalt and Concrete segment’s cash gross profit is expected to be approximately $290 million compared with $322 million in 2025. The outlook excludes California ready-mixed concrete assets held for sale. The Asphalt segment is expected to contribute about 85% of segment profit, while the Concrete segment is expected to contribute about 15%.

Vulcan Materials expects Selling, Administrative and General expenses to be between $580 million and $590 million compared with $564 million in 2025. Interest expense is expected to be approximately $225 million.

Adjusted EBITDA for the full year is projected between $2.4 billion and $2.6 billion, indicating continued demand strength and operational discipline.

The company expects capital expenditures to be between $750 million and $800 million for maintenance and growth projects. Depreciation, depletion, accretion and amortization expense is expected to be approximately $700 million. The effective tax rate is expected to remain in the range of 22% to 23%. Net earnings attributable to the company are expected to be between $1.1 billion and $1.3 billion.  

VMC’s Zacks Rank & Recent Construction Releases

Vulcan currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Masco Corporation MAS posted mixed fourth-quarter 2025 results, wherein the adjusted earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate, while net sales missed the same. Both metrics tumbled on a year-over-year basis.

The quarter’s performance was largely in line with expectations as the company operated through a changing geopolitical and economic backdrop. It began restructuring actions to simplify operations, lower costs and reduce headcount. Masco also announced the integration of Liberty Hardware into the Delta Faucet business to better align brands and capabilities. For 2026, Masco expects demand across global repair and remodel markets to remain steady. Sales are projected to be flat to slightly higher on a currency-adjusted basis, with performance likely to outpace the broader market.

Jacobs Solutions Inc. J reported stellar first-quarter fiscal 2026 (ended Dec. 26, 2025) results, with adjusted earnings and revenues beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate and growing year over year.

Jacobs' quarterly results reflect stronger performance in the life sciences, data center, semiconductor, water and transportation sectors, alongside increased demand for digital consulting services, bolstering the quarter’s uptrend. With the announcement of acquiring the remaining stake in PA Consulting and favorable market fundamentals, Jacobs is optimistic about its performance in the remaining fiscal 2026. Adjusted net revenues are now expected to grow year over year between 6.5% and 10%, with adjusted EPS expected to be between $6.95 and $7.30.

Weyerhaeuser Company WY reported mixed fourth-quarter 2025 results, wherein its earnings topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate, but net sales missed the same. Meanwhile, on a year-over-year basis, both top and bottom lines decreased.

Weyerhaeuser’s fourth-quarter results were impacted by persistent market headwinds across key markets, characterized by softened pricing and volatile demand dynamics. Despite these challenges, the company continued to optimize its portfolio through disciplined, capital-efficient transactions. Looking ahead, Weyerhaeuser is well-positioned to navigate the current environment, supported by a strong balance sheet and flexible capital allocation framework as it executes its refreshed 2030 strategy to drive growth and capitalize on durable long-term demand fundamentals.

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