Vulcan Materials Company VMC reported stellar fourth-quarter 2024 results, with adjusted earnings and revenues surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate and increasing on a year-over-year basis.
Find the latest earnings estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar.
The quarterly results reflect strong contributions from the aggregates-led business accompanied by a favorable pricing environment and effective operational execution. These tailwinds supported the company’s uptrend and positioned it well for 2025.
Moving into 2025, VMC aims to mainly focus on ensuring operational excellence through cost management and improving efficiencies. These efforts, coupled with a favorable pricing scenario, will help it to expand margins and foster top-line growth.
VMC’s shares gained 4.2% in the pre-market trading session of Tuesday, after the earnings release. The investors’ sentiment is likely to have been boosted by the company’s outlook supported by strong public construction activity and its accretive buyouts.
VMC’s Q4 Earnings & Revenues
The quarter’s adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $2.17 topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.76 by 23.3%. In the year-ago quarter, the company reported an adjusted EPS of $1.46.
Vulcan Materials Company Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Vulcan Materials Company Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Vulcan Materials Company price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Vulcan Materials Company Quote
Total revenues of $1.85 billion also surpassed the consensus mark of $1.83 billion by 1.4% and grew 1.1% year over year.
Vulcan’s Segments in Detail
Aggregates
Revenues from the segment were up year over year to $1.47 billion from $1.41 billion. Aggregates shipments (volumes) declined 3% year over year to 53.9 million tons. Our model expected Aggregates revenues of $1.48 billion on 52 million tons of shipments.
Freight-adjusted average sales price rose 11% to $21.41 per ton from the prior-year level. Our estimate for the same was pegged at $21.56 per ton. Freight-adjusted revenues were up 7.8% from the prior-year quarter’s level to $1.15 billion.
Gross profit of $486.5 million increased from the prior-year figure of $424.5 million, with the gross margin expanding 300 basis points (bps). Cash gross profit per ton improved 16% to $11.50, driven by favorable pricing and operational efficiencies.
Asphalt and Concrete
Revenues in the Asphalt segment were $327.1 million (ahead of our expectation of $309 million), up 9.8% year over year. The segment generated a gross profit of $46.1 million, up 27% from a year ago. Volumes were up slightly to 3.4 million tons from 3.3 million tons a year ago, while the prices improved 7%.
Revenues from the Concrete segment were down year over year to $163.5 million (compared with our expectation of $151.5 million) from $256 million. Gross profit totaled $4.6 million, down from $11.4 million in the year-ago period. Shipments fell to 0.9 million cubic yards from 1.5 million cubic yards on a year-over-year basis. The downside was mainly due to the previous third quarter's inclusion of results from divested concrete assets in Texas. Average selling prices increased to $183.07 from $173.83 in the prior-year quarter.
Operating Highlights of VMC
Selling, administrative and general (SAG) expenses — as a percentage of total revenues — contracted 30 bps to 7.5% from a year ago.
Adjusted EBITDA margin was up 370 bps year over year to 29.7%.
Glimpse of Vulcan’s 2024 Results
For the full year, VMC reported total revenues of $7.42 billion, down from $7.78 billion reported in 2023. Aggregates shipments during the year declined year over year to 219.9 million tons from 234.6 million tons.
The company’s gross profit increased 2.6% year over year to $2 billion. Adjusted EBITDA margin expanded to 27.7% from 25.8% reported a year ago.
The full-year adjusted EPS increased to $7.53 from $7.00 reported in 2023.
VMC’s Financials
As of Dec. 31, 2024, Vulcan’s cash and cash equivalents were $559.7 million, down from $931.1 million at 2023-end. Long-term debt was $4.91 billion at December-end, up from the 2023-level of $3.88 billion.
As of December-end, total debt to trailing-12-months adjusted EBITDA was 2.6x, up from 1.9x at the end of 2023.
In 2024, net cash provided by operating activities was $1.41 billion compared with $1.54 billion a year ago.
Vulcan Unveils 2025 Guidance
Under the Aggregates segment, Vulcan expects double-digit year-over-year growth in the cash gross profit per ton compared with $10.61 in 2024. Shipment growth is expected between 3% and 5% year over year. Freight-adjusted price improvement is projected between 5% and 7% (including more than 100 bps of negative mix impact from recent acquisitions). The freight-adjusted unit cash cost is expected to increase in the low to mid-single digits.
The total Asphalt and Concrete segment’s cash gross profit is expected to be about $360 million compared with $272 million in 2024.
Vulcan expects SAG expenses to be between $550 million and $560 million compared with $531 million in 2024. Interest expenses are expected to be approximately $245 million.
Adjusted EBITDA for the full year is projected between $2.35 billion and $2.55 billion (including a $150 million contribution from acquisitions) compared with $2.06 billion in 2024.
The company expects capital expenditures to be between $750 million and $800 million for maintenance and growth projects. The effective tax rate is expected to be in the range of 22-23%.
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.
Leggett & Platt, Incorporated LEG reported fourth-quarter 2024 results, with earnings meeting the Zacks Consensus Estimate and revenues beating the same. On a year-over-year basis, both metrics declined.
The quarterly results indicated weak demand in the company’s residential end markets due to a challenging macro environment and soft consumer spending. Softening in Automotive and Hydraulic Cylinders further impacted its performance. Although LEG carried out its restructuring and operating efficiency improvement initiatives, the headwinds mentioned above overshadowed the prospects to a great extent.
Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. MLM reported mixed results for fourth-quarter 2024, with earnings beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate but revenues missing the same. Both the top and bottom lines increased on a year-over-year basis.
Despite challenges in 2024—such as bad weather, reduced construction demand and tighter monetary policies—the company still achieved earnings growth and record profits in the fourth quarter. This was driven by $6 billion in strategic acquisitions and divestitures, reshaping the portfolio to focus more on aggregates, improving margins and maintaining a strong balance sheet. Looking ahead, MLM is confident that strong infrastructure and data center demand will help it meet its 2025 adjusted EBITDA target of $2.25 billion.
Masco Corporation’s MAS fourth-quarter 2024 earnings topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate and grew year over year. Earnings topped expectations in six of the trailing seven quarters. On the other hand, the net sales missed the consensus mark and tumbled year over year.
The quarter’s top-line results reflect lower sales volume for North American plumbing products, lower net selling prices of decorative architectural products and an unfavorable sales mix of plumbing products. However, the bottom line was favored by lower selling, general and administrative expenses, favorable net selling prices and strategic cost savings initiatives. Moving into 2025, the company aims to continue maintaining shareholder value through its top-tier repair and remodel-oriented product portfolio, strong balance sheet and disciplined capital allocation.
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