Vulcan Materials Company (VMC) is a publicly traded company in the Basic Materials — Construction Materials industry listed on NYSE. This overview shows the latest price, key valuation ratios, profitability metrics and financial-health indicators used by fundamental investors.
Vulcan Materials Company, alongside its affiliated entities, stands as a prominent producer and distributor of construction aggregates, primarily operating within the United States. The company's activities are organized into four distinct divisions: Aggregates, Asphalt, Concrete, and Calcium. The Aggregates division focuses on providing essential materials like crushed stone, sand, gravel, and other foundational aggregates, along with related services.
Is Vulcan Materials Company stock overvalued or undervalued in 2026?
Vulcan Materials Company (VMC) trades at 33.2× earnings (P/E), against a median of 18.8× across the 156 materials companies above $2bn in Kaplio's universe. No valuation verdict: it is a cyclical and today's P/E (33.2) does not tell whether it is cheap.
Kaplio overview: Vulcan Materials Company
Market cap $36B · 52 weeks $241 – $330 (15 % below the high) · P/E 33.2× · 2027 expected P/E 27.8× · Dividend 0.73 % · 11 years rising · Next earnings February 16, 2027 · expected EPS $2.08 · Closing price, Oct 30 · accounts published Oct 29.
- Valuation: P/E 33.2× (no verdict).
- Business: ROIC 10 % (fair).
- Balance sheet: Net debt/EBITDA 2.0× (solid).
- Earnings: 6 of 8 (on track).
What would it be worth at its usual multiples?
No valuation verdict: it is a cyclical and today's P/E (33.2) does not tell whether it is cheap.
In cyclicals the P/E misleads; on its average earnings over 10 years it trades at 53.9 times.
What matters in materials: 5 of 8 pass
- FCF yield 3.3 %, fails.
- P/B across cycles 4.3×, fails.
- Gross margin 27.3 %, borderline.
- Net debt / EBITDA (trough) 2.0×, passes.
- Dividend coverage 4.4×, passes.
- Capex / D&A 1.1×, passes.
- Altman Z-Score 4.1, passes.
- Cycle-adjusted EV/EBITDA 19.5×, passes.
Against its peers (reference peers) — Vulcan Materials Company: P/E 33.2×; EV/EBITDA 19.5×; ROIC 9.7 %; $36.4B. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (P/E 13.3×; EV/EBITDA 17.5×; ROIC 5.5 %; $32.5B), CRH plc (P/E 16.0×; EV/EBITDA 8.4×; ROIC 8.1 %; $60.4B), James Hardie Industries plc (P/E 108×; EV/EBITDA 18.0×; ROIC 3.1 %; $15.8B).
Expensive or cheap against its last ten years?
P/E at each close: today 33.2× · median 36.4× · minimum 18.1× · maximum 61.8× · cheap below 33.3× · expensive above 41.7×. It has been cheaper than today only 30% of the time over its last ten years.
Dividend
solid · Yield 0.73 % ($1.97 per share in 2025) · Years raising it ≥ 11 · 5-year growth +8 % a year · Free cash flow coverage 3.6× · With $1,000 invested today you'd collect $7.30 a year ($0.61 a month).
Kaplio's reading: Vulcan Materials Company
Updated on October 30, 2026 · accounts published on October 29, 2026
A steady business with record operating margins and modest returns on capital
Vulcan Materials trades at a P/E of 33.2 over the last 12 months, 76 % above its sector median and 9 % below its own ten-year median.
- Is Vulcan Materials expensive or cheap? At a P/E of 33.2, Vulcan Materials trades 76 % above its sector median, yet 9 % below its own ten-year median.
- How is the business doing? Operating margin of 19.9 % over the last 12 months, above its 17.5 % average for 2014-2025, with EPS up 19 %.
- How strong is the balance sheet? The dividend has risen for 11 straight years through fiscal 2025, and the payout takes just 24 % of earnings.
- What to expect from the next earnings? 24 of 36 analysts rate it a buy, but the 2026 EPS consensus fell 3.3 % in 30 days to $8.80 ahead of February 16, 2027.
- Can the balance sheet withstand the bottom of the cycle? Yes: net debt of 2.0× EBITDA in fiscal 2025 sits under the 3.0× healthy line for basic materials.
Is Vulcan Materials expensive or cheap?
Over the last 12 months Vulcan Materials trades at a P/E of 33.2, 76 % above the 18.8 median of its 156 sector peers. Against its own history the picture is milder: the ten-year median P/E is 36.4, and the stock has traded at a lower P/E than today only 30 % of the time over the decade, in a range from 18.1 to 61.8. The market has long paid a premium for this business. Cash returns for a buyer today are thin, with a 3.3 % free cash flow yield and a 3.1 % earnings yield. The shares sit 15 % below their 52-week high of $330.26.
How is the business doing?
Over the last 12 months revenue grew 7 % and EPS 19 %, so profits are rising faster than sales. The operating margin of 19.9 % sits above the 17.5 % average of fiscal 2014-2025, and fiscal 2025 delivered 20.1 %, the best of those 12 years. Returns on capital are the weak spot: ROIC of 9.7 % is only 0.3 points above the sector median of 9.4 %, and it has not cleared 10 % in any of the last ten fiscal years. Margins are strong; turning them into high returns on capital has been harder, and ROE stands at 13 %.
How strong is the balance sheet?
Debt is moderate. Net debt stands at $43.13 per share for fiscal 2025, about 15 % of the current share price, and debt to equity is 0.59 over the last 12 months. The Altman Z-score of 4.1 sits in the safe zone, above 2.99, and the Piotroski score is 8 out of 9. A current ratio of 1.43 covers short-term obligations comfortably. The dividend yields only 0.7 %, but fiscal 2025 marked the 11th consecutive year of increases, and with a payout of 24 % of earnings there is wide room to keep raising it.
What to expect from the next earnings?
On October 29, 2026 Vulcan Materials reported EPS of $2.83 against $2.81 expected, a modest 0.7 % beat, and it has beaten estimates in 6 of the last 8 quarters. Even so, analysts are trimming numbers: over the last 30 days the 2026 EPS consensus fell from $9.11 to $8.80 across 13 analysts, and the revenue consensus slipped 0.5 %. For the quarter due on February 16, 2027 they expect EPS of $2.08. Among the 36 analysts covering the stock, 24 say buy, 11 hold and 1 sell. The thing to watch is whether the cuts to estimates keep coming.
Can the balance sheet withstand the bottom of the cycle?
In basic materials, profits rise and fall with commodity prices, so a P/E taken at one point of the cycle can mislead; the checks that matter are costs, debt and whether the dividend survives a downturn. Vulcan Materials passes the balance-sheet tests: net debt of 2.0× EBITDA in fiscal 2025, under the 3.0× line, free cash flow covering the dividend 4.4× against a healthy 1.3×, and capex at 1.1× depreciation, inside the 0.8× to 1.5× band. The gross margin of 27 % in fiscal 2025 sits just under the 30 % mark. It fails on price paid: P/B of 4.3× against a 2.0× ceiling and a free cash flow yield of 3.3 % against 8 %.
How this was prepared: the data comes from companies' official filings, collected by a professional provider, and from Kaplio's analysis engine (trailing-12-month ratios, 10 years of history and sector medians computed across US-listed companies). The text is written from that data alone, every figure is checked against it before publication, and it is reviewed when the company reports results. This is not investment advice.
Profitability
| Return on Equity | 13.04% |
| Return on Invested Capital | 9.72% |
| Return on Assets | 6.60% |
| Gross Margin | 27.48% |
| Operating Margin | 19.93% |
| Net Margin | 13.77% |
Financial Health
| Debt / Equity | 0.59 |
| Current Ratio | 1.43 |
| Piotroski F-Score | 8 |
| Altman Z-Score | 4.14 |
Price Performance
| 1 month | +14.59% |
| 3 months | +4.37% |
| Year-to-date | -1.72% |
| 1 year | -3.34% |
| 3 years | +42.66% |
| 5 years | +47.44% |
| 10 years | +142.48% |
Dividend History
Paid in the last 12 months: $2.0500 per share in 4 payments.
| Date | Amount |
|---|---|
| 2026-11-09 | $0.5200 |
| 2026-08-13 | $0.5200 |
| 2026-05-22 | $0.5200 |
| 2026-03-09 | $0.5200 |
| 2025-11-10 | $0.4900 |
| 2025-08-14 | $0.4900 |
| 2025-05-23 | $0.4900 |
| 2025-03-10 | $0.4900 |
| 2024-11-04 | $0.4600 |
| 2024-08-15 | $0.4600 |
Amounts adjusted for stock splits.
Related companies: USLM · CRH · MLM · CX · CSL · JHX · OC · EXP
Explore sector: Basic Materials · Construction Materials
More sections of VMC: Financials · Valuation · Statistics · Estimates · Technical · Ownership · News · Events
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