Vulcan Materials Company

Second-quarter adjusted EBITDA was $654 million, approximately flat versus the prior year despite almost $40 million of energy headwinds. Aggregates cash gross profit per ton topped $12 and was $0.14 higher year over year; shipments increased 1% year over year; mix-adjusted average selling prices improved 5% year over year; and excluding diesel, aggregates freight-adjusted unit cash cost of sales increased 3% year over year. For the full year, Vulcan reiterated adjusted EBITDA guidance of $2.4 billion to $2.6 billion. Management also said full-year capital expenditures are expected to be between $750 million and $800 million.

Ronnie Pruitt framed the quarter as evidence of the resilience of Vulcan’s pure-play aggregates model and the benefit of the company’s commercial and operating disciplines. He said the team offset inflation and wet-weather disruption through pricing, efficiency, and cost control, while also continuing to execute on portfolio actions and acquisitions. His tone was confident on demand, pointing to strong public backlog, data centers, power infrastructure, LNG, and manufacturing as support for year-over-year shipment growth in 2026.

Mary Carlisle emphasized strong cash generation and a well-positioned balance sheet to support Vulcan’s capital allocation priorities. In the first six months, the company invested $370 million in maintenance and growth capex, $75 million in a strategic acquisition, and returned over $0.5 billion to shareholders, including $400 million of buybacks. She said Vulcan ended the quarter with about $300 million of cash, paid down about $200 million of commercial paper, and had leverage of 1.7x net debt to adjusted EBITDA. She also noted trailing 12-month ROIC improved to 16.1%, SAG expenses were 2% lower in the first half, and full-year SAG is now expected to be $10 million to $15 million below the initial $580 million to $590 million range.

Analysts pressed on demand visibility, pricing, cost inflation, and the timing of large projects. Management said demand is tracking as expected, backlog remains healthy, and quoting activity is robust, while weather has created regional volatility. On pricing, Vulcan said midyear increases were pulled forward and remain part of guidance, but additional increases could still be considered if fuel stays sticky. Questions on Mexico drew a limited response: management said the tribunal found Mexico’s actions violated NAFTA but awarded only immaterial damages, and Vulcan said it would keep focusing on operating the business.