CRH vs Vulcan Materials
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KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put CRH and Vulcan Materials side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- CRH is the larger business, with $37.4B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $7.9B for Vulcan Materials, about 4.7 times as much.
- Vulcan Materials grew revenue faster (7.1%, against 5.3%).
- Vulcan Materials kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (20.4% operating margin, against 14.5%).
- Vulcan Materials turned more of its sales into free cash flow (14.3% FCF margin, against 7.8%).
- CRH earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (11.8%, against 9.8%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Vulcan Materials’s earnings: a P/E of 31.1x against 15.1x for CRH.
Who comes out ahead
Of the 11 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
CRH
CRH
4/11
Gross marginReturn on capitalReturn on equityShare count change
Vulcan Materials
VMC
7/11
Revenue growth5-year growthOperating marginNet marginFCF marginPiotroski F-scoreNet debt / EBITDA
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | CRH FY25 | VMC FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $57.1B | $34.3B |
| Revenue | $37.4B | $7.9B |
| Free cash flow | $2.9B | $1.1B |
| Net income | $3.8B | $1.1B |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 5.3% | 7.1% |
| 5-year growth | 7.7% | 10.3% |
| Share count change | −1.8% | −0.3% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 36.1% | 27.4% |
| Operating margin | 14.5% | 20.4% |
| Net margin | 10.0% | 13.6% |
| FCF margin | 7.8% | 14.3% |
| Return on capital | 11.8% | 9.8% |
| Return on equity | 16.5% | 12.9% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $14.1B | $4.2B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 1.9x | 1.8x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $1.2B | $698M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 15.1x | 31.1x |
| Piotroski F-score | 7 | 8 |
Ten years
Revenue
Operating margin
Free cash flow
Return on capital
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.