Vulcan Materials CO — Call Transcript 2026

Good morning. Welcome everyone to the Vulcan Materials Company fourth quarter 2025 earnings call. My name is Angela, and I will be your conference call coordinator today. Please be reminded that today's call is being recorded and will be available for replay later today at the company's website. All lines have been placed in a listen-only mode. After the company's prepared remarks, there will be a question-and-answer session. Now, I will turn the call over to your host, Mr. Mark Warren, Vice President of Investor Relations for Vulcan Materials. Mr. Warren, you may begin. Thank you, operator. With me today are Ronnie Pruitt, Chief Executive Officer, and Mary Andrews Carlisle, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Today's call is accompanied by a press release and a supplemental presentation posted to our website, vulcanmaterials.com. Please be reminded that today's discussion may include forward-looking statements, which are subject to risks and uncertainties. These risks, along with other legal disclaimers, are described in detail in the company's earnings release and in other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures are defined and reconciled in our earnings release, supplemental presentation, and other SEC filings. During the Q&A, we ask that you limit your participation to one question. This will allow us to accommodate as many as possible during our time we have available. With that, I'll turn the call over to Ronnie. Thanks, Mark, and thank you all for joining our call this morning. I am honored to be leading this great company and representing the men and women of Vulcan Materials. We had an outstanding safety year and delivered another year of robust growth in earnings and cash generation. I am proud of the way our teams executed in 2025. Their accomplishments position us well to take advantage of the growth opportunities ahead of us. We are committed to continue to improve our underlying business and expand our industry-leading aggregates franchise, both in our current footprint and new geographies. In 2025, we delivered $2.3 billion of Adjusted EBITDA, a 13% increase over the prior year. Adjusted EBITDA margin expanded 160 basis points to 29.3%. Importantly, our Aggregates cash gross profit per ton grew to $11.33, achieving our previously established target of $11-$12 and driving operating cash flow of over $1.8 billion, a 29% increase over the prior year. As expected, Aggregates units profitability continued to expand and public demand continued to grow. However, single-family residential activity was weaker than we initially anticipated, yielding a full year volume and price at the lower end of our initial expectations. I was pleased with how our operating and sales teams adjusted to a dynamic environment by carefully managing inventories and tightly controlling costs, even with several fourth quarter timing impacts outside of their control. Our Aggregates units cash cost of sales increased less than 2% for the full year. This performance is a great example of the Vulcan Way of Operating at work, allowing us to use our tools and disciplines to remain focused on what we can control. With implementation ongoing and incremental opportunities ahead of us, I am certain VWO will continue to enhance our results. Aggregate shipments of approximately 227 million tons increased 3% for the full year, with growth driven by prior year acquisitions. Same-store aggregate shipments for the full year were slightly lower than the prior year. In the fourth quarter, aggregate shipments increased 2% compared to the prior year, despite nearly 30% lower shipments in East Tennessee and North Carolina that had outside shipments in the prior year's fourth quarter as we supported the rebuilding efforts after Hurricane Helene. Aggregates mix adjusted price improved 6% for the full year and 5% in the fourth quarter. Geographic mix from the acquisitions, the prior year elevated shipments in two of our higher-priced markets, and a shift in product mix all impacted year-over-year reported pricing in the quarter. While an acceleration in bookings for large projects with a wide complement of products and a quick conversion to shipments impacted sequential pricing in the fourth quarter, these activity levels bode well for 2026 demand and highlight our position as a supplier of choice on large projects that need to move quickly. Through the combination of our commercial and operational execution throughout 2025, aggregates cash gross profit per ton improved 7% for the year. This performance gives me confidence in our operating and sales teams' abilities to continue compounding our industry-leading unit profitability. Now I'll turn the call over to Mary Andrews to provide some additional commentary on our 2025 performance. Thanks, Ronnie, and good morning. Our 2025 results are a clear depiction of the powerful combination of our two-pronged approach to growth. Through the continued expansion of our aggregates cash gross profit per ton across the franchise and the contribution of prior year strategic acquisitions, we increased our free cash flow by over 40% after reinvesting $678 million of total capital expenditures for operating and maintenance needs and internal growth projects. The strong cash generation allowed us to quickly delever the balance sheet after issuing $2 billion of new long-term notes in the fourth quarter of last year, positioning us well to capitalize on future growth opportunities. We also returned $260 million to shareholders through our steadily growing dividend and $438 million through share repurchases. At year-end, our net debt to Adjusted EBITDA leverage was 1.8x. In March, we redeemed our 2025 notes at par for $400 million, and throughout the second half of the year, we paid down $550 million of commercial paper balances to reduce interest expense while maintaining the flexibility to reissue at any time. SG&A expenses for the full year were $564 million and 10 basis points lower than the prior year as a percentage of revenue at 7.1%. We remain pleased with the result our investments in technology and talent are yielding in the business. Through compounding improvements in our business and strategic portfolio optimization, over the last three years, we have improved our Adjusted EBITDA margin by over 700 basis points and our return on invested capital by over 200 basis points. We anticipate further expansion in both metrics with the closing of the pending ready-mix divestiture and attractive profitability improvements in our underlying businesses in 2026, that I'll now pass back to Ronnie to highlight. Thanks, Mary Andrews. In 2026, we plan to continue our track record of compounding growth in what we expect to be an improving demand environment. We expect continued growth in public demand will now be complemented by improving private demand, resulting in modest overall growth in 2026. Growing demand is a beneficial backdrop for both the pricing and operating environments. Trailing 12 months, highway starts continue to grow and at three times the rate in Vulcan markets compared to the U.S. overall. IIJA dollars continue to drive increased spending in addition to funding from state DOTs and local initiatives. While the current highway funding programs authorized by IIJA continue through September of this year, over 50% of the funding is yet to be spent and will continue to flow through over the next several years. Efforts are already underway in Washington for a reauthorization bill. Public non-highway infrastructure investments also continue to grow. Starts in Vulcan markets for water, sewer, and other infrastructure projects increased double digits in 2025, supporting shipments growth in 2026. On the private side, the affordability issue in single-family housing have yet to be resolved, but appear to be a priority of the administration. We expect that residential activity will be limited in 2026, but we will be monitoring closely for any improving opportunities in the second half of the year. While private non-residential activity continues to vary across categories, we are encouraged by the prospects of a return to modest growth in Vulcan served markets in 2026, led by industrial and non-residential categories. Data centers remain the biggest catalyst, with over 150 million sq ft under construction and another nearly 450 million sq ft announced. Over 70% of this activity is occurring within 30 mi of the Vulcan Aggregates facility. Our footprint, scale, reliability, and logistics capabilities make us particularly well suited to partner with our customers and serve these fast-moving projects. Based on the demand expectations I just described, we expect aggregate shipments to grow between 1% and 3% in 2026. We expect aggregates freight adjusted average selling prices to increase between 4% and 6%, and aggregates units cash cost of sales to increase by low single-digit percentage. These expectations equate to another year of at least high single-digit expansion of our aggregates cash gross profit per ton, which will drive attractive earnings growth and cash generation. We expect to deliver between $2.4 billion and $2.6 billion of Adjusted EBITDA in 2026. I'll now pass to Mary Andrews again to provide a few more details around the 2026 guidance before we take your questions. Thanks, Ronnie. To complement the solid aggregates outlook Ronnie just shared with you, we expect our downstream businesses to contribute approximately $290 million in cash gross profit. Roughly 85% of the earnings are expected to be derived from the asphalt segment, given our pruned ready-mix footprint. We forecast SG&A expenses of between $580 million and $590 million. We project depreciation, depletion, amortization, and accretion expenses of approximately $700 million, interest expense of approximately $225 million, and an effective tax rate between 22% and 23%. Consistent with our initial plans for 2025, we plan to reinvest in our franchise through operating and maintenance and internal growth capital expenditures of $750 million-$800 million in 2026. This year's CapEx includes approximately $50 million of planned spending that shifted from the prior year into 2026 on the large plant rebuild projects underway. Overall, we expect to deliver another year of expansion and Adjusted EBITDA margin, growth and Adjusted EBITDA, and attractive cash generation in 2026. Now, Ronnie and I will be happy to take your questions. Thank you. If you'd like to ask a question, press star one on your keypad. To leave the queue at any time, press star two. As a reminder, we ask that you limit yourself to one question. Once again, that is star one if you'd like to ask a question. Our first question comes from Trey Grooms with Stephens. Your line is open. Please go ahead. Hey, good morning, everyone. So, Ronnie, given the, you know, the 4Q and where it landed, and then looking into the guide for this year, it clearly suggests that, you know, 4Q 2025 is not the trend. So could you talk about, you know, your confidence levels there and, you know, the puts and takes around the end market demand, as well as your expectations around pricing and profitability, and your outlook there for 2026, please? Yeah. Good morning, Trey. Thanks for the question. Let me start with saying the business is executing well, and we're in a position to leverage demand growth, and I think a very healthy pricing environment for 2026. So first, on the demand side, public starts remains solid. It's, it's also reflected in the strength of our backlog. And then the other public infrastructure outside of highways is also a really good story for us as we continue to see that in our backlog as well. So overall, we expect really steady public growth in the public side. On the private side, let's start with private non-res. You know, we're seeing most of this activity in the industrial categories. Data centers continues to be a bright spot, and we're seeing increasing levels of activities reflected in our bookings as well. Importantly, these data center projects are quickly converting to shipments, which we also anticipate growth in the power generation side as these data centers continue to get built out. On warehouses, you know, we're, we think they're finding the bottom, and we're seeing some potential green shoots in a number of our markets. Now, on the residential side, we're expecting the currently soft demand environment to improve somewhat in 2026, but this assumes that, you know, we get some help from interest rates and affordability. So we'll see how that plays out through the remainder of the year. So after really three years of muted growth, I mean, we expect 2026 to really return to a year of some modest growth. And so an improving demand backdrop could provide both help on our cost side as well as even more upside on our pricing. You know, with our Vulcan Way of Selling disciplines, they're helping us really efficiently manage project leads and maximize pricing as we expect those efforts to continue to be a catalyst for pricing and profitability realization. And on the fixed plant price increases have largely been accepted, and improved visibility in the private side will help that. It'll also be helpful for as we think about midyears throughout the year. On the cost side, we're seeing really good traction on the Vulcan Way of Operating disciplines focused on plant production. And these efforts will, along with some volume growth, can also be a tailwind to our cost in 2026. So as we look at 2026 as a year of potential growth, I think we're in a really strong position to capture more profitability and really drive that to our cash gross profit. Yeah, and Trey, maybe I can just give you a little extra context on the fourth quarter that may be helpful. We obviously had a very solid performance for 2025 overall and knew the fourth quarter would have some unusual year-over-year comparisons. But where we ultimately landed, which I would think about it as kind of essentially flat year-over-year on EBITDA, absent the geographic headwinds that we had from the prior year hurricane relief activity. And so, you know, where we landed, you know, was really impacted by three main factors that affected both revenue and cost and accounted for really most of the difference between that flat EBITDA and the growth that we anticipated. So, you know, primarily, first and foremost, you know, residential activity, which was a challenge for the year, continued to weaken. You know, we also, secondly, had weather, winter came early, you know, in some of our seasonal markets, and Southern California was just extremely, extremely wet, which is unusual. And then, we also, you know, had some incremental costs, related to timing on both repairs and, insurance costs. So, you know, I think you'll see in our 2026 guidance that, you know, it, as, as you mentioned, clearly, reflects, you know, a continuation of the compounding improvements, that we expect, for our business moving forward. All right. Well, thank you for all the color there. That's super helpful. I'll pass it on. Thanks, Mary Andrews. Thanks, Ronnie. Thank you. Have a good day, and take care. You too. Thank you. Our next question comes from Tyler Brown with Raymond James. Your line is now open. Hey. Hey, good morning. Good morning, Tyler. Hey, I want to come back to the pricing, maybe a little bit different angle. So I appreciate you guys gave the 5% mix adjusted number, but could you kind of help bridge the 3-point difference between what you reported in mix? Because it seems like conceptually, you guys really benefited from storm work in high ASP markets last year that didn't reoccur, so geography was definitely working against you. It sounds like at the same time, you did a lot of quick, call it book and burn, base and fill work that comes in at a lot lower ASP, so product was a headwind, and then M&A was also a drag. So it felt like kind of maybe a triple whammy, if you will. But first, is all that right, and how much did each of those buckets have on the 3-point difference? And then secondly, Mary Andrews, just from a shaping perspective, I appreciate the 4%-6% pricing, but should we expect to be on the low end early in the year and maybe higher later? Just, I assume some of these mix headwinds will persist. Sorry for the long question there. Yeah, no worries. First, you do have the triple whammy, as you called it, right, as it relates to the mix impacts on pricing in the fourth quarter. The, you know, the 300 basis points was about two-thirds the geographic mix from the, you know, strong shipments last year and those profitable markets. And then, you know, I'd say the other third was about 50/50. The, you know, continued impact from the acquisitions, which was, you know, actually lower in the fourth quarter than, you know, the full year, 100 basis points that we called out and did happen in 2025. And then the, you know, the other half of that third was the product mix that was really based on those projects. You know, I think you're right to be thinking about pricing in 2026 is probably toward the lower end in the first half of the year, moving toward that, you know, the higher end as the year moves on. And I think that is reflective of, you know, the improving demand that we expect to see and just comps from last year. And Ronnie may want to comment more on the, you know, kind of the types of projects that we're shipping on. Yeah, Tyler, you know, I think as we as we look at going into 2026, our backlog and bookings is at a much better spot than it was year-over-year. So remember, our backlog doesn't account for 100% of our shipments, but it is typically around 40%-45% of our forward-looking backlog is what our shipments are going to look like. And so that's a good, healthy spot for us to be as we think about demand. And also remember the trends on these. You know, a lot of these large projects, which we categorize as 25,000 tons and above, historically, that makes up about 30% of our bookings. Today, we sit there, it's about 45% of our bookings in large projects, which is really reflective of that data center work. Remember, we talked about these data centers. The first part of them are going to be base and fill, so that's where we're seeing the mix impact on. But as those projects continue to mature, then we'll see the clean stone and the clean size stones be shipped through the remainder of the project. So in our 4%-6% guide, we anticipate these shipments of these projects being more weighted heavily on the front end for base. But as those projects mature out, and so to Mary Andrews's point, that's why I think the pricing will play out through the year at the lower end of the first of the year, and then it'll play up at the higher end. You know, second, when we talk about, you know, our fixed plant, you know, we sent out our fixed plant price increases at second half of 2025 for January, and the implementation of those and acceptance of those have gone as expected. And so I think we're in a healthy position as far as what those increases were accepted and announced the first part of the year. And then third, as I continue to think about the steady growth in public, you know, the continued positive improvements on the private non-res side, and then the potential recovery on single family. And I've talked about this in the past, is these improving demand and the backdrop of that is going to be a tailwind for us as we move forward. And so again, we don't have midyears baked into these increases or our guidance, but we would anticipate definitely going forward with midyears, and I think that momentum and demand will help us. Perfect. Excellent color. Thank you for indulging me. Thank you so much. Thanks. Thank you. Thank you. Our next question comes from Anthony Pettinari with Citigroup. Please go ahead. Hi, this is Asher Sohnen in for Anthony. Thanks for taking my question. I just wanted to ask, you know, what kind of gives you the confidence that you can kind of keep costs down in 2026, so, you know, low single-digit inflation? Is it, you know, sort of what you're seeing in underlying inflation or, you know, maybe Vulcan Way of Operating and cost takeout? And then, just dovetailing off some earlier mix questions, is there a mix impact baked into that low single-digit from the kind of Base Stone? Yeah. So on the cost side, what gives us confidence on cost is definitely Vulcan Way of Operating. You know, and so as I look at where we finish the year, you know, down or up less than 2% for 2025. Overall, I think 2025 was a really good year on cost, and we anticipate that to continue. When I look at the maturity of Vulcan Way of Operating, you know, we said we're focused on our 120+ plants. That represents about 75% of our production. So we're very mature on the process intelligence, on our labor scheduling tools, and really on the focus on our critical size production. You know, and where we're going to continue to focus on is the development of our people. So our plant operators are really adapting to using these screens and really driving more efficient production in our plants. But when I look overall, I mean, I'm very pleased where we're at. I think labor is going to continue to be one that as labor increases will happen in markets, our ability to control that and our ability to outperform the market with our labor control is going to be critical as and that's a big part of Vulcan Way of Operating, and so I'm very pleased with that. And to your point, you know, what we talk about on the mix side with our drag on pricing, the mix is a benefit to us in the way we operate our plants. And so our plants are in a really good shape on yield. You know, the amount of fines that we have and the way we mine in our pits, we're in a really good position. We've gone through three years of muted demand, and we really haven't built any inventory. And so we've really managed through three years of this muted demand in a way that it puts us in a very good position when demand starts to recover, that our costs are going to be just as much of a tailwind as it will be on price. Great. Thanks, that's, that's really helpful. I'll turn it over. Thank you. Our next question comes from Kathryn Thompson with Thompson Research Group. Please go ahead. Hi, thank you for taking my question today. Focusing on the policy side, with IIJA expiring in September, but states also taking greater control of their own financing destiny, how is the dynamic of kind of the messiness that inevitably happens with the reauthorization bill baked into your guidance? And then also perhaps clarify a little bit more how states are taking control for the ones that matter for you, and how are you thinking about that with your public end market? And then one cleanup question, just as we're assuming that the divested assets in the Bay Area are not included in the guide. Thanks so much. Yeah, I'll let Mary Andrews talk about the guide on the, on the, divested assets. She can give you some color on that. On the public side, you know, I mean, I think we're going into the year with a couple of assumptions. You know, one, that a bill will get done. You know, will it be on time, or will it be in the form of a continuing resolution? Who knows? But historically, we're gonna get a bill done. And two, based on historic measures, the bill will always be higher than the previous bill, and so we're expecting that. But the good thing for us is, Kathryn, is that 50% of the money has yet to be spent, and so we will see the tail of IIJA continue through 2026 and well into 2027. You know, when I look at our markets and I look at bulk and served markets, on a trailing 12, starts dollars in bulk and served markets are up 24% year-over-year, 20-2025 versus 2024. And so those dollars are gonna be put into work in 2026 as far as the demand for our products. And if you go back to the start of IIJA, you know, our markets are up 80% in, in, in starts dollars. And so it's a, it's a really good tailwind, but we've said the entire time that IIJA would be slow and steady, and we continue to see that. You know, in California, one of our standout markets, I mean, highway starts are up 47% in 2025 versus 2024. And so that's another market that we will see 2026 continue to see strong demand from, from highway dollars being put in place. In the Southeast, we've seen significant jumps in bookings in Alabama, in Georgia, in South Carolina, in Tennessee, and so again, right in the heart of our Southeast group, and I think those dollars are gonna continue to be put to work. And we've also seen other public works, you know, like beach restorations, port renovations, airport projects. Those kind of starts in bulk and served markets, two-thirds of our GM areas, which we have 19 GM areas, so 14 of our 19 GM areas, we're seeing double-digit increases in starts in those other public works. And so I would say public, for all things considered, public is probably the most clarity we have, and I think we're very confident in that. And I'll let Mary Andrews talk about the modeling on the divested assets. Yeah, Kathryn, you're right. The ready-mix assets, we have excluded from the guidance. So I think the best way to think about that is, you know, the guide at the midpoint on a same-store basis is really, you know, over 10% growth in 2026. Okay, great. Thanks so much. Thank you. Thank you. We'll go next to Angel Castillo with Morgan Stanley. Please go ahead. Thanks, and good morning, everyone. So you outlined the big opportunity from data centers on the slide, and I just wanted to unpack a little bit more, particularly the comments around the base versus clean stone timing. I think the timing of mix drag, you know, versus maybe the uplift as you start to ship more clean stone in the latter stages makes a lot of sense. But can you just maybe talk about this more holistically as to whether a data center project, you know, all in, is higher or lower margin than a traditional manufacturing project when you kind of ignore the timing of some of these things? And then just as we think about data centers, you know, being such a big growth factor in the next few years, is the right way to think about the DC opportunity here as perhaps a bit of a drag here for price margins until the number of projects being completed starts to really exceed those starting up? And if so, can you just quantify that? I don't know if I missed this, but just how much of a drag that is in your 2022 guide. I'm just trying to think about how to model this, you know, how to understand this, just given so much growth in this vertical. Yeah, you know, I think you summed it up right. I mean, as we look at the continued demand for data centers, we're gonna continue to see the mix issues. And so, you know, if I would look at base pricing across, you know, multiple geographies, and geographies can have a big impact on that as well, but on average, base can sell for, you know, $8-$10 below what our clean stone products are. But on a margin basis, it's not that big of impact. And so I think we will continue to see tailwinds on the cost side as we continue to ship that. And so a lot of the base shipments that we've had will start to turn into clean project clean stone as we ship those projects as far as what we're shipping in 2025. But I would tell you the opportunities in 2026 will continue to be a lot of base opportunities, which we want to take advantage of. I mean, those are great projects. They again play really well into the shape of our pits, our plants, the productivity of our plants. And so I think it's gonna continue to play out, but I do think it'll be more of a uniform mix as we start to see clean products ship to those same projects because they are going vertical. And once they start going vertical, you know, that's where the concrete shipments kick in. Thank you. Thank you. Our next question comes from Michael Dudas with Vertical Research. Please go ahead. Morning, Mary Andrews, Mark, and Ronnie. Hey, good morning. Good morning. Ronnie, you guys done, and Mary Andrews done a great job on the balance sheet, and it's below your, your targets. Maybe you could share your thoughts on, as you come out of the box here, the pipeline for M&A? What your early indications of opportunities, and you did mention in your, I think, first couple of statements of current and new geographies. Just maybe a little bit more thought on that. I'm sure you'll be discussing more of that with your investor day next month. Thanks. Yeah, thank you. You know, if you look back over what we experienced in 2025, I mean, if you remember, we closed two really big deals at the end of 2024, and so 2025 for us was a year of integrating those deals and executing on that. And we also said during times of uncertainty, which we saw at the first half of 2025, with you know, tariffs and interest rates and those headwinds, that both sides, the seller side as well as the buyer side, there was just a pause in a lot of the markets and we didn't see a lot of activity in 2025. As I look at 2026, I do think it's going to be a very active year on the strategy side and the M&A front. I would tell you, for us, you know, what we'll see out of Vulcan will be, one, it's gonna continue to be aggregates-led. We're gonna be very disciplined around that. We're gonna continue to look at things within our geography, but when I say new geographies, I mean, we have to be able to expand that footprint, because at the end, if we're gonna be, you know, that particular on what we want, we have to be able to expand that look and open that market up for some new looks and geographies. And so I would say our pipeline is very healthy. We're in some really good conversations with some potential sellers, but again, it's something we have to be very disciplined in. We don't wanna force that. We don't wanna end up overpaying for things that we don't have to. It takes two sides, but I would anticipate 2026 being a very active year. And you're right, Mike. We have, you know, absolutely have the balance sheet well positioned, and, you know, the cash generation of this business just position us very well, you know, for the long term to be able to continue to pursue the M&A activity opportunities that make sense for us. Excellent. Thank you. Thank you. Our next question comes from Timna Tanners with Wells Fargo. Please go ahead. Yeah. Hey, good morning. I wanted to dive in a little bit more on your positive private demand view and ask, how much of your mix is data centers, and what's embedded in your volume forecast for the housing recovery that you mentioned in the second half? So we are anticipating recovery on the single-family side to be really flat. So it'll be very slow, and even with some help from interest rates, you know, we're we will be lagging that. And so as we start to see starts increase on the residential side, I would say we'll be several months behind that. And so that'll be a. If we get some help on affordability through interest rate cuts, that'll be a definite second half opportunity for us, and I think that opportunity would come in the form of very geographically driven by, you know, where jobs are being created. So markets matter. That's why I love our footprint, because I think our markets will outperform the rest of the country when it comes to recovery and residential. And then with data centers on the, on the private side, they're, they're a very, very large piece of the private side and what we're seeing on the private non-res recovery, and I would expect that to continue. I think, Timna, what we will start to see as, as we play this out, though, is the energy demand that these data centers are creating. So I think we will start to see some energy projects. We're in some talks on, on those now. Some of those are included in the data centers as we look at those, so there are some energy pieces of that, that these data centers are being required to build out some of their own energy infrastructure. But there's also some other things as far as, you know, some LNG projects that are going back, and when those things kick in, they're very heavily aggregate intensive. But we also have some, you know, $6 billion Eli Lilly project here in Alabama that's kicking off. And so we've got some other things on the private non-res side that are gonna be kicking in. But I would say, you know, at the start of the year, they're still very heavily weighted towards data centers, and I think other types of manufacturing will kick in as we go throughout the year. But that's what gives us confidence. And really, returning to growth is our bookings. Our bookings pace is really strong, and those forward-looking indicators are start to improve. Okay. Did you have the percentage of your mix that's data centers for us, please? Yeah, I mean, we don't break that out in our backlog just because it gets too wonky when it comes to the differences in those mixes. But it's heavily influenced by data centers as of today. Okay. Thank you again. Thank you. Thank you. Our next question comes from Garik Shmois with Loop Capital. Please go ahead. Oh, hi, thanks. Ronnie, you mentioned a couple of times about mid-year price increases, recognizing it's not in your guidance, but what kind of demand do you need to see, whether it's big picture in a local market, to start thinking about implementing mid-year price increases? Yeah, I think it's twofold there. I think it's some visibility into demand improving, but when we talk about mid-years, I mean, it's really talking about two sides of our business. On the fixed plant side, it's talking about the concrete side of our business as well as the asphalt side of our business. I would single out that, you know, the concrete side of our business, we need to see some recovery on single-family. Our concrete customers have had a lot of pressure on them around the muted demand on single-family, and so, you know, that side of it, that visibility into some help on affordability, some help with relief on the interest rates, would give us some tailwinds on mid-year with the concrete side of our business. On the asphalt side, it really is more of the public and private non-res continuing, so we've seen great momentum there. And so I'd say as we go into the year, I think we're in a good position. I would say we're in a better position in 2026 for the success of those mid-years than we were as we, you know, as we looked at how 2025 developed. And so I think it's a combination of both single family and public, but single family will be weighted more towards, you know, the concrete side of our business, and the public will be weighted more towards the asphalt side of our business.

[0:36:24]

Garik Shmois [Managing Director] (Loop Capital Markets)
5 Words
... Sounds good. Thank you.

[0:36:25]

Ronnie Pruitt [SVP and COO] (Vulcan Materials Company)
2 Words
Thank you.

[0:36:28]

Operator
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Thank you. Our next question comes from Adam Thaof those mid-years than we were as we, you know, as we looked at how 2025 developed. And so I think it's a combination of both single family and public, but single family will be weighted more towards, you know, the concrete side of our business, and the public will be weighted more towards the asphalt side of our business. ... Sounds good. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Our next question comes from Adam Thalhimer with Thompson Davis. Hey, good morning, guys. Hey. I was hoping you could comment on the cadence of EBITDA this year, and I'm curious if we should bake in another EBITDA decline in Q1, you know, followed by strengthening as the year goes on, or if you actually see the year starting off faster than that. Yeah, Adam, I'll start on that one. I think the best way to think about 2026 EBITDA would be to think about seasonality and not year-over-year comparisons. And, you know, so if you think about normal seasonality to spread, you know, EBITDA in 2026, the year-over-year comps, as you referenced, will look different in the first half versus the second half, but I think that's the best way to go about it. Okay, thanks. Thank you. Our next question comes from David MacGregor with Longbow Research. Please go ahead. Yes, good morning, everyone. I guess my question is on price cost, and, in the guide, you were very specific about your price assumptions, but characterized cost is up low single digits. So it seems like maybe there's still some uncertainty there with respect to your perspective on costs. And so I guess I was just going to get you to walk through what are the biggest sources of uncertainty for you within your cost structure as you look forward into 2026? Yeah, I mean, I think we're confident in that low single digit, which, you know, that's kind of how 2025 played out. And so I think the things we can control when we talk about our labor, our energy, our fuel, I mean, I think we've got a lot of visibility into that, and so I think we have a lot of confidence in that. And I think the pieces, the rest of the pieces are really tied to continued performance on the demand side of our business. And so again, when you think about three years of downward or muted demand in our markets and our ability to control, you know, even with the variability of our cost structure, you know, falling volumes is a tough headwind to continue to drive lower cost in an inflationary environment. So I look at it overall, and I think we're in a really good position as far as Vulcan Way of Operating and the things we're focused on. And our men and women out there every day show up dedicated to continue to drive efficiencies, continuous improvement in all of our operations. And so I'm excited about that, and I think we have a good runway ahead of us as markets continue to improve, and demand, again, will give us as much tailwind on cost as it will on price. And so I think we're in a good position, and I'm confident in our ability to deliver that. Yeah, and importantly, that, you know, price cost, you know, spread that we, we expect, to deliver, you know, another year of cash versus profit per ton growth, you know, at the high single-digit % level. So just another demonstration of the way the business continues to compound. Great. Thank you. Thank you. We'll go next to Steven Fisher with UBS. Please go ahead. Thanks. Good morning. It sounds like you have a bigger mix of larger projects in backlog this year. Just curious what you're seeing in terms of project delays. Has anything been delayed in, say, the second half of 2025 relative to the start timing that you were expecting? And have you baked those further or any further delays into your guidance in 2026? I know we're hearing that labor is a real issue, and I just wanna make sure we're not gonna be surprised by any sort of further delays on projects. No, I think it's a mix. I would tell you on the... You know, as we look at our bookings and those large projects, one, there's a mix between private side as far as the data center work, and then, and then the public side with highways. And I'd really tell you, it's the tale of kind of two different stories. On the private side, the data center stuff is actually moving faster, and so our times from bookings to actually shipments has accelerated on that side. On the public side, it's been a mix. I mean, it really is very geographic, depending on, you know, weather impacts and other things as far as planning with the DOTs. And, you know, throughout the evolution of IIJA, we saw it very slow to kick off. I do think as it's become more mature, those dollars are being put to work. The time from booking to actually shipping has become more of a normal pace back to a—it's about a six-month timeframe from the time we book to the time we ship. Public sometimes can drag out a little longer than that, but as we go into 2026, we don't anticipate the timing of those to be impacted by anything. We think they'll be back to kind of a normal flow. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. Our next question comes from Ivan Yi with Wolfe Research. Please go ahead. Hey, good morning. Thanks for the time. You guided to 2% aggregate volume growth this year, and that's the same as Martin. But looking at the contract award data, you seem to have a more favorable geography with greater exposure to California, Georgia, Tennessee, and some other states. So I guess I'm just wondering why your volume guidance isn't a little bit higher than that 2%. Thank you. Yeah, I mean, I think coming off of three years of down volume and, you know, what we've seen as far as the conversion of the bookings to shipments, I mean, like I said, our backlog is in a really good spot, but that backlog, again, is only represents about 40%-45% of our shipments. And if you look at the balance of... It's kind of 50/50 between public and private, and so we really just need single family to recover. And until we start continuing to see some relief on affordability and interest rates, you know, I don't think we want to get out ahead of ourselves in thinking that demand can get back to anything, you know, really good. Single family just has to kick in, and so we're gonna continue to be very conservative as we look at that. ... Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, and we'll go next to Brian Brophy with Stifel. Your line is open. Please go ahead. Yeah, thanks. Good morning, everybody. Appreciate you taking the question. You mentioned in some of your comments some repairs and insurance costs that impacted the quarter. I think you meant also mentioned the plant rebuilds. Can you size the impact from some of these costs that you had mentioned that impacted the quarter? Should we be thinking about these as more one time or ongoing? And then is there any reason to think that some of these costs linger into the first quarter? Thanks. Yeah, let me start. I'll turn it over to Mary Andrews, and she'll give you a little more color on some of the numbers. But as you think about how the year played out in 2025, I mean, we went into 2025 saying we would anticipate low single-digit increases in cost. We finished the year at less than 2%. Now, as we started 2025, we had a lot of weather impact at the first part of the year. Seasonality, as far as really the first two quarters were tremendously impacted. And so a lot of the work, when we talk about project work, those are expenses that we're doing within our plants. It just got pushed throughout the year. And even in the third quarter of last year, we said, "You know, don't measure cost with one quarter because it can be so lumpy." That's how the year played out. And so I think as we go into 2026, we plan these things out based on we would love for everything to be very uniform, and like we spend the same amount every month is that's the way we would love to plan it out, but unfortunately, it's an outdoor sport, and weather does impact that, and weather does impact the timing of those. As far as the plant rebuilds, we call those out because we have several rebuilds going on, large projects, but they're all accounted for in both our cost as well as our CapEx plan for 2026. I think we have really good visibility there that gives us a lot of confidence. Anything, Mary Andrews, you want to add on kind of the lumpiness of that? No, I would say, you know, as we called out, it's really timing. Our 2026 guidance, you know, includes what we anticipate for this year. If you do think about the fourth quarter, I would think about that being kind of 50/50 revenue and cost in terms of, you know, where, where we landed versus expectations. And the majority of that cost was related to those timing issues that, that Ronnie described. Very helpful color. Thank you. Thank you, Brian. Thank you. At this time, there are no further questions in queue. I will now turn the meeting back to CEO Ronnie Pruitt. Thank you, operator. As I said at the start, I'm honored to be leading the men and women of Vulcan Materials to continue a track record of creating value for all of our stakeholders. When I reflect back on just four and a half years ago, when I had the opportunity to join this organization, our trailing 12 months aggregate cash gross profit per ton was $7.33. In 2025, it was $4 or 55% higher, and within the range of our long-term range that we set of $11-$12 that we provided at our last Investor Day in 2022. We look forward to sharing with you our plans for continuous improvements and future growth at our upcoming 2026 Investor Day next month. Again, thank you all for your interest in Vulcan Materials. Thank you. This brings us to the end of today's meeting. We appreciate your time and participation. You may now disconnect.

Speaker 12: Good morning. Welcome everyone to the Vulcan Materials Company fourth quarter 2025 earnings call. My name is Angela, and I will be your conference call coordinator today. Please be reminded that today's call is being recorded and will be available for replay later today at the company's website. All lines have been placed in a listen-only mode. After the company's prepared remarks, there will be a question-and-answer session. Now, I will turn the call over to your host, Mr. Mark Warren, Vice President of Investor Relations for Vulcan Materials. Mr. Warren, you may begin. Good morning. good morning Welcome everyone to the Vulcan Materials Company fourth quarter 2025 earnings call. welcome everyone to the vulcan materials company fourth quarter 2025 earnings call My name is Angela, and I will be your conference call coordinator today. my name is angela and i will be your conference call coordinator today Please be reminded that today's call is being recorded and will be available for replay later today at the company's website. please be reminded that today's call is being recorded and will be available for replay later today at the company's website All lines have been placed in a listen-only mode. all lines have been placed in a listen-only mode After the company's prepared remarks, there will be a question-and-answer session. after the company's prepared remarks there will be a question-and-answer session Now, I will turn the call over to your host, Mr. Mark Warren, Vice President of Investor Relations for Vulcan Materials. now i will turn the call over to your host mr mark warren vice president of investor relations for vulcan materials Mr. Warren, you may begin. mr warren you may begin

Speaker 9: Thank you, operator. With me today are Ronnie Pruitt, Chief Executive Officer, and Mary Andrews Carlisle, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Today's call is accompanied by a press release and a supplemental presentation posted to our website, vulcanmaterials.com. Please be reminded that today's discussion may include forward-looking statements, which are subject to risks and uncertainties. These risks, along with other legal disclaimers, are described in detail in the company's earnings release and in other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures are defined and reconciled in our earnings release, supplemental presentation, and other SEC filings. During the Q&A, we ask that you limit your participation to one question. This will allow us to accommodate as many as possible during our time we have available. With that, I'll turn the call over to Ronnie. Thank you, operator. thank you operator With me today are Ronnie Pruitt, Chief Executive Officer, and Mary Andrews Carlisle, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. with me today are ronnie pruitt chief executive officer and mary andrews carlisle senior vice president and chief financial officer Today's call is accompanied by a press release and a supplemental presentation posted to our website, vulcanmaterials.com. today's call is accompanied by a press release and a supplemental presentation posted to our website vulcanmaterials.com Please be reminded that today's discussion may include forward-looking statements, which are subject to risks and uncertainties. please be reminded that today's discussion may include forward-looking statements which are subject to risks and uncertainties These risks, along with other legal disclaimers, are described in detail in the company's earnings release and in other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. these risks along with other legal disclaimers are described in detail in the company's earnings release and in other filings with the securities and exchange commission Reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures are defined and reconciled in our earnings release, supplemental presentation, and other SEC filings. reconciliations of non-gaap financial measures are defined and reconciled in our earnings release supplemental presentation and other sec filings During the Q&A, we ask that you limit your participation to one question. during the q&a we ask that you limit your participation to one question This will allow us to accommodate as many as possible during our time we have available. this will allow us to accommodate as many as possible during our time we have available With that, I'll turn the call over to Ronnie. with that i'll turn the call over to ronnie

Speaker 13: Thanks, Mark, and thank you all for joining our call this morning. I am honored to be leading this great company and representing the men and women of Vulcan Materials. We had an outstanding safety year and delivered another year of robust growth in earnings and cash generation. I am proud of the way our teams executed in 2025. Their accomplishments position us well to take advantage of the growth opportunities ahead of us. We are committed to continue to improve our underlying business and expand our industry-leading aggregates franchise, both in our current footprint and new geographies. In 2025, we delivered $2.3 billion of Adjusted EBITDA, a 13% increase over the prior year. Adjusted EBITDA margin expanded 160 basis points to 29.3%. Thanks, Mark, and thank you all for joining our call this morning. thanks mark and thank you all for joining our call this morning I am honored to be leading this great company and representing the men and women of Vulcan Materials. i am honored to be leading this great company and representing the men and women of vulcan materials We had an outstanding safety year and delivered another year of robust growth in earnings and cash generation. we had an outstanding safety year and delivered another year of robust growth in earnings and cash generation I am proud of the way our teams executed in 2025. i am proud of the way our teams executed in 2025 Their accomplishments position us well to take advantage of the growth opportunities ahead of us. their accomplishments position us well to take advantage of the growth opportunities ahead of us We are committed to continue to improve our underlying business and expand our industry-leading aggregates franchise, both in our current footprint and new geographies. we are committed to continue to improve our underlying business and expand our industry-leading aggregates franchise both in our current footprint and new geographies In 2025, we delivered $2.3 billion of Adjusted EBITDA, a 13% increase over the prior year. in 2025 we delivered $2.3 billion of adjusted ebitda a 13% increase over the prior year Adjusted EBITDA margin expanded 160 basis points to 29.3%. adjusted ebitda margin expanded 160 basis points to 29.3% Importantly, our Aggregates cash gross profit per ton grew to $11.33, achieving our previously established target of $11-$12 and driving operating cash flow of over $1.8 billion, a 29% increase over the prior year. As expected, Aggregates units profitability continued to expand and public demand continued to grow. However, single-family residential activity was weaker than we initially anticipated, yielding a full year volume and price at the lower end of our initial expectations. I was pleased with how our operating and sales teams adjusted to a dynamic environment by carefully managing inventories and tightly controlling costs, even with several fourth quarter timing impacts outside of their control. Our Aggregates units cash cost of sales increased less than 2% for the full year. Importantly, our Aggregates cash gross profit per ton grew to $11.33, achieving our previously established target of $11-$12 and driving operating cash flow of over $1.8 billion, a 29% increase over the prior year. importantly our aggregates cash gross profit per ton grew to $11.33 achieving our previously established target of $11-$12 and driving operating cash flow of over $1.8 billion a 29% increase over the prior year As expected, Aggregates units profitability continued to expand and public demand continued to grow. as expected aggregates units profitability continued to expand and public demand continued to grow However, single-family residential activity was weaker than we initially anticipated, yielding a full year volume and price at the lower end of our initial expectations. however single-family residential activity was weaker than we initially anticipated yielding a full year volume and price at the lower end of our initial expectations I was pleased with how our operating and sales teams adjusted to a dynamic environment by carefully managing inventories and tightly controlling costs, even with several fourth quarter timing impacts outside of their control. i was pleased with how our operating and sales teams adjusted to a dynamic environment by carefully managing inventories and tightly controlling costs even with several fourth quarter timing impacts outside of their control Our Aggregates units cash cost of sales increased less than 2% for the full year. our aggregates units cash cost of sales increased less than 2% for the full year This performance is a great example of the Vulcan Way of Operating at work, allowing us to use our tools and disciplines to remain focused on what we can control. With implementation ongoing and incremental opportunities ahead of us, I am certain VWO will continue to enhance our results. Aggregate shipments of approximately 227 million tons increased 3% for the full year, with growth driven by prior year acquisitions. Same-store aggregate shipments for the full year were slightly lower than the prior year. In the fourth quarter, aggregate shipments increased 2% compared to the prior year, despite nearly 30% lower shipments in East Tennessee and North Carolina that had outside shipments in the prior year's fourth quarter as we supported the rebuilding efforts after Hurricane Helene. This performance is a great example of the Vulcan Way of Operating at work, allowing us to use our tools and disciplines to remain focused on what we can control. this performance is a great example of the vulcan way of operating at work allowing us to use our tools and disciplines to remain focused on what we can control With implementation ongoing and incremental opportunities ahead of us, I am certain VWO will continue to enhance our results. with implementation ongoing and incremental opportunities ahead of us i am certain vwo will continue to enhance our results Aggregate shipments of approximately 227 million tons increased 3% for the full year, with growth driven by prior year acquisitions. aggregate shipments of approximately 227 million tons increased 3% for the full year with growth driven by prior year acquisitions Same-store aggregate shipments for the full year were slightly lower than the prior year. same-store aggregate shipments for the full year were slightly lower than the prior year In the fourth quarter, aggregate shipments increased 2% compared to the prior year, despite nearly 30% lower shipments in East Tennessee and North Carolina that had outside shipments in the prior year's fourth quarter as we supported the rebuilding efforts after Hurricane Helene. in the fourth quarter aggregate shipments increased 2% compared to the prior year despite nearly 30% lower shipments in east tennessee and north carolina that had outside shipments in the prior year's fourth quarter as we supported the rebuilding efforts after hurricane helene Aggregates mix adjusted price improved 6% for the full year and 5% in the fourth quarter. Geographic mix from the acquisitions, the prior year elevated shipments in two of our higher-priced markets, and a shift in product mix all impacted year-over-year reported pricing in the quarter. While an acceleration in bookings for large projects with a wide complement of products and a quick conversion to shipments impacted sequential pricing in the fourth quarter, these activity levels bode well for 2026 demand and highlight our position as a supplier of choice on large projects that need to move quickly. Through the combination of our commercial and operational execution throughout 2025, aggregates cash gross profit per ton improved 7% for the year. This performance gives me confidence in our operating and sales teams' abilities to continue compounding our industry-leading unit profitability. Aggregates mix adjusted price improved 6% for the full year and 5% in the fourth quarter. aggregates mix adjusted price improved 6% for the full year and 5% in the fourth quarter Geographic mix from the acquisitions, the prior year elevated shipments in two of our higher-priced markets, and a shift in product mix all impacted year-over-year reported pricing in the quarter. geographic mix from the acquisitions the prior year elevated shipments in two of our higher-priced markets and a shift in product mix all impacted year-over-year reported pricing in the quarter While an acceleration in bookings for large projects with a wide complement of products and a quick conversion to shipments impacted sequential pricing in the fourth quarter, these activity levels bode well for 2026 demand and highlight our position as a supplier of choice on large projects that need to move quickly. while an acceleration in bookings for large projects with a wide complement of products and a quick conversion to shipments impacted sequential pricing in the fourth quarter these activity levels bode well for 2026 demand and highlight our position as a supplier of choice on large projects that need to move quickly Through the combination of our commercial and operational execution throughout 2025, aggregates cash gross profit per ton improved 7% for the year. through the combination of our commercial and operational execution throughout 2025 aggregates cash gross profit per ton improved 7% for the year This performance gives me confidence in our operating and sales teams' abilities to continue compounding our industry-leading unit profitability. this performance gives me confidence in our operating and sales teams' abilities to continue compounding our industry-leading unit profitability Now I'll turn the call over to Mary Andrews to provide some additional commentary on our 2025 performance. Now I'll turn the call over to Mary Andrews to provide some additional commentary on our 2025 performance. now i'll turn the call over to mary andrews to provide some additional commentary on our 2025 performance

Speaker 10: Thanks, Ronnie, and good morning. Our 2025 results are a clear depiction of the powerful combination of our two-pronged approach to growth. Through the continued expansion of our aggregates cash gross profit per ton across the franchise and the contribution of prior year strategic acquisitions, we increased our free cash flow by over 40% after reinvesting $678 million of total capital expenditures for operating and maintenance needs and internal growth projects. The strong cash generation allowed us to quickly delever the balance sheet after issuing $2 billion of new long-term notes in the fourth quarter of last year, positioning us well to capitalize on future growth opportunities. Thanks, Ronnie, and good morning. thanks ronnie and good morning Our 2025 results are a clear depiction of the powerful combination of our two-pronged approach to growth. our 2025 results are a clear depiction of the powerful combination of our two-pronged approach to growth Through the continued expansion of our aggregates cash gross profit per ton across the franchise and the contribution of prior year strategic acquisitions, we increased our free cash flow by over 40% after reinvesting $678 million of total capital expenditures for operating and maintenance needs and internal growth projects. through the continued expansion of our aggregates cash gross profit per ton across the franchise and the contribution of prior year strategic acquisitions we increased our free cash flow by over 40% after reinvesting $678 million of total capital expenditures for operating and maintenance needs and internal growth projects The strong cash generation allowed us to quickly delever the balance sheet after issuing $2 billion of new long-term notes in the fourth quarter of last year, positioning us well to capitalize on future growth opportunities. the strong cash generation allowed us to quickly delever the balance sheet after issuing $2 billion of new long-term notes in the fourth quarter of last year positioning us well to capitalize on future growth opportunities We also returned $260 million to shareholders through our steadily growing dividend and $438 million through share repurchases. At year-end, our net debt to Adjusted EBITDA leverage was 1.8x. In March, we redeemed our 2025 notes at par for $400 million, and throughout the second half of the year, we paid down $550 million of commercial paper balances to reduce interest expense while maintaining the flexibility to reissue at any time. SG&A expenses for the full year were $564 million and 10 basis points lower than the prior year as a percentage of revenue at 7.1%. We remain pleased with the result our investments in technology and talent are yielding in the business. We also returned $260 million to shareholders through our steadily growing dividend and $438 million through share repurchases. we also returned $260 million to shareholders through our steadily growing dividend and $438 million through share repurchases At year-end, our net debt to Adjusted EBITDA leverage was 1.8x . at year-end our net debt to adjusted ebitda leverage was 1.8x In March, we redeemed our 2025 notes at par for $400 million, and throughout the second half of the year, we paid down $550 million of commercial paper balances to reduce interest expense while maintaining the flexibility to reissue at any time. in march we redeemed our 2025 notes at par for $400 million and throughout the second half of the year we paid down $550 million of commercial paper balances to reduce interest expense while maintaining the flexibility to reissue at any time SG&A expenses for the full year were $564 million and 10 basis points lower than the prior year as a percentage of revenue at 7.1%. sg&a expenses for the full year were $564 million and 10 basis points lower than the prior year as a percentage of revenue at 7.1% We remain pleased with the result our investments in technology and talent are yielding in the business. we remain pleased with the result our investments in technology and talent are yielding in the business Through compounding improvements in our business and strategic portfolio optimization, over the last three years, we have improved our Adjusted EBITDA margin by over 700 basis points and our return on invested capital by over 200 basis points. We anticipate further expansion in both metrics with the closing of the pending ready-mix divestiture and attractive profitability improvements in our underlying businesses in 2026, that I'll now pass back to Ronnie to highlight. Through compounding improvements in our business and strategic portfolio optimization, over the last three years, we have improved our Adjusted EBITDA margin by over 700 basis points and our return on invested capital by over 200 basis points. through compounding improvements in our business and strategic portfolio optimization over the last three years we have improved our adjusted ebitda margin by over 700 basis points and our return on invested capital by over 200 basis points We anticipate further expansion in both metrics with the closing of the pending ready-mix divestiture and attractive profitability improvements in our underlying businesses in 2026, that I'll now pass back to Ronnie to highlight. we anticipate further expansion in both metrics with the closing of the pending ready-mix divestiture and attractive profitability improvements in our underlying businesses in 2026 that i'll now pass back to ronnie to highlight

Speaker 13: Thanks, Mary Andrews. In 2026, we plan to continue our track record of compounding growth in what we expect to be an improving demand environment. We expect continued growth in public demand will now be complemented by improving private demand, resulting in modest overall growth in 2026. Growing demand is a beneficial backdrop for both the pricing and operating environments. Trailing 12 months, highway starts continue to grow and at three times the rate in Vulcan markets compared to the U.S. overall. IIJA dollars continue to drive increased spending in addition to funding from state DOTs and local initiatives. While the current highway funding programs authorized by IIJA continue through September of this year, over 50% of the funding is yet to be spent and will continue to flow through over the next several years. Efforts are already underway in Washington for a reauthorization bill. Thanks, Mary Andrews. thanks mary andrews In 2026, we plan to continue our track record of compounding growth in what we expect to be an improving demand environment. in 2026 we plan to continue our track record of compounding growth in what we expect to be an improving demand environment We expect continued growth in public demand will now be complemented by improving private demand, resulting in modest overall growth in 2026. we expect continued growth in public demand will now be complemented by improving private demand resulting in modest overall growth in 2026 Growing demand is a beneficial backdrop for both the pricing and operating environments. growing demand is a beneficial backdrop for both the pricing and operating environments Trailing 12 months, highway starts continue to grow and at three times the rate in Vulcan markets compared to the U.S. overall. trailing 12 months highway starts continue to grow and at three times the rate in vulcan markets compared to the u.s overall IIJA dollars continue to drive increased spending in addition to funding from state DOTs and local initiatives. iija dollars continue to drive increased spending in addition to funding from state dots and local initiatives While the current highway funding programs authorized by IIJA continue through September of this year, over 50% of the funding is yet to be spent and will continue to flow through over the next several years. while the current highway funding programs authorized by iija continue through september of this year over 50% of the funding is yet to be spent and will continue to flow through over the next several years Efforts are already underway in Washington for a reauthorization bill. efforts are already underway in washington for a reauthorization bill Public non-highway infrastructure investments also continue to grow. Starts in Vulcan markets for water, sewer, and other infrastructure projects increased double digits in 2025, supporting shipments growth in 2026. On the private side, the affordability issue in single-family housing have yet to be resolved, but appear to be a priority of the administration. We expect that residential activity will be limited in 2026, but we will be monitoring closely for any improving opportunities in the second half of the year. While private non-residential activity continues to vary across categories, we are encouraged by the prospects of a return to modest growth in Vulcan served markets in 2026, led by industrial and non-residential categories. Data centers remain the biggest catalyst, with over 150 million sq ft under construction and another nearly 450 million sq ft announced. Public non-highway infrastructure investments also continue to grow. public non-highway infrastructure investments also continue to grow Starts in Vulcan markets for water, sewer, and other infrastructure projects increased double digits in 2025, supporting shipments growth in 2026. starts in vulcan markets for water sewer and other infrastructure projects increased double digits in 2025 supporting shipments growth in 2026 On the private side, the affordability issue in single-family housing have yet to be resolved, but appear to be a priority of the administration. on the private side the affordability issue in single-family housing have yet to be resolved but appear to be a priority of the administration We expect that residential activity will be limited in 2026, but we will be monitoring closely for any improving opportunities in the second half of the year. we expect that residential activity will be limited in 2026 but we will be monitoring closely for any improving opportunities in the second half of the year While private non-residential activity continues to vary across categories, we are encouraged by the prospects of a return to modest growth in Vulcan served markets in 2026, led by industrial and non-residential categories. while private non-residential activity continues to vary across categories we are encouraged by the prospects of a return to modest growth in vulcan served markets in 2026 led by industrial and non-residential categories Data centers remain the biggest catalyst, with over 150 million sq ft under construction and another nearly 450 million sq ft announced. data centers remain the biggest catalyst with over 150 million sq ft under construction and another nearly 450 million sq ft announced Over 70% of this activity is occurring within 30 mi of the Vulcan Aggregates facility. Our footprint, scale, reliability, and logistics capabilities make us particularly well suited to partner with our customers and serve these fast-moving projects. Based on the demand expectations I just described, we expect aggregate shipments to grow between 1% and 3% in 2026. We expect aggregates freight adjusted average selling prices to increase between 4% and 6%, and aggregates units cash cost of sales to increase by low single-digit percentage. These expectations equate to another year of at least high single-digit expansion of our aggregates cash gross profit per ton, which will drive attractive earnings growth and cash generation. We expect to deliver between $2.4 billion and $2.6 billion of Adjusted EBITDA in 2026. Over 70% of this activity is occurring within 30 mi of the Vulcan Aggregates facility. over 70% of this activity is occurring within 30 mi of the vulcan aggregates facility Our footprint, scale, reliability, and logistics capabilities make us particularly well suited to partner with our customers and serve these fast-moving projects. our footprint scale reliability and logistics capabilities make us particularly well suited to partner with our customers and serve these fast-moving projects Based on the demand expectations I just described, we expect aggregate shipments to grow between 1% and 3% in 2026. based on the demand expectations i just described we expect aggregate shipments to grow between 1% and 3% in 2026 We expect aggregates freight adjusted average selling prices to increase between 4% and 6%, and aggregates units cash cost of sales to increase by low single-digit percentage . we expect aggregates freight adjusted average selling prices to increase between 4% and 6% and aggregates units cash cost of sales to increase by low single-digit percentage These expectations equate to another year of at least high single-digit expansion of our aggregates cash gross profit per ton, which will drive attractive earnings growth and cash generation. these expectations equate to another year of at least high single-digit expansion of our aggregates cash gross profit per ton which will drive attractive earnings growth and cash generation We expect to deliver between $2.4 billion and $2.6 billion of Adjusted EBITDA in 2026. we expect to deliver between $2.4 billion and $2.6 billion of adjusted ebitda in 2026 I'll now pass to Mary Andrews again to provide a few more details around the 2026 guidance before we take your questions. I'll now pass to Mary Andrews again to provide a few more details around the 2026 guidance before we take your questions. i'll now pass to mary andrews again to provide a few more details around the 2026 guidance before we take your questions

Speaker 10: Thanks, Ronnie. To complement the solid aggregates outlook Ronnie just shared with you, we expect our downstream businesses to contribute approximately $290 million in cash gross profit. Roughly 85% of the earnings are expected to be derived from the asphalt segment, given our pruned ready-mix footprint. We forecast SG&A expenses of between $580 million and $590 million. We project depreciation, depletion, amortization, and accretion expenses of approximately $700 million, interest expense of approximately $225 million, and an effective tax rate between 22% and 23%. Consistent with our initial plans for 2025, we plan to reinvest in our franchise through operating and maintenance and internal growth capital expenditures of $750 million-$800 million in 2026. Thanks, Ronnie. thanks ronnie To complement the solid aggregates outlook Ronnie just shared with you, we expect our downstream businesses to contribute approximately $290 million in cash gross profit. to complement the solid aggregates outlook ronnie just shared with you we expect our downstream businesses to contribute approximately $290 million in cash gross profit Roughly 85% of the earnings are expected to be derived from the asphalt segment, given our pruned ready-mix footprint. roughly 85% of the earnings are expected to be derived from the asphalt segment given our pruned ready-mix footprint We forecast SG&A expenses of between $580 million and $590 million. we forecast sg&a expenses of between $580 million and $590 million We project depreciation, depletion, amortization, and accretion expenses of approximately $700 million, interest expense of approximately $225 million, and an effective tax rate between 22% and 23%. we project depreciation depletion amortization and accretion expenses of approximately $700 million interest expense of approximately $225 million and an effective tax rate between 22% and 23% Consistent with our initial plans for 2025, we plan to reinvest in our franchise through operating and maintenance and internal growth capital expenditures of $750 million-$800 million in 2026. consistent with our initial plans for 2025 we plan to reinvest in our franchise through operating and maintenance and internal growth capital expenditures of $750 million-$800 million in 2026 This year's CapEx includes approximately $50 million of planned spending that shifted from the prior year into 2026 on the large plant rebuild projects underway. Overall, we expect to deliver another year of expansion and Adjusted EBITDA margin, growth and Adjusted EBITDA, and attractive cash generation in 2026. Now, Ronnie and I will be happy to take your questions. This year's CapEx includes approximately $50 million of planned spending that shifted from the prior year into 2026 on the large plant rebuild projects underway. this year's capex includes approximately $50 million of planned spending that shifted from the prior year into 2026 on the large plant rebuild projects underway Overall, we expect to deliver another year of expansion and Adjusted EBITDA margin, growth and Adjusted EBITDA, and attractive cash generation in 2026. overall we expect to deliver another year of expansion and adjusted ebitda margin growth and adjusted ebitda and attractive cash generation in 2026 Now, Ronnie and I will be happy to take your questions. now ronnie and i will be happy to take your questions

Speaker 12: Thank you. If you'd like to ask a question, press star one on your keypad. To leave the queue at any time, press star two. As a reminder, we ask that you limit yourself to one question. Once again, that is star one if you'd like to ask a question. Our first question comes from Trey Grooms with Stephens. Your line is open. Please go ahead. Thank you. thank you If you'd like to ask a question, press star one on your keypad. if you'd like to ask a question press star one on your keypad To leave the queue at any time, press star two. to leave the queue at any time press star two As a reminder, we ask that you limit yourself to one question. as a reminder we ask that you limit yourself to one question Once again, that is star one if you'd like to ask a question. once again that is star one if you'd like to ask a question Our first question comes from Trey Grooms with Stephens. our first question comes from trey grooms with stephens Your line is open. your line is open Please go ahead. please go ahead

Speaker 16: Hey, good morning, everyone. So, Ronnie, given the, you know, the 4Q and where it landed, and then looking into the guide for this year, it clearly suggests that, you know, 4Q 2025 is not the trend. So could you talk about, you know, your confidence levels there and, you know, the puts and takes around the end market demand, as well as your expectations around pricing and profitability, and your outlook there for 2026, please? Hey, good morning, everyone. hey good morning everyone So, Ronnie, given the, you know, the 4Q and where it landed, and then looking into the guide for this year, it clearly suggests that, you know, 4Q 2025 is not the trend. so ronnie given the you know the 4q and where it landed and then looking into the guide for this year it clearly suggests that you know 4q 2025 is not the trend So could you talk about, you know, your confidence levels there and, you know, the puts and takes around the end market demand, as well as your expectations around pricing and profitability, and your outlook there for 2026, please? so could you talk about you know your confidence levels there and you know the puts and takes around the end market demand as well as your expectations around pricing and profitability and your outlook there for 2026 please

Speaker 13: Yeah. Good morning, Trey. Thanks for the question. Let me start with saying the business is executing well, and we're in a position to leverage demand growth, and I think a very healthy pricing environment for 2026. So first, on the demand side, public starts remains solid. It's, it's also reflected in the strength of our backlog. And then the other public infrastructure outside of highways is also a really good story for us as we continue to see that in our backlog as well. So overall, we expect really steady public growth in the public side. On the private side, let's start with private non-res. You know, we're seeing most of this activity in the industrial categories. Data centers continues to be a bright spot, and we're seeing increasing levels of activities reflected in our bookings as well. Yeah. yeah Good morning, Trey. good morning trey Thanks for the question. thanks for the question Let me start with saying the business is executing well, and we're in a position to leverage demand growth, and I think a very healthy pricing environment for 2026. let me start with saying the business is executing well and we're in a position to leverage demand growth and i think a very healthy pricing environment for 2026 So first, on the demand side, public starts remains solid. so first on the demand side public starts remains solid It's, it's also reflected in the strength of our backlog. it's it's also reflected in the strength of our backlog And then the other public infrastructure outside of highways is also a really good story for us as we continue to see that in our backlog as well. and then the other public infrastructure outside of highways is also a really good story for us as we continue to see that in our backlog as well So overall, we expect really steady public growth in the public side. so overall we expect really steady public growth in the public side On the private side, let's start with private non-res. on the private side let's start with private non-res You know, we're seeing most of this activity in the industrial categories. you know we're seeing most of this activity in the industrial categories Data centers continues to be a bright spot, and we're seeing increasing levels of activities reflected in our bookings as well. data centers continues to be a bright spot and we're seeing increasing levels of activities reflected in our bookings as well Importantly, these data center projects are quickly converting to shipments, which we also anticipate growth in the power generation side as these data centers continue to get built out. On warehouses, you know, we're, we think they're finding the bottom, and we're seeing some potential green shoots in a number of our markets. Now, on the residential side, we're expecting the currently soft demand environment to improve somewhat in 2026, but this assumes that, you know, we get some help from interest rates and affordability. So we'll see how that plays out through the remainder of the year. So after really three years of muted growth, I mean, we expect 2026 to really return to a year of some modest growth. Importantly, these data center projects are quickly converting to shipments, which we also anticipate growth in the power generation side as these data centers continue to get built out. importantly these data center projects are quickly converting to shipments which we also anticipate growth in the power generation side as these data centers continue to get built out On warehouses, you know, we're, we think they're finding the bottom, and we're seeing some potential green shoots in a number of our markets. on warehouses you know we're we think they're finding the bottom and we're seeing some potential green shoots in a number of our markets Now, on the residential side, we're expecting the currently soft demand environment to improve somewhat in 2026, but this assumes that, you know, we get some help from interest rates and affordability. now on the residential side we're expecting the currently soft demand environment to improve somewhat in 2026 but this assumes that you know we get some help from interest rates and affordability So we'll see how that plays out through the remainder of the year. so we'll see how that plays out through the remainder of the year So after really three years of muted growth, I mean, we expect 2026 to really return to a year of some modest growth. so after really three years of muted growth i mean we expect 2026 to really return to a year of some modest growth And so an improving demand backdrop could provide both help on our cost side as well as even more upside on our pricing. You know, with our Vulcan Way of Selling disciplines, they're helping us really efficiently manage project leads and maximize pricing as we expect those efforts to continue to be a catalyst for pricing and profitability realization. And on the fixed plant price increases have largely been accepted, and improved visibility in the private side will help that. It'll also be helpful for as we think about midyears throughout the year. On the cost side, we're seeing really good traction on the Vulcan Way of Operating disciplines focused on plant production. And these efforts will, along with some volume growth, can also be a tailwind to our cost in 2026. And so an improving demand backdrop could provide both help on our cost side as well as even more upside on our pricing. and so an improving demand backdrop could provide both help on our cost side as well as even more upside on our pricing You know, with our Vulcan Way of Selling disciplines, they're helping us really efficiently manage project leads and maximize pricing as we expect those efforts to continue to be a catalyst for pricing and profitability realization. you know with our vulcan way of selling disciplines they're helping us really efficiently manage project leads and maximize pricing as we expect those efforts to continue to be a catalyst for pricing and profitability realization And on the fixed plant price increases have largely been accepted, and improved visibility in the private side will help that. and on the fixed plant price increases have largely been accepted and improved visibility in the private side will help that It'll also be helpful for as we think about midyears throughout the year. it'll also be helpful for as we think about midyears throughout the year On the cost side, we're seeing really good traction on the Vulcan Way of Operating disciplines focused on plant production. on the cost side we're seeing really good traction on the vulcan way of operating disciplines focused on plant production And these efforts will, along with some volume growth, can also be a tailwind to our cost in 2026. and these efforts will along with some volume growth can also be a tailwind to our cost in 2026 So as we look at 2026 as a year of potential growth, I think we're in a really strong position to capture more profitability and really drive that to our cash gross profit. So as we look at 2026 as a year of potential growth, I think we're in a really strong position to capture more profitability and really drive that to our cash gross profit. so as we look at 2026 as a year of potential growth i think we're in a really strong position to capture more profitability and really drive that to our cash gross profit

Speaker 10: Yeah, and Trey, maybe I can just give you a little extra context on the fourth quarter that may be helpful. We obviously had a very solid performance for 2025 overall and knew the fourth quarter would have some unusual year-over-year comparisons. But where we ultimately landed, which I would think about it as kind of essentially flat year-over-year on EBITDA, absent the geographic headwinds that we had from the prior year hurricane relief activity. And so, you know, where we landed, you know, was really impacted by three main factors that affected both revenue and cost and accounted for really most of the difference between that flat EBITDA and the growth that we anticipated. Yeah, and Trey, maybe I can just give you a little extra context on the fourth quarter that may be helpful. yeah and trey maybe i can just give you a little extra context on the fourth quarter that may be helpful We obviously had a very solid performance for 2025 overall and knew the fourth quarter would have some unusual year-over-year comparisons. we obviously had a very solid performance for 2025 overall and knew the fourth quarter would have some unusual year-over-year comparisons But where we ultimately landed, which I would think about it as kind of essentially flat year-over-year on EBITDA, absent the geographic headwinds that we had from the prior year hurricane relief activity. but where we ultimately landed which i would think about it as kind of essentially flat year-over-year on ebitda absent the geographic headwinds that we had from the prior year hurricane relief activity And so, you know, where we landed, you know, was really impacted by three main factors that affected both revenue and cost and accounted for really most of the difference between that flat EBITDA and the growth that we anticipated. and so you know where we landed you know was really impacted by three main factors that affected both revenue and cost and accounted for really most of the difference between that flat ebitda and the growth that we anticipated So, you know, primarily, first and foremost, you know, residential activity, which was a challenge for the year, continued to weaken. You know, we also, secondly, had weather, winter came early, you know, in some of our seasonal markets, and Southern California was just extremely, extremely wet, which is unusual. And then, we also, you know, had some incremental costs, related to timing on both repairs and, insurance costs. So, you know, I think you'll see in our 2026 guidance that, you know, it, as, as you mentioned, clearly, reflects, you know, a continuation of the compounding improvements, that we expect, for our business moving forward. So, you know, primarily, first and foremost, you know, residential activity, which was a challenge for the year, continued to weaken. so you know primarily first and foremost you know residential activity which was a challenge for the year continued to weaken You know, we also, secondly, had weather, winter came early, you know, in some of our seasonal markets, and Southern California was just extremely, extremely wet, which is unusual. you know we also secondly had weather winter came early you know in some of our seasonal markets and southern california was just extremely extremely wet which is unusual And then, we also, you know, had some incremental costs, related to timing on both repairs and, insurance costs. and then we also you know had some incremental costs related to timing on both repairs and insurance costs So, you know, I think you'll see in our 2026 guidance that, you know, it, as, as you mentioned, clearly, reflects, you know, a continuation of the compounding improvements, that we expect, for our business moving forward. so you know i think you'll see in our 2026 guidance that you know it as as you mentioned clearly reflects you know a continuation of the compounding improvements that we expect for our business moving forward

Speaker 16: All right. Well, thank you for all the color there. That's super helpful. I'll pass it on. Thanks, Mary Andrews. Thanks, Ronnie. All right. all right Well, thank you for all the color there. well thank you for all the color there That's super helpful. that's super helpful I'll pass it on. i'll pass it on Thanks, Mary Andrews. thanks mary andrews Thanks, Ronnie. thanks ronnie

Speaker 13: Thank you. Thank you. thank you

Speaker 16: Have a good day, and take care. Have a good day, and take care. have a good day and take care

Speaker 13: You too. You too. you too

Speaker 12: Thank you. Our next question comes from Tyler Brown with Raymond James. Your line is now open. Thank you. thank you Our next question comes from Tyler Brown with Raymond James. our next question comes from tyler brown with raymond james Your line is now open. your line is now open

Speaker 17: Hey. Hey, good morning. Hey. hey Hey, good morning. hey good morning

Speaker 10: Good morning, Tyler. Good morning, Tyler. good morning tyler

Speaker 17: Hey, I want to come back to the pricing, maybe a little bit different angle. So I appreciate you guys gave the 5% mix adjusted number, but could you kind of help bridge the 3-point difference between what you reported in mix? Because it seems like conceptually, you guys really benefited from storm work in high ASP markets last year that didn't reoccur, so geography was definitely working against you. It sounds like at the same time, you did a lot of quick, call it book and burn, base and fill work that comes in at a lot lower ASP, so product was a headwind, and then M&A was also a drag. So it felt like kind of maybe a triple whammy, if you will. But first, is all that right, and how much did each of those buckets have on the 3-point difference? Hey, I want to come back to the pricing, maybe a little bit different angle. hey i want to come back to the pricing maybe a little bit different angle So I appreciate you guys gave the 5% mix adjusted number, but could you kind of help bridge the 3-point difference between what you reported in mix? so i appreciate you guys gave the 5% mix adjusted number but could you kind of help bridge the 3-point difference between what you reported in mix Because it seems like conceptually, you guys really benefited from storm work in high ASP markets last year that didn't reoccur, so geography was definitely working against you. because it seems like conceptually you guys really benefited from storm work in high asp markets last year that didn't reoccur so geography was definitely working against you It sounds like at the same time, you did a lot of quick, call it book and burn, base and fill work that comes in at a lot lower ASP, so product was a headwind, and then M&A was also a drag. it sounds like at the same time you did a lot of quick call it book and burn base and fill work that comes in at a lot lower asp so product was a headwind and then m&a was also a drag So it felt like kind of maybe a triple whammy, if you will. so it felt like kind of maybe a triple whammy if you will But first, is all that right, and how much did each of those buckets have on the 3-point difference? but first is all that right and how much did each of those buckets have on the 3-point difference And then secondly, Mary Andrews, just from a shaping perspective, I appreciate the 4%-6% pricing, but should we expect to be on the low end early in the year and maybe higher later? Just, I assume some of these mix headwinds will persist. Sorry for the long question there. And then secondly, Mary Andrews, just from a shaping perspective, I appreciate the 4%-6% pricing, but should we expect to be on the low end early in the year and maybe higher later? and then secondly mary andrews just from a shaping perspective i appreciate the 4%-6% pricing but should we expect to be on the low end early in the year and maybe higher later Just, I assume some of these mix headwinds will persist. just i assume some of these mix headwinds will persist Sorry for the long question there. sorry for the long question there

Speaker 10: Yeah, no worries. First, you do have the triple whammy, as you called it, right, as it relates to the mix impacts on pricing in the fourth quarter. The, you know, the 300 basis points was about two-thirds the geographic mix from the, you know, strong shipments last year and those profitable markets. And then, you know, I'd say the other third was about 50/50. The, you know, continued impact from the acquisitions, which was, you know, actually lower in the fourth quarter than, you know, the full year, 100 basis points that we called out and did happen in 2025. And then the, you know, the other half of that third was the product mix that was really based on those projects. Yeah, no worries. yeah no worries First, you do have the triple whammy, as you called it, right, as it relates to the mix impacts on pricing in the fourth quarter. first you do have the triple whammy as you called it right as it relates to the mix impacts on pricing in the fourth quarter The, you know, the 300 basis points was about two-thirds the geographic mix from the, you know, strong shipments last year and those profitable markets. the you know the 300 basis points was about two-thirds the geographic mix from the you know strong shipments last year and those profitable markets And then, you know, I'd say the other third was about 50/50. and then you know i'd say the other third was about 50/50 The, you know, continued impact from the acquisitions, which was, you know, actually lower in the fourth quarter than, you know, the full year, 100 basis points that we called out and did happen in 2025. the you know continued impact from the acquisitions which was you know actually lower in the fourth quarter than you know the full year 100 basis points that we called out and did happen in 2025 And then the, you know, the other half of that third was the product mix that was really based on those projects. and then the you know the other half of that third was the product mix that was really based on those projects You know, I think you're right to be thinking about pricing in 2026 is probably toward the lower end in the first half of the year, moving toward that, you know, the higher end as the year moves on. And I think that is reflective of, you know, the improving demand that we expect to see and just comps from last year. And Ronnie may want to comment more on the, you know, kind of the types of projects that we're shipping on. You know, I think you're right to be thinking about pricing in 2026 is probably toward the lower end in the first half of the year, moving toward that, you know, the higher end as the year moves on. you know i think you're right to be thinking about pricing in 2026 is probably toward the lower end in the first half of the year moving toward that you know the higher end as the year moves on And I think that is reflective of, you know, the improving demand that we expect to see and just comps from last year. and i think that is reflective of you know the improving demand that we expect to see and just comps from last year And Ronnie may want to comment more on the, you know, kind of the types of projects that we're shipping on. and ronnie may want to comment more on the you know kind of the types of projects that we're shipping on

Speaker 13: Yeah, Tyler, you know, I think as we as we look at going into 2026, our backlog and bookings is at a much better spot than it was year-over-year. So remember, our backlog doesn't account for 100% of our shipments, but it is typically around 40%-45% of our forward-looking backlog is what our shipments are going to look like. And so that's a good, healthy spot for us to be as we think about demand. And also remember the trends on these. You know, a lot of these large projects, which we categorize as 25,000 tons and above, historically, that makes up about 30% of our bookings. Today, we sit there, it's about 45% of our bookings in large projects, which is really reflective of that data center work. Yeah, Tyler, you know, I think as we as we look at going into 2026, our backlog and bookings is at a much better spot than it was year-over-year. yeah tyler you know i think as we as we look at going into 2026 our backlog and bookings is at a much better spot than it was year-over-year So remember, our backlog doesn't account for 100% of our shipments, but it is typically around 40%-45% of our forward-looking backlog is what our shipments are going to look like. so remember our backlog doesn't account for 100% of our shipments but it is typically around 40%-45% of our forward-looking backlog is what our shipments are going to look like And so that's a good, healthy spot for us to be as we think about demand. and so that's a good healthy spot for us to be as we think about demand And also remember the trends on these. and also remember the trends on these You know, a lot of these large projects, which we categorize as 25,000 tons and above, historically, that makes up about 30% of our bookings. you know a lot of these large projects which we categorize as 25,000 tons and above historically that makes up about 30% of our bookings Today, we sit there, it's about 45% of our bookings in large projects, which is really reflective of that data center work. today we sit there it's about 45% of our bookings in large projects which is really reflective of that data center work Remember, we talked about these data centers. The first part of them are going to be base and fill, so that's where we're seeing the mix impact on. But as those projects continue to mature, then we'll see the clean stone and the clean size stones be shipped through the remainder of the project. So in our 4%-6% guide, we anticipate these shipments of these projects being more weighted heavily on the front end for base. But as those projects mature out, and so to Mary Andrews's point, that's why I think the pricing will play out through the year at the lower end of the first of the year, and then it'll play up at the higher end. Remember, we talked about these data centers. remember we talked about these data centers The first part of them are going to be base and fill, so that's where we're seeing the mix impact on. the first part of them are going to be base and fill so that's where we're seeing the mix impact on But as those projects continue to mature, then we'll see the clean stone and the clean size stones be shipped through the remainder of the project. but as those projects continue to mature then we'll see the clean stone and the clean size stones be shipped through the remainder of the project So in our 4%-6% guide, we anticipate these shipments of these projects being more weighted heavily on the front end for base. so in our 4%-6% guide we anticipate these shipments of these projects being more weighted heavily on the front end for base But as those projects mature out, and so to Mary Andrews's point, that's why I think the pricing will play out through the year at the lower end of the first of the year, and then it'll play up at the higher end. but as those projects mature out and so to mary andrews's point that's why i think the pricing will play out through the year at the lower end of the first of the year and then it'll play up at the higher end You know, second, when we talk about, you know, our fixed plant, you know, we sent out our fixed plant price increases at second half of 2025 for January, and the implementation of those and acceptance of those have gone as expected. And so I think we're in a healthy position as far as what those increases were accepted and announced the first part of the year. And then third, as I continue to think about the steady growth in public, you know, the continued positive improvements on the private non-res side, and then the potential recovery on single family. And I've talked about this in the past, is these improving demand and the backdrop of that is going to be a tailwind for us as we move forward. You know, second, when we talk about, you know, our fixed plant, you know, we sent out our fixed plant price increases at second half of 2025 for January, and the implementation of those and acceptance of those have gone as expected. you know second when we talk about you know our fixed plant you know we sent out our fixed plant price increases at second half of 2025 for january and the implementation of those and acceptance of those have gone as expected And so I think we're in a healthy position as far as what those increases were accepted and announced the first part of the year. and so i think we're in a healthy position as far as what those increases were accepted and announced the first part of the year And then third, as I continue to think about the steady growth in public, you know, the continued positive improvements on the private non-res side, and then the potential recovery on single family. and then third as i continue to think about the steady growth in public you know the continued positive improvements on the private non-res side and then the potential recovery on single family And I've talked about this in the past, is these improving demand and the backdrop of that is going to be a tailwind for us as we move forward. and i've talked about this in the past is these improving demand and the backdrop of that is going to be a tailwind for us as we move forward And so again, we don't have midyears baked into these increases or our guidance, but we would anticipate definitely going forward with midyears, and I think that momentum and demand will help us. And so again, we don't have midyears baked into these increases or our guidance, but we would anticipate definitely going forward with midyears, and I think that momentum and demand will help us. and so again we don't have midyears baked into these increases or our guidance but we would anticipate definitely going forward with midyears and i think that momentum and demand will help us

Speaker 17: Perfect. Excellent color. Thank you for indulging me. Thank you so much. Thanks. Perfect. perfect Excellent color. excellent color Thank you for indulging me. thank you for indulging me Thank you so much. thank you so much Thanks. thanks

Speaker 13: Thank you. Thank you. thank you

Speaker 12: Thank you. Our next question comes from Anthony Pettinari with Citigroup. Please go ahead. Thank you. thank you Our next question comes from Anthony Pettinari with Citigroup. our next question comes from anthony pettinari with citigroup Please go ahead. please go ahead

Speaker 3: Hi, this is Asher Sohnen in for Anthony. Thanks for taking my question. I just wanted to ask, you know, what kind of gives you the confidence that you can kind of keep costs down in 2026, so, you know, low single-digit inflation? Is it, you know, sort of what you're seeing in underlying inflation or, you know, maybe Vulcan Way of Operating and cost takeout? And then, just dovetailing off some earlier mix questions, is there a mix impact baked into that low single-digit from the kind of Base Stone? Hi, this is Asher Sohnen in for Anthony. hi this is asher sohnen in for anthony Thanks for taking my question. thanks for taking my question I just wanted to ask, you know, what kind of gives you the confidence that you can kind of keep costs down in 2026, so, you know, low single-digit inflation? i just wanted to ask you know what kind of gives you the confidence that you can kind of keep costs down in 2026 so you know low single-digit inflation Is it, you know, sort of what you're seeing in underlying inflation or, you know, maybe Vulcan Way of Operating and cost takeout? is it you know sort of what you're seeing in underlying inflation or you know maybe vulcan way of operating and cost takeout And then, just dovetailing off some earlier mix questions, is there a mix impact baked into that low single-digit from the kind of Base Stone? and then just dovetailing off some earlier mix questions is there a mix impact baked into that low single-digit from the kind of base stone

Speaker 13: Yeah. So on the cost side, what gives us confidence on cost is definitely Vulcan Way of Operating. You know, and so as I look at where we finish the year, you know, down or up less than 2% for 2025. Overall, I think 2025 was a really good year on cost, and we anticipate that to continue. When I look at the maturity of Vulcan Way of Operating, you know, we said we're focused on our 120+ plants. That represents about 75% of our production. So we're very mature on the process intelligence, on our labor scheduling tools, and really on the focus on our critical size production. You know, and where we're going to continue to focus on is the development of our people. Yeah. yeah So on the cost side, what gives us confidence on cost is definitely Vulcan Way of Operating. so on the cost side what gives us confidence on cost is definitely vulcan way of operating You know, and so as I look at where we finish the year, you know, down or up less than 2% for 2025. you know and so as i look at where we finish the year you know down or up less than 2% for 2025 Overall, I think 2025 was a really good year on cost, and we anticipate that to continue. overall i think 2025 was a really good year on cost and we anticipate that to continue When I look at the maturity of Vulcan Way of Operating, you know, we said we're focused on our 120+ plants. when i look at the maturity of vulcan way of operating you know we said we're focused on our 120+ plants That represents about 75% of our production. that represents about 75% of our production So we're very mature on the process intelligence, on our labor scheduling tools, and really on the focus on our critical size production. so we're very mature on the process intelligence on our labor scheduling tools and really on the focus on our critical size production You know, and where we're going to continue to focus on is the development of our people. you know and where we're going to continue to focus on is the development of our people So our plant operators are really adapting to using these screens and really driving more efficient production in our plants. But when I look overall, I mean, I'm very pleased where we're at. I think labor is going to continue to be one that as labor increases will happen in markets, our ability to control that and our ability to outperform the market with our labor control is going to be critical as and that's a big part of Vulcan Way of Operating, and so I'm very pleased with that. And to your point, you know, what we talk about on the mix side with our drag on pricing, the mix is a benefit to us in the way we operate our plants. And so our plants are in a really good shape on yield. So our plant operators are really adapting to using these screens and really driving more efficient production in our plants. so our plant operators are really adapting to using these screens and really driving more efficient production in our plants But when I look overall, I mean, I'm very pleased where we're at. but when i look overall i mean i'm very pleased where we're at I think labor is going to continue to be one that as labor increases will happen in markets, our ability to control that and our ability to outperform the market with our labor control is going to be critical as and that's a big part of Vulcan Way of Operating, and so I'm very pleased with that. i think labor is going to continue to be one that as labor increases will happen in markets our ability to control that and our ability to outperform the market with our labor control is going to be critical as and that's a big part of vulcan way of operating and so i'm very pleased with that And to your point, you know, what we talk about on the mix side with our drag on pricing, the mix is a benefit to us in the way we operate our plants. and to your point you know what we talk about on the mix side with our drag on pricing the mix is a benefit to us in the way we operate our plants And so our plants are in a really good shape on yield. and so our plants are in a really good shape on yield You know, the amount of fines that we have and the way we mine in our pits, we're in a really good position. We've gone through three years of muted demand, and we really haven't built any inventory. And so we've really managed through three years of this muted demand in a way that it puts us in a very good position when demand starts to recover, that our costs are going to be just as much of a tailwind as it will be on price. You know, the amount of fines that we have and the way we mine in our pits, we're in a really good position. you know the amount of fines that we have and the way we mine in our pits we're in a really good position We've gone through three years of muted demand, and we really haven't built any inventory. we've gone through three years of muted demand and we really haven't built any inventory And so we've really managed through three years of this muted demand in a way that it puts us in a very good position when demand starts to recover, that our costs are going to be just as much of a tailwind as it will be on price. and so we've really managed through three years of this muted demand in a way that it puts us in a very good position when demand starts to recover that our costs are going to be just as much of a tailwind as it will be on price

Speaker 3: Great. Thanks, that's, that's really helpful. I'll turn it over. Great. great Thanks, that's, that's really helpful. thanks that's that's really helpful I'll turn it over. i'll turn it over

Speaker 12: Thank you. Our next question comes from Kathryn Thompson with Thompson Research Group. Please go ahead. Thank you. thank you Our next question comes from Kathryn Thompson with Thompson Research Group. our next question comes from kathryn thompson with thompson research group Please go ahead. please go ahead

Speaker 8: Hi, thank you for taking my question today. Focusing on the policy side, with IIJA expiring in September, but states also taking greater control of their own financing destiny, how is the dynamic of kind of the messiness that inevitably happens with the reauthorization bill baked into your guidance? And then also perhaps clarify a little bit more how states are taking control for the ones that matter for you, and how are you thinking about that with your public end market? And then one cleanup question, just as we're assuming that the divested assets in the Bay Area are not included in the guide. Thanks so much. Hi, thank you for taking my question today. hi thank you for taking my question today Focusing on the policy side, with IIJA expiring in September, but states also taking greater control of their own financing destiny, how is the dynamic of kind of the messiness that inevitably happens with the reauthorization bill baked into your guidance? focusing on the policy side with iija expiring in september but states also taking greater control of their own financing destiny how is the dynamic of kind of the messiness that inevitably happens with the reauthorization bill baked into your guidance And then also perhaps clarify a little bit more how states are taking control for the ones that matter for you, and how are you thinking about that with your public end market? and then also perhaps clarify a little bit more how states are taking control for the ones that matter for you and how are you thinking about that with your public end market And then one cleanup question, just as we're assuming that the divested assets in the Bay Area are not included in the guide. and then one cleanup question just as we're assuming that the divested assets in the bay area are not included in the guide Thanks so much. thanks so much

Speaker 13: Yeah, I'll let Mary Andrews talk about the guide on the, on the, divested assets. She can give you some color on that. On the public side, you know, I mean, I think we're going into the year with a couple of assumptions. You know, one, that a bill will get done. You know, will it be on time, or will it be in the form of a continuing resolution? Who knows? But historically, we're gonna get a bill done. And two, based on historic measures, the bill will always be higher than the previous bill, and so we're expecting that. But the good thing for us is, Kathryn, is that 50% of the money has yet to be spent, and so we will see the tail of IIJA continue through 2026 and well into 2027. Yeah, I'll let Mary Andrews talk about the guide on the, on the, divested assets. yeah i'll let mary andrews talk about the guide on the on the divested assets She can give you some color on that. she can give you some color on that On the public side, you know, I mean, I think we're going into the year with a couple of assumptions. on the public side you know i mean i think we're going into the year with a couple of assumptions You know, one, that a bill will get done. you know one that a bill will get done You know, will it be on time, or will it be in the form of a continuing resolution? you know will it be on time or will it be in the form of a continuing resolution Who knows? who knows But historically, we're gonna get a bill done. but historically we're gonna get a bill done And two, based on historic measures, the bill will always be higher than the previous bill, and so we're expecting that. and two based on historic measures the bill will always be higher than the previous bill and so we're expecting that But the good thing for us is, Kathryn, is that 50% of the money has yet to be spent, and so we will see the tail of IIJA continue through 2026 and well into 2027. but the good thing for us is kathryn is that 50% of the money has yet to be spent and so we will see the tail of iija continue through 2026 and well into 2027 You know, when I look at our markets and I look at bulk and served markets, on a trailing 12, starts dollars in bulk and served markets are up 24% year-over-year, 20-2025 versus 2024. And so those dollars are gonna be put into work in 2026 as far as the demand for our products. And if you go back to the start of IIJA, you know, our markets are up 80% in, in, in starts dollars. And so it's a, it's a really good tailwind, but we've said the entire time that IIJA would be slow and steady, and we continue to see that. You know, in California, one of our standout markets, I mean, highway starts are up 47% in 2025 versus 2024. You know, when I look at our markets and I look at bulk and served markets, on a trailing 12, starts dollars in bulk and served markets are up 24% year-over-year, 20-2025 versus 2024. you know when i look at our markets and i look at bulk and served markets on a trailing 12 starts dollars in bulk and served markets are up 24% year-over-year 20-2025 versus 2024 And so those dollars are gonna be put into work in 2026 as far as the demand for our products. and so those dollars are gonna be put into work in 2026 as far as the demand for our products And if you go back to the start of IIJA, you know, our markets are up 80% in, in, in starts dollars. and if you go back to the start of iija you know our markets are up 80% in in in starts dollars And so it's a, it's a really good tailwind, but we've said the entire time that IIJA would be slow and steady, and we continue to see that. and so it's a it's a really good tailwind but we've said the entire time that iija would be slow and steady and we continue to see that You know, in California, one of our standout markets, I mean, highway starts are up 47% in 2025 versus 2024. you know in california one of our standout markets i mean highway starts are up 47% in 2025 versus 2024 And so that's another market that we will see 2026 continue to see strong demand from, from highway dollars being put in place. In the Southeast, we've seen significant jumps in bookings in Alabama, in Georgia, in South Carolina, in Tennessee, and so again, right in the heart of our Southeast group, and I think those dollars are gonna continue to be put to work. And we've also seen other public works, you know, like beach restorations, port renovations, airport projects. Those kind of starts in bulk and served markets, two-thirds of our GM areas, which we have 19 GM areas, so 14 of our 19 GM areas, we're seeing double-digit increases in starts in those other public works. And so that's another market that we will see 2026 continue to see strong demand from, from highway dollars being put in place. and so that's another market that we will see 2026 continue to see strong demand from from highway dollars being put in place In the Southeast, we've seen significant jumps in bookings in Alabama, in Georgia, in South Carolina, in Tennessee, and so again, right in the heart of our Southeast group, and I think those dollars are gonna continue to be put to work. in the southeast we've seen significant jumps in bookings in alabama in georgia in south carolina in tennessee and so again right in the heart of our southeast group and i think those dollars are gonna continue to be put to work And we've also seen other public works, you know, like beach restorations, port renovations, airport projects. and we've also seen other public works you know like beach restorations port renovations airport projects Those kind of starts in bulk and served markets, two-thirds of our GM areas, which we have 19 GM areas, so 14 of our 19 GM areas, we're seeing double-digit increases in starts in those other public works. those kind of starts in bulk and served markets two-thirds of our gm areas which we have 19 gm areas so 14 of our 19 gm areas we're seeing double-digit increases in starts in those other public works And so I would say public, for all things considered, public is probably the most clarity we have, and I think we're very confident in that. And I'll let Mary Andrews talk about the modeling on the divested assets. And so I would say public, for all things considered, public is probably the most clarity we have, and I think we're very confident in that. and so i would say public for all things considered public is probably the most clarity we have and i think we're very confident in that And I'll let Mary Andrews talk about the modeling on the divested assets. and i'll let mary andrews talk about the modeling on the divested assets

Speaker 10: Yeah, Kathryn, you're right. The ready-mix assets, we have excluded from the guidance. So I think the best way to think about that is, you know, the guide at the midpoint on a same-store basis is really, you know, over 10% growth in 2026. Yeah, Kathryn , you're right. yeah, kathryn you're right The ready-mix assets, we have excluded from the guidance. the ready-mix assets we have excluded from the guidance So I think the best way to think about that is, you know, the guide at the midpoint on a same-store basis is really, you know, over 10% growth in 2026. so i think the best way to think about that is you know the guide at the midpoint on a same-store basis is really you know over 10% growth in 2026

Speaker 8: Okay, great. Thanks so much. Okay, great. okay great Thanks so much. thanks so much

Speaker 13: Thank you. Thank you. thank you

Speaker 12: Thank you. We'll go next to Angel Castillo with Morgan Stanley. Please go ahead. Thank you. thank you We'll go next to Angel Castillo with Morgan Stanley. we'll go next to angel castillo with morgan stanley Please go ahead. please go ahead

Speaker 2: Thanks, and good morning, everyone. So you outlined the big opportunity from data centers on the slide, and I just wanted to unpack a little bit more, particularly the comments around the base versus clean stone timing. I think the timing of mix drag, you know, versus maybe the uplift as you start to ship more clean stone in the latter stages makes a lot of sense. But can you just maybe talk about this more holistically as to whether a data center project, you know, all in, is higher or lower margin than a traditional manufacturing project when you kind of ignore the timing of some of these things? Thanks, and good morning, everyone. thanks and good morning everyone So you outlined the big opportunity from data centers on the slide, and I just wanted to unpack a little bit more, particularly the comments around the base versus clean stone timing. so you outlined the big opportunity from data centers on the slide and i just wanted to unpack a little bit more particularly the comments around the base versus clean stone timing I think the timing of mix drag, you know, versus maybe the uplift as you start to ship more clean stone in the latter stages makes a lot of sense. i think the timing of mix drag you know versus maybe the uplift as you start to ship more clean stone in the latter stages makes a lot of sense But can you just maybe talk about this more holistically as to whether a data center project, you know, all in, is higher or lower margin than a traditional manufacturing project when you kind of ignore the timing of some of these things? but can you just maybe talk about this more holistically as to whether a data center project you know all in is higher or lower margin than a traditional manufacturing project when you kind of ignore the timing of some of these things And then just as we think about data centers, you know, being such a big growth factor in the next few years, is the right way to think about the DC opportunity here as perhaps a bit of a drag here for price margins until the number of projects being completed starts to really exceed those starting up? And if so, can you just quantify that? I don't know if I missed this, but just how much of a drag that is in your 2022 guide. I'm just trying to think about how to model this, you know, how to understand this, just given so much growth in this vertical. And then just as we think about data centers, you know, being such a big growth factor in the next few years, is the right way to think about the DC opportunity here as perhaps a bit of a drag here for price margins until the number of projects being completed starts to really exceed those starting up? and then just as we think about data centers you know being such a big growth factor in the next few years is the right way to think about the dc opportunity here as perhaps a bit of a drag here for price margins until the number of projects being completed starts to really exceed those starting up And if so, can you just quantify that? and if so can you just quantify that I don't know if I missed this, but just how much of a drag that is in your 2022 guide. i don't know if i missed this but just how much of a drag that is in your 2022 guide I'm just trying to think about how to model this, you know, how to understand this, just given so much growth in this vertical. i'm just trying to think about how to model this you know how to understand this just given so much growth in this vertical

Speaker 13: Yeah, you know, I think you summed it up right. I mean, as we look at the continued demand for data centers, we're gonna continue to see the mix issues. And so, you know, if I would look at base pricing across, you know, multiple geographies, and geographies can have a big impact on that as well, but on average, base can sell for, you know, $8-$10 below what our clean stone products are. But on a margin basis, it's not that big of impact. And so I think we will continue to see tailwinds on the cost side as we continue to ship that. Yeah, you know, I think you summed it up right. yeah you know i think you summed it up right I mean, as we look at the continued demand for data centers, we're gonna continue to see the mix issues. i mean as we look at the continued demand for data centers we're gonna continue to see the mix issues And so, you know, if I would look at base pricing across, you know, multiple geographies, and geographies can have a big impact on that as well, but on average, base can sell for, you know, $8-$10 below what our clean stone products are. and so you know if i would look at base pricing across you know multiple geographies and geographies can have a big impact on that as well but on average base can sell for you know $8-$10 below what our clean stone products are But on a margin basis, it's not that big of impact. but on a margin basis it's not that big of impact And so I think we will continue to see tailwinds on the cost side as we continue to ship that. and so i think we will continue to see tailwinds on the cost side as we continue to ship that And so a lot of the base shipments that we've had will start to turn into clean project clean stone as we ship those projects as far as what we're shipping in 2025. But I would tell you the opportunities in 2026 will continue to be a lot of base opportunities, which we want to take advantage of. I mean, those are great projects. They again play really well into the shape of our pits, our plants, the productivity of our plants. And so I think it's gonna continue to play out, but I do think it'll be more of a uniform mix as we start to see clean products ship to those same projects because they are going vertical. And once they start going vertical, you know, that's where the concrete shipments kick in. And so a lot of the base shipments that we've had will start to turn into clean project clean stone as we ship those projects as far as what we're shipping in 2025. and so a lot of the base shipments that we've had will start to turn into clean project clean stone as we ship those projects as far as what we're shipping in 2025 But I would tell you the opportunities in 2026 will continue to be a lot of base opportunities, which we want to take advantage of. but i would tell you the opportunities in 2026 will continue to be a lot of base opportunities which we want to take advantage of I mean, those are great projects. i mean those are great projects They again play really well into the shape of our pits, our plants, the productivity of our plants. they again play really well into the shape of our pits our plants the productivity of our plants And so I think it's gonna continue to play out, but I do think it'll be more of a uniform mix as we start to see clean products ship to those same projects because they are going vertical. and so i think it's gonna continue to play out but i do think it'll be more of a uniform mix as we start to see clean products ship to those same projects because they are going vertical And once they start going vertical, you know, that's where the concrete shipments kick in. and once they start going vertical you know that's where the concrete shipments kick in

Speaker 2: Thank you. Thank you. thank you

Speaker 12: Thank you. Our next question comes from Michael Dudas with Vertical Research. Please go ahead. Thank you. thank you Our next question comes from Michael Dudas with Vertical Research. our next question comes from michael dudas with vertical research Please go ahead. please go ahead

Speaker 11: Morning, Mary Andrews, Mark, and Ronnie. Morning, Mary Andrews, Mark, and Ronnie. morning mary andrews mark and ronnie

Speaker 13: Hey, good morning. Hey, good morning. hey good morning

Speaker 10: Good morning. Good morning. good morning

Speaker 11: Ronnie, you guys done, and Mary Andrews done a great job on the balance sheet, and it's below your, your targets. Maybe you could share your thoughts on, as you come out of the box here, the pipeline for M&A? What your early indications of opportunities, and you did mention in your, I think, first couple of statements of current and new geographies. Just maybe a little bit more thought on that. I'm sure you'll be discussing more of that with your investor day next month. Thanks. Ronnie, you guys done, and Mary Andrews done a great job on the balance sheet, and it's below your, your targets. ronnie you guys done and mary andrews done a great job on the balance sheet and it's below your your targets Maybe you could share your thoughts on, as you come out of the box here, the pipeline for M&A? maybe you could share your thoughts on as you come out of the box here the pipeline for m&a What your early indications of opportunities, and you did mention in your, I think, first couple of statements of current and new geographies. what your early indications of opportunities and you did mention in your i think first couple of statements of current and new geographies Just maybe a little bit more thought on that. just maybe a little bit more thought on that I'm sure you'll be discussing more of that with your investor day next month. i'm sure you'll be discussing more of that with your investor day next month Thanks. thanks

Speaker 13: Yeah, thank you. You know, if you look back over what we experienced in 2025, I mean, if you remember, we closed two really big deals at the end of 2024, and so 2025 for us was a year of integrating those deals and executing on that. And we also said during times of uncertainty, which we saw at the first half of 2025, with you know, tariffs and interest rates and those headwinds, that both sides, the seller side as well as the buyer side, there was just a pause in a lot of the markets and we didn't see a lot of activity in 2025. As I look at 2026, I do think it's going to be a very active year on the strategy side and the M&A front. Yeah, thank you. yeah thank you You know, if you look back over what we experienced in 2025, I mean, if you remember, we closed two really big deals at the end of 2024, and so 2025 for us was a year of integrating those deals and executing on that. you know if you look back over what we experienced in 2025 i mean if you remember we closed two really big deals at the end of 2024 and so 2025 for us was a year of integrating those deals and executing on that And we also said during times of uncertainty, which we saw at the first half of 2025, with you know, tariffs and interest rates and those headwinds, that both sides, the seller side as well as the buyer side, there was just a pause in a lot of the markets and we didn't see a lot of activity in 2025. and we also said during times of uncertainty which we saw at the first half of 2025 with you know tariffs and interest rates and those headwinds that both sides the seller side as well as the buyer side there was just a pause in a lot of the markets and we didn't see a lot of activity in 2025 As I look at 2026, I do think it's going to be a very active year on the strategy side and the M&A front. as i look at 2026 i do think it's going to be a very active year on the strategy side and the m&a front I would tell you, for us, you know, what we'll see out of Vulcan will be, one, it's gonna continue to be aggregates-led. We're gonna be very disciplined around that. We're gonna continue to look at things within our geography, but when I say new geographies, I mean, we have to be able to expand that footprint, because at the end, if we're gonna be, you know, that particular on what we want, we have to be able to expand that look and open that market up for some new looks and geographies. And so I would say our pipeline is very healthy. We're in some really good conversations with some potential sellers, but again, it's something we have to be very disciplined in. We don't wanna force that. We don't wanna end up overpaying for things that we don't have to. I would tell you, for us, you know, what we'll see out of Vulcan will be, one, it's gonna continue to be aggregates-led. i would tell you for us you know what we'll see out of vulcan will be one it's gonna continue to be aggregates-led We're gonna be very disciplined around that. we're gonna be very disciplined around that We're gonna continue to look at things within our geography, but when I say new geographies, I mean, we have to be able to expand that footprint, because at the end, if we're gonna be, you know, that particular on what we want, we have to be able to expand that look and open that market up for some new looks and geographies. we're gonna continue to look at things within our geography but when i say new geographies i mean we have to be able to expand that footprint because at the end if we're gonna be you know that particular on what we want we have to be able to expand that look and open that market up for some new looks and geographies And so I would say our pipeline is very healthy. and so i would say our pipeline is very healthy We're in some really good conversations with some potential sellers, but again, it's something we have to be very disciplined in. we're in some really good conversations with some potential sellers but again it's something we have to be very disciplined in We don't wanna force that. we don't wanna force that We don't wanna end up overpaying for things that we don't have to. we don't wanna end up overpaying for things that we don't have to It takes two sides, but I would anticipate 2026 being a very active year. It takes two sides, but I would anticipate 2026 being a very active year. it takes two sides but i would anticipate 2026 being a very active year

Speaker 10: And you're right, Mike. We have, you know, absolutely have the balance sheet well positioned, and, you know, the cash generation of this business just position us very well, you know, for the long term to be able to continue to pursue the M&A activity opportunities that make sense for us. And you're right, Mike. and you're right mike We have, you know, absolutely have the balance sheet well positioned, and, you know, the cash generation of this business just position us very well, you know, for the long term to be able to continue to pursue the M&A activity opportunities that make sense for us. we have you know absolutely have the balance sheet well positioned and you know the cash generation of this business just position us very well you know for the long term to be able to continue to pursue the m&a activity opportunities that make sense for us

Speaker 11: Excellent. Thank you. Excellent. excellent Thank you. thank you

Speaker 12: Thank you. Our next question comes from Timna Tanners with Wells Fargo. Please go ahead. Thank you. thank you Our next question comes from Timna Tanners with Wells Fargo. our next question comes from timna tanners with wells fargo Please go ahead. please go ahead

Speaker 15: Yeah. Hey, good morning. I wanted to dive in a little bit more on your positive private demand view and ask, how much of your mix is data centers, and what's embedded in your volume forecast for the housing recovery that you mentioned in the second half? Yeah. yeah Hey, good morning. hey good morning I wanted to dive in a little bit more on your positive private demand view and ask, how much of your mix is data centers, and what's embedded in your volume forecast for the housing recovery that you mentioned in the second half? i wanted to dive in a little bit more on your positive private demand view and ask how much of your mix is data centers and what's embedded in your volume forecast for the housing recovery that you mentioned in the second half

Speaker 13: So we are anticipating recovery on the single-family side to be really flat. So it'll be very slow, and even with some help from interest rates, you know, we're we will be lagging that. And so as we start to see starts increase on the residential side, I would say we'll be several months behind that. And so that'll be a. If we get some help on affordability through interest rate cuts, that'll be a definite second half opportunity for us, and I think that opportunity would come in the form of very geographically driven by, you know, where jobs are being created. So markets matter. That's why I love our footprint, because I think our markets will outperform the rest of the country when it comes to recovery and residential. So we are anticipating recovery on the single-family side to be really flat. so we are anticipating recovery on the single-family side to be really flat So it'll be very slow, and even with some help from interest rates, you know, we're we will be lagging that. so it'll be very slow and even with some help from interest rates you know we're we will be lagging that And so as we start to see starts increase on the residential side, I would say we'll be several months behind that. and so as we start to see starts increase on the residential side i would say we'll be several months behind that And so that'll be a. and so that'll be a If we get some help on affordability through interest rate cuts, that'll be a definite second half opportunity for us, and I think that opportunity would come in the form of very geographically driven by, you know, where jobs are being created. if we get some help on affordability through interest rate cuts that'll be a definite second half opportunity for us and i think that opportunity would come in the form of very geographically driven by you know where jobs are being created So markets matter. so markets matter That's why I love our footprint, because I think our markets will outperform the rest of the country when it comes to recovery and residential. that's why i love our footprint because i think our markets will outperform the rest of the country when it comes to recovery and residential And then with data centers on the, on the private side, they're, they're a very, very large piece of the private side and what we're seeing on the private non-res recovery, and I would expect that to continue. I think, Timna, what we will start to see as, as we play this out, though, is the energy demand that these data centers are creating. So I think we will start to see some energy projects. We're in some talks on, on those now. Some of those are included in the data centers as we look at those, so there are some energy pieces of that, that these data centers are being required to build out some of their own energy infrastructure. And then with data centers on the, on the private side, they're, they're a very, very large piece of the private side and what we're seeing on the private non-res recovery, and I would expect that to continue. and then with data centers on the on the private side they're they're a very very large piece of the private side and what we're seeing on the private non-res recovery and i would expect that to continue I think, Timna, what we will start to see as, as we play this out, though, is the energy demand that these data centers are creating. i think timna what we will start to see as as we play this out though is the energy demand that these data centers are creating So I think we will start to see some energy projects. so i think we will start to see some energy projects We're in some talks on, on those now. we're in some talks on on those now Some of those are included in the data centers as we look at those, so there are some energy pieces of that, that these data centers are being required to build out some of their own energy infrastructure. some of those are included in the data centers as we look at those so there are some energy pieces of that that these data centers are being required to build out some of their own energy infrastructure But there's also some other things as far as, you know, some LNG projects that are going back, and when those things kick in, they're very heavily aggregate intensive. But we also have some, you know, $6 billion Eli Lilly project here in Alabama that's kicking off. And so we've got some other things on the private non-res side that are gonna be kicking in. But I would say, you know, at the start of the year, they're still very heavily weighted towards data centers, and I think other types of manufacturing will kick in as we go throughout the year. But that's what gives us confidence. And really, returning to growth is our bookings. Our bookings pace is really strong, and those forward-looking indicators are start to improve. But there's also some other things as far as, you know, some LNG projects that are going back, and when those things kick in, they're very heavily aggregate intensive. but there's also some other things as far as you know some lng projects that are going back and when those things kick in they're very heavily aggregate intensive But we also have some, you know, $6 billion Eli Lilly project here in Alabama that's kicking off. but we also have some you know $6 billion eli lilly project here in alabama that's kicking off And so we've got some other things on the private non-res side that are gonna be kicking in. and so we've got some other things on the private non-res side that are gonna be kicking in But I would say, you know, at the start of the year, they're still very heavily weighted towards data centers, and I think other types of manufacturing will kick in as we go throughout the year. but i would say you know at the start of the year they're still very heavily weighted towards data centers and i think other types of manufacturing will kick in as we go throughout the year But that's what gives us confidence. but that's what gives us confidence And really, returning to growth is our bookings. and really returning to growth is our bookings Our bookings pace is really strong, and those forward-looking indicators are start to improve. our bookings pace is really strong and those forward-looking indicators are start to improve

Speaker 15: Okay. Did you have the percentage of your mix that's data centers for us, please? Okay. okay Did you have the percentage of your mix that's data centers for us, please? did you have the percentage of your mix that's data centers for us please

Speaker 13: Yeah, I mean, we don't break that out in our backlog just because it gets too wonky when it comes to the differences in those mixes. But it's heavily influenced by data centers as of today. Yeah, I mean, we don't break that out in our backlog just because it gets too wonky when it comes to the differences in those mixes. yeah i mean we don't break that out in our backlog just because it gets too wonky when it comes to the differences in those mixes But it's heavily influenced by data centers as of today. but it's heavily influenced by data centers as of today

Speaker 15: Okay. Thank you again. Okay. okay Thank you again. thank you again

Speaker 13: Thank you. Thank you. thank you

Speaker 12: Thank you. Our next question comes from Garik Shmois with Loop Capital. Please go ahead. Thank you. thank you Our next question comes from Garik Shmois with Loop Capital. our next question comes from garik shmois with loop capital Please go ahead. please go ahead

Speaker 6: Oh, hi, thanks. Ronnie, you mentioned a couple of times about mid-year price increases, recognizing it's not in your guidance, but what kind of demand do you need to see, whether it's big picture in a local market, to start thinking about implementing mid-year price increases? Oh, hi, thanks. oh hi thanks Ronnie, you mentioned a couple of times about mid-year price increases, recognizing it's not in your guidance, but what kind of demand do you need to see, whether it's big picture in a local market, to start thinking about implementing mid-year price increases? ronnie you mentioned a couple of times about mid-year price increases recognizing it's not in your guidance but what kind of demand do you need to see whether it's big picture in a local market to start thinking about implementing mid-year price increases

Speaker 13: Yeah, I think it's twofold there. I think it's some visibility into demand improving, but when we talk about mid-years, I mean, it's really talking about two sides of our business. On the fixed plant side, it's talking about the concrete side of our business as well as the asphalt side of our business. I would single out that, you know, the concrete side of our business, we need to see some recovery on single-family. Our concrete customers have had a lot of pressure on them around the muted demand on single-family, and so, you know, that side of it, that visibility into some help on affordability, some help with relief on the interest rates, would give us some tailwinds on mid-year with the concrete side of our business. Yeah, I think it's twofold there. yeah i think it's twofold there I think it's some visibility into demand improving, but when we talk about mid-years, I mean, it's really talking about two sides of our business. i think it's some visibility into demand improving but when we talk about mid-years i mean it's really talking about two sides of our business On the fixed plant side, it's talking about the concrete side of our business as well as the asphalt side of our business. on the fixed plant side it's talking about the concrete side of our business as well as the asphalt side of our business I would single out that, you know, the concrete side of our business, we need to see some recovery on single-family. i would single out that you know the concrete side of our business we need to see some recovery on single-family Our concrete customers have had a lot of pressure on them around the muted demand on single-family, and so, you know, that side of it, that visibility into some help on affordability, some help with relief on the interest rates, would give us some tailwinds on mid-year with the concrete side of our business. our concrete customers have had a lot of pressure on them around the muted demand on single-family and so you know that side of it that visibility into some help on affordability some help with relief on the interest rates would give us some tailwinds on mid-year with the concrete side of our business On the asphalt side, it really is more of the public and private non-res continuing, so we've seen great momentum there. And so I'd say as we go into the year, I think we're in a good position. I would say we're in a better position in 2026 for the success of those mid-years than we were as we, you know, as we looked at how 2025 developed. And so I think it's a combination of both single family and public, but single family will be weighted more towards, you know, the concrete side of our business, and the public will be weighted more towards the asphalt side of our business.

[0:36:24]

Garik Shmois [Managing Director] (Loop Capital Markets)
5 Words
... Sounds good. Thank you.

[0:36:25]

Ronnie Pruitt [SVP and COO] (Vulcan Materials Company)
2 Words
Thank you.

[0:36:28]

Operator
12 Words
Thank you. Our next question comes from Adam Thaof those mid-years than we were as we, you know, as we looked at how 2025 developed. And so I think it's a combination of both single family and public, but single family will be weighted more towards, you know, the concrete side of our business, and the public will be weighted more towards the asphalt side of our business. On the asphalt side, it really is more of the public and private non-res continuing, so we've seen great momentum there. on the asphalt side it really is more of the public and private non-res continuing so we've seen great momentum there And so I'd say as we go into the year, I think we're in a good position. and so i'd say as we go into the year i think we're in a good position I would say we're in a better position in 2026 for the success of those mid-years than we were as we, you know, as we looked at how 2025 developed. And so I think it's a combination of both single family and public, but single family will be weighted more towards, you know, the concrete side of our business, and the public will be weighted more towards the asphalt side of our business.

[0:36:24]

Garik Shmois [Managing Director] (Loop Capital Markets)
5 Words
... Sounds good. Thank you.

[0:36:25]

Ronnie Pruitt [SVP and COO] (Vulcan Materials Company)
2 Words
Thank you.

[0:36:28]

Operator
12 Words
Thank you. Our next question comes from Adam Thaof those mid-years than we were as we, you know, as we looked at how 2025 developed. i would say we're in a better position in 2026 for the success of those mid-years than we were as we, you know, as we looked at how 2025 developed. and so i think it's a combination of both single family and public, but single family will be weighted more towards, you know, the concrete side of our business, and the public will be weighted more towards the asphalt side of our business.

[0:36:24]

garik shmois [managing director] (loop capital markets)
5 words
... sounds good. thank you.

[0:36:25]

ronnie pruitt [svp and coo] (vulcan materials company)
2 words
thank you.

[0:36:28]

operator
12 words
thank you. our next question comes from adam thaof those mid-years than we were as we you know as we looked at how 2025 developed And so I think it's a combination of both single family and public, but single family will be weighted more towards, you know, the concrete side of our business, and the public will be weighted more towards the asphalt side of our business. and so i think it's a combination of both single family and public but single family will be weighted more towards you know the concrete side of our business and the public will be weighted more towards the asphalt side of our business

Speaker 6: ... Sounds good. Thank you. ... Sounds good. sounds good Thank you. thank you

Speaker 13: Thank you. Thank you. thank you

Speaker 12: Thank you. Our next question comes from Adam Thalhimer with Thompson Davis. Thank you. thank you Our next question comes from Adam Thalhimer with Thompson Davis. our next question comes from adam thalhimer with thompson davis

Speaker 1: Hey, good morning, guys. Hey, good morning, guys. hey good morning guys

Speaker 13: Hey. Hey. hey

Speaker 1: I was hoping you could comment on the cadence of EBITDA this year, and I'm curious if we should bake in another EBITDA decline in Q1, you know, followed by strengthening as the year goes on, or if you actually see the year starting off faster than that. I was hoping you could comment on the cadence of EBITDA this year, and I'm curious if we should bake in another EBITDA decline in Q1, you know, followed by strengthening as the year goes on, or if you actually see the year starting off faster than that. i was hoping you could comment on the cadence of ebitda this year and i'm curious if we should bake in another ebitda decline in q1 you know followed by strengthening as the year goes on or if you actually see the year starting off faster than that

Speaker 10: Yeah, Adam, I'll start on that one. I think the best way to think about 2026 EBITDA would be to think about seasonality and not year-over-year comparisons. And, you know, so if you think about normal seasonality to spread, you know, EBITDA in 2026, the year-over-year comps, as you referenced, will look different in the first half versus the second half, but I think that's the best way to go about it. Yeah, Adam, I'll start on that one. yeah adam i'll start on that one I think the best way to think about 2026 EBITDA would be to think about seasonality and not year-over-year comparisons. i think the best way to think about 2026 ebitda would be to think about seasonality and not year-over-year comparisons And, you know, so if you think about normal seasonality to spread, you know, EBITDA in 2026, the year-over-year comps, as you referenced, will look different in the first half versus the second half, but I think that's the best way to go about it. and you know so if you think about normal seasonality to spread you know ebitda in 2026 the year-over-year comps as you referenced will look different in the first half versus the second half but i think that's the best way to go about it

Speaker 1: Okay, thanks. Okay, thanks. okay thanks

Speaker 12: Thank you. Our next question comes from David MacGregor with Longbow Research. Please go ahead. Thank you. thank you Our next question comes from David MacGregor with Longbow Research. our next question comes from david macgregor with longbow research Please go ahead. please go ahead

Speaker 5: Yes, good morning, everyone. I guess my question is on price cost, and, in the guide, you were very specific about your price assumptions, but characterized cost is up low single digits. So it seems like maybe there's still some uncertainty there with respect to your perspective on costs. And so I guess I was just going to get you to walk through what are the biggest sources of uncertainty for you within your cost structure as you look forward into 2026? Yes, good morning, everyone. yes good morning everyone I guess my question is on price cost, and, in the guide, you were very specific about your price assumptions, but characterized cost is up low single digits. i guess my question is on price cost and in the guide you were very specific about your price assumptions but characterized cost is up low single digits So it seems like maybe there's still some uncertainty there with respect to your perspective on costs. so it seems like maybe there's still some uncertainty there with respect to your perspective on costs And so I guess I was just going to get you to walk through what are the biggest sources of uncertainty for you within your cost structure as you look forward into 2026? and so i guess i was just going to get you to walk through what are the biggest sources of uncertainty for you within your cost structure as you look forward into 2026

Speaker 13: Yeah, I mean, I think we're confident in that low single digit, which, you know, that's kind of how 2025 played out. And so I think the things we can control when we talk about our labor, our energy, our fuel, I mean, I think we've got a lot of visibility into that, and so I think we have a lot of confidence in that. And I think the pieces, the rest of the pieces are really tied to continued performance on the demand side of our business. Yeah, I mean, I think we're confident in that low single digit, which, you know, that's kind of how 2025 played out. yeah i mean i think we're confident in that low single digit which you know that's kind of how 2025 played out And so I think the things we can control when we talk about our labor, our energy, our fuel, I mean, I think we've got a lot of visibility into that, and so I think we have a lot of confidence in that. and so i think the things we can control when we talk about our labor our energy our fuel i mean i think we've got a lot of visibility into that and so i think we have a lot of confidence in that And I think the pieces, the rest of the pieces are really tied to continued performance on the demand side of our business. and i think the pieces the rest of the pieces are really tied to continued performance on the demand side of our business And so again, when you think about three years of downward or muted demand in our markets and our ability to control, you know, even with the variability of our cost structure, you know, falling volumes is a tough headwind to continue to drive lower cost in an inflationary environment. So I look at it overall, and I think we're in a really good position as far as Vulcan Way of Operating and the things we're focused on. And our men and women out there every day show up dedicated to continue to drive efficiencies, continuous improvement in all of our operations. And so again, when you think about three years of downward or muted demand in our markets and our ability to control, you know, even with the variability of our cost structure, you know, falling volumes is a tough headwind to continue to drive lower cost in an inflationary environment. and so again when you think about three years of downward or muted demand in our markets and our ability to control you know even with the variability of our cost structure you know falling volumes is a tough headwind to continue to drive lower cost in an inflationary environment So I look at it overall, and I think we're in a really good position as far as Vulcan Way of Operating and the things we're focused on. so i look at it overall and i think we're in a really good position as far as vulcan way of operating and the things we're focused on And our men and women out there every day show up dedicated to continue to drive efficiencies, continuous improvement in all of our operations. and our men and women out there every day show up dedicated to continue to drive efficiencies continuous improvement in all of our operations And so I'm excited about that, and I think we have a good runway ahead of us as markets continue to improve, and demand, again, will give us as much tailwind on cost as it will on price. And so I think we're in a good position, and I'm confident in our ability to deliver that. And so I'm excited about that, and I think we have a good runway ahead of us as markets continue to improve, and demand, again, will give us as much tailwind on cost as it will on price. and so i'm excited about that and i think we have a good runway ahead of us as markets continue to improve and demand again will give us as much tailwind on cost as it will on price And so I think we're in a good position, and I'm confident in our ability to deliver that. and so i think we're in a good position and i'm confident in our ability to deliver that

Speaker 10: Yeah, and importantly, that, you know, price cost, you know, spread that we, we expect, to deliver, you know, another year of cash versus profit per ton growth, you know, at the high single-digit % level. So just another demonstration of the way the business continues to compound. Yeah, and importantly, that, you know, price cost, you know, spread that we, we expect, to deliver, you know, another year of cash versus profit per ton growth, you know, at the high single-digit % level. yeah and importantly that you know price cost you know spread that we we expect to deliver you know another year of cash versus profit per ton growth you know at the high single-digit % level So just another demonstration of the way the business continues to compound. so just another demonstration of the way the business continues to compound

Speaker 5: Great. Thank you. Great. great Thank you. thank you

Speaker 12: Thank you. We'll go next to Steven Fisher with UBS. Please go ahead. Thank you. thank you We'll go next to Steven Fisher with UBS. we'll go next to steven fisher with ubs Please go ahead. please go ahead

Speaker 14: Thanks. Good morning. It sounds like you have a bigger mix of larger projects in backlog this year. Just curious what you're seeing in terms of project delays. Has anything been delayed in, say, the second half of 2025 relative to the start timing that you were expecting? And have you baked those further or any further delays into your guidance in 2026? I know we're hearing that labor is a real issue, and I just wanna make sure we're not gonna be surprised by any sort of further delays on projects. Thanks. thanks Good morning. good morning It sounds like you have a bigger mix of larger projects in backlog this year. it sounds like you have a bigger mix of larger projects in backlog this year Just curious what you're seeing in terms of project delays. just curious what you're seeing in terms of project delays Has anything been delayed in, say, the second half of 2025 relative to the start timing that you were expecting? has anything been delayed in say the second half of 2025 relative to the start timing that you were expecting And have you baked those further or any further delays into your guidance in 2026? and have you baked those further or any further delays into your guidance in 2026 I know we're hearing that labor is a real issue, and I just wanna make sure we're not gonna be surprised by any sort of further delays on projects. i know we're hearing that labor is a real issue and i just wanna make sure we're not gonna be surprised by any sort of further delays on projects

Speaker 13: No, I think it's a mix. I would tell you on the... You know, as we look at our bookings and those large projects, one, there's a mix between private side as far as the data center work, and then, and then the public side with highways. And I'd really tell you, it's the tale of kind of two different stories. On the private side, the data center stuff is actually moving faster, and so our times from bookings to actually shipments has accelerated on that side. On the public side, it's been a mix. I mean, it really is very geographic, depending on, you know, weather impacts and other things as far as planning with the DOTs. And, you know, throughout the evolution of IIJA, we saw it very slow to kick off. No, I think it's a mix. no i think it's a mix I would tell you on the... i would tell you on the You know, as we look at our bookings and those large projects, one, there's a mix between private side as far as the data center work, and then, and then the public side with highways. you know as we look at our bookings and those large projects one there's a mix between private side as far as the data center work and then and then the public side with highways And I'd really tell you, it's the tale of kind of two different stories. and i'd really tell you it's the tale of kind of two different stories On the private side, the data center stuff is actually moving faster, and so our times from bookings to actually shipments has accelerated on that side. on the private side the data center stuff is actually moving faster and so our times from bookings to actually shipments has accelerated on that side On the public side, it's been a mix. on the public side it's been a mix I mean, it really is very geographic, depending on, you know, weather impacts and other things as far as planning with the DOTs. i mean it really is very geographic depending on you know weather impacts and other things as far as planning with the dots And, you know, throughout the evolution of IIJA, we saw it very slow to kick off. and you know throughout the evolution of iija we saw it very slow to kick off I do think as it's become more mature, those dollars are being put to work. The time from booking to actually shipping has become more of a normal pace back to a—it's about a six-month timeframe from the time we book to the time we ship. Public sometimes can drag out a little longer than that, but as we go into 2026, we don't anticipate the timing of those to be impacted by anything. We think they'll be back to kind of a normal flow. I do think as it's become more mature, those dollars are being put to work. i do think as it's become more mature those dollars are being put to work The time from booking to actually shipping has become more of a normal pace back to a—it's about a six-month timeframe from the time we book to the time we ship. the time from booking to actually shipping has become more of a normal pace back to a—it's about a six-month timeframe from the time we book to the time we ship Public sometimes can drag out a little longer than that, but as we go into 2026, we don't anticipate the timing of those to be impacted by anything. public sometimes can drag out a little longer than that but as we go into 2026 we don't anticipate the timing of those to be impacted by anything We think they'll be back to kind of a normal flow. we think they'll be back to kind of a normal flow

Speaker 14: Thank you very much. Thank you very much. thank you very much

Speaker 13: Thank you. Thank you. thank you

Speaker 12: Thank you. Our next question comes from Ivan Yi with Wolfe Research. Please go ahead. Thank you. thank you Our next question comes from Ivan Yi with Wolfe Research. our next question comes from ivan yi with wolfe research Please go ahead. please go ahead

Speaker 7: Hey, good morning. Thanks for the time. You guided to 2% aggregate volume growth this year, and that's the same as Martin. But looking at the contract award data, you seem to have a more favorable geography with greater exposure to California, Georgia, Tennessee, and some other states. So I guess I'm just wondering why your volume guidance isn't a little bit higher than that 2%. Thank you. Hey, good morning. hey good morning Thanks for the time. thanks for the time You guided to 2% aggregate volume growth this year, and that's the same as Martin. you guided to 2% aggregate volume growth this year and that's the same as martin But looking at the contract award data, you seem to have a more favorable geography with greater exposure to California, Georgia, Tennessee, and some other states. but looking at the contract award data you seem to have a more favorable geography with greater exposure to california georgia tennessee and some other states So I guess I'm just wondering why your volume guidance isn't a little bit higher than that 2%. so i guess i'm just wondering why your volume guidance isn't a little bit higher than that 2% Thank you. thank you

Speaker 13: Yeah, I mean, I think coming off of three years of down volume and, you know, what we've seen as far as the conversion of the bookings to shipments, I mean, like I said, our backlog is in a really good spot, but that backlog, again, is only represents about 40%-45% of our shipments. And if you look at the balance of... It's kind of 50/50 between public and private, and so we really just need single family to recover. And until we start continuing to see some relief on affordability and interest rates, you know, I don't think we want to get out ahead of ourselves in thinking that demand can get back to anything, you know, really good. Yeah, I mean, I think coming off of three years of down volume and, you know, what we've seen as far as the conversion of the bookings to shipments, I mean, like I said, our backlog is in a really good spot, but that backlog, again, is only represents about 40%-45% of our shipments. yeah i mean i think coming off of three years of down volume and you know what we've seen as far as the conversion of the bookings to shipments i mean like i said our backlog is in a really good spot but that backlog again is only represents about 40%-45% of our shipments And if you look at the balance of... and if you look at the balance of It's kind of 50/50 between public and private, and so we really just need single family to recover. it's kind of 50/50 between public and private and so we really just need single family to recover And until we start continuing to see some relief on affordability and interest rates, you know, I don't think we want to get out ahead of ourselves in thinking that demand can get back to anything, you know, really good. and until we start continuing to see some relief on affordability and interest rates you know i don't think we want to get out ahead of ourselves in thinking that demand can get back to anything you know really good Single family just has to kick in, and so we're gonna continue to be very conservative as we look at that. Single family just has to kick in, and so we're gonna continue to be very conservative as we look at that. single family just has to kick in and so we're gonna continue to be very conservative as we look at that

Speaker 7: ... Thank you. ... Thank you. thank you

Speaker 13: Thank you. Thank you. thank you

Speaker 12: Thank you, and we'll go next to Brian Brophy with Stifel. Your line is open. Please go ahead. Thank you, and we'll go next to Brian Brophy with Stifel. thank you and we'll go next to brian brophy with stifel Your line is open. your line is open Please go ahead. please go ahead

Speaker 4: Yeah, thanks. Good morning, everybody. Appreciate you taking the question. You mentioned in some of your comments some repairs and insurance costs that impacted the quarter. I think you meant also mentioned the plant rebuilds. Can you size the impact from some of these costs that you had mentioned that impacted the quarter? Should we be thinking about these as more one time or ongoing? And then is there any reason to think that some of these costs linger into the first quarter? Thanks. Yeah, thanks. yeah thanks Good morning, everybody. good morning everybody Appreciate you taking the question. appreciate you taking the question You mentioned in some of your comments some repairs and insurance costs that impacted the quarter. you mentioned in some of your comments some repairs and insurance costs that impacted the quarter I think you meant also mentioned the plant rebuilds. i think you meant also mentioned the plant rebuilds Can you size the impact from some of these costs that you had mentioned that impacted the quarter? can you size the impact from some of these costs that you had mentioned that impacted the quarter Should we be thinking about these as more one time or ongoing? should we be thinking about these as more one time or ongoing And then is there any reason to think that some of these costs linger into the first quarter? and then is there any reason to think that some of these costs linger into the first quarter Thanks. thanks

Speaker 13: Yeah, let me start. I'll turn it over to Mary Andrews, and she'll give you a little more color on some of the numbers. But as you think about how the year played out in 2025, I mean, we went into 2025 saying we would anticipate low single-digit increases in cost. We finished the year at less than 2%. Now, as we started 2025, we had a lot of weather impact at the first part of the year. Seasonality, as far as really the first two quarters were tremendously impacted. And so a lot of the work, when we talk about project work, those are expenses that we're doing within our plants. It just got pushed throughout the year. Yeah, let me start. yeah let me start I'll turn it over to Mary Andrews, and she'll give you a little more color on some of the numbers. i'll turn it over to mary andrews and she'll give you a little more color on some of the numbers But as you think about how the year played out in 2025, I mean, we went into 2025 saying we would anticipate low single-digit increases in cost. but as you think about how the year played out in 2025 i mean we went into 2025 saying we would anticipate low single-digit increases in cost We finished the year at less than 2%. we finished the year at less than 2% Now, as we started 2025, we had a lot of weather impact at the first part of the year. now as we started 2025 we had a lot of weather impact at the first part of the year Seasonality, as far as really the first two quarters were tremendously impacted. seasonality as far as really the first two quarters were tremendously impacted And so a lot of the work, when we talk about project work, those are expenses that we're doing within our plants. and so a lot of the work when we talk about project work those are expenses that we're doing within our plants It just got pushed throughout the year. it just got pushed throughout the year And even in the third quarter of last year, we said, "You know, don't measure cost with one quarter because it can be so lumpy." That's how the year played out. And so I think as we go into 2026, we plan these things out based on we would love for everything to be very uniform, and like we spend the same amount every month is that's the way we would love to plan it out, but unfortunately, it's an outdoor sport, and weather does impact that, and weather does impact the timing of those. As far as the plant rebuilds, we call those out because we have several rebuilds going on, large projects, but they're all accounted for in both our cost as well as our CapEx plan for 2026. And even in the third quarter of last year, we said, "You know, don't measure cost with one quarter because it can be so lumpy." That's how the year played out. and even in the third quarter of last year we said "you know don't measure cost with one quarter because it can be so lumpy." that's how the year played out And so I think as we go into 2026, we plan these things out based on we would love for everything to be very uniform, and like we spend the same amount every month is that's the way we would love to plan it out, but unfortunately, it's an outdoor sport, and weather does impact that, and weather does impact the timing of those. and so i think as we go into 2026 we plan these things out based on we would love for everything to be very uniform and like we spend the same amount every month is that's the way we would love to plan it out but unfortunately it's an outdoor sport and weather does impact that and weather does impact the timing of those As far as the plant rebuilds, we call those out because we have several rebuilds going on, large projects, but they're all accounted for in both our cost as well as our CapEx plan for 2026. as far as the plant rebuilds we call those out because we have several rebuilds going on large projects but they're all accounted for in both our cost as well as our capex plan for 2026 I think we have really good visibility there that gives us a lot of confidence. Anything, Mary Andrews, you want to add on kind of the lumpiness of that? I think we have really good visibility there that gives us a lot of confidence. i think we have really good visibility there that gives us a lot of confidence Anything, Mary Andrews, you want to add on kind of the lumpiness of that? anything mary andrews you want to add on kind of the lumpiness of that

Speaker 10: No, I would say, you know, as we called out, it's really timing. Our 2026 guidance, you know, includes what we anticipate for this year. If you do think about the fourth quarter, I would think about that being kind of 50/50 revenue and cost in terms of, you know, where, where we landed versus expectations. And the majority of that cost was related to those timing issues that, that Ronnie described. No, I would say, you know, as we called out, it's really timing. no i would say you know as we called out it's really timing Our 2026 guidance, you know, includes what we anticipate for this year. our 2026 guidance you know includes what we anticipate for this year If you do think about the fourth quarter, I would think about that being kind of 50/50 revenue and cost in terms of, you know, where, where we landed versus expectations. if you do think about the fourth quarter i would think about that being kind of 50/50 revenue and cost in terms of you know where where we landed versus expectations And the majority of that cost was related to those timing issues that, that Ronnie described. and the majority of that cost was related to those timing issues that that ronnie described

Speaker 4: Very helpful color. Thank you. Very helpful color. very helpful color Thank you. thank you

Speaker 13: Thank you, Brian. Thank you, Brian. thank you brian

Speaker 12: Thank you. At this time, there are no further questions in queue. I will now turn the meeting back to CEO Ronnie Pruitt. Thank you. thank you At this time, there are no further questions in queue. at this time there are no further questions in queue I will now turn the meeting back to CEO Ronnie Pruitt. i will now turn the meeting back to ceo ronnie pruitt

Speaker 13: Thank you, operator. As I said at the start, I'm honored to be leading the men and women of Vulcan Materials to continue a track record of creating value for all of our stakeholders. When I reflect back on just four and a half years ago, when I had the opportunity to join this organization, our trailing 12 months aggregate cash gross profit per ton was $7.33. In 2025, it was $4 or 55% higher, and within the range of our long-term range that we set of $11-$12 that we provided at our last Investor Day in 2022. We look forward to sharing with you our plans for continuous improvements and future growth at our upcoming 2026 Investor Day next month. Again, thank you all for your interest in Vulcan Materials. Thank you, operator. thank you operator As I said at the start, I'm honored to be leading the men and women of Vulcan Materials to continue a track record of creating value for all of our stakeholders. as i said at the start i'm honored to be leading the men and women of vulcan materials to continue a track record of creating value for all of our stakeholders When I reflect back on just four and a half years ago, when I had the opportunity to join this organization, our trailing 12 months aggregate cash gross profit per ton was $7.33. when i reflect back on just four and a half years ago when i had the opportunity to join this organization our trailing 12 months aggregate cash gross profit per ton was $7.33 In 2025, it was $4 or 55% higher, and within the range of our long-term range that we set of $11-$12 that we provided at our last Investor Day in 2022. in 2025 it was $4 or 55% higher and within the range of our long-term range that we set of $11-$12 that we provided at our last investor day in 2022 We look forward to sharing with you our plans for continuous improvements and future growth at our upcoming 2026 Investor Day next month. we look forward to sharing with you our plans for continuous improvements and future growth at our upcoming 2026 investor day next month Again, thank you all for your interest in Vulcan Materials. again thank you all for your interest in vulcan materials

Speaker 12: Thank you. This brings us to the end of today's meeting. We appreciate your time and participation. You may now disconnect. Thank you. thank you This brings us to the end of today's meeting. this brings us to the end of today's meeting We appreciate your time and participation. we appreciate your time and participation You may now disconnect. you may now disconnect