Vulcan Materials (VMC) Q3 Earnings Report Preview: What To Look For

Construction materials company Vulcan Materials will be reporting results this Thursday before market open. Here’s what investors should know. Vulcan Materials missed analysts’ revenue expectations by 4.8% last quarter, reporting revenues of $2.10 billion, up 4.4% year on year. It was a disappointing quarter for the company, with a significant miss of analysts’ revenue estimates and a significant miss of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates. It reported 59.3 million tons shipped, down 1.3% year on year. Is Vulcan Materials a buy or sell going into earnings? Read our full analysis here, it’s free for active Edge members.This quarter, analysts are expecting Vulcan Materials’s revenue to grow 13.5% year on year to $2.27 billion, a reversal from the 8.3% decrease it recorded in the same quarter last year. Adjusted earnings are expected to come in at $2.72 per share. Analysts covering the company have generally reconfirmed their estimates over the last 30 days, suggesting they anticipate the business to stay the course heading into earnings. Vulcan Materials has missed Wall Street’s revenue estimates five times over the last two years. Looking at Vulcan Materials’s peers in the building materials segment, some have already reported their Q3 results, giving us a hint as to what we can expect. Armstrong World delivered year-on-year revenue growth of 10%, beating analysts’ expectations by 0.8%, and Valmont reported revenues up 2.5%, topping estimates by 1.5%. Valmont traded down 1.8% following the results. Read our full analysis of Armstrong World’s results here and Valmont’s results here.There has been positive sentiment among investors in the building materials segment, with share prices up 3.1% on average over the last month. Vulcan Materials is down 3.4% during the same time and is heading into earnings with an average analyst price target of $316.18 (compared to the current share price of $292.59).When a company has more cash than it knows what to do with, buying back its own shares can make a lot of sense–as long as the price is right. Luckily, we’ve found one, a low-priced stock that is gushing free cash flow AND buying back shares. StockStory is growing and hiring equity analyst and marketing roles. Are you a 0 to 1 builder passionate about the markets and AI? See the open roles here.