VM VMC Vulcan Materials Loading... : Bullish and Bearish Analyst Opinions

Management reiterates full-year guidance on strong demand visibility across public infrastructure and data centers, expecting cost inflation to decelerate through H2 despite energy headwinds. Pricing power is strong, and the company remains confident in growth.

Buy aggregates on pullback for diversification.

The author implies that non-AI names are broken and will be crushed to zero multiples.

The author expresses frustration with market valuations and poses a rhetorical question about.

The author poses a rhetorical question about valuation multiples for non-AI names versus.

Management reiterated full-year adjusted EBITDA guidance of $2.4-$2.6 billion, citing solid start to the year, strong public demand, improving private non-res (data centers), and confidence in offsetting diesel cost headwinds through pricing and operational efficiency.

"The tax incentives on the building, especially the structures 100% expensing... is going to lead to huge refunds." 100% upfront tax expensing for structural investments drastically improves the ROI and cash flow profile for corporate capital expenditures. This will trigger a wave of non-residential construction and infrastructure projects. Companies that rent heavy equipment (URI), manufacture earth-moving machinery (CAT), or supply aggregates and building materials (VMC) will see a direct surge in order books as corporations rush to take advantage of the tax shield. LONG. Pro-growth tax policy directly subsidizes heavy construction and CAPEX, insulating these industrials from broader consumer softness. If the Fed is forced to hike rates further due to the oil shock, the cost of capital could eventually outweigh the tax benefits of new construction.

The user expresses a positive outlook on Vulcan Materials Company.

Richards states, "We love the physical world... concrete... roads... infrastructure building... transformers or cranes." He notes a "huge re-industrialization happening" requiring capital for plant, equipment, and materials. The macro regime is shifting from "asset-light" software growth to "asset-heavy" industrial build-outs (reshoring, AI data centers, chip manufacturing). Companies that supply the physical tools for construction (CAT, URI), the materials (VMC), and the power grid components (ETN) are the direct beneficiaries of this capex cycle. LONG "Physical World" Industrials and Infrastructure plays. A deep recession would halt capital expenditures and construction projects, hurting cyclical industrial stocks.

2026 is expected to be a record year for transportation infrastructure investment, with $75 billion set aside for highways alone in 2026 and state DOT budgets up 6%. — Strong federal and state funding signals robust demand for aggregates and construction materials across the US, benefiting CRH and its peers.

Management's tone is cautiously optimistic, guiding for EBITDA growth in 2026 driven by public infrastructure spending and a recovery in private demand, despite a challenging 2025.