ACA vs MLM vs VMC Stock Comparison

Arcosa, Martin Marietta Materials and Vulcan Materials Prices as of Oct 22, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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ACA Arcosa, Inc.
$149.18 +1.7% 1M +61.6% 1Y
Market cap
$7.33B
P/E
14.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.74B
Div. yield
0.13%
Metal Fabrication Industrials
4 wins
VMC Vulcan Materials CO
$261.43 +6.7% 1M -10.7% 1Y
Market cap
$34.10B
P/E
30.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$8.12B
Div. yield
0.01%
Aggregates Basic Materials
3 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Martin Marietta Materials leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Martin Marietta Materials 5, Arcosa 4, Vulcan Materials 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionACAMLMVMCLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $7.33B $30.32B $34.10B VMC
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 14.9x 12.3x 30.6x MLM
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 33.6x 27.5x 27.9x MLM
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.7% +14.8% +6.9% MLM
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 17.9% 36.7% 13.7% MLM
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 6.5% 6.5% 9.9% VMC
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.8x 2.8x 1.8x VMC
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.13% 0.01% 0.01% ACA
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +61.6% -18.8% -10.7% ACA
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +23.0%/yr +5.6%/yr +7.2%/yr ACA
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 31.7% 28.7% 29.1% MLM
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 56/100 34/100 46/100 ACA

Percentile Scorecard

ACAMLMVMC

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisACAMLMVMC
Valuation 49 #105 of 203 11 #9 of 10 0 #10 of 10
Growth 82 #34 of 187 – –
Profitability 51 #91 of 185 86 #2 of 8 64 #3 of 8
Financial Health 58 #92 of 219 38 #6 of 9 75 #3 of 9
Shareholder Returns 41 #90 of 153 0 #8 of 8 43 #5 of 8
Overall 56 34 46
  • ACA ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • MLM ranked among 10 companies in Construction Materials
  • VMC ranked among 10 companies in Construction Materials

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodACAMLMVMCSPY
1 month +1.7%+4.1%+6.7% -0.8%
3 months +2.9%-11.9%-8.1% +3.5%
6 months +24.1%-17.3%-10.3% +7.0%
Year to date +40.3%-19.0%-8.3% +12.2%
1 year +61.6%-18.8%-10.7% +13.0%
3 years +117.4%+26.4%+35.0% +86.3%
3 years, per year +29.6%+8.1%+10.5% +23.1%
5 years +181.9%+31.6%+41.3% +68.6%
5 years, per year +23.0%+5.6%+7.2% +11.0%
10 years —+183.2%+133.0% +258.0%
10 years, per year —+11.0%+8.8% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureACAMLMVMCSPY
Volatility, 1Y 31.7%28.7%29.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 32.9%31.2%32.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.950.850.81 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.94-0.66-0.37 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -36.7%-33.4%-32.8% -25.4%
From 52-week high 0.0%-28.8%-20.9% -1.8%
52-week high $149.18$708.11$330.37 $779.14
52-week low $92.25$471.33$240.82 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleACAMLMVMC
P/E now vs peer median 14.9xmedian 26.0x 12.3xmedian 19.6x 30.4xmedian 19.6x
P/S now vs peer median 2.7xmedian 1.9x 4.5xmedian 1.8x 4.2xmedian 1.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 15.2xmedian 14.0x 17.5xmedian 9.3x 16.1xmedian 9.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 54.9xmedian 21.4x 37.4xmedian 31.4x 32.9xmedian 31.4x
P/B now vs peer median 2.5xmedian 2.2x 2.6xmedian 2.3x 4.0xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median 0.75median 1.26 0.32median 2.78 1.85median 2.78

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsACAMLMVMC
Revenue $2.74B $6.69B $8.12B
Gross profit $632.30M $1.88B $2.23B
Operating income $322.70M $1.38B $1.64B
Net income $491.40M $2.46B $1.12B
Free cash flow $133.40M $810.00M $1.03B
EPS (diluted) $9.99 $40.81 $8.56
Cash & equivalents $432.10M $112.00M $194.20M
Total debt $1.44B $5.95B $4.36B
Shares (diluted) 49.20M 60.20M 130.30M
Enterprise value $6.31B $29.81B $33.39B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricACAMLMVMC
P/E 14.9x 12.3x 30.4x
P/FCF 54.9x 37.4x 32.9x
P/Operating cash flow 21.5x 19.9x 18.7x
P/S 2.7x 4.5x 4.2x
P/B 2.5x 2.6x 4.0x
P/Tangible book 2.7x 2.8x 4.8x
EV/EBITDA 15.2x 17.5x 16.1x
EV/EBIT 25.8x 26.2x 23.1x
EV/Revenue 3.0x 5.4x 4.7x
EV/FCF 62.4x 44.6x 37.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 24.4x 23.8x 21.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.75 0.32 1.85

Growth

14 metrics
MetricACAMLMVMC
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.7% 14.8% 6.9%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 7.0% 1.1% 2.3%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 20.7% 7.8% 6.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 14.2% 3.4% 8.9%
Operating income growth (1Y) 61.3% 3.2% 14.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -5.6% 1.3% 13.1%
Net income growth (1Y) 433.0% 123.2% 17.4%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 20.2% 37.3% 15.5%
EPS growth (1Y) 430.8% 123.9% 19.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 19.8% 38.8% 16.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -23.1% -19.7% 10.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 16.1% 7.5% 10.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -54.9% -15.9% -6.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 54.7% 6.6% 16.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricACAMLMVMC
Gross margin 23.0% 28.2% 27.5%
EBITDA margin 19.9% 30.9% 29.2%
Operating margin 11.8% 20.6% 20.2%
Pretax margin 8.4% 17.4% 17.6%
Net margin 17.9% 36.7% 13.7%
FCF margin 4.9% 12.1% 12.7%
Operating cash flow margin 12.4% 22.7% 22.2%
Return on equity 17.4% 21.5% 13.2%
Return on assets 9.5% 11.8% 6.8%
Return on invested capital 6.5% 6.5% 9.9%
Return on capital employed 6.9% 7.2% 10.7%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.3x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.7x 0.6x 1.6x
Stock comp / revenue 0.9% 0.7% 0.7%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricACAMLMVMC
Debt / assets 27.1% 27.9% 26.5%
Debt / equity 0.5x 0.5x 0.5x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.8x 2.8x 1.8x
Debt / FCF 10.8x 7.3x 4.2x
Liabilities / assets 43.7% 45.8% 48.4%
Equity / assets 56.3% 54.2% 51.6%
Interest coverage 3.3x 5.9x 7.2x
Current ratio 3.1x 1.4x 1.8x
Quick ratio 2.2x 0.7x 1.1x
Cash ratio 1.0x 0.1x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 3.18 2.95 3.92

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricACAMLMVMC
Dividend yield 0.1% 0.7% 0.8%
Net buyback yield 0.2% 0.7% 2.4%
Shareholder yield 0.4% 1.3% 3.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) 2.0% 8.2% 23.7%
Payout ratio (FCF) 7.4% 24.9% 25.7%
Dividend growth (1Y) 1.0% 4.1% 4.8%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 1.0% 6.8% 6.2%

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusACAMLMVMC
Forward P/E 33.6xFY2026 27.5xFY2026 27.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $4.44FY2026 $18.36FY2026 $9.37FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -0.7%FY2026 +12.4%FY2026 +17.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +7.0% +17.5% +11.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $2.45BFY2026 $8.03BFY2026 $8.31BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -14.9%FY2026 +14.7%FY2026 +4.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +12.5% +26.6% -1.9%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersACAMLMVMC
Held by institutions 91.8% 98.5% 98.5%
Institutions holding 426 1,072 1,060
Change in shares held, QoQ -1.1% +1.4% +3.6%
Institutions buying 230 469 526
Institutions selling 114 392 363
Buyers to sellers 2.02 1.20 1.45

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

ACAMLMVMC
ACA 1.00 0.33 0.29
MLM 0.33 1.00 0.88
VMC 0.29 0.88 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ACA, MLM and VMC?

Vulcan Materials (VMC) is the largest by market capitalisation: Arcosa (ACA) $7.33B, Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) $30.32B, Vulcan Materials (VMC) $34.10B.

Which stock is cheaper, ACA, MLM and VMC?

Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Arcosa (ACA) 14.9x, Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) 12.3x, Vulcan Materials (VMC) 30.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) is cheapest (Arcosa (ACA) 33.6x, Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) 27.5x, Vulcan Materials (VMC) 27.9x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Arcosa (ACA) +9.7%, Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) +14.8%, Vulcan Materials (VMC) +6.9%.

Which company is more profitable?

Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) has the highest net margin (Arcosa (ACA) 17.9%, Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) 36.7%, Vulcan Materials (VMC) 13.7%). On return on invested capital, Vulcan Materials (VMC) leads (Arcosa (ACA) 6.5%, Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) 6.5%, Vulcan Materials (VMC) 9.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Arcosa (ACA) returned the most: Arcosa (ACA) +61.6%, Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) -18.8%, Vulcan Materials (VMC) -10.7%. Over five years, Arcosa (ACA) compounded fastest (Arcosa (ACA) +23.0%/yr, Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) +5.6%/yr, Vulcan Materials (VMC) +7.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Arcosa (ACA) has the highest dividend yield: Arcosa (ACA) 0.13%, Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) 0.01%, Vulcan Materials (VMC) 0.01%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) has been the steadiest (Arcosa (ACA) 31.7%, Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) 28.7%, Vulcan Materials (VMC) 29.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ACA, MLM and VMC?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) leads on 5. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.