ACA vs VMC vs MLI Stock Comparison

Arcosa, Vulcan Materials and Mueller Industries Prices as of Oct 22, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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
$261.66 +7.0% 1M -10.4% 1Y
Market cap
$33.92B
P/E
30.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$8.12B
Div. yield
0.01%
Aggregates Basic Materials
2 wins
MLI Mueller Industries Inc
$54.11 -10.3% 1M -48.1% 1Y
Market cap
$11.82B
P/E
13.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.00B
Div. yield
0.01%
Metal Fabrication Industrials
6 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Mueller Industries leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Mueller Industries 6, Arcosa 4, Vulcan Materials 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionACAVMCMLILeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $7.33B $33.92B $11.82B VMC
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 14.9x 30.4x 13.7x MLI
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 33.6x 27.7x 13.0x MLI
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.7% +6.9% +20.8% MLI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 17.9% 13.7% 17.3% ACA
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 6.5% 9.9% 22.7% MLI
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.8x 1.8x -1.3x MLI
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.13% 0.01% 0.01% ACA
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +61.6% -10.4% -48.1% ACA
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +23.0%/yr +7.2%/yr +17.1%/yr ACA
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 31.7% 29.0% 131.8% VMC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 56/100 47/100 85/100 MLI

Percentile Scorecard

ACAVMCMLI

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

AxisACAVMCMLI
Valuation 48 #106 of 203 0 #10 of 10 81 #39 of 203
Growth 82 #34 of 188 – 66 #64 of 188
Profitability 53 #89 of 187 71 #3 of 8 95 #10 of 187
Financial Health 58 #94 of 222 75 #3 of 9 97 #7 of 222
Shareholder Returns 41 #91 of 153 43 #5 of 8 87 #21 of 153
Overall 56 47 85
  • ACA ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • VMC ranked among 10 companies in Construction Materials
  • MLI ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodACAVMCMLISPY
1 month +1.7%+7.0%-10.3% -1.0%
3 months +2.9%-6.5%-15.4% +2.9%
6 months +24.1%-10.4%-60.2% +6.4%
Year to date +40.3%-8.3%-52.9% +11.4%
1 year +61.6%-10.4%-48.1% +13.1%
3 years +117.4%+27.5%+49.1% +79.4%
3 years, per year +29.6%+8.5%+14.3% +21.5%
5 years +181.9%+41.3%+120.1% +67.7%
5 years, per year +23.0%+7.2%+17.1% +10.9%
10 years —+134.6%+245.8% +255.2%
10 years, per year —+8.9%+13.2% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureACAVMCMLISPY
Volatility, 1Y 31.7%29.0%131.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 32.9%32.0%164.4% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.950.810.69 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.94-0.36-0.36 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -36.7%-32.8%-61.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high 0.0%-20.8%-61.6% -2.5%
52-week high $149.18$330.37$140.83 $779.14
52-week low $92.25$240.82$54.11 $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.

MultipleACAVMCMLI
P/E now vs peer median 14.9xmedian 25.9x 30.4xmedian 19.7x 13.6xmedian 25.9x
P/S now vs peer median 2.7xmedian 1.9x 4.2xmedian 1.8x 2.4xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 15.2xmedian 13.7x 16.1xmedian 9.3x 9.2xmedian 13.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 54.9xmedian 21.1x 33.0xmedian 31.6x 17.1xmedian 21.1x
P/B now vs peer median 2.5xmedian 2.3x 4.0xmedian 2.3x 3.3xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median 0.75median 1.19 1.85median 1.85 1.06median 1.19

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 monthsACAVMCMLI
Revenue $2.74B $8.12B $5.00B
Gross profit $632.30M $2.23B $1.36B
Operating income $322.70M $1.64B $1.08B
Net income $491.40M $1.12B $871.57M
Free cash flow $133.40M $1.03B $689.59M
EPS (diluted) $9.99 $8.56 $3.92
Cash & equivalents $432.10M $194.20M $1.45B
Total debt $1.44B $4.36B $10.49M
Shares (diluted) 49.20M 130.30M 220.12M
Enterprise value $6.31B $33.21B $6.13B

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
MetricACAVMCMLI
P/E 14.9x 30.4x 13.6x
P/FCF 54.9x 33.0x 17.1x
P/Operating cash flow 21.5x 18.8x 15.3x
P/S 2.7x 4.2x 2.4x
P/B 2.5x 4.0x 3.3x
P/Tangible book 2.7x 4.8x 3.7x
EV/EBITDA 15.2x 16.1x 9.2x
EV/EBIT 25.8x 23.1x 9.6x
EV/Revenue 3.0x 4.7x 2.1x
EV/FCF 62.4x 37.0x 15.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 24.4x 21.1x 13.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.75 1.85 1.06

Growth

14 metrics
MetricACAVMCMLI
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.7% 6.9% 20.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 7.0% 2.3% 11.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 20.7% 6.7% 11.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 14.2% 8.9% 9.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) 61.3% 14.5% 12.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -5.6% 13.1% 9.9%
Net income growth (1Y) 433.0% 17.4% 14.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 20.2% 15.5% 11.4%
EPS growth (1Y) 430.8% 19.7% 16.2%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 19.8% 16.4% 12.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -23.1% 10.8% 2.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 16.1% 10.7% 3.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -54.9% -6.5% 1.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 54.7% 16.3% 1.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricACAVMCMLI
Gross margin 23.0% 27.5% 27.3%
EBITDA margin 19.9% 29.2% 22.5%
Operating margin 11.8% 20.2% 21.5%
Pretax margin 8.4% 17.6% 22.8%
Net margin 17.9% 13.7% 17.3%
FCF margin 4.9% 12.7% 13.8%
Operating cash flow margin 12.4% 22.2% 15.4%
Return on equity 17.4% 13.2% 24.5%
Return on assets 9.5% 6.8% 20.4%
Return on invested capital 6.5% 9.9% 22.7%
Return on capital employed 6.9% 10.7% 29.7%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.5x 1.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.7x 1.6x 0.9x
Stock comp / revenue 0.9% 0.7% 0.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricACAVMCMLI
Debt / assets 27.1% 26.5% 0.1%
Debt / equity 0.5x 0.5x 0.0x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.8x 1.8x -1.3x
Debt / FCF 10.8x 4.2x 0.0x
Liabilities / assets 43.7% 48.4% 17.6%
Equity / assets 56.3% 51.6% 82.4%
Interest coverage 3.3x 7.2x 3,260x
Current ratio 3.1x 1.8x 4.4x
Quick ratio 2.2x 1.1x 3.4x
Cash ratio 1.0x 0.2x 2.3x
Altman Z-score 3.18 3.92 13.40

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricACAVMCMLI
Dividend yield 0.1% 0.8% 1.2%
Net buyback yield 0.2% 2.4% 2.4%
Shareholder yield 0.4% 3.1% 3.6%
Payout ratio (earnings) 2.0% 23.7% 16.2%
Payout ratio (FCF) 7.4% 25.7% 20.5%
Dividend growth (1Y) 1.0% 4.8% 35.7%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 1.0% 6.2% 30.2%

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.

ConsensusACAVMCMLI
Forward P/E 33.6xFY2026 27.7xFY2026 13.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $4.44FY2026 $9.43FY2026 $4.16FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -0.7%FY2026 +17.9%FY2026 +21.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +7.0% +11.5% +7.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $2.45BFY2026 $8.32BFY2026 $4.90BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -14.9%FY2026 +4.8%FY2026 +17.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +12.5% -1.8% +7.9%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersACAVMCMLI
Held by institutions 91.8% 98.5% 95.3%
Institutions holding 426 1,060 738
Change in shares held, QoQ -1.1% +3.6% +6.5%
Institutions buying 230 526 419
Institutions selling 114 363 226
Buyers to sellers 2.02 1.45 1.85

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.

ACAVMCMLI
ACA 1.00 0.29 0.10
VMC 0.29 1.00 0.04
MLI 0.10 0.04 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ACA, VMC and MLI?

Vulcan Materials (VMC) is the largest by market capitalisation: Arcosa (ACA) $7.33B, Vulcan Materials (VMC) $33.92B, Mueller Industries (MLI) $11.82B.

Which stock is cheaper, ACA, VMC and MLI?

Mueller Industries (MLI) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Arcosa (ACA) 14.9x, Vulcan Materials (VMC) 30.4x, Mueller Industries (MLI) 13.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Mueller Industries (MLI) is cheapest (Arcosa (ACA) 33.6x, Vulcan Materials (VMC) 27.7x, Mueller Industries (MLI) 13.0x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Mueller Industries (MLI) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Arcosa (ACA) +9.7%, Vulcan Materials (VMC) +6.9%, Mueller Industries (MLI) +20.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Arcosa (ACA) has the highest net margin (Arcosa (ACA) 17.9%, Vulcan Materials (VMC) 13.7%, Mueller Industries (MLI) 17.3%). On return on invested capital, Mueller Industries (MLI) leads (Arcosa (ACA) 6.5%, Vulcan Materials (VMC) 9.9%, Mueller Industries (MLI) 22.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Arcosa (ACA) returned the most: Arcosa (ACA) +61.6%, Vulcan Materials (VMC) -10.4%, Mueller Industries (MLI) -48.1%. Over five years, Arcosa (ACA) compounded fastest (Arcosa (ACA) +23.0%/yr, Vulcan Materials (VMC) +7.2%/yr, Mueller Industries (MLI) +17.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Arcosa (ACA) has the highest dividend yield: Arcosa (ACA) 0.13%, Vulcan Materials (VMC) 0.01%, Mueller Industries (MLI) 0.01%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Vulcan Materials (VMC) has been the steadiest (Arcosa (ACA) 31.7%, Vulcan Materials (VMC) 29.0%, Mueller Industries (MLI) 131.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Mueller Industries (MLI) leads on 6. 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.