CRH vs LIN vs MLM Stock Comparison

Crh Public, Linde and Martin Marietta Materials Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CRH Crh Public Ltd Co
$85.43 +0.5% 1M -28.9% 1Y
Market cap
$57.28B
P/E
14.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$38.63B
Div. yield
–
Cement Basic Materials
2 wins
LIN Linde Plc
$507.56 +8.0% 1M +13.8% 1Y
Market cap
$235.27B
P/E
32.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$35.45B
Div. yield
0.01%
Industrial Gases Basic Materials
7 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Linde leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Linde 7, Martin Marietta Materials 3, Crh Public 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCRHLINMLMLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $57.28B $235.27B $30.32B LIN
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 14.9x 32.5x 12.3x MLM
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 14.9x 30.3x 27.5x CRH
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.3% +6.6% +14.8% MLM
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 9.9% 20.4% 36.7% MLM
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 9.7% 10.8% 6.5% LIN
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.9x 1.8x 2.8x LIN
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.01% 0.01% LIN
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -28.9% +13.8% -18.8% LIN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +12.2%/yr +9.7%/yr +5.6%/yr CRH
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 32.5% 19.2% 28.7% LIN
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 58/100 59/100 34/100 LIN

Percentile Scorecard

CRHLINMLM

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

AxisCRHLINMLM
Valuation 67 #4 of 10 20 #75 of 94 11 #9 of 10
Growth – 66 #32 of 92 –
Profitability 29 #6 of 8 94 #6 of 89 86 #2 of 8
Financial Health 50 #5 of 9 52 #47 of 97 38 #6 of 9
Shareholder Returns 86 #2 of 8 64 #26 of 70 0 #8 of 8
Overall 58 59 34
  • CRH ranked among 10 companies in Construction Materials
  • LIN ranked among 99 companies in Chemicals
  • MLM ranked among 10 companies in Construction Materials

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCRHLINMLMSPY
1 month +0.5%+8.0%+4.1% -0.8%
3 months -16.9%+0.1%-11.9% +3.5%
6 months -26.8%-0.6%-17.3% +7.0%
Year to date -31.5%+19.0%-19.0% +12.2%
1 year -28.9%+13.8%-18.8% +13.0%
3 years +63.2%+37.0%+26.4% +86.3%
3 years, per year +17.7%+11.1%+8.1% +23.1%
5 years +77.9%+59.1%+31.6% +68.6%
5 years, per year +12.2%+9.7%+5.6% +11.0%
10 years +158.1%+328.1%+183.2% +258.0%
10 years, per year +9.9%+15.7%+11.0% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureCRHLINMLMSPY
Volatility, 1Y 32.5%19.2%28.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 32.8%19.6%31.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.300.050.85 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.890.72-0.66 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -42.1%-23.7%-33.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -35.0%-7.1%-28.8% -1.8%
52-week high $131.38$546.64$708.11 $779.14
52-week low $79.20$389.38$471.33 $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.

MultipleCRHLINMLM
P/E now vs peer median 14.9xmedian 19.6x 32.4xmedian 21.6x 12.3xmedian 19.6x
P/S now vs peer median 1.5xmedian 1.8x 6.6xmedian 1.4x 4.5xmedian 1.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 9.2xmedian 9.3x 19.5xmedian 12.4x 17.5xmedian 9.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 20.6xmedian 31.4x 47.0xmedian 15.8x 37.4xmedian 31.4x
P/B now vs peer median 2.3xmedian 2.3x 5.8xmedian 1.6x 2.6xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median —median 2.78 3.06median 1.66 0.32median 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 monthsCRHLINMLM
Revenue $38.63B $35.45B $6.69B
Gross profit $14.00B $17.14B $1.88B
Operating income $5.53B $9.38B $1.38B
Net income $3.89B $7.26B $2.46B
Free cash flow $2.77B $4.98B $810.00M
R&D – $146.00M –
EPS (diluted) $5.74 $15.59 $40.81
Cash & equivalents $3.03B $4.90B $112.00M
Total debt $17.93B $28.01B $5.95B
Shares (diluted) 668.80M 464.52M 60.20M
Enterprise value $42.72B $216.85B $29.81B

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
MetricCRHLINMLM
P/E 14.9x 32.4x 12.3x
P/FCF 20.6x 47.0x 37.4x
P/Operating cash flow 10.5x 22.3x 19.9x
P/S 1.5x 6.6x 4.5x
P/B 2.3x 5.8x 2.6x
P/Tangible book 2.5x 8.1x 2.8x
EV/EBITDA 9.2x 19.5x 17.5x
EV/EBIT 13.0x 27.4x 26.2x
EV/Revenue 1.9x 7.3x 5.4x
EV/FCF 26.0x 51.7x 44.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 13.2x 24.5x 23.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – 3.06 0.32

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCRHLINMLM
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.3% 6.6% 14.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – 2.3% 1.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 7.0% 6.4% 7.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 5.4% 3.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) 10.1% 5.4% 3.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – 9.0% 1.3%
Net income growth (1Y) 16.7% 8.1% 123.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) – 8.2% 37.3%
EPS growth (1Y) 17.7% 10.0% 123.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) – 10.6% 38.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 9.8% 5.8% -19.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 6.1% 7.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 26.5% -1.9% -15.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – -2.7% 6.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCRHLINMLM
Gross margin 36.2% 48.3% 28.2%
EBITDA margin 20.2% 37.2% 30.9%
Operating margin 14.3% 26.5% 20.6%
Pretax margin 13.3% 26.4% 17.4%
Net margin 9.9% 20.4% 36.7%
FCF margin 7.2% 14.0% 12.1%
Operating cash flow margin 14.0% 29.6% 22.7%
Return on equity 15.8% 18.3% 21.5%
Return on assets 6.7% 8.4% 11.8%
Return on invested capital 9.7% 10.8% 6.5%
Return on capital employed 11.4% 13.2% 7.2%
Asset turnover 0.7x 0.4x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x 1.4x 0.6x
Stock comp / revenue 0.4% 0.4% 0.7%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCRHLINMLM
Debt / assets 30.6% 31.7% 27.9%
Debt / equity 0.7x 0.7x 0.5x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.9x 1.8x 2.8x
Debt / FCF 6.5x 5.6x 7.3x
Liabilities / assets 57.1% 54.0% 45.8%
Equity / assets 42.9% 46.0% 54.2%
Interest coverage 6.5x 37.4x 5.9x
Current ratio 1.6x 0.9x 1.4x
Quick ratio 1.0x 0.7x 0.7x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.3x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 2.73 3.96 2.95

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCRHLINMLM
Dividend yield 1.8% 1.2% 0.7%
Net buyback yield 2.0% 1.7% 0.7%
Shareholder yield 3.8% 3.0% 1.3%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 39.7% 8.2%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 57.8% 24.9%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 5.3% 4.1%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 6.1% 6.8%

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.

ConsensusCRHLINMLM
Forward P/E 14.9xFY2026 30.3xFY2026 27.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $5.74FY2026 $16.73FY2026 $18.36FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +3.1%FY2026 +1.7%FY2026 +12.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +13.9% +14.2% +17.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $41.93BFY2026 $38.84BFY2026 $8.03BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +12.0%FY2026 +14.3%FY2026 +14.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -3.2% -4.2% +26.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCRHLINMLM
Held by institutions 84.4% 85.2% 98.5%
Institutions holding 1,029 2,321 1,072
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.7% +4.2% +1.4%
Institutions buying 554 1,213 469
Institutions selling 355 764 392
Buyers to sellers 1.56 1.59 1.20

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.

CRHLINMLM
CRH 1.00 0.15 0.75
LIN 0.15 1.00 0.31
MLM 0.75 0.31 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CRH, LIN and MLM?

Linde (LIN) is the largest by market capitalisation: Crh Public (CRH) $57.28B, Linde (LIN) $235.27B, Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) $30.32B.

Which stock is cheaper, CRH, LIN and MLM?

Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Crh Public (CRH) 14.9x, Linde (LIN) 32.5x, Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) 12.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Crh Public (CRH) is cheapest (Crh Public (CRH) 14.9x, Linde (LIN) 30.3x, Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) 27.5x). 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: Crh Public (CRH) +6.3%, Linde (LIN) +6.6%, Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) +14.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) has the highest net margin (Crh Public (CRH) 9.9%, Linde (LIN) 20.4%, Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) 36.7%). On return on invested capital, Linde (LIN) leads (Crh Public (CRH) 9.7%, Linde (LIN) 10.8%, Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) 6.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Linde (LIN) returned the most: Crh Public (CRH) -28.9%, Linde (LIN) +13.8%, Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) -18.8%. Over five years, Crh Public (CRH) compounded fastest (Crh Public (CRH) +12.2%/yr, Linde (LIN) +9.7%/yr, Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) +5.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Linde (LIN) has the highest dividend yield: Crh Public (CRH) 0.00%, Linde (LIN) 0.01%, Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) 0.01%. Crh Public (CRH) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Linde (LIN) has been the steadiest (Crh Public (CRH) 32.5%, Linde (LIN) 19.2%, Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) 28.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CRH, LIN and MLM?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Linde (LIN) leads on 7. 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.