EXP vs VMC vs KNF Stock Comparison

Eagle Materials, Vulcan Materials and Knife River Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
EXP Eagle Materials Inc
$174.71 -2.0% 1M -25.3% 1Y
Market cap
$5.39B
P/E
13.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.32B
Div. yield
0.01%
Cement Basic Materials
5 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
6 wins
KNF Knife River Corp
$53.14 +3.4% 1M -15.7% 1Y
Market cap
$3.00B
P/E
21.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.31B
Div. yield
–
Aggregates Basic Materials
1 win

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Vulcan Materials leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Vulcan Materials 6, Eagle Materials 5, Knife River 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionEXPVMCKNFLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $5.39B $33.92B $3.00B VMC
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 13.4x 30.4x 21.5x EXP
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 13.9x 27.7x 19.9x EXP
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +1.7% +6.9% +12.1% KNF
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 17.3% 13.7% 4.2% EXP
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 12.9% 9.9% 6.5% EXP
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.2x 1.8x 3.1x VMC
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.01% 0.00% VMC
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -25.3% -10.4% -15.7% VMC
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +4.3%/yr +7.2%/yr — VMC
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 34.5% 29.0% 51.0% VMC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 51/100 47/100 26/100 EXP

Percentile Scorecard

EXPVMCKNF

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

AxisEXPVMCKNF
Valuation 22 #8 of 10 0 #10 of 10 67 #4 of 10
Growth – – –
Profitability 100 #1 of 8 71 #3 of 8 0 #8 of 8
Financial Health 25 #7 of 9 75 #3 of 9 13 #8 of 9
Shareholder Returns 57 #4 of 8 43 #5 of 8 –
Overall 51 47 26
  • EXP ranked among 10 companies in Construction Materials
  • VMC ranked among 10 companies in Construction Materials
  • KNF ranked among 10 companies in Construction Materials

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodEXPVMCKNFSPY
1 month -2.0%+7.0%+3.4% -1.0%
3 months -18.2%-6.5%-31.9% +2.9%
6 months -16.3%-10.4%-40.4% +6.4%
Year to date -15.5%-8.3%-24.5% +11.4%
1 year -25.3%-10.4%-15.7% +13.1%
3 years +12.3%+27.5%+6.8% +79.4%
3 years, per year +3.9%+8.5%+2.2% +21.5%
5 years +23.6%+41.3%— +67.7%
5 years, per year +4.3%+7.2%— +10.9%
10 years +125.8%+134.6%— +255.2%
10 years, per year +8.5%+8.9%— +13.5%

Risk

MeasureEXPVMCKNFSPY
Volatility, 1Y 34.5%29.0%51.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 32.8%32.0%51.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.080.811.28 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.74-0.36-0.31 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -48.2%-32.8%-55.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -27.3%-20.8%-43.5% -2.5%
52-week high $240.24$330.37$93.97 $779.14
52-week low $163.37$240.82$47.97 $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.

MultipleEXPVMCKNF
P/E now vs peer median 13.4xmedian 19.7x 30.4xmedian 19.7x 21.6xmedian 19.7x
P/S now vs peer median 2.3xmedian 1.8x 4.2xmedian 1.8x 0.9xmedian 1.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 9.8xmedian 9.3x 16.1xmedian 9.3x 9.2xmedian 9.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 31.6xmedian 31.6x 33.0xmedian 31.6x 70.0xmedian 31.6x
P/B now vs peer median 3.6xmedian 2.3x 4.0xmedian 2.3x 1.9xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median -11.00median 1.85 1.85median 1.85 14.53median 1.85

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 monthsEXPVMCKNF
Revenue $2.32B $8.12B $3.31B
Gross profit $628.19M $2.23B $589.67M
Operating income $539.59M $1.64B $275.33M
Net income $402.57M $1.12B $139.89M
Free cash flow $170.51M $1.03B $43.06M
EPS (diluted) $12.95 $8.56 $2.46
Cash & equivalents $233.54M $194.20M $102.03M
Total debt $6.57B $4.36B $1.62B
Shares (diluted) 31.09M 130.30M 56.88M
Enterprise value $4.41B $33.21B $2.62B

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
MetricEXPVMCKNF
P/E 13.4x 30.4x 21.6x
P/FCF 31.6x 33.0x 70.0x
P/Operating cash flow 8.5x 18.8x 9.6x
P/S 2.3x 4.2x 0.9x
P/B 3.6x 4.0x 1.9x
P/Tangible book 3.6x 4.8x 1.9x
EV/EBITDA 9.8x 16.1x 9.2x
EV/EBIT 12.8x 23.1x 16.5x
EV/Revenue 3.0x 4.7x 1.4x
EV/FCF 40.5x 37.0x 105.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 10.9x 21.1x 14.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -11.00 1.85 14.53

Growth

14 metrics
MetricEXPVMCKNF
Revenue growth (1Y) 1.7% 6.9% 12.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 2.0% 2.3% 8.3%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -6.5% 6.7% 10.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -1.9% 8.9% 12.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) -9.0% 14.5% 6.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -4.1% 13.1% 6.6%
Net income growth (1Y) -11.1% 17.4% -8.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -5.5% 15.5% 1.7%
EPS growth (1Y) -6.2% 19.7% -8.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -1.2% 16.4% 1.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 14.4% 10.8% 28.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 4.3% 10.7% 3.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -45.7% -6.5% 181.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -26.3% 16.3% -29.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricEXPVMCKNF
Gross margin 27.0% 27.5% 17.8%
EBITDA margin 30.3% 29.2% 14.9%
Operating margin 23.2% 20.2% 8.3%
Pretax margin 21.5% 17.6% 5.8%
Net margin 17.3% 13.7% 4.2%
FCF margin 7.3% 12.7% 1.3%
Operating cash flow margin 27.2% 22.2% 9.5%
Return on equity 26.1% 13.2% 8.8%
Return on assets 10.0% 6.8% 3.5%
Return on invested capital 12.9% 9.9% 6.5%
Return on capital employed 15.0% 10.7% 7.8%
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.5x 0.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.6x 1.6x 2.2x
Stock comp / revenue 0.9% 0.7% 0.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricEXPVMCKNF
Debt / assets 45.0% 26.5% 38.7%
Debt / equity 1.2x 0.5x 1.0x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.2x 1.8x 3.1x
Debt / FCF 10.3x 4.2x 37.6x
Liabilities / assets 62.0% 48.4% 61.6%
Equity / assets 38.0% 51.6% 38.4%
Interest coverage 11.3x 7.2x 3.1x
Current ratio 3.2x 1.8x 2.7x
Quick ratio 1.8x 1.1x 1.5x
Cash ratio 0.8x 0.2x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 3.12 3.92 2.27

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricEXPVMCKNF
Dividend yield 0.6% 0.8% –
Net buyback yield 7.2% 2.4% –
Shareholder yield 7.8% 3.1% –
Payout ratio (earnings) 8.0% 23.7% –
Payout ratio (FCF) 18.8% 25.7% –
Dividend growth (1Y) -4.0% 4.8% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) -4.5% 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.

ConsensusEXPVMCKNF
Forward P/E 13.9xFY2026 27.7xFY2026 19.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $12.53FY2026 $9.43FY2026 $2.67FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -9.3%FY2026 +17.9%FY2026 -3.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +4.2% +11.5% +10.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $2.20BFY2026 $8.32BFY2026 $3.66BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -4.9%FY2026 +4.8%FY2026 +16.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +6.0% -1.8% +3.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersEXPVMCKNF
Held by institutions 100.0% 98.5% 96.7%
Institutions holding 529 1,060 391
Change in shares held, QoQ +4.2% +3.6% +1.0%
Institutions buying 272 526 168
Institutions selling 167 363 137
Buyers to sellers 1.63 1.45 1.23

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.

EXPVMCKNF
EXP 1.00 0.69 0.52
VMC 0.69 1.00 0.42
KNF 0.52 0.42 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, EXP, VMC and KNF?

Vulcan Materials (VMC) is the largest by market capitalisation: Eagle Materials (EXP) $5.39B, Vulcan Materials (VMC) $33.92B, Knife River (KNF) $3.00B.

Which stock is cheaper, EXP, VMC and KNF?

Eagle Materials (EXP) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Eagle Materials (EXP) 13.4x, Vulcan Materials (VMC) 30.4x, Knife River (KNF) 21.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Eagle Materials (EXP) is cheapest (Eagle Materials (EXP) 13.9x, Vulcan Materials (VMC) 27.7x, Knife River (KNF) 19.9x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Knife River (KNF) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Eagle Materials (EXP) +1.7%, Vulcan Materials (VMC) +6.9%, Knife River (KNF) +12.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Eagle Materials (EXP) has the highest net margin (Eagle Materials (EXP) 17.3%, Vulcan Materials (VMC) 13.7%, Knife River (KNF) 4.2%). On return on invested capital, Eagle Materials (EXP) leads (Eagle Materials (EXP) 12.9%, Vulcan Materials (VMC) 9.9%, Knife River (KNF) 6.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Vulcan Materials (VMC) returned the most: Eagle Materials (EXP) -25.3%, Vulcan Materials (VMC) -10.4%, Knife River (KNF) -15.7%. Over five years, Vulcan Materials (VMC) compounded fastest (Eagle Materials (EXP) +4.3%/yr, Vulcan Materials (VMC) +7.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Vulcan Materials (VMC) has the highest dividend yield: Eagle Materials (EXP) 0.01%, Vulcan Materials (VMC) 0.01%, Knife River (KNF) 0.00%. Knife River (KNF) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Vulcan Materials (VMC) has been the steadiest (Eagle Materials (EXP) 34.5%, Vulcan Materials (VMC) 29.0%, Knife River (KNF) 51.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, EXP, VMC and KNF?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Vulcan Materials (VMC) 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.