KNF vs MLM vs VMC Stock Comparison

Knife River, Martin Marietta Materials and Vulcan Materials Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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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
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
7 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Vulcan Materials leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Vulcan Materials 7, Martin Marietta Materials 4, Knife River 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionKNFMLMVMCLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $3.00B $30.32B $33.92B VMC
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 21.5x 12.3x 30.4x MLM
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 19.9x 27.5x 27.7x KNF
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +12.1% +14.8% +6.9% MLM
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 4.2% 36.7% 13.7% MLM
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 6.5% 6.5% 9.9% VMC
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.1x 2.8x 1.8x VMC
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.01% 0.01% VMC
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -15.7% -18.1% -10.4% VMC
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years — +5.9%/yr +7.2%/yr VMC
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 51.0% 28.7% 29.0% MLM
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 26/100 34/100 47/100 VMC

Percentile Scorecard

KNFMLMVMC

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

AxisKNFMLMVMC
Valuation 67 #4 of 10 11 #9 of 10 0 #10 of 10
Growth – – –
Profitability 0 #8 of 8 86 #2 of 8 71 #3 of 8
Financial Health 13 #8 of 9 38 #6 of 9 75 #3 of 9
Shareholder Returns – 0 #8 of 8 43 #5 of 8
Overall 26 34 47
  • KNF ranked among 10 companies in Construction Materials
  • 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

PeriodKNFMLMVMCSPY
1 month +3.4%+3.4%+7.0% -1.0%
3 months -31.9%-9.4%-6.5% +2.9%
6 months -40.4%-17.6%-10.4% +6.4%
Year to date -24.5%-18.6%-8.3% +11.4%
1 year -15.7%-18.1%-10.4% +13.1%
3 years +6.8%+21.8%+27.5% +79.4%
3 years, per year +2.2%+6.8%+8.5% +21.5%
5 years —+33.0%+41.3% +67.7%
5 years, per year —+5.9%+7.2% +10.9%
10 years —+182.1%+134.6% +255.2%
10 years, per year —+10.9%+8.9% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureKNFMLMVMCSPY
Volatility, 1Y 51.0%28.7%29.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 51.2%31.2%32.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.280.840.81 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.31-0.63-0.36 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -55.3%-33.4%-32.8% -25.4%
From 52-week high -43.5%-28.4%-20.8% -2.5%
52-week high $93.97$708.11$330.37 $779.14
52-week low $47.97$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.

MultipleKNFMLMVMC
P/E now vs peer median 21.6xmedian 19.7x 12.4xmedian 19.7x 30.4xmedian 19.7x
P/S now vs peer median 0.9xmedian 1.8x 4.6xmedian 1.8x 4.2xmedian 1.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 9.2xmedian 9.3x 17.6xmedian 9.3x 16.1xmedian 9.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 70.0xmedian 31.6x 37.6xmedian 31.6x 33.0xmedian 31.6x
P/B now vs peer median 1.9xmedian 2.3x 2.6xmedian 2.3x 4.0xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median 14.53median 1.85 0.32median 1.85 1.85median 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 monthsKNFMLMVMC
Revenue $3.31B $6.69B $8.12B
Gross profit $589.67M $1.88B $2.23B
Operating income $275.33M $1.38B $1.64B
Net income $139.89M $2.46B $1.12B
Free cash flow $43.06M $810.00M $1.03B
EPS (diluted) $2.46 $40.81 $8.56
Cash & equivalents $102.03M $112.00M $194.20M
Total debt $1.62B $22.09B $4.36B
Shares (diluted) 56.88M 60.20M 130.30M
Enterprise value $2.62B $29.81B $33.21B

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
MetricKNFMLMVMC
P/E 21.6x 12.4x 30.4x
P/FCF 70.0x 37.6x 33.0x
P/Operating cash flow 9.6x 20.0x 18.8x
P/S 0.9x 4.6x 4.2x
P/B 1.9x 2.6x 4.0x
P/Tangible book 1.9x 2.8x 4.8x
EV/EBITDA 9.2x 17.6x 16.1x
EV/EBIT 16.5x 26.3x 23.1x
EV/Revenue 1.4x 5.4x 4.7x
EV/FCF 105.2x 44.8x 37.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 14.5x 23.9x 21.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 14.53 0.32 1.85

Growth

14 metrics
MetricKNFMLMVMC
Revenue growth (1Y) 12.1% 14.8% 6.9%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 8.3% 1.1% 2.3%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 10.3% 7.8% 6.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 12.6% 3.4% 8.9%
Operating income growth (1Y) 6.5% 3.2% 14.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 6.6% 1.3% 13.1%
Net income growth (1Y) -8.7% 123.2% 17.4%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 1.7% 37.3% 15.5%
EPS growth (1Y) -8.7% 123.9% 19.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 1.5% 38.8% 16.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 28.0% -19.7% 10.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 3.2% 7.5% 10.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 181.0% -15.9% -6.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -29.0% 6.6% 16.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricKNFMLMVMC
Gross margin 17.8% 28.2% 27.5%
EBITDA margin 14.9% 30.9% 29.2%
Operating margin 8.3% 20.6% 20.2%
Pretax margin 5.8% 17.4% 17.6%
Net margin 4.2% 36.7% 13.7%
FCF margin 1.3% 12.1% 12.7%
Operating cash flow margin 9.5% 22.7% 22.2%
Return on equity 8.8% 21.5% 13.2%
Return on assets 3.5% 11.8% 6.8%
Return on invested capital 6.5% 6.5% 9.9%
Return on capital employed 7.8% 7.2% 10.7%
Asset turnover 0.8x 0.3x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.2x 0.6x 1.6x
Stock comp / revenue 0.3% 0.7% 0.7%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricKNFMLMVMC
Debt / assets 38.7% 27.9% 26.5%
Debt / equity 1.0x 0.5x 0.5x
Net debt / EBITDA 3.1x 2.8x 1.8x
Debt / FCF 37.6x 7.3x 4.2x
Liabilities / assets 61.6% 45.8% 48.4%
Equity / assets 38.4% 54.2% 51.6%
Interest coverage 3.1x 5.9x 7.2x
Current ratio 2.7x 1.4x 1.8x
Quick ratio 1.5x 0.7x 1.1x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.1x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 2.27 2.96 3.92

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricKNFMLMVMC
Dividend yield – 0.7% 0.8%
Net buyback yield – 0.7% 2.4%
Shareholder yield – 1.3% 3.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 8.2% 23.7%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 24.9% 25.7%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 4.1% 4.8%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 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.

ConsensusKNFMLMVMC
Forward P/E 19.9xFY2026 27.5xFY2026 27.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $2.67FY2026 $18.47FY2026 $9.43FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -3.3%FY2026 +13.0%FY2026 +17.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +10.5% +17.2% +11.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.66BFY2026 $8.04BFY2026 $8.32BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +16.2%FY2026 +14.8%FY2026 +4.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +3.1% +26.6% -1.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersKNFMLMVMC
Held by institutions 96.7% 98.5% 98.5%
Institutions holding 391 1,072 1,060
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.0% +1.4% +3.6%
Institutions buying 168 469 526
Institutions selling 137 392 363
Buyers to sellers 1.23 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.

KNFMLMVMC
KNF 1.00 0.47 0.42
MLM 0.47 1.00 0.88
VMC 0.42 0.88 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, KNF, MLM and VMC?

Vulcan Materials (VMC) is the largest by market capitalisation: Knife River (KNF) $3.00B, Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) $30.32B, Vulcan Materials (VMC) $33.92B.

Which stock is cheaper, KNF, MLM and VMC?

Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Knife River (KNF) 21.5x, Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) 12.3x, Vulcan Materials (VMC) 30.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, Knife River (KNF) is cheapest (Knife River (KNF) 19.9x, Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) 27.5x, Vulcan Materials (VMC) 27.7x). 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: Knife River (KNF) +12.1%, 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 (Knife River (KNF) 4.2%, Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) 36.7%, Vulcan Materials (VMC) 13.7%). On return on invested capital, Vulcan Materials (VMC) leads (Knife River (KNF) 6.5%, Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) 6.5%, Vulcan Materials (VMC) 9.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Vulcan Materials (VMC) returned the most: Knife River (KNF) -15.7%, Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) -18.1%, Vulcan Materials (VMC) -10.4%. Over five years, Vulcan Materials (VMC) compounded fastest (Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) +5.9%/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: Knife River (KNF) 0.00%, Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) 0.01%, Vulcan Materials (VMC) 0.01%. Knife River (KNF) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) has been the steadiest (Knife River (KNF) 51.0%, Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) 28.7%, Vulcan Materials (VMC) 29.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, KNF, 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, Vulcan Materials (VMC) 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.