VMC vs ACA vs MLM Stock Comparison

Vulcan Materials, Arcosa and Martin Marietta Materials Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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
3 wins
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

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.

QuestionVMCACAMLMLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $33.92B $7.33B $30.32B VMC
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 30.4x 14.9x 12.3x MLM
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 27.7x 33.6x 27.5x MLM
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.9% +9.7% +14.8% MLM
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 13.7% 17.9% 36.7% MLM
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 9.9% 6.5% 6.5% VMC
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.8x 1.8x 2.8x VMC
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.13% 0.01% ACA
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -10.4% +61.6% -18.1% ACA
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +7.2%/yr +23.0%/yr +5.9%/yr ACA
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 29.0% 31.7% 28.7% MLM
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 47/100 56/100 34/100 ACA

Percentile Scorecard

VMCACAMLM

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

AxisVMCACAMLM
Valuation 0 #10 of 10 48 #106 of 203 11 #9 of 10
Growth – 82 #34 of 188 –
Profitability 71 #3 of 8 53 #89 of 187 86 #2 of 8
Financial Health 75 #3 of 9 58 #94 of 222 38 #6 of 9
Shareholder Returns 43 #5 of 8 41 #91 of 153 0 #8 of 8
Overall 47 56 34
  • VMC ranked among 10 companies in Construction Materials
  • ACA ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • 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

PeriodVMCACAMLMSPY
1 month +7.0%+1.7%+3.4% -1.0%
3 months -6.5%+2.9%-9.4% +2.9%
6 months -10.4%+24.1%-17.6% +6.4%
Year to date -8.3%+40.3%-18.6% +11.4%
1 year -10.4%+61.6%-18.1% +13.1%
3 years +27.5%+117.4%+21.8% +79.4%
3 years, per year +8.5%+29.6%+6.8% +21.5%
5 years +41.3%+181.9%+33.0% +67.7%
5 years, per year +7.2%+23.0%+5.9% +10.9%
10 years +134.6%—+182.1% +255.2%
10 years, per year +8.9%—+10.9% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureVMCACAMLMSPY
Volatility, 1Y 29.0%31.7%28.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 32.0%32.9%31.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.810.950.84 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.361.94-0.63 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -32.8%-36.7%-33.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -20.8%0.0%-28.4% -2.5%
52-week high $330.37$149.18$708.11 $779.14
52-week low $240.82$92.25$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.

MultipleVMCACAMLM
P/E now vs peer median 30.4xmedian 19.7x 14.9xmedian 25.9x 12.4xmedian 19.7x
P/S now vs peer median 4.2xmedian 1.8x 2.7xmedian 1.9x 4.6xmedian 1.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 16.1xmedian 9.3x 15.2xmedian 13.7x 17.6xmedian 9.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 33.0xmedian 31.6x 54.9xmedian 21.1x 37.6xmedian 31.6x
P/B now vs peer median 4.0xmedian 2.3x 2.5xmedian 2.3x 2.6xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median 1.85median 1.85 0.75median 1.19 0.32median 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 monthsVMCACAMLM
Revenue $8.12B $2.74B $6.69B
Gross profit $2.23B $632.30M $1.88B
Operating income $1.64B $322.70M $1.38B
Net income $1.12B $491.40M $2.46B
Free cash flow $1.03B $133.40M $810.00M
EPS (diluted) $8.56 $9.99 $40.81
Cash & equivalents $194.20M $432.10M $112.00M
Total debt $4.36B $1.44B $22.09B
Shares (diluted) 130.30M 49.20M 60.20M
Enterprise value $33.21B $6.31B $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
MetricVMCACAMLM
P/E 30.4x 14.9x 12.4x
P/FCF 33.0x 54.9x 37.6x
P/Operating cash flow 18.8x 21.5x 20.0x
P/S 4.2x 2.7x 4.6x
P/B 4.0x 2.5x 2.6x
P/Tangible book 4.8x 2.7x 2.8x
EV/EBITDA 16.1x 15.2x 17.6x
EV/EBIT 23.1x 25.8x 26.3x
EV/Revenue 4.7x 3.0x 5.4x
EV/FCF 37.0x 62.4x 44.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 21.1x 24.4x 23.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.85 0.75 0.32

Growth

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

Profitability

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

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricVMCACAMLM
Debt / assets 26.5% 27.1% 27.9%
Debt / equity 0.5x 0.5x 0.5x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.8x 1.8x 2.8x
Debt / FCF 4.2x 10.8x 7.3x
Liabilities / assets 48.4% 43.7% 45.8%
Equity / assets 51.6% 56.3% 54.2%
Interest coverage 7.2x 3.3x 5.9x
Current ratio 1.8x 3.1x 1.4x
Quick ratio 1.1x 2.2x 0.7x
Cash ratio 0.2x 1.0x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 3.92 3.18 2.96

Shareholder Returns

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

ConsensusVMCACAMLM
Forward P/E 27.7xFY2026 33.6xFY2026 27.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $9.43FY2026 $4.44FY2026 $18.47FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +17.9%FY2026 -0.7%FY2026 +13.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +11.5% +7.0% +17.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $8.32BFY2026 $2.45BFY2026 $8.04BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +4.8%FY2026 -14.9%FY2026 +14.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -1.8% +12.5% +26.6%

Institutional Ownership

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

VMCACAMLM
VMC 1.00 0.29 0.88
ACA 0.29 1.00 0.33
MLM 0.88 0.33 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, VMC, ACA and MLM?

Vulcan Materials (VMC) is the largest by market capitalisation: Vulcan Materials (VMC) $33.92B, Arcosa (ACA) $7.33B, Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) $30.32B.

Which stock is cheaper, VMC, ACA and MLM?

Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Vulcan Materials (VMC) 30.4x, Arcosa (ACA) 14.9x, Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) 12.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) is cheapest (Vulcan Materials (VMC) 27.7x, Arcosa (ACA) 33.6x, 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: Vulcan Materials (VMC) +6.9%, Arcosa (ACA) +9.7%, Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) +14.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

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

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Arcosa (ACA) returned the most: Vulcan Materials (VMC) -10.4%, Arcosa (ACA) +61.6%, Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) -18.1%. Over five years, Arcosa (ACA) compounded fastest (Vulcan Materials (VMC) +7.2%/yr, Arcosa (ACA) +23.0%/yr, Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) +5.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

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

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) has been the steadiest (Vulcan Materials (VMC) 29.0%, Arcosa (ACA) 31.7%, Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) 28.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, VMC, ACA 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, 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.