Core Insights - Vulcan Materials Company reported strong earnings growth and margin expansion driven by pricing discipline and cost performance, despite facing weather challenges and lower shipments in the aggregates segment [1][2][3] Financial Performance - Total revenues for Q2 2025 were $2,102 million, a 4.4% increase from $2,014 million in Q2 2024 [2] - Gross profit increased to $625 million from $592 million year-over-year [2] - Net earnings attributable to Vulcan rose to $321 million, compared to $308 million in the same quarter last year [2] - Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $660 million, up from $603 million, reflecting a 9.5% increase [2][29] - Adjusted EBITDA margin improved to 31.4% from 29.9% year-over-year [2][29] Segment Performance - The aggregates segment generated a gross profit of $560 million, with a gross profit margin of 33.9% [3][19] - Shipments in the aggregates segment decreased by 1% year-over-year, attributed to significant rainfall in key Southeastern markets [4] - Freight-adjusted sales price per ton for aggregates increased by 5% to $22.11, while cash gross profit per ton rose by 9% to $11.88 [4][20] Cost Management - Selling, Administrative and General (SAG) expenses were $144 million, representing 6.9% of total revenues, slightly up from 6.7% in the previous year [6] - Freight-adjusted unit cash cost of sales increased by only 1% despite challenging weather conditions [4] Capital Allocation and Financial Position - Capital expenditures for maintenance and growth projects were $102 million in Q2 2025 [8] - The company returned $65 million to shareholders through dividends, marking a 6% increase compared to the prior year [8] - As of June 30, 2025, the total debt to trailing-twelve months Adjusted EBITDA ratio was 2.2 times, within the company's target range [8] Outlook - The company expects to deliver between $2.35 billion and $2.55 billion of Adjusted EBITDA for the full year, supported by strong execution and an acceleration in highway construction activity [9]