渥肯建材 (VMC) 2025 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good morning. Welcome, everyone, to the Vulcan Materials Company second-quarter 2025 earnings call. My name is David, and I will be your conference call coordinator today. Please be reminded that today's call is being recorded and will be available for replay later today on the company's website. (Operator Instructions)

早安.歡迎大家參加 Vulcan Materials Company 2025 年第二季財報電話會議。我叫大衛，今天我將擔任你們的電話會議協調員。請注意，今天的電話會議正在錄音，並將於今天晚些時候在公司網站上重播。（操作員指示）

Now I will turn the call over to your host, Mr. Mark Warren, Vice President of Investor Relations for Vulcan Materials. Mr. Warren, you may begin.

現在我將電話轉給主持人、Vulcan Materials 投資者關係副總裁 Mark Warren 先生。沃倫先生，你可以開始了。

Thank you, operator. With me today are Tom Hill, Chairman and CEO; and Mary Andrews Carlisle, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Today's call is accompanied by a press release and a supplemental presentation posted to our website, vulcanmaterials.com. Please be reminded that today's discussion may include forward-looking statements which are subject to risks and uncertainties.

謝謝您，接線生。今天與我一起出席的還有董事長兼首席執行官湯姆·希爾 (Tom Hill) 和高級副總裁兼首席財務官瑪麗·安德魯斯·卡萊爾 (Mary Andrews Carlisle)。今天的電話會議將附上一份新聞稿和一份補充演示文稿，發佈在我們的網站 vulcanmaterials.com 上。請注意，今天的討論可能包含前瞻性陳述，這些陳述受風險和不確定性的影響。

These risks, along with other legal disclaimers, are described in detail in the company's earnings release and in other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures are defined and reconciled in our earnings release, supplemental presentation, and other SEC filings. During the Q&A, we ask that you limit your participation to one question. This will allow us to accommodate as many as possible during our time we have available.

這些風險以及其他法律免責聲明在該公司的收益報告和向美國證券交易委員會提交的其他文件中有詳細描述。非公認會計準則財務指標的調節在我們的收益報告、補充報告和其他 SEC 文件中進行了定義和調節。在問答過程中，我們要求您將參與限制為一個問題。這將使我們能夠在可用的時間內盡可能多的人。

And with that, I'll turn the call over to Tom.

說完這些，我會把電話轉給湯姆。

Thank you, Mark, and thank all of you for your interest in Vulcan Materials Company. I'm very proud of how our talented teams are delivering results that exhibit their commitment to continuous improvement through consistent execution of our strategic disciplines. Most importantly, they are doing so while keeping one another safe. Both our safety and financial performance through the first half of the year has been outstanding, despite a challenging operating environment.

謝謝你，馬克，也謝謝大家對 Vulcan Materials Company 的關注。我為我們優秀的團隊所取得的成果感到非常自豪，這些成果體現了他們透過一致地執行我們的策略紀律來持續改進的承諾。最重要的是，他們在這樣做的同時，也確保了彼此的安全。儘管經營環境充滿挑戰，但我們上半年的安全和財務表現都非常出色。

Extreme temperatures early in the year and excessive rainfall in the second quarter have all contributed to lower same-store-to-date shipments across all product lines. Nonetheless, our adjusted EBITDA has improved 16%, margins have expanded 260 basis points, and aggregate cash gross profit per tonne has grown 13%. Our two-pronged growth strategy to improve earnings through compounding profitability in our organic business and adding strategic assets to our portfolio is clearly working.

今年年初的極端氣溫和第二季的過度降雨都導致所有產品線的同店出貨量下降。儘管如此，我們的調整後 EBITDA 提高了 16%，利潤率擴大了 260 個基點，每噸總現金毛利增加了 13%。我們的雙管齊下的成長策略顯然是有效的，即透過提高有機業務的獲利能力和在投資組合中增加策略資產來提高收益。

In the quarter, we generated $660 million of adjusted EBITDA, a 9% improvement over the prior year despite lower aggregate shipments. Rainfall in the southeast notched 10-year records in many key Vulcan states, namely Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, and the Carolinas, disrupting both our aggregates and asphalt businesses in these markets. Aggregate shipments were impacted by an estimate of 2 million to 3 million tonnes in our most profitable markets. Still, our reported cash gross product per tonne expanded an impressive 9%.

本季度，我們實現了 6.6 億美元的調整後 EBITDA，儘管總出貨量較低，但仍比上年增長了 9%。東南部許多主要火神州（即喬治亞州、田納西州、阿拉巴馬州和卡羅來納州）的降雨量創下了 10 年來的最高紀錄，擾亂了我們在這些市場的骨料和瀝青業務。在我們最賺錢的市場中，總出貨量預計將受到 200 萬至 300 萬噸的影響。儘管如此，我們報告的每噸現金總產量仍增加了令人印象深刻的9%。

Our teams executed particularly well on our Vulcan way of operating disciplines to navigate the challenging operating environment, drive plant efficiencies, and tightly control operating costs. Freight-adjusted unit cash cost of sales increased only 1.5% while remaining lower on a year-to-date basis. Price improvements were geographically widespread, and freight-adjusted average selling prices improved 5%.

我們的團隊出色地執行了 Vulcan 營運準則，應對了充滿挑戰的營運環境，提高了工廠效率，並嚴格控制了營運成本。經運費調整後的單位現金銷售成本僅成長 1.5%，年初至今仍維持較低水準。價格改善在各個地域範圍內均有體現，經運費調整後的平均銷售價格提高了 5%。

On a mixed adjusted basis, average selling prices improved 8%. The difference was the anticipated impact of recent acquisitions and unfavorable geographic mix due to weather-impacted shipments in our attractive southeast markets. Consistent pricing discipline coupled with operating execution are yielding attractive unit profitability growth as we move into the back half of the year. Let me share a few other thoughts about the second half.

經過混合調整後，平均售價上漲了 8%。差異在於近期收購的預期影響，以及由於我們具有吸引力的東南市場受天氣影響導致的貨運量下降所造成的不利的地理結構。隨著我們進入下半年，一致的定價紀律加上營運執行正在產生有吸引力的單位獲利成長。讓我分享一些關於下半場的其他想法。

Residential construction activity, which accounts for about 20% of our shipments, remains weak with persistent affordability challenges across most of the US markets. Starts and permits for single-family housing continue to accelerate. However, multifamily starts are showing signs of improvement, with over half of our markets having turned positive on a current three-month basis. This improvement should begin to help offset the weakness in single-family activity.

住宅建築活動約占我們出貨量的 20%，但由於美國大部分市場持續面臨負擔能力挑戰，住宅建築活動仍疲軟。單戶住宅開工和許可數量持續加速成長。然而，多戶型住宅開工正顯示出改善的跡象，目前三個月內，超過一半的市場開工已轉為正值。這種改善應該會開始幫助抵消單戶住宅活動的疲軟。

In private non-residential construction, higher rates for longer and macro uncertainty have been weighing on construction activity. But we are beginning to see several signs of recovery. With growth in data center activity and moderating declines in warehouse and other private non-residential categories, treading three months starts have turned positive. This is an encouraging sign that private, non-residential demand will soon begin to grow.

在私人非住宅建築領域，較長時間的高利率和宏觀不確定性一直在拖累建築活動。但我們開始看到一些復甦的跡象。隨著資料中心活動的成長以及倉庫和其他私人非住宅類別的下降趨勢減緩，過去三個月的開工率已轉為正值。這是一個令人鼓舞的跡象，表明私人非住宅需求將很快開始成長。

Data centers remain a bright spot. We are currently serving a number of data center projects and actively discussing green-lit projects totaling over $35 billion. We're beginning to hear discussions of supporting power generation projects in areas with a heavy exposure to data centers. Nearly 80% of data center activity in the planning stage is within 30 miles of a Vulcan operation.

資料中心仍然是一個亮點。我們目前正在服務多個資料中心項目，並積極討論總額超過 350 億美元的綠燈項目。我們開始聽到關於在資料中心密集的地區支援發電專案的討論。規劃階段的資料中心活動幾乎有 80% 位於 Vulcan 營運點 30 英里範圍內。

On the public side, turning 12 months, highway contract awards and Vulcan markets have accelerated meaningfully. They were modestly down a year ago and were up over 20% at the end of June. IIJ funding is continuing to benefit both highways and other public infrastructure activity. And we still have over 60% of the dollars yet to be spent.

在公共方面，進入 12 個月以來，高速公路合約授予和 Vulcan 市場均顯著加速。一年前，這一數字略有下降，但到 6 月底卻上漲了 20% 以上。IIJ 資金持續惠及高速公路和其他公共基礎設施活動。但我們仍有超過 60% 的資金尚未花掉。

Importantly, the improvements we're beginning to see in both private and public demand environment are translating into accelerating bookings and growing backlogs to support volume growth in the back half of this year and into 2026. Therefore, we continue to expect to deliver between $2.35 billion and $2.55 billion of adjusted EBITDA.

重要的是，我們開始看到的私人和公共需求環境的改善正在轉化為加速預訂和增加積壓訂單，以支持今年下半年和 2026 年的銷售成長。因此，我們繼續預期調整後的 EBITDA 將在 23.5 億美元至 25.5 億美元之間。

Now I'll turn the call over to Mary Andrews for some additional commentary on our results and revised outlook. Mary Andrews?

現在，我將把電話轉給瑪麗·安德魯斯，請她對我們的業績和修訂後的展望發表一些補充評論。瑪麗安德魯斯？

Thanks, Tom, and good morning. Over the last six months, our year-over-year trailing 12-month aggregate rate-adjusted unit cash cost of sales has improved nearly 600 basis points from 10 to 4%. The focus of our operating teams on utilizing our process intelligence system and other Vulcan way of operating tools to drive plan efficiencies is contributing to the attractive expansion in our aggregate cash growth profit per tonne, even in a lower volume environment.

謝謝，湯姆，早安。在過去六個月中，我們過去 12 個月的綜合利率調整後單位現金銷售成本年增了近 600 個基點，從 10% 提高到 4%。我們的營運團隊專注於利用我們的流程智慧系統和其他 Vulcan 營運工具來提高計劃效率，即使在產量較低的環境中，這也有助於我們每噸總現金成長利潤實現可觀的成長。

The solid operating performance through the first six months of this year drove a 58% improvement in operating cash flow. And free cash flow on a trailing 12-month basis surpassed $1 billion. This attractive cash generation coupled with our consistent, disciplined capital allocation will enable us to continue to drive long-term value creation for shareholders.

今年上半年穩健的經營業績推動經營現金流成長58%。過去 12 個月的自由現金流超過 10 億美元。這種有吸引力的現金產生加上我們一貫的、嚴格的資本配置將使我們能夠繼續為股東創造長期價值。

Through the first six months, we reinvested $207 million in maintenance and growth capital expenditures, returned $169 million to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases, and retired $400 million of debt. Our return on invested capital at June 30 was 15.9%. At quarter end, we reclassified $550 million of commercial paper borrowing from long-term to short-term debt, reflecting the likelihood that we will use some of the discretionary cash generation in the second half to repay those balances.

在前六個月，我們重新投資了 2.07 億美元用於維護和增長資本支出，透過股息和股票回購向股東返還了 1.69 億美元，並償還了 4 億美元的債務。截至 6 月 30 日，我們的投資資本報酬率為 15.9%。在季度末，我們將 5.5 億美元的商業票據借款從長期債務重新分類為短期債務，這反映了我們可能會在下半年使用部分可自由支配的現金來償還這些餘額。

Doing so will reduce our interest expense while maintaining the flexibility to reissue at any time to opportunistically capitalize on growth opportunities. At June 30, net debt to trailing 12-month adjusted EBITDA leverage was 2.1 times. Given the cold and wet start to the year that slowed spending timelines on some projects, we now expect full-year maintenance and growth capital expenditures of approximately $700 million, with an acceleration of spending in the second half of the year.

這樣做將減少我們的利息支出，同時保持隨時重新發行的靈活性，以抓住成長機會。截至 6 月 30 日，淨債務與過去 12 個月調整後 EBITDA 槓桿率的比率為 2.1 倍。鑑於今年年初寒冷潮濕的天氣減緩了一些項目的支出進度，我們現在預計全年維護和成長資本支出約為 7 億美元，下半年支出將加快。

Our trailing 12-month SAG expenses of $550 million were flat to the prior year and 10 basis points lower as a percentage of revenue. Year-to-date expenses of $283 million were in line with our expectations. As Tom said, we are reaffirming our full-year adjusted EBITDA guidance of $2.35 to $2.55 billion. Double-digit year-over-year shipments thus far in July, the exceptional execution of our teams in the first half of the year, and the improving private and public demand backdrop all give us confidence in an accelerating second half of the year.

我們過去 12 個月的 SAG 支出為 5.5 億美元，與上年持平，佔收入的百分比下降了 10 個基點。年初至今的支出為 2.83 億美元，符合我們的預期。正如湯姆所說，我們重申全年調整後 EBITDA 預期為 23.5 億美元至 25.5 億美元。7 月迄今的同比出貨量達到兩位數，我們團隊在上半年的出色表現，以及私人和公共需求背景的改善，都讓我們對下半年的加速增長充滿信心。

I'll now turn the call back over to Tom to provide a few closing remarks.

現在我將把電話轉回給湯姆，讓他發表一些結束語。

Thank you, Mary Andrews, and thank you to my Vulcan teammates who delivered a strong first half of 2025. Our current 12-month aggregate cash growth profit of $11.25 per tonne is now over 50% higher than just three years ago when we communicated a goal of $11 or $12 per tonne. This clearly depicts the durability of our [agri-chem] business and our commitment to controlling what we can control to deliver consistent earnings growth for our shareholders, regardless of the demand backdrop.

謝謝你，瑪麗安德魯斯，也感謝我的 Vulcan 隊友們，他們在 2025 年上半年表現強勁。我們目前的 12 個月總現金成長利潤為每噸 11.25 美元，比三年前我們提出的每噸 11 美元或 12 美元的目標高出 50% 以上。這清楚地表明了我們（農化）業務的持久性，以及我們致力於控制我們所能控制的範圍，以便無論需求背景如何，都能為股東帶來持續的盈利增長。

And now, Mary Andrews and I will be happy to take your questions.

現在，瑪麗安德魯斯和我很樂意回答你們的問題。

(Operator Instructions) Trey Grooms, Stephens.

（操作員指示）Trey Grooms，Stephens。

Hey, good morning, everyone. Thanks for taking my question. So clearly, you all faced a heavily weather-impacted first half of the year, which clearly impacted your volume, and I'm sure had to hurt profitability as well to some degree. I guess, what are you seeing or what gives you the confidence going into the second half to reaffirm your EBITDA guide for the year despite this kind of tough first half that we've been having to deal with, especially due to weather?

嘿，大家早安。感謝您回答我的問題。顯然，你們上半年都受到了嚴重天氣影響，這顯然影響了你們的銷量，而且我相信也會在一定程度上損害盈利能力。我想，儘管上半年我們經歷瞭如此艱難的時期（尤其是由於天氣原因），但您看到了什麼，或者是什麼讓您有信心進入下半年，重申今年的 EBITDA 指南？

Well, thanks for the question, Trey. I think, Trey, ex-rain, I was very pleased with the quarter and the first half of the year. Volumes were down 1% in Q2 and in the first half. Without acquisitions, down 5%. As we've been talking about, the quarter saw significant rainfall in the southeast. And with our outsized performance in the southeast, we were probably impacted more than most.

嗯，謝謝你的提問，Trey。我認為，Trey（前 Rain）對本季和上半年的表現非常滿意。第二季和上半年的銷售量下降了 1%。若不計收購，則下降 5%。正如我們一直在談論的，本季東南部地區降雨量較大。由於我們在東南部地區表現出色，我們受到的影響可能比大多數地區都要大。

Now that's the tough news. For me, the good news is that even with the wet weather in Q2, the cold weather in Q1, volumes down, and the most impacted region being at Southeast, which houses probably our highest prices and margins, we still saw first-half prices up 6% and unit margins up 13%. And for me, that's really quality earnings in some tough conditions and one I think our people should be very proud of, of their performance in the first half.

這真是個壞消息。對我來說，好消息是，即使第二季度天氣潮濕，第一季天氣寒冷，銷量下降，受影響最嚴重的地區是東南部（該地區可能是我們價格和利潤率最高的地區），我們仍然看到上半年價格上漲了 6%，單位利潤率上漲了 13%。對我來說，這確實是在艱難條件下取得的高品質收益，我認為我們的員工應該為上半年的表現感到非常自豪。

It gives us a lot of confidence for the second half because a bit of good weather in the southeast, like we saw in July, will really help improve what I thought was already a really good performance. When it's dry, we're shipping strong. July had what I call normal weather patterns, and we saw very strong shipments. They were, as Mary Andrews said, they were up double-digit in July, and that's a little bit of catch-up, probably, and probably some easy comps.

這給了我們對下半場的很大信心，因為東南部的天氣很好，就像我們在七月看到的那樣，這確實有助於提高我認為已經非常好的表現。當天氣乾燥時，我們的運輸能力很強。七月的天氣狀況正常，我們的出貨量非常強勁。正如瑪麗安德魯斯所說，他們在七月實現了兩位數的增長，這可能是一種追趕，也可能是一些輕鬆的比較。

But importantly, what we know is there are backlogs. And our booking pace and our shipping pace are all up and would support our full-year guidance of that 3% to 5%, which will have significant catch-up in the second half. And we've always said this will be second-half loaded from a volume perspective. I think the other thing that gives me confidence in it is that the underlying demand is there and it is improving. And so I think that we're starting to be on the edge of a turn for the private side.

但重要的是，我們知道有積壓的情況。我們的預訂速度和運輸速度都在上升，這將支持我們全年 3% 至 5% 的預期，下半年將有顯著的追趕。我們一直說，從銷售角度來看，這將是下半年的重頭戲。我認為讓我對此充滿信心的另一件事是，潛在的需求是存在的，並且正在改善。因此我認為我們正開始處於私人領域的轉捩點。

Perfect. Okay. Thanks, Tom. That's encouraging. I'll keep it to one question and pass it on. Thank you very much.

完美的。好的。謝謝，湯姆。這令人鼓舞。我將只提出一個問題並將其傳遞下去。非常感謝。

Thanks, Greg. Talk to you later.

謝謝，格雷格。我們回聊。

Anthony Petitnari, Citigroup.

花旗集團的安東尼‧佩蒂特納裡 (Anthony Petitnari)。

Hi, Anthony.

你好，安東尼。

Good morning. Hey. Last quarter, I think you mentioned maybe delays in bids translating to bookings as something that maybe you were seeing a little bit more, and maybe we've seen some of that in national data. I'm just curious if that's accurate. Are you seeing project timelines stretch out or customer confidence improved, or I'm just kind of curious how that kind of bid-to-booking timeline has trended?

早安.嘿。上個季度，我想您提到過，也許投標轉化為預訂的延遲，這種現象您可能已經看到了一些，也許我們在國家數據中也看到了一些這樣的情況。我只是好奇這是否準確。您是否看到專案時間表延長或客戶信心增強，或者我只是好奇這種投標到預訂時間表的趨勢如何？

Yes, good question and an important one because it's turned. We are seeing them get greenlit. They're going. That's what's also building our booking pace and our backlogs. So I think we've seen the turn in that.

是的，這是一個好問題，也是一個重要的問題，因為它已經轉變了。我們看到他們獲得了批准。他們要走了。這也有助於加快我們的預訂速度和增加積壓訂單。所以我認為我們已經看到了轉變。

Okay, is that specific to private, commercial, or public, or are you seeing it across end markets?

好的，這是針對私人、商業或公共的嗎，還是您在終端市場中也看到過這種情況？

I think you're seeing it across all end markets. The one I would call out that we're not seeing it across would be single-family. But as we talked about, the backlogs in booking pace and starts on the public side is very strong, and it continues to improve on the private side in all sectors except for single-family.

我認為您會在所有終端市場看到它。我想說的是，我們還沒有看到單戶住宅的情況。但正如我們所討論的，公共部門的預訂速度和開工積壓情況非常強勁，除單戶住宅外，所有部門的私人部門情況都在繼續改善。

Okay, that's very helpful. I'll turn it over.

好的，這非常有幫助。我把它翻過來。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Katherine Thompson, Thompson Research Group.

凱瑟琳·湯普森，湯普森研究小組。

Hi, Katherine.

你好，凱瑟琳。

Good morning, and thank you for taking my question this morning. Just tagging on the infrastructure question, you talked about the acceleration of dollars flowing out. How much of this -- when you look, there are certain key states like Florida with the Moving Forward of Florida initiative, which is $4 billion; and then Tennessee's Modernization Act, which added another $3.3 billion to DOT funding. Is it these types of states that have these big initiatives and you're starting to see dollars flow through? Or is it other types of projects that are more related to IIJA and just seeing a more delay from those? Or is it a combination of all of the above?

早安，感謝您今天早上回答我的問題。剛才提到基礎設施問題，您談到了美元流出加速的問題。其中有多少——你看一下，有一些關鍵的州，比如佛羅裡達州，推出了“佛羅裡達前進”計劃，撥款 40 億美元；然後是田納西州的“現代化法案”，為交通部又增加了 33 億美元的資金。是不是這些州都有這些重大舉措，並且您開始看到資金流入？還是其他類型的項目與 IIJA 更相關，只是因此而延遲了？或是以上所有情況的綜合？

Yes, it's all of the above. And the capital spending, as you pointed out, in all of our southeastern states -- in fact, all of our biggest states are up and up considerably. That is coupled with IIJ funding. I think you're seeing both of them come together along with some local funding that's been increasing over the last three or four years.

是的，以上都是。正如您所指出的，我們東南部所有州的資本支出——事實上，我們所有最大的州的資本支出都在大幅增加。這與 IIJ 資助相結合。我認為你會看到這兩者結合在一起，而且過去三、四年來，一些地方資金也在增加。

So I think what we're seeing in the highway work is demand is very strong and getting better. We're seeing this in lettings. We're seeing bookings. We're seeing backlogs. Remember, a year ago, the contract awards were down 2%. Now contract awards are up 22%. And so we're also seeing this in our shipments. We saw it in July. We really feel the impact in 2026. And this kind of growth in public demand should be a strong catalyst for '26 pricing because it's so visible. And so that gives you that visibility of future work, which really helps pricing.

所以我認為我們在高速公路工程中看到的需求非常強勁並且正在好轉。我們在租賃中看到了這種情況。我們看到預訂了。我們看到了積壓的情況。請記住，一年前，合約授予量下降了 2%。目前合約授予量已上漲 22%。我們在貨物運輸中也看到了這種情況。我們在七月看到了它。2026 年我們確實感受到了影響。公眾需求的這種增長應該會成為 26 年定價的強大催化劑，因為它是如此明顯。這樣您就可以了解未來的工作，這對定價非常有幫助。

Okay. And that contract rewards are up 22%. Is that for Vulcan-served states, or is that more a national?

好的。而該合約的獎勵上漲了22%。這是針對 Vulcan 服務州而言的，還是更俱全國性意義？

That is highway for Vulcan-served states.

這是通往 Vulcan 服務州的高速公路。

And Catherine, I think one of the things we're pleased to see is that that shift from as Tom commented down a year ago to significantly up is distinctly different in Vulcan states versus other states where the awards have actually decelerated some.

凱瑟琳，我認為我們很高興看到的事情之一是，正如湯姆所說，從一年前下降到大幅上升，這種轉變在瓦肯州與其他州明顯不同，其他州的獎項實際上有所減速。

Great. Thank you so much. I appreciate it. Best of luck.

偉大的。太感謝了。我很感激。祝你好運。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Brian Brophy, Stifel.

布萊恩·布羅菲，Stifel。

Hello. This is Andrew on for Brian. Thank you for taking my question. I just had a question on CapEx. It looks like it took a step down in the quarter. I'm wondering if there's any particular drivers of that, and then are there any changes to how you're thinking about CapEx for the full year?

你好。我是安德魯，代替布萊恩。感謝您回答我的問題。我剛剛對資本支出有一個疑問。看起來本季的情況有所下滑。我想知道這其中是否存在任何特定的驅動因素，那麼您對全年資本支出的看法是否有任何變化？

Yes, so the CapEx in the first half being lighter than what we anticipate for the full year was really due to the slow start with the weather, just harder-to-get project timelines going. We do expect now that CapEx for the full year will be about $700 million, which is a bit lower than our original guide of $750 million to $800 million.

是的，上半年的資本支出低於我們預期的全年水平，這實際上是由於天氣原因開局緩慢，專案時間表難以按時完成。我們現在預計全年資本支出約為 7 億美元，略低於我們最初預測的 7.5 億至 8 億美元。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Steven Fisher, UBS.

瑞銀的史蒂文·費雪。

Hi Steven.

你好，史蒂文。

Hi. Thanks for taking the question. So obviously good cost performance in the quarter, and I'm just curious what your visibility is to the increases in the second half of the year and maybe what you experienced in July with the real kind of question around do you think you'll be -- is it able to be back growing cash growth profits per tonne by double digits in Q3?

你好。感謝您回答這個問題。因此，本季的成本表現顯然良好，我只是好奇您對下半年的成長有何看法，也許您在 7 月份經歷了什麼，真正的問題是，您認為您是否能夠在第三季度恢復每噸現金增長利潤兩位數的增長？

Yes, so I look at cost. We would call it towards turning towards -- or guide you towards the low end of our guidance. The cost in the first half was down 1%, up 1% in Q2. I thought that was a really excellent operating performance. That's really hard to do when you have that kind of rain. So great performance by my operators. Their safety record was also record-setting. So thanks, and congratulations to all of them.

是的，所以我會考慮成本。我們稱之為轉向——或者引導您走向我們指導的低端。上半年成本下降1%，第二季成本上漲1%。我認為這確實是一個非常出色的營運表現。下這樣的雨時，真的很難做到。我的操作員表現非常出色。他們的安全記錄也創下了紀錄。所以，感謝並祝賀他們所有人。

What they're really doing, to your point, is helping us take that price to the bottom line. To that point, our gross margins for aggregates was up 200 basis points, and it was up to 42.7% in Q2. So again, in spite of rain-reduced volumes in the southeast and extremely wet quarter, I thought our folks should be very proud of not only the cost performance, but the unit margin performance. What it's telling me is that the Vulcan way of operating is making a difference. We've got a long ways to go on that, but we should see that improving. And also, to your point, we're just able to take all the price to the bottom line.

正如您所說，他們真正做的是幫助我們將價格降到最低。至此，我們的總毛利率上升了 200 個基點，第二季上升至 42.7%。因此，儘管東南部地區降雨減少，且本季雨水極多，但我認為我們的員工不僅應該對成本表現感到自豪，而且應該對單位利潤表現感到自豪。它告訴我，Vulcan 的運作方式正在產生影響。我們還有很長的路要走，但我們應該會看到情況有所改善。而且，正如您所說，我們只能將所有價格降到最低。

Yes, I mean, if you look at the quarter with our price being up over $1 per tonne, $1.11, and being able to take $0.95 of that to the bottom line. And cash gross profit per tonne was just a great performance, and we think that we'll carry that momentum into the back half.

是的，我的意思是，如果你看一下本季我們的價格每噸上漲了 1 美元以上，即 1.11 美元，並且能夠將其中的 0.95 美元計入利潤。每噸現金毛利表現非常出色，我們認為我們將把這種勢頭延續到下半年。

Yes, and remember, this is in reduced volumes. The volume leverage -- as the volumes go up will really help us with that and really help push those unit margins up.

是的，請記住，這是減少的數量。銷售槓桿－隨著銷售量的上升，這將真正幫助我們實現這一目標，並真正有助於提高單位利潤率。

Terrific. Thank you.

了不起。謝謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Keith Hughes, Truist.

基斯·休斯，Truist。

Thank you. Thanks for taking the questions. I guess on the non-residential comments, some of the more bullish that I've heard, when do you think that would turn into follow-ins for you? Is that a '26 story, or what's the view?

謝謝。感謝您回答這些問題。我想，關於非住宅評論，我聽到的一些比較樂觀的評論，您認為什麼時候這些評論會變成您的後續評論？這是 26 年的故事嗎，還是什麼觀點？

We'll feel a little bit of it in the second half. I think it is probably more of a '26 volume just because you've got a delay in those projects. But I mean, I think we're starting to see that. We are definitely seeing it in our backlogs. And we're starting to see a little bit of it in shipments, but I think it's more of a '26 play, '27 play.

下半場我們會感受到一點。我認為它可能更像是 26 卷，因為這些項目被推遲了。但我的意思是，我認為我們開始看到這一點了。我們確實在積壓訂單中看到了這一點。我們開始在出貨量中看到一點這樣的表現，但我認為這更像是『26 年』、『27 年』的表現。

We've been anticipating a recovery in non-res. Now I think we're starting to see signs of the turn. The data centers are accelerating quickly. We're seeing some green shoots in warehouses, and we're seeing some green shoots in traditional like non-res, which we think is at the bottom. Our backlogs in non-res are up and support our encouraging comments, so I think we're encouraged about it. So let's hope that momentum continues, but it sure appears it's going to.

我們一直期待非房地產行業的復甦。現在我認為我們開始看到轉變的跡象。數據中心正在快速發展。我們在倉庫領域看到了一些復甦的跡象，我們在傳統非住宅領域也看到了一些復甦的跡象，我們認為這些領域處於底部。我們的非資源積壓工作已經增加，並支持了我們令人鼓舞的評論，所以我認為我們對此感到鼓舞。所以讓我們希望這種勢頭能夠持續下去，而且看起來它肯定會繼續下去。

And the final question in the guide, what are you thinking about second half for aggregate pricing?

指南中的最後一個問題是，您對下半年的總定價有何看法？

I think that we keep on with the momentum. I think we'll be impacted some because the highway sector is so strong right now, which has a larger portion of base, which is a cheaper product, but it's also a cheaper product to make. I would point you to -- I feel good about the unit margins, and I feel good about the momentum and pricing, but that sequential will be a little bit left in prior year because of product mix because of the heavy highway sector.

我認為我們會繼續保持這種勢頭。我認為我們會受到一些影響，因為高速公路行業目前非常強勁，它擁有更大的基礎份額，這是一種更便宜的產品，但製造成本也更低。我想指出的是——我對單位利潤率感到滿意，對發展勢頭和定價也感到滿意，但由於重載公路行業的產品組合，這一連續性將比去年略有下降。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Yes, one of the things I would tell you that I'll add to that was I thought, when it came to pricing, we were really strong in the acquisitions, both on the East Coast and the West Coast. We got all we had planned in January. And I think we got all we had planned in mid-years, which will help us. Because as you can see, the mix has been a drag on us.

是的，我想告訴你的一件事是，我認為，在定價方面，我們在東海岸和西海岸的收購方面都非常強勁。我們在一月完成了所有計劃。我認為我們在年中完成了所有計劃，這將對我們有所幫助。因為正如你所看到的，這種混合對我們造成了拖累。

Yes, right. Okay. Thanks very much.

是的，對。好的。非常感謝。

Thanks.

謝謝。

Ivan Yi, Wolfe Research.

伊凡·易（Ivan Yi），沃爾夫研究公司。

Yes, hi. Good morning. Thanks for taking my question. First, roughly what percent of your aggregates move on the rails? And I guess I just want to get your initial thoughts on the proposed Union Pacific Norfolk Southern merger. What impact would this have? Would you support or oppose the transaction? Thank you.

是的，你好。早安.感謝您回答我的問題。首先，您的貨物中大約有多少百分比在軌道上移動？我想我只是想了解一下您對聯合太平洋和諾福克南方鐵路合併提議的初步看法。這會產生什麼影響？您支持還是反對這項交易？謝謝。

I don't know that it has any impact on us. We're customers of both those railroads, but the way aggregate shipments move, you're not going to commingle those. So I don't see much of an impact for us. In other words, what we ship now, We're not a long hauler, so we're shipping to a market which is within each one of those railroads, not changing carriers.

我不知道這對我們有什麼影響。我們是這兩條鐵路公司的客戶，但由於貨物運輸方式的集合，我們不會將它們混合在一起。所以我認為這對我們不會造成太大影響。換句話說，我們現在運送的貨物不是長途運輸，因此我們運送到每條鐵路內的市場，而不會更換承運人。

Great, thank you.

太好了，謝謝。

Sure.

當然。

Angel Castillo, Morgan Stanley.

摩根士丹利的安吉爾·卡斯蒂略。

Hi, Angel.

你好，安吉爾。

Hi, good morning. Hi, how's it going? Thank you for taking my question. Just -- this is a bit of a multi-part one, but just wanted to get a better sense of -- you mentioned the bid to bookings conversions starting to improve here, and it sounds like some of that is just, again, an inflection point. But curious, what are you seeing change here? Is it just the market confidence? Is it the tax bill? And then as you kind of respond to that, I guess, just curious, it sounds like you're also still seeing some deferrals and delays. So are those also still at maybe a little bit elevated levels, or are you seeing inflection there where those are no longer kind of occurring?

嗨，早安。嗨，最近怎麼樣？感謝您回答我的問題。只是 - 這是一個多部分的問題，但只是想更好地了解 - 您提到競標到預訂的轉換率開始在這裡改善，聽起來其中一些只是一個轉折點。但令人好奇的是，您在這裡看到了什麼變化？僅僅是市場信心嗎？是稅單嗎？然後，當您對此做出回應時，我想，只是好奇，聽起來您仍然看到一些延期和延遲。那麼，這些情況是否仍處於可能略高的水平，或者您是否看到了拐點，這些情況不再發生？

I missed the second half of your question. I'm sorry.

我錯過了你問題的後半部。對不起。

Yes, just curious as we think about that change in the EBITDA kind of bookings, it sounds like you are still seeing some deferrals and delays of projects that maybe make the volume inflection more of a '26 story. So just curious, is that also improving in terms of the number of kind of deferrals or delays? And just as we think about kind of the speed at which we can see these awards start to turn to real volumes?

是的，只是好奇，當我們考慮 EBITDA 預訂的變化時，聽起來您仍然看到一些項目的延遲和延遲，這可能會使交易量的變化更像是 26 年的故事。所以我很好奇，就延期或延遲的數量而言，情況是否也有所改善？正如我們所想，這些獎項以多快的速度開始轉化為實際數量？

Yes, so I don't think we're seeing the -- I think the deferrals and the delays have come to pass. We're seeing those jobs start. And so I think while that will build for '26, just because our backlogs are building, I think we're going to feel that in the second half. Where is that? As a pretty broad spread, the highway and infrastructure work is very good. That is that all that money, the IIJ and the state funding and local funding going to work. And so that, we will definitely feel in the second half of '25 and into '26.

是的，所以我不認為我們看到了——我認為延期和拖延已經發生了。我們看到這些工作正在開始。因此，我認為，儘管這種情況會在 26 年有所改善，但由於我們的積壓訂單正在增加，我認為我們會在下半年感受到這種影響。哪裡是？由於地域範圍相當廣闊，因此公路和基礎設施建設工作做得非常好。也就是說，所有這些資金、IIJ 以及國家資金和地方資金都發揮了作用。因此，我們肯定會在 25 年下半年和 26 年感受到這種感覺。

Data centers are good and growing. We're shipping a number of them right now and have said there's green-lit projects that haven't -- they're going to go, but we're not feeling them at this point. Those are heavily in our markets on, as I said, on non-res. Warehouses are, we think, are turning. So that will help us. Like-res, we think it's bottom. That will help us.

資料中心狀況良好並且正在不斷發展。我們目前正在運送其中的一些產品，並且已經說過有一些尚未開綠燈的項目——它們將會啟動，但我們現在還沒有感覺到它們。正如我所說，這些在我們的市場上主要集中在非房地產領域。我們認為，倉庫正在轉變。這對我們有幫助。就像 res 一樣，我們認為它是底部。這對我們有幫助。

And then, interesting, we haven't talked about -- but on multifamily residential, we've gone into growth mode before three-month starts. I think we're up 17%, so the only one we're struggling with right now is single-family, not overbuilt. So at some point in time, it'll turn, but we haven't seen signs of that at this point.

然後，有趣的是，我們還沒有談論過——但在多戶住宅方面，我們在三個月開始之前就已經進入了成長模式。我認為我們已經成長了 17%，因此我們現在唯一遇到困難的是獨棟住宅，而不是過度建造。所以在某個時間點，它會發生轉變，但目前我們還沒有看到這個跡象。

Yes, and I think, Angel, overall, there was just a bit of a post-Liberation Day lull that we seem to really be past now. And trailing three-month contract awards and private non-res have turned positive. So that, to us, is encouraging that we've moved past some of that uncertainty.

是的，安吉爾，我認為，總的來說，解放日之後確實有一段低迷期，但現在看來，這段低迷期已經過去了。過去三個月的合約授予和私人非房地產投資已轉為正值。因此，對我們來說，令人鼓舞的是我們已經克服了一些不確定性。

That's very helpful. Thank you.

這非常有幫助。謝謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Phil Ng, Jefferies.

Phil Ng，傑富瑞集團。

Hey, guys. Tom, you sounded pretty bullish on the pace of the infrastructure side of things. I think coming into the year, there was probably an expectation for infrastructure to call and be up mid-single digits. Now given what you're seeing, is that still a good way to think about it, and does that rate of growth perhaps even accelerate more in 2026 and beyond?

嘿，大家好。湯姆，聽起來你對基礎建設的進展非常樂觀。我認為，進入今年，人們可能會預期基礎設施建設將實現中等個位數的成長。現在，根據您所看到的情況，這仍然是一種好的思考方式嗎？到 2026 年及以後，成長率是否會進一步加快？

I would tell you, as I said, what we're seeing is just that money going to work. And the DOT's ability to get more work out, I think, is maturing. I do think that -- as I said, we see the upswing in '25. I think we see it go even more into '26, and it wouldn't surprise me to see it go more into '27.

我想告訴你，正如我所說，我們看到的只是錢在發揮作用。我認為，交通部完成更多工作的能力正在日趨成熟。我確實認為——正如我所說，我們看到了 25 年的上升趨勢。我認為，到 26 年，我們會看到這種趨勢進一步發展，到 27 年，我不會感到驚訝。

Okay, that's helpful. And in your downstream business, appreciating it's a smaller part of your business. It was a little softer than I would have thought. How much of that is weather related, dynamic? And ReadyMix, I would imagine, is more tied to housing too, the perspective? How's your outlook in terms of your profitability in your downturn business change from the start of the year?

好的，這很有幫助。而在你的下游業務中，它只是你業務中較小的一部分。它比我想像的要軟一點。其中有多少是與天氣有關、動態的？我認為 ReadyMix 也與住房有更密切的聯繫，從哪個角度來看呢？從今年年初開始，您對經濟低迷時期業務的盈利能力的展望有何變化？

So Phil, you're right. The first half was impacted really by the weather in our asphalt business in Tennessee and Alabama. And the softer private demand did weigh on ReadyMix. I think overall, in asphalt, we still saw price improvement. And the lower liquid helped offset the lower volume, so I think a pretty solid performance there. The good news is we've seen a good recovery already in July shipments where we were weather impacted, and I think the accelerating public demand and a little bit lower liquid level versus what we'd initially anticipated all bode well for the back half and asphalt.

菲爾，你是對的。上半年，田納西州和阿拉巴馬州的瀝青業務確實受到了天氣的影響。而私人需求的疲軟確實給 ReadyMix 帶來了壓力。我認為總體而言，瀝青價格仍然有所上漲。較低的液體有助於抵消較低的體積，所以我認為這裡的表現相當穩定。好消息是，我們已經看到 7 月受天氣影響的出貨量出現良好復甦，我認為公眾需求的加速成長和液位略低於我們最初的預期，這些都預示著下半年和瀝青市場將表現良好。

And then in ReadyMix, we certainly have some ground to make up, but we saw price improvement, unit margin improvement, even with the lower volumes, some of that in part to the quality of that recent Southern California acquisition. But we're encouraged in ReadyMix by some of the positive signs on the private side that Tom was just talking about and still think we have a shot at some improvement in the back half.

然後在 ReadyMix 方面，我們當然還有一些需要彌補的地方，但我們看到了價格的改善，單位利潤率的提高，即使銷售量較低，部分原因在於最近在南加州收購的品質。但是，湯姆剛才談到的私人方面的一些積極跡象讓我們對 ReadyMix 感到鼓舞，我們仍然認為我們有機會在後半段取得一些進步。

Okay, helpful. Thank you.

好的，有幫助。謝謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Garik Shmois, Loop Capital.

Garik Shmois，Loop Capital。

Great, thanks. I had a question on aggregates pricing. How should we think about mid-year increases this year? I just spoke a little bit to traction on acquiring markets, just wondering how widespread the mid-years were. And then also on the mix side, we appreciate that the product mix headwinds with more base, but I'm wondering about geographic mix, especially with the southeast snap stack here, as it has in July. How does that impact pricing in the second half of the year?

太好了，謝謝。我對骨材定價有疑問。我們該如何看待今年的年中漲幅？我剛才稍微談了一下收購市場的吸引力，只是想知道年中收購的普及程度如何。然後，在組合方面，我們意識到產品組合逆風會隨著基礎的增加而增加，但我想知道地理組合的情況，特別是這裡的東南部快照堆棧，就像 7 月的情況一樣。這對下半年的定價有何影響？

Yes, so on mid-years, I'd call it some products and some markets, which is not that unusual. Everybody wants it to have an impact on same year, as we'll say it'll have a little bit of impact on '25. But it's really a '26 play, and it's really trying to set you up for your '26 price increases. So it's more tailwind for '26. As I said, I was very pleased with the pricing we got on both in In North Carolina and in California on the acquisitions. They're behind, and we'll quickly get them up to Vulcan standards, but that's going to take a little while. And as you saw in the mix, that was a big part of the difference in reported and mixed.

是的，所以在年中，我會稱之為一些產品和一些市場，這並不罕見。每個人都希望它對同一年產生影響，正如我們所說，它會對 25 年產生一點影響。但它實際上是一場 26 年的戲劇，它實際上是在試圖讓你為 26 年的價格上漲做好準備。因此，對於 26 年來說，這是一個更順風的時期。正如我所說，我對我們在北卡羅來納州和加利福尼亞州的收購定價感到非常滿意。他們落後了，我們很快就會讓他們達到 Vulcan 標準，但這需要一點時間。正如您在混合中看到的那樣，這是報告和混合之間的很大差異。

The other part, to your point, was the Southeast, where volumes were hit hard with record rainfall in a number of our key states. I think that the fact that we performed as well as we did in the first half based on mix and based on challenging conditions gives me a lot of confidence with the second half where I think we'll see better volumes and that we can continue that momentum and we carry a lot of that into '26. So I think while we've had a challenge from outside forces, I thought our internal performance was quite disciplined and done quite well.

正如您所說，另一部分是東南部地區，該地區一些主要州的降雨量創歷史新高，遭受重創。我認為，我們在上半年基於混合和具有挑戰性的條件的表現與上半年一樣好，這讓我對下半年充滿信心，我認為我們會看到更好的銷量，我們可以繼續保持這種勢頭，並將這種勢頭帶入 26 年。因此我認為，雖然我們面臨來自外部力量的挑戰，但我認為我們的內在表現相當嚴謹，而且做得相當好。

Yes, and Garik, I think we will see some modest sequential growth, but it really will just come down to geographic mix and product mix and where those land. What's important to us mostly is just the underlying pricing momentum with the 8% mix adjusted in the quarter and how strong that remains.

是的，加里克，我認為我們將看到一些適度的連續成長，但這實際上取決於地理組合和產品組合以及它們所處的位置。對我們來說最重要的是本季調整 8% 組合後的潛在定價動能以及這種動能的維持程度。

Yes, the one thing, you brought up base that I would point out while people tend to, I guess, kind of look down on base, it is a really important product for us, and it has great margins, and it balances our plants, and will help our costs. So while it may be, while flexible, base is lower priced, it's still really good margins and really important. So for me, as an operator, I think the base volumes look fantastic.

是的，有一件事，你提到了基礎，我想指出，雖然人們傾向於看不起基礎，但它對我們來說是一種非常重要的產品，它有很大的利潤，它平衡了我們的工廠，並有助於降低我們的成本。因此，儘管它可能靈活，但基礎價格較低，利潤率仍然很高，而且非常重要。因此對我來說，作為一名操作員，我認為基礎卷看起來非常棒。

That's encouraging. Thank you.

這令人鼓舞。謝謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Michael Dudas, Vertical Research Partners.

杜達斯（Michael Dudas），Vertical Research Partners。

Good morning, Mary Andrews, Mark, Tom.

早安，瑪麗安德魯斯、馬克、湯姆。

Hey. Good morning.

嘿。早安.

Share your thoughts on Big Beautiful Bill legislation and how that, maybe from your clients, or how you assess it from a Vulcan standpoint? And maybe to follow on to that, what are you hearing your thoughts on IIJ 2.0?

請分享您對「美麗大法案」的看法，也許是從您的客戶的角度，或者您從 Vulcan 的角度如何評價它？也許接下來，您對 IIJ 2.0 有什麼看法？

I'll start first maybe with the recent tax legislation. There are certainly some benefits in there for us. Those will mainly come from 100% bonus depreciation, and the expensing of domestic research costs. So we currently estimate a cash tax benefit of over $40 million for June year-to-date activity, and we would expect the full-year benefit could approach $100 million. We don't expect any material impacts to our effective tax rate, but definitely a cash tax benefit for 2025 and going forward.

我首先會從最近的稅收立法開始。這對我們來說肯定有一些好處。這些收入主要來自100%的獎金折舊和國內研究成本的費用化。因此，我們目前估計，今年 6 月迄今的活動的現金稅收收益將超過 4,000 萬美元，我們預計全年收益可能接近 1 億美元。我們預計這不會對我們的有效稅率產生任何重大影響，但肯定會對 2025 年及以後的現金稅收優惠產生影響。

Yes, on a new highway bill, I think the good news or what I'm encouraged about is that Congress is already working on one. They're already trying to pin it. They are aggressively pursuing it. I think to tell you what the magnitude is versus IIJ, it's probably too early to call. It will be bigger. Now whether that's 5% or 20%, we don't know yet. We're voting for 20, but I'd take five.

是的，關於新的公路法案，我認為好消息或讓我感到鼓舞的是國會已經在著手製定一項法案了。他們已經在嘗試將其固定。他們正在積極追求這一目標。我認為現在就告訴你與 IIJ 相比其規模如何，可能還為時過早。它會更大。目前我們還不知道這個數字是 5% 還是 20%。我們投票贊成 20 票，但我選 5 票。

I think, importantly, remember, the IIJ funding, as I commented, we've only spent 60% of that funding, and we're a year and a half away from the bill expiring, so there will be a tail to this. And we'll have substantial highway work based on IIJ dollars that will go past the expiration of IIJA. So we got kind of what I call an insurance policy or a timeline that will protect us on trying to get that new bill. But we'll get one. It'll be at higher funding.

我認為，重要的是，請記住，IIJ 資金，正如我所說，我們只花了 60% 的資金，而且距離法案到期還有一年半的時間，所以這會有一個尾聲。我們將利用 IIJ 資金進行大量公路工程，這些資金將持續到 IIJA 到期之後。因此，我們得到了所謂的保險單或時間表，它將在我們試圖獲得新法案時提供保護。但我們會得到一個。它將需要更高的資金。

Well, let's settle for 12.5% time, and we'll call it a day. Thank you.

好吧，我們就把時間定為 12.5%，然後就到此為止。謝謝。

Okay.

好的。

David MacGregor, Longbow Research.

大衛麥格雷戈，長弓研究公司。

Thanks, and good morning, everyone. Thanks for taking the questions. Tom, you talked about 2 million to 3 million tonnes that were lost in the quarter. How much incremental tonnes do you think you'll ship in 3Q that was of that 2 million to 3 million? How much can you recover?

謝謝，大家早安。感謝您回答這些問題。湯姆，你談到本季損失了 200 萬至 300 萬噸。您認為第三季的出貨量將增加多少噸（200萬至300萬噸）？你能恢復多少？

And I guess also on that question, I appreciate all the conversation and discussion around the backlogs. I know, normally, you don't open that up and get into a lot of detail. But given it seems a fairly important inflection point in terms of what you're seeing there, I wonder if you could maybe just dig in a little further on the backlog and share with us a little more detail. Maybe growth numbers year over year versus last quarter, table pricing, growth in the backlog. I think anything there would be helpful. Thanks.

我想，關於這個問題，我也感謝所有圍繞積壓問題的對話和討論。我知道，通常情況下，你不會公開談論這個話題，也不會談論太多細節。但考慮到您所看到的情況，這似乎是一個相當重要的轉折點，我想知道您是否可以進一步深入了解積壓情況並與我們分享更多細節。也許與上一季相比，年成長數字、表格定價、積壓訂單的成長。我認為那裡的任何東西都會有幫助。謝謝。

Yes, so on the weather related, it will be spread out in the second half. I mean, you just don't get a big slug of that. We saw -- probably saw -- the slug we saw was probably in July. That probably helped that double-digit number, but most of it will be spread out over the quarter. So I think we'll catch that up and do fine with it and move ahead.

是的，所以就天氣相關而言，它將在下半年展開。我的意思是，你根本不會感受到那種巨大的壓力。我們看到──可能看到──我們看到的蛞蝓大概是在七月。這可能有助於實現兩位數的成長，但大部分成長將分散在本季。所以我認為我們會迎頭趕上，做得很好，繼續前進。

If I look at our backlogs, I would call them up in all sectors except for single family, and they're kind of what I call flat, maybe down a little bit in single family. But the one that's -- non-res is up, and highways is up substantially. So I think that gives us a lot of confidence in continuing our guide to the three or five, but also gives us confidence that we're going to start '26 off on the right foot.

如果我看一下我們的積壓訂單，我會發現除了單戶住宅之外，所有領域的積壓訂單都呈平穩狀態，單戶住宅的積壓訂單可能略有下降。但非住宅用地價格上漲，高速公路價格大幅上漲。因此，我認為這給了我們很大的信心繼續我們的三到五個指南，同時也給了我們信心，我們將以正確的方式開始 26 年。

Thanks very much.

非常感謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Michael Feniger, Bank of America.

美國銀行的麥可費尼格。

Hey, Michael.

嘿，麥可。

Good morning.

早安.

Morning, guys. Thanks for squeezing me in. Tom, you mentioned with the second half the product mix with Highways kind of weighs on sequential pricing. It sounds like a mixed impact. Is there anything we should keep in mind for 2026 if growth is led more by highways and data centers? Does that headline pricing number look a little bit more modest with a price-versus-cost spread? It's still the same in terms of 60% incrementals, kind of double-digit, gross profit per tonne. Just kind of wondering, as the mix and your end markets kind of evolve. Do we have to think about differently if it impacts the pricing or the profitability metrics at all?

早安，大家。謝謝你讓我加入。湯姆，你提到下半年高速公路的產品組合對連續定價產生了一定的影響。這聽起來像是混合影響。如果成長主要由高速公路和資料中心推動，那麼對於 2026 年，我們應該牢記什麼？如果將價格與成本進行比較，整體定價數字是否看起來更為適中？就每噸毛利的增量（大約兩位數）而言，仍然是一樣的。只是有點好奇，隨著組合和最終市場的發展。我們是否必須以不同的方式思考它是否會影響定價或獲利指標？

Well, over the last couple of years, we've got a lot of headwinds on the private side, and we've been slow getting growth on the highways about where we thought. But what's encouraging me about pricing '26 is two things. Number one, the highways are so strong, and you've got a lot of visibility to come and work in highways. It's not just what we have in our backlogs, but what's the funding and the capital spending levels for our states, coupled out with the IIJ money maturing and the DOTs being able to get that work out. All those are really impactors.

嗯，在過去的幾年裡，我們在私人方面遇到了很多阻力，我們在高速公路上的成長速度一直沒有達到我們預想的水平。但有兩件事讓我對 26 年的定價感到鼓舞。首先，高速公路非常堅固，在高速公路上工作具有很高的能見度。這不僅關係到我們積壓了多少工作，還關係到我們各州的資金和資本支出水平，再加上 IIJ 資金的到期和交通部能夠完成這項工作的能力。所有這些都是真正的影響因素。

But remember, once they say it's going to go, it's going to go. It's not going to get paused. It's not going to get pushed back unless you have a permitting issue. So it does a lot of clarity to what's going on that. If you layer on top of that, if we're making the turn on the private side, then that gives us a lot of tailwinds for people who have the confidence in more work to come and taking risk on pricing going forward. So that's what's given me a better feeling than maybe what I had three or four, six months ago when we were in a little bit of a lull on the private side and the public side had not kicked in as strong.

但請記住，一旦他們說要去，就一定會去。它不會暫停。除非有許可問題，否則它不會被推遲。因此，它對正在發生的事情有了很大的澄清。如果你在此基礎上再分層考慮，如果我們轉向私人領域，那麼這將為那些對未來有更多工作充滿信心並願意承擔未來定價風險的人帶來很大的順風。所以，這給了我比三、四、六個月前更好的感覺，當時我們的私人方面有點低迷，而公共方面還沒有那麼強勁地發揮作用。

Great, thanks, Tom. Just lastly, from a second question, you guys are looking -- we're looking at like $1 billion of free cash flow. Is that the new baseline for you guys going forward, rebasing the free cash flow to this $1 billion number and moving that higher? And if that is the case, if this is your new baseline, which would be a record for the company, does that change at all how you're thinking of capital allocation? I appreciate that I think you're at 2 times leverage But I'm just kind of curious, that new baseline, does that kind of change or how aggressive you'll be on the capital allocation side? Thank you.

太好了，謝謝，湯姆。最後，關於第二個問題，你們正在考慮——我們正在考慮 10 億美元的自由現金流。這是你們未來發展的新基準嗎，將自由現金流重新設定為 10 億美元，然後再進一步提高？如果情況確實如此，如果這是您的新基準，這將是公司的紀錄，這會改變您對資本配置的看法嗎？我很感激，我認為你的槓桿是 2 倍，但我只是有點好奇，新的基準會發生怎樣的變化，或者你在資本配置方面會有多積極？謝謝。

Yes, I would tell you our capital allocation priorities don't change, but I think the level to which we can allocate capital to each of those priorities does change. And even as you think about the back half of the year, given the current balance sheet profile and the strong cash generation, I think returning cash to shareholders is likely, and that level will be dependent upon how the M&A discussions that we've been having continue to develop.

是的，我會告訴你我們的資本配置優先順序不會改變，但我認為我們為每個優先級分配資本的水平確實會改變。即使考慮到下半年的情況，考慮到當前的資產負債表狀況和強勁的現金產生能力，我認為向股東返還現金是可能的，而這一水平將取決於我們一直在進行的併購談判如何繼續發展。

Yes, I thought we were we were very pleased with the two acquisitions we got. We closed on the end of '25. We're pleased with our integration, particularly on the pricing side. M&A was a bit slow in the first months of the year. We're starting to have some conversations now that hopefully will be meaningful to us, so I'm encouraged. I'm more encouraged about the M&A than maybe I was four or five months ago. But also, like I said, once you buy one, you better execute, and I'm pleased with the execution of what we've done with who we closed with in the last year.

是的，我認為我們對這兩項收購感到非常滿意。我們在 25 年底關閉。我們對我們的整合感到滿意，特別是在定價方面。今年頭幾個月的併購活動略顯緩慢。我們現在開始進行一些對話，希望這些對話對我們有意義，所以我很受鼓舞。與四、五個月前相比，我對此次併購更有信心。但正如我所說的，一旦你購買了一家公司，你最好就執行，我對我們去年與客戶達成的合作執行感到滿意。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。

There are no further questions on the line at this time. We'll turn the program back to Tom Hill, Chairman and CEO, for any closing or remaining remarks.

目前沒有其他問題。我們將把節目交還給董事長兼執行長湯姆希爾 (Tom Hill)，請他發表結束語或剩餘發言。

Again, thank you for your interest in Vulcan Materials. We appreciate your time. We look forward to talking to you throughout the quarter, and we hope you stay safe and your family stay safe. Thank you.

再次感謝您對 Vulcan Materials 的關注。感謝您的時間。我們期待在整個季度與您交談，並希望您和您的家人保持安全。謝謝。

This does conclude today's program. Thank you again for your participation and you may now disconnect.

今天的節目到此結束。再次感謝您的參與，現在您可以斷開連接了。