渥肯建材 (VMC) 2025 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good morning. Welcome, everyone, to the Vulcan Materials Company fourth-quarter 2025 earnings call. My name is Angela, 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 at the company's website. (Operator Instructions) 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.

早安.歡迎各位參加 Vulcan Materials 公司 2025 年第四季財報電話會議。我叫安琪拉，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，稍後將在公司網站上提供回放。（操作員指示）現在我將把電話交給主持人馬克沃倫先生，他是 Vulcan Materials 的投資者關係副總裁。沃倫先生，你可以開始了。

Thank you, operator. With me today are Ronnie Pruitt, Chief Executive Officer; 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. 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. (Operator Instructions) And with that, I'll turn the call over to Ronnie.

謝謝接線生。今天陪同我出席的有執行長羅尼·普魯伊特，以及高級副總裁兼財務長瑪麗·安德魯斯·卡萊爾。今天的電話會議附帶一份新聞稿和一份補充演示文稿，已發佈在我們的網站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因素的影響。這些風險以及其他法律免責聲明，在公司的獲利報告和提交給美國證券交易委員會的其他文件中均有詳細描述。非GAAP財務指標的調節表已在我們的獲利報告、補充說明和其他提交給美國證券交易委員會的文件中進行了定義和調節。（操作員指示）那麼，我就把電話交給羅尼了。

Thanks, Mark, and thank you all for joining our call this morning. I am honored to be leading this great company and representing the men and women of Vulcan Materials. We had an outstanding safety year and delivered another year of robust growth in earnings and cash generation. I am proud of the way our teams executed in 2025. Their accomplishments position us well to take advantage of the growth opportunities ahead of us. We are committed to continue to improve our underlying business and expand our industry-leading Aggregates franchise, both in our current footprint and new geographies.

謝謝馬克，也謝謝各位今天上午參加我們的電話會議。我很榮幸能夠領導這家偉大的公司，並代表 Vulcan Materials 的全體員工。我們度過了安全表現優異的一年，並在盈利和現金流方面實現了另一個強勁增長年。我為我們團隊在 2025 年的執行方式感到自豪。他們的成就使我們能夠更好地掌握未來的發展機會。我們致力於不斷改進我們的基礎業務，並擴大我們行業領先的骨料特許經營權，無論是在我們現有的業務範圍內還是在新的地區。

In 2025, we delivered $2.3 billion of adjusted EBITDA, a 13% increase over the prior year. Adjusted EBITDA margin expanded 160 basis points to 29.3%. Importantly, our Aggregate cash gross profit per ton grew to $11.33, achieving our previously established target of $11 to $12 and driving operating cash flow of over $1.8 billion, a 29% increase over the prior year.

2025年，我們實現了23億美元的調整後EBITDA，比前一年增長了13%。調整後 EBITDA 利潤率成長 160 個基點至 29.3%。重要的是，我們每噸總現金毛利成長至 11.33 美元，實現了我們先前設定的 11 至 12 美元的目標，並推動了超過 18 億美元的經營現金流，比前一年增長了 29%。

As expected, Aggregates unit's profitability continued to expand and public demand continue to grow. However, single-family residential activity was weaker than we initially anticipated, yielding a full-z

正如預期的那樣，骨材業務部門的獲利能力持續擴大，公眾需求也持續成長。然而，獨棟住宅活動比我們最初預期的要弱，導致完全z值下降。

year volume and price at the lower end of our initial expectations. I was pleased with how our operating and sales teams adjusted to a dynamic environment by carefully managing inventories and tightly controlling costs, even with several fourth quarter timing impacts outside of their control.

年銷售量和價格均處於我們最初預期的下限。我對我們的營運和銷售團隊如何適應動態環境感到滿意，他們透過精心管理庫存和嚴格控製成本，即使第四季度的一些時間安排受到他們無法控制的影響。

Our Aggregates unit cash cost of sales increased less than 2% for the full year. This performance is a great example of the Vulcan Way of Operating at work. allowing us to use our tools and disciplines to remain focused on what we can control. With implementation ongoing and incremental opportunities ahead of us, I am certain VWO will continue to enhance our results. Aggregates shipments approximately -- of approximately 227 million tons increased 3% for the full year, with growth driven by prior year acquisitions. Same-store Aggregate shipments for the full year were slightly lower than the prior year. In the fourth quarter, Aggregates shipments increased 2% compared to the prior year, despite nearly 30% lower shipments in East Tennessee and North Carolina that had outside shipments in the prior year's fourth quarter as we support the rebuilding efforts after Hurricane Helene. Aggregates mix-adjusted price improved 6% for the full year and 5% in the fourth quarter.

全年來看，我們骨材的單位銷售現金成本成長不到 2%。這次演出完美詮釋了瓦肯人的行事方式，讓我們能夠運用自己的能力和紀律，專注於我們所能掌控的事情。隨著實施工作的持續推進和未來機會的不斷湧現，我確信 VWO 將繼續提升我們的業績。全年骨材出貨量約 2.27 億噸，成長 3%，成長主要得益於前一年的收購。全年同店總出貨量略低於去年同期。第四季度，儘管東田納西州和北卡羅來納州的骨料出貨量比去年同期下降了近 30%，但由於我們在上年第四季度支持颶風海倫後的重建工作，這兩個地區的出貨量有所減少，但骨料出貨量仍比上年同期增長了 2%。全年骨材混合調整價格上漲 6%，第四季上漲 5%。

Geographic mix from the acquisitions the prior year elevated shipments in two of our higher-priced markets and a shift in product mix all impacted year-over-year reported pricing in the quarter. While an acceleration in bookings for large projects, with the wide complement of products and a quick conversion to shipments impacted sequential pricing in the fourth quarter, these activity levels bode well for 2026 demand and highlight our position as a supplier of choice on large projects that need to move quickly.

上一年收購帶來的地域組合變化提高了我們在兩個高價市場的出貨量，產品組合的變化也對本季同比報告價格產生了影響。雖然大型專案的預訂量加速成長，加上產品種類繁多以及快速轉為發貨，影響了第四季度的環比價格，但這些活動水準預示著 2026 年的需求良好，並突顯了我們作為需要快速推進的大型專案的首選供應商的地位。

Through the combination of our commercial and operational execution throughout 2025, Aggregates cash gross profit per ton improved 7% for the year. This performance gives me confidence in our operating and sales team's abilities to continue compounding our industry-leading unit profitability. Now I'll turn the call over to Mary Andrews to provide some additional commentary on our 2025 performance.

透過我們在 2025 年的商業和營運執行，骨材每噸現金毛利全年提高了 7%。這項業績讓我對我們的營運和銷售團隊的能力充滿信心，他們有能力繼續保持我們行業領先的單位獲利能力。現在我將把電話交給瑪麗·安德魯斯，請她對我們 2025 年的表現做一些補充說明。

Thanks, Ronnie, and good morning. Our 2025 results are a clear depiction of the powerful combination of our two-pronged approach to growth through the continued expansion of our Aggregates cash gross profit per ton across the franchise, and the contribution of prior year strategic acquisition, we increased our free cash flow by over 40% after reinvesting $678 million of total capital expenditures for operating and maintenance needs and internal growth projects. The strong cash generation allowed us to quickly delever the balance sheet after issuing $2 billion of new long-term notes in the fourth quarter of last year, positioning us well to capitalize on future growth opportunities.

謝謝你，羅尼，早安。我們 2025 年的業績清晰地展現了我們雙管齊下的成長策略的強大成效：一方面，我們不斷擴大整個特許經營體系內每噸骨料現金毛利潤；另一方面，加上前一年戰略收購的貢獻，我們在將 6.78 億美元的總資本支出再投資於項目和維護需求以及內部增長後，自由現金流增長了 40% 以上。強勁的現金流使我們能夠在去年第四季發行 20 億美元的新長期票據後迅速降低資產負債率，從而更好地掌握未來的成長機會。

We also returned $260 million to shareholders through our steadily growing dividend and $438 million through share repurchases. At year-end, our net debt-to-adjusted EBITDA leverage was 1.8 times. In March, we redeemed our 2025 notes at par for $400 million, and throughout the second half of the year, we paid down $550 million of commercial paper balances to reduce interest expense while maintaining the flexibility to reissue at any time. SAG expenses for the full year were $564 million and 10 basis points lower than the prior year as a percentage of revenue at 7.1%. We remain pleased with the results our investments in technology and talent are yielding in the business.

我們也透過不斷增長的股息向股東返還了 2.6 億美元，並透過股票回購返還了 4.38 億美元。截至年底，我們的淨債務與調整後 EBITDA 的比率為 1.8 倍。3 月份，我們以面額贖回了 2025 年到期的票據，金額為 4 億美元。在下半年，我們償還了 5.5 億美元的商業票據餘額，以減少利息支出，同時保持隨時重新發行的靈活性。SAG全年支出為5.64億美元，佔營收的7.1%，比前一年減少了10個基點。我們對公司在技術和人才方面的投資所取得的成果感到滿意。

Through compounding improvements in our business and strategic portfolio optimization, over the last three years, we have improved our adjusted EBITDA margin by over 700 basis points and our return on invested capital by over 200 basis points. We anticipate further expansion in both metrics with the closing of the pending [ready-mix] divestiture and attractive profitability improvements in our underlying businesses in 2026 that I'll now pass back to Ronnie to highlight.

過去三年，透過業務的持續改善和策略組合的最佳化，我們的調整後 EBITDA 利潤率提高了 700 多個基點，投資資本回報率提高了 200 多個基點。我們預計，隨著待決的[預拌混凝土]剝離的完成以及我們基礎業務在 2026 年盈利能力的顯著提升，這兩個指標將進一步擴張。我現在將把這些內容交還給 Ronnie，讓他重點介紹一下。

Thanks, Mary Andrews. In 2026, we plan to continue our track record of compounding growth in what we expect to be an improving demand environment. We expect continued growth in public demand will now be complemented by improving private demand, resulting in modest overall growth in 2026. Growing demand is a beneficial backdrop for both the pricing and operating environments. Trailing 12-month highway starts continue to grow and at 3 times the rate in Vulcan markets compared to the U.S. overall. IIJA dollars continued to drive increased spending in addition to funding from state DOTs and local initiatives. While the current highway funding programs authorized by IIJA continued through September of this year, over 50% of the funding is yet to be spent and will continue to flow through over the next several years. Efforts are already underway in Washington for a reauthorization bill.

謝謝你，瑪麗安德魯斯。2026年，我們計劃繼續保持複合成長的良好勢頭，我們預計屆時需求環境將持續改善。我們預計，公共需求的持續成長將與私人需求的改善相輔相成，從而在 2026 年實現溫和的整體成長。不斷增長的需求對定價和營運環境都是有利的。過去 12 個月的公路開工量持續成長，Vulcan 市場的開工速度是美國整體的 3 倍。除了州交通部門和地方倡議提供的資金外，IIJA 的資金也繼續推動支出增加。雖然 IIJA 授權的當前公路資金計劃一直持續到今年 9 月，但超過 50% 的資金尚未支出，並將在未來幾年內繼續撥款。華盛頓方面已經開始著手製定重新授權法案。

Public non-highway infrastructure investments also continued to grow. Starts in Vulcan markets for water, sewer and other infrastructure projects increased double digits in 2025, supporting shipments growth in 2026. On the private side, the affordability issue in single-family housing have yet to be resolved, but appear to be a priority of the administration. We expect that residential activity will be limited in 2026, but we will be monitoring closely for any improving opportunities in the second half of the year.

公共非公路基礎設施投資也持續成長。2025 年，Vulcan 市場用於水、污水和其他基礎設施項目的開工量實現了兩位數增長，為 2026 年的出貨量增長提供了支持。在私人領域，獨棟住宅的可負擔性問題尚未解決，但似乎是本屆政府的優先事項。我們預計 2026 年住宅活動將受到限制，但我們將密切關注下半年是否有任何改善的機會。

While private nonresidential activity continues to vary across categories, we are encouraged by the prospects of a return to modest growth in Vulcan-served markets in 2026, led by industrial and nonresidential categories. Data centers remain the biggest catalyst with over 150 million square feet under construction and another nearly 450 million square feet announced. Over 70% of this activity is occurring within 30 miles of the Vulcan Aggregates facility. Our footprint, scale, reliability and logistics capabilities make us particularly well suited to partner with our customers and serve these fast-moving projects. Based on the demand expectations I just described, we expect Aggregates shipments to grow between 1% and 3% in 2026.

儘管私人非住宅活動在各個類別中仍然存在差異，但我們對 Vulcan 服務市場在 2026 年恢復溫和增長的前景感到鼓舞，其中工業和非住宅類別將引領這一增長。資料中心仍然是最大的推動因素，目前在建面積超過 1.5 億平方英尺，另有近 4.5 億平方英尺的專案已宣布啟動。超過 70% 的此類活動發生在 Vulcan Aggregates 工廠 30 英里範圍內。我們的業務範圍、規模、可靠性和物流能力使我們特別適合與客戶合作，並為這些快速發展的專案提供服務。根據我剛才所描述的需求預期，我們預計 2026 年骨材出貨量將成長 1% 至 3%。

We expect Aggregates freight-adjusted average selling prices to increase between 4% and 6% and Aggregates unit cash cost of sales to increase by a low single-digit percentage. These expectations equate to another year of at least high single-digit expansion of our Aggregates cash gross profit per ton, which will drive attractive earnings growth and cash generation. We expect to deliver between $2.4 billion and $2.6 billion of adjusted EBITDA in 2026. I'll now pass to Mary Andrews again to provide a few more details around the 2026 guidance before we take your questions.

我們預期骨材經運費調整後的平均售價將上漲 4% 至 6%，骨材的單位現金銷售成本將上漲個位數百分比。這些預期意味著我們骨材每噸現金毛利將在未來一年至少實現高個位數成長，這將推動可觀的獲利成長和現金流。我們預計 2026 年調整後 EBITDA 將達到 24 億美元至 26 億美元。現在我將再次把麥克風交給瑪麗·安德魯斯，讓她在回答大家的問題之前，再詳細介紹一下 2026 年的指導方針。

Thanks, Ronnie. To complement the solid Aggregates outlook Ronnie just shared with you, we expect our downstream businesses to contribute approximately $290 million in cash gross profit. Roughly 85% of the earnings are expected to be derived from the Asphalt segment given our pruned ready-mix footprint. We forecast SAG expenses of between $580 million and $590 million. We project depreciation, depletion, amortization and accretion expenses of approximately $700 million, interest expense of approximately $225 million and an effective tax rate between 22% and 23%. Consistent with our initial plans for 2025, we plan to reinvest in our franchise through operating and maintenance and internal growth capital expenditures of $750 million to $800 million in 2026. This year's CapEx includes approximately $50 million of planned spending that shifted from the prior year into 2026 on the large plant rebuild projects underway. Overall, we expect to deliver another year of expansion in adjusted EBITDA margin, growth in adjusted EBITDA and attractive cash generation in 2026. Now Ronnie and I will be happy to take your questions.

謝謝你，羅尼。為了配合 Ronnie 剛剛與大家分享的穩健的骨材業務前景，我們預計下游業務將貢獻約 2.9 億美元的現金毛利。鑑於我們精簡了預拌混凝土業務，瀝青業務預計將貢獻約 85% 的收益。我們預測美國演員工會（SAG）的支出將在 5.8 億美元至 5.9 億美元之間。我們預計折舊、損耗、攤提和增值費用約為 7 億美元，利息支出約為 2.25 億美元，實際稅率在 22% 至 23% 之間。與我們 2025 年的初步計劃一致，我們計劃在 2026 年透過營運和維護以及內部成長資本支出，對我們的特許經營權進行 7.5 億美元至 8 億美元的再投資。今年的資本支出包括約 5000 萬美元的計劃支出，這些支出從前一年轉移到 2026 年，用於正在進行的大型工廠重建項目。總體而言，我們預計 2026 年調整後 EBITDA 利潤率將再次擴張，調整後 EBITDA 將實現成長，並產生可觀的現金流。現在我和羅尼很樂意回答你們的問題。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from Trey Grooms with Stephens.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自 Stephens 公司的 Trey Grooms。

So Ronnie, given the 4Q, kind of where it landed and then looking into the guide for this year, it clearly suggests that 4Q '25 is not the trend. So could you talk about your confidence levels there and the puts and takes around the end market demand as well as your expectations around pricing and profitability and your outlook there for '26, please?

所以羅尼，考慮到第四季度的情況，以及它最終的成績，再看看今年的指導方針，很明顯，2025 年第四季並不是趨勢。那麼，您能否談談您對這方面的信心水平，以及您對終端市場需求的看法，還有您對定價和盈利能力的預期，以及您對 2026 年的展望？

Thanks for the question. Let me start with saying the business is executing well, and we're in a position to leverage demand growth and I think a very healthy pricing environment for 2026. So first, on the demand side, public starts remain solid. It's also reflected in the strength of our backlog. And then the other public infrastructure outside of highways is also a really good story for us as we continue to see that in our backlog as well. So overall, we expect really steady public -- growth in the public side. On the private side, let's start with private non-res. We're seeing most of this activity in the industrial categories.

謝謝你的提問。首先我想說的是，公司營運狀況良好，我們有能力利用需求成長，我認為2026年的價格環境將會非常健康。首先，從需求面來看，公車開工量依然穩健。這一點也體現在我們積壓訂單的充足程度上。此外，除高速公路以外的其他公共基礎設施對我們來說也是一個非常值得關注的項目，因為我們也一直在積壓項目中看到這方面的需求。所以總體而言，我們預期公共部門將實現非常穩定的成長。在私有方面，讓我們從私有非資源開始。我們發現這些活動主要集中在工業領域。

Data centers continues to be a bright spot, and we're seeing increasing levels of activities reflected in our bookings as well. Importantly, these data center projects are quickly converting into shipments, which we also anticipate growth in the power generation side of these data centers continue to get built out. Warehouses, we think they're finding the bottom, and we're seeing some potential green shoots in a number of our markets. On the residential side, we're expecting the currently soft demand environment to improve somewhat in 2026. But this assumes that we get some help from interest rates and affordability. So we'll see how that plays out through the remainder of the year.

資料中心依然是一大亮點，我們的預訂量也反映出資料中心業務活動的不斷成長。重要的是，這些資料中心專案正在迅速轉化為實際交付，我們也預計這些資料中心的發電部分將繼續發展壯大。我們認為倉庫市場正在觸底反彈，我們看到一些市場出現了復甦的跡象。在住宅方面，我們預計目前疲軟的需求環境將在 2026 年有所改善。但這假設利率和支付能力能夠給我們一些幫助。所以，我們將拭​​目以待，看看今年餘下的時間情況會如何發展。

So after really three years of (inaudible) growth, I mean we expect 2026 to really return to a year of some modest growth. And so an improving demand backdrop could provide both help on our cost side as well as even more upside on our pricing. With our Vulcan (inaudible) selling disciplines, they're helping us really efficiently manage project leads and maximize pricing is we expect those efforts to continue to be a catalyst for pricing and profitability realization. And on the fixed plant price increases have largely been accepted and improved visibility in the private side will help that, and it also will be helpful for -- as we think about midyears throughout the year.

所以，經過三年（聽不清楚）的成長之後，我們預計 2026 年將真正恢復到溫和成長的一年。因此，需求環境的改善既可以幫助我們降低成本，也可以為我們的價格帶來更大的上漲空間。憑藉我們的 Vulcan（聽不清楚）銷售理念，他們正在幫助我們有效地管理專案線索並最大限度地提高定價，我們期望這些努力將繼續成為定價和盈利能力實現的催化劑。固定工廠的價格上漲已基本被接受，私人領域的透明度提高將對此有所幫助，而且當我們全年考慮年中調整時，這也將有所幫助。

On the cost side, we're seeing really good traction on the (inaudible) operating disciplines focused on plant production. And these efforts will, along with some volume growth can also be a tailwind to our cost in 2026. So as we look at 2026 as a year of potential growth, I think we're in a really strong position to capture more profitability and really drive that to our cash gross profit.

在成本方面，我們看到專注於工廠生產的（聽不清楚）營運規範取得了非常好的成效。這些努力，加上一些銷售成長，也可能在 2026 年成為我們降低成本的有利因素。因此，當我們把 2026 年視為潛在的成長之年時，我認為我們處於非常有利的地位，可以獲得更高的獲利能力，並真正將其轉化為我們的現金毛利。

Yes. And Trey, maybe I can just give you a little extra context on the fourth quarter that may be helpful. We obviously had a very solid performance for 2025 overall and knew the fourth quarter would have some unusual year-over-year comparisons. But where we ultimately landed, which I would think about it as kind of essentially flat year-over-year on EBITDA, absent the geographic headwinds that we had from the prior year hurricane relief activity. And so where we landed was really impacted by three main factors that affected both revenue and cost and accounted for really most of the difference between that flat EBITDA and the growth that we anticipated.

是的。特雷，或許我可以給你補充一些關於第四節比賽的背景信息，這可能會對你有所幫助。顯然，我們 2025 年的整體業績非常穩健，並且知道第四季將會出現一些不尋常的同比數據。但最終的結果，我認為基本上與前一年持平，因為沒有受到前一年颶風救災活動帶來的地理不利因素的影響。因此，我們最終的業績實際上受到了三個主要因素的影響，這些因素既影響了收入，也影響了成本，並且真正解釋了 EBITDA 持平與我們預期成長之間的大部分差異。

So primarily, first and foremost, residential activity, which was a challenge for the year, continued to weaken. We also secondly had weather, winter came early in some of our seasonal markets. And Southern California was just extremely, extremely wet, which is unusual. And then we also had some incremental costs related to timing on those repairs and insurance costs. So I think you'll see in our 2026 guidance that, as you mentioned, clearly reflects a continuation of the compounding improvements that we expect for our business moving forward.

因此，首先也是最重要的是，今年以來一直面臨挑戰的住宅活動持續減弱。其次，天氣也是一個影響因素，我們的一些季節性市場在冬季來得早。南加州當時非常非常潮濕，這很不尋常。此外，由於維修時間和保險費用，我們也產生了一些額外的成本。所以我認為您會在我們的 2026 年業績指引中看到，正如您所提到的，這清楚地反映了我們預期業務未來將持續取得複合性進步。

Tyler B

泰勒B

rown with Raymond James.

與雷蒙詹姆斯一起划船。

I want to come back to the pricing, maybe a little bit different angle. So I appreciate you guys gave the 5% mix adjusted number. But could you kind of help bridge the three-point difference between what you reported in mix? Because it seems like conceptually you guys really benefited from storm work in high ASP markets last year that didn't reoccur. So geography was definitely working against you. It sounds like at the same time, you did a lot of quick, call it, book and burn basin fill work that comes in at a lot lower ASP. So product was a headwind, and then M&A was also a drag.

我想再談談定價問題，或許可以換個角度來說。感謝你們提供了 5% 混合比例調整後的數據。但您能否幫忙彌補您在混合報告中提到的三個百分點的差距？因為從概念上看，你們去年確實從高平均售價市場的風暴中獲益匪淺，而這種風暴並沒有再次發生。所以地理位置一定對你不利。聽起來你同時做了很多快速的、所謂的「預訂即焚燒」式盆地回填工作，這些工作的平均售價要低得多。因此，產品是一大阻力，併購也是一大拖累。

So it felt like kind of maybe a triple whammy, if you will. But first is all that right? And how much did each of those buckets have on the three-point difference? And then secondly, Mary Andrews, just from a shaping perspective, I appreciate the 4% to 6% pricing, but should we expect to be on the low end early in the year and maybe higher later? Just I assume some of these mix headwinds will persist. Sorry for the long question there.

所以感覺就像是三重打擊。但首先，這一切都對嗎？這些進球分別對三分球的差距產生了多大影響？其次，瑪麗安德魯斯，從塑形的角度來看，我很欣賞 4% 到 6% 的定價，但我們是否應該預期年初價格較低，而後期價格可能會更高？我只是覺得其中一些不利因素會持續存在。不好意思，問題有點長。

Yes. No worries. First, you do have the triple whammy as you called it right as it relates to the mix impact on pricing in the fourth quarter. The 300 basis points was about two-thirds of the geographic mix from the strong shipments last year in those profitable markets. And then I'd say the other one-third was about 50-50, continued impact from the acquisitions, which was actually lower in the fourth quarter than the full year 100 basis points that we called out and did happen in 2025. And then the other half of that one-third was the product mix that was really based on those projects.

是的。不用擔心。首先，正如你所說，第四季產品組合對定價的影響是三重打擊。300 個基點約佔去年這些獲利市場強勁出貨量所造成的地理組合的三分之二。然後，我認為剩下的三分之一大約是 50/50，是收購的持續影響，實際上第四季度的影響比我們預測的全年 100 個基點要低，而這一預測在 2025 年確實發生了。而這三分之一中的另外一半，則是真正基於這些項目的產品組合。

And I think you're right to be thinking about pricing in 2026 as probably sort of the lower end in the first half of the year, moving toward that the higher end as the year moves on. And I think that is reflective of the improving demand that we expect to see and just comps from last year. And Ronnie may want to comment more on the kind of the types of projects that we're shipping on.

我認為你對 2026 年定價的看法是對的，上半年價格可能會比較低，隨著時間的推移會逐漸向高價靠攏。我認為這反映了我們預期中需求的改善，以及與去年同期相比的成長。羅尼可能想對我們正在交付的項目類型發表更多評論。

Yes, Tyler. I think as we look at going into '26 at a much better spot than it was year-over-year. And so remember, our backlog doesn't account for 100% of our shipments, but it is typically around 40% to 45% of our forward-looking backlog is what our shipments are going to look like. And so that's a good healthy spot for us to be as we think about demand. And also remember, the trends on these -- a lot of these large projects, which we categorize as 25,000 tons and above. Historically, that makes up about 30% of our bookings.

是的，泰勒。我認為，展望 2026 年，我們的處境比前一年好得多。因此請記住，我們的積壓訂單並不占我們出貨量的 100%，但通常占我們未來積壓訂單量的 40% 到 45% 左右，而我們未來的出貨量大致就是積壓訂單量。因此，在考慮需求時，這對我們來說是一個很好的健康狀態。也要記住，這些大型專案的趨勢——我們把許多大型專案歸類為 25,000 噸及以上。從歷史資料來看，這約占我們預訂量的 30%。

Today, we sit there, it's about 45% of our bookings in large projects, which is really reflective of that data center work. And remember, we talked about these data centers. The first part of them are going to be basin fill. So that's where we're seeing the mix impact on. But as those projects continue to mature, then we'll see the clean stone and the clean size stones be shipped through the remainder of the project. So in our 4% to 6% guide, we anticipate these shipments of these projects being more weighted heavily on the front end for base, but as those projects mature out and so to Mary Andrews' point, that's why I think the pricing will play out through the year at the lower end of the first of the year and then it will play up at the higher end. Second, when we talk about our fixed plant, we sent out our fixed plant price increases at the second half of 2025 for January.

如今，我們大約 45% 的訂單來自大型項目，這充分反映了資料中心業務的重要性。別忘了，我們之前討論過這些資料中心。第一部分將用於填築蓄水池。所以這就是我們看到混合效應所產生的影響。但隨著這些項目的不斷推進，我們將看到乾淨的石材和尺寸合適的石材在工程的剩餘階段陸續運抵現場。因此，在我們 4% 到 6% 的指導方針中，我們預計這些項目的出貨量在初期會更集中於基礎款，但隨著這些項目的成熟，正如 Mary Andrews 所指出的那樣，這就是為什麼我認為價格會在年初處於較低水平，然後逐漸上漲到較高水平的原因。其次，當我們談到固定資產時，我們已經發出了 2025 年下半年（1 月）的固定資產價格上漲通知。

And the implementation of those and acceptance of those have gone as expected. And so I think we're in a healthy position as far as what those increases were accepted and announced in the first part of the year. And then third is I continue to think about the steady growth in public, the continued positive improvements on the private non-res side and then the potential recovery on single-family. And I've talked about this in the past is these improving demand and the backdrop of that is going to be a tailwind for us as we move forward. And so again, we don't have mid-years baked into these increases, our guidance, but we would anticipate definitely going forward with midyear, and I think that momentum in demand will help us.

這些措施的實施和接受情況都符合預期。所以我認為，就今年上半年公佈和接受的那些成長而言，我們目前處於一個健康的位置。第三，我一直在思考公共領域的穩定成長、私人非住宅領域的持續正向改善，以及獨棟住宅的潛在復甦。我過去也談到過這一點，那就是不斷改善的需求，而這種背景將成為我們前進的順風。因此，我們再次強調，這些成長預期中並沒有包含年中成長，但我們預期年中成長肯定會繼續進行，我認為需求的強勁勢頭將對我們有所幫助。

Anthony Pettinari, Citigroup.

安東尼佩蒂納裡，花旗集團。

This is [Ashik Senan] on for Anthony. I just wanted to what kind of gives you the confidence that you can kind of keep cost down in '26 to low single-digit inflation. You said sort of what you're seeing in underlying inflation or maybe Vulcan Way of Operating and cost takeout. And then just to (inaudible) some earlier mix questions, is there a mix impact baked into that low single digit from the kind of base stone?

替補上場的是阿什克·塞南，他要上場替補安東尼。我只是想知道，是什麼讓你有信心在 2026 年將成本控制在個位數低點的通貨膨脹率。你剛才說的有點像你在潛在通膨中看到的情況，或者可能是 Vulcan 的運作方式和成本削減。然後，針對先前一些混音的問題（聽不清楚），這種低個位數的基石類型是否會對混音產生影響？

Yes. So on the cost side, what gives us confidence on cost is definitely Vulcan Way of Operating. So as I look at where we finish the year down or up less than 2% for 2025. Overall, I think 2025 was a really good year on cost and we anticipate that to continue. When I look at the maturity of Vulcan Way of Operating, we said we're focused on our 120-plus plants that represents about 75% of our production. So we're very mature on the process intelligence, on our labor scheduling tools and really on the focus on our critical size production. And where we're going to continue to focus on is the development of our people.

是的。因此，在成本方面，真正讓我們對成本充滿信心的，絕對是 Vulcan 的運作方式。因此，我展望一下，到 2025 年，我們今年的預期是下降還是上升不到 2%。總的來說，我認為2025年在成本方面是非常好的一年，我們預計這種情況會持續下去。當我審視 Vulcan 運作方式的成熟度時，我們說我們專注於我們的 120 多家工廠，這些工廠約占我們總產量的 75%。因此，我們在流程智慧、勞動力調度工具方面非常成熟，並且真正專注於關鍵規模的生產。我們將繼續把重點放在人才培養上。

So our plant operators are really adapting to using these screens and really driving more efficient production in our plants. But when I look overall, I mean, I'm very pleased with where we're at. I think labor is going to continue to be one that as labor increases will happen in markets our ability to control that and our ability to outperform the market with our labor control is going to be critical as -- and that's a big part of Vulcan Way of Operating. And so I'm very pleased with that.

因此，我們的工廠操作人員正在積極適應使用這些螢幕，並真正推動工廠生產效率的提高。但從整體來看，我對我們目前的狀況非常滿意。我認為勞動市場將繼續面臨挑戰，隨著勞動市場勞動成本的增加，我們控制勞動市場的能力以及我們透過勞動力控制超越市場的能力將至關重要——而這正是 Vulcan 運作方式的重要組成部分。所以我很滿意。

And to your point, what we talk about on the mix side was with their drag on pricing, the mix is a benefit to us in the way we operate our plants. And so our plants are in a really good safe on yield, the amount of fines that we have and the way we mine in our pits, we're in a really good position. We've gone through 3 years of muted demand, and we really haven't built any inventory. And so we've really managed through 3 years of this of this muted demand in a way that it puts us in a very good position when demand starts to recover, that our costs are going to be just as much of a tailwind as it will be on price.

正如您所說，我們在混合方面討論的是，儘管它們對價格造成了拖累，但這種混合方式對我們工廠的運作方式是有利的。因此，我們的工廠在產量方面非常安全，我們擁有大量的細礦，而且我們在礦坑中開採的方式也讓我們處於非常有利的地位。過去三年需求低迷，我們幾乎沒有建立任何庫存。因此，我們成功地度過了這三年需求低迷的時期，這使我們在需求開始復甦時處於非常有利的地位，我們的成本將像價格一樣成為一種有利因素。

Kathryn Thompson, Thompson Research Group.

Kathryn Thompson，Thompson 研究小組。

Focusing on the policy side with IIJA expiring in September, but states also taking greater control of their own financing destiny. How is the dynamic of kind of the messiness that inevitably happens with reauthorization bill? How is that baked into your guidance? And then also perhaps clarify a little bit more how states are taking control for the ones that matter for you? And how are you thinking about that with your public end market? And then one cleanup question. Just we're assuming that the divested assets in the Bay Area are not included in the guide?

重點放在政策方面，因為《國際工業發展法案》(IIJA) 將於 9 月到期，但各州也更能掌控自己的融資命運。重新授權法案過程中不可避免地會出現一些混亂局面，這種局面的動態變化是怎麼樣的？這一點是如何融入你們的指導方針中的？此外，或許還可以更詳細地說明一下，在你們關心的那些問題上，各州又是如何接手控制權的？那麼，您是如何看待您的公開終端市場的呢？最後還有一個清理工作的問題。我們是不是可以假設，灣區已剝離的資產不包含在指南中？

Yes, I'll let Mary Andrews talk about the guide on the divested assets, you can give you some color on that. On the public side, I mean I think we're going into the year with a couple of assumptions. One that a bill will get done, will it be on time or will it be in the form of a continuing resolution? Who knows. But historically, we're going to get a bill done. And two, based on historic measures, the bill will always be higher than the previous bill. And so we're expecting that -- but the good thing for us is, Kathryn, is that 50% of the money has yet to be spent. And so we will see the tail of IIJA continue through '26 and well into '27. When I look at our markets and I look at Vulcan and served markets, on a trailing 12, starts dollars in Vulcan-served markets are up 24% year-over-year, '25 versus '24.

是的，我會讓瑪麗安德魯斯來談談剝離資產的指南，你可以補充一些細節。就公眾而言，我的意思是，我認為我們帶著一些假設進入新的一年。一項法案最終能否通過，是會準時通過，還是會以持續決議的形式通過？誰知道呢。但從歷史經驗來看，我們最終會通過這項法案。第二，根據歷史經驗，帳單金額總是會高於先前的帳單金額。所以我們對此有所預期——但對我們來說的好消息是，凱瑟琳，還有 50% 的資金尚未花掉。因此，我們將看到 IIJA 的餘波持續到 2026 年，甚至延續到 2027 年。當我審視我們的市場，審視 Vulcan 及其服務市場時，過去 12 個月，Vulcan 服務市場的啟動資金年增 24%（2025 年與 2024 年相比）。

And so those dollars are going to be put into work in '26 as far as the demand for our products. And if you go back to the start of IIJA, our markets are up 80% and starts dollars. And so it's a really good tailwind. But we've said the entire time that IIJA would be slow and steady, and we continue to see that. In California, one of our standout markets, I mean, highway starts are up 47% in '25 versus '24. And so that's another market that we will see '26 continue to see strong demand from highway dollars being put in place. In the Southeast, we've seen significant jumps in bookings in Alabama, in Georgia and South Carolina and Tennessee.

因此，這些資金將在 2026 年投入使用，以滿足對我們產品的需求。如果追溯到 IIJA 的開端，我們的市場已經上漲了 80%，並且以美元計價。所以這真是一股非常好的順風。但我們一直都說 IIJA 的發展會是緩慢而穩定的，我們也繼續看到了這一點。在加州，我們表現突出的市場之一，我的意思是，2025 年高速公路起步量比 2024 年增加了 47%。因此，我們將看到，2026 年高速公路建設資金的投入將繼續帶動該市場強勁的需求。在東南部地區，我們看到阿拉巴馬州、喬治亞州、南卡羅來納州和田納西州的預訂量大幅增加。

And so again, right in the heart of our Southeast group, and I think those dollars are going to continue to be put to work. We've also seen other public works, beach restorations, port renovations, airport projects. Those kind of starts in Vulcan-served markets, two-thirds of our GM areas, which we have 19 GM areas. So 14 of our 19 GM areas, we're seeing double-digit increases in starts in those other public works. And so I would say public -- for all things considered, public is probably the most clarity we have, and I think we're very confident in that. And I'll let Mary Andrews just talk about the modeling on the divested assets.

所以，再次強調，這筆資金正處於我們東南集團的核心地帶，我認為這些資金將會繼續發揮作用。我們也看到了其他公共工程、海灘修復、港口改造、機場工程。這種模式首先在 Vulcan 服務的市場中啟動，占我們通用汽車服務區域的三分之二，我們共有 19 個通用汽車服務區域。因此，在我們 19 個 GM 區域中的 14 個區域，其他公共工程的開工量出現了兩位數的成長。因此，我認為公開——綜合考慮所有因素，公開可能是我們目前最清晰的表述，而且我認為我們對此非常有信心。接下來就讓瑪麗·安德魯斯來談談剝離資產的建模情況吧。

Yes, Kathryn, you're right. The ready-mix assets we have excluded from the guidance. So I think the best way to think about that as the guide at the midpoint on a same-store basis is really over 10% growth in 2026.

是的，凱瑟琳，你說得對。我們已將預拌混凝土資產排除在指導範圍之外。所以我認為，以同店銷售為基準，到 2026 年實現超過 10% 的成長，是理解這一目標的最佳方式。

Angel Castillo, Morgan Stanley.

安吉爾‧卡斯蒂略，摩根士丹利。

So you outlined the big opportunity from data centers on the slide. And I just wanted to unpack a little bit more, particularly the comments around the base versus clean stone timing. I think the timing of mix drag versus maybe the uplift as you start to shift more clean stone in the latter stages makes a lot of sense. But can you just maybe talk about this more holistically as to whether data center project all-in is higher or lower margin than a traditional manufacturing project when you kind of ignore the timing of some of these things?

所以你在投影片上概述了資料中心帶來的巨大機會。我只是想再詳細解釋一下，特別是關於底石與乾淨石的時機選擇的評論。我認為，在後期移動更多乾淨石頭時，混合拖曳和提升的時機安排是非常有意義的。但是，您能否更全面地談談，在忽略某些因素的時間安排的情況下，資料中心專案的總利潤率是高於還是低於傳統製造專案？

And then just as we think about data centers being such a big growth factor in the next few years, is the right way to think about the DC opportunity here perhaps a bit of a drag here for price margins until the number of projects really starts to -- the number of projects being completed starts to really exceed those starting up? And so can you just quantify that? I don't know if I missed this, but just how much of a drag that is in your 2026 guide? I'm just trying to think about how to model this and how to understand this just given so much growth in this vertical.

正當我們認為資料中心將在未來幾年成為一個巨大的成長因素時，我們是否應該這樣看待資料中心帶來的機會：在專案數量真正開始——也就是竣工專案數量真正超過啟動專案數量之前，資料中心的利潤率可能會受到一些拖累？那麼，你能量化一下嗎？我不知道我是否錯過了這一點，但你們的 2026 年指南中，這到底有多大的阻礙？我正在思考如何對此進行建模，以及如何理解這個垂直領域如此巨大的成長。

Yes. I think you summed it up, right? I mean as we look at the continued demand for data centers, we're going to continue to see the mix issues. And so if I would look at base pricing across multiple geographies and geographies can have a big impact on that as well. But on average, base can sell for $8 to $10 below what our clean stone products are. But on a margin basis, it's not that big of an impact. And so I think we will continue to see tailwinds on the cost side as we continue to ship that. And so a lot of the base shipments that we've had will start to turn into clean project -- clean stone as we ship those projects as far as what we're shipping in '25.

是的。我覺得你總結得很好，對吧？我的意思是，隨著我們對資料中心需求的持續增長，我們將繼續看到各種組合問題。因此，如果我查看多個地區的基準定價，就會發現地理位置也會對此產生重大影響。但平均而言，基礎石材的售價可能比我們的清潔石材產品低 8 到 10 美元。但從利潤率來看，影響並不大。因此，我認為隨著我們繼續發貨，成本方面將繼續受益。因此，我們許多基礎貨物的運輸將開始變成乾淨的項目——乾淨的石材，因為我們將這些項目運送到 2025 年，就像我們運送的那些項目一樣。

But I would tell you the opportunities in '26 will continue to be a lot of base opportunities, which we want to take advantage of. I mean those are great projects. They, again, play really well into the shape of our pits, our plants, the productivity of our plants. And so I think it's going to continue to play out. But I do think it will be more of a uniform mix as we start to see clean products ship to those same projects because they are going vertical. And once they start going vertical, that's where the concrete shipments kick in.

但我可以告訴你，2026 年的機會仍然會有很多，主要是基礎方面的機會，我們希望能夠抓住這些機會。我的意思是，這些都是很棒的項目。它們再次很好地契合了我們礦坑的形狀、我們的工廠以及我們工廠的生產力。所以我認為事情還會繼續發展。但我認為，隨著清潔產品開始運送到這些項目，因為它們正在走向垂直整合，產品組合將會更加統一。一旦他們開始向上發展，混凝土運輸就會隨之而來。

Michael Dudas, Vertical Research.

邁克爾·杜達斯，垂直研究。

Ronnie, you guys have done (inaudible) done a great job on the balance sheet, it's below your targets. Maybe you could share your thoughts on as you come out of the box here, the pipeline for M&A, what your early indications of opportunities. And you did mention in your first couple of statements of current and new geographies. Just maybe a little bit more thought on that. I'm sure you'll be discussing more of that with your Investor Day next month.

羅尼，你們在資產負債表方面做得非常出色，低於你們的目標。或許您可以分享一下您跳出固有思維模式後，對併購流程的看法，以及您早期發現的機會跡象。你在前幾份聲明中確實提到了目前和新的地理區域。或許還需要再仔細考慮一下。我相信你們下個月的投資人日會詳細討論這些問題。

Yes. Thank you. If you look back over what we experienced in 2025. I mean if you remember, we closed two really big deals at the end of '24. And so '25 for us was a year of integrating those deals and executing on that. And we also said during times of uncertainty, which we saw at the first half of '25 with tariffs and interest rates and those headwinds that -- but both sides, the seller side as well as the buyer side, there was just a pause in a lot of the markets, and we didn't see a lot of activity in 2025. As I look at 2026, I do think it's going to be a very active year on the strategy side and the M&A front. And I would tell you, for us, and we'll see out of Vulcan will be one. It's going to continue to be Aggregate led.

是的。謝謝。回顧我們在2025年的經歷。我的意思是，如果你還記得的話，我們在 2024 年底完成了兩筆非常大的交易。因此，2025 年對我們來說是整合這些交易並執行這些交易的一年。我們也說過，在不確定時期，例如 2025 年上半年關稅、利率等不利因素的影響下，買賣雙方在許多市場都出現了停滯，我們在 2025 年沒有看到太多的交易活動。展望 2026 年，我認為在策略方面和併購方面都將是非常活躍的一年。我會告訴你，對我們來說，我們會看看瓦肯星上會有一個。它將繼續以聚合為主導。

We're going to be very disciplined around that. We're going to continue to look at things within our geography. But when I say new geographies, I mean we have to be able to expand that footprint because at the end, if we're going to be that particular on what we want, we have to be able to expand that look and open that market up for some new looks and geographies. And so I would say our pipeline is very healthy. We're in some really good conversations with some potential sellers. But again, it's something we have to be very disciplined in. We don't want to force that. We don't want to end up overpaying for things that we don't have to. And so it takes 2 sides. But I would anticipate '26 being a very active year.

我們會在這方面嚴格遵守紀律。我們將繼續關注我們地理範圍內的各種事物。但當我說新的地域時，我的意思是，我們必須能夠擴大我們的業務範圍，因為最終，如果我們對我們想要的東西如此執著，我們必須能夠擴展我們的視野，並為一些新的視野和地理打開市場。所以我認為我們的產品供應非常健康。我們正與一些潛在賣家進行非常順利的洽談。但話說回來，這方面我們必須非常自律。我們不想強求。我們不想為不必要的東西支付過高的價格。所以這件事需要雙方參與。但我預計 2026 年將會是非常活躍的一年。

And you're right, Mike. We absolutely have the balance sheet well positioned and the cash generation of this business just position us very well for the long term to be able to continue to pursue the M&A activity opportunities that make sense for us.

你說得對，麥克。我們的資產負債表狀況良好，而且這項業務的現金流狀況也讓我們在長期發展中處於非常有利的地位，能夠繼續尋求對我們有意義的併購機會。

Timna Tanners, Wells Fargo.

蒂姆娜·坦納斯，富國銀行。

I wanted to dive in a little bit more on your positive private demand view and ask how much of your mix is data centers what's embedded in your volume forecast for the housing recovery that you mentioned in the second half?

我想更深入地探討您對私人需求的樂觀看法，並詢問您的投資組合中資料中心佔多大比例？您在下半部提到的房屋復甦的銷售預測中又包含了哪些因素？

So we don't -- we are anticipating recovery on the single-family side to be really flat. So it will be very slow and even with some help from interest rates, we're -- we will be lagging that. And so as we start to see starts increase on the residential side, I would say we will be several months behind that. So that will be -- if we get some help on affordability through interest rate cuts, that will be definitely a second half opportunity for us. And I think that opportunity would come in the form of very geographically driven by where jobs are being created.

所以我們不——我們預計獨棟住宅市場的復甦將非常平緩。所以進展會非常緩慢，即使利率有所助長，我們——我們也會落後於利率。因此，儘管住宅方面的開工量開始增加，但我認為我們會比這落後幾個月。所以，如果我們能透過降息來提升民眾的承受能力，那肯定會是下半年的機會。我認為這種機會將主要以地域性因素驅動，取決於就業機會的創造地點。

So markets matter. And that's why I love our footprint because I think our markets will outperform the rest of the country when it comes to recovery in residential. And then with data centers on the private side, they're a very, very large piece of the private side and what we're seeing on the private non-res recovery, and I would expect that to continue. I think, Timna, what we will start to see as we play this out, though, is the energy demand that these data centers are creating. So I think we will start to see some energy projects. We're in some talks on on those now.

所以市場很重要。這就是我喜歡我們業務佈局的原因，因為我認為在住宅市場復甦方面，我們的市場表現將優於全國其他地區。而私有資料中心在私有領域佔據了非常非常大的比例，我們看到私有非資源復甦的情況，我預期這種情況還會持續下去。提姆娜，我認為，隨著事態的發展，我們將開始看到這些資料中心所帶來的能源需求。所以我認為我們將開始看到一些能源項目。我們正在就這些事宜進行一些洽談。

Some of those are included in the data centers as we look at those. So there are some energy pieces of that, that these data centers are being required to build out some of their own energy infrastructure. But there's also some other things as far as some LNG projects that are going back. And when those things kick in, they're very heavily aggregate-intensive. But we also have some $6 billion Eli Lilly project here in Alabama that's kicking off. And so we've got some other things on the private non-res side that are going to be kicking in. But I would say at the start of the year, they're still very heavily weighted towards data centers. And I think other types of manufacturing will kick in as we go throughout the year. But that's what gives us confidence and really returning to growth is our bookings pace is really strong and those forward-looking indicators are starting to improve.

我們看到的資料中心中包含了其中一些。因此，其中涉及一些能源方面的問題，即這些資料中心需要建造自己的一些能源基礎設施。但還有一些其他方面，例如一些液化天然氣項目正在倒退。當這些因素發揮作用時，它們對聚合資源的需求非常高。但我們在阿拉巴馬州也有一個價值 60 億美元的禮來公司計畫即將啟動。因此，在私人非住宅方面，我們還有一些其他的事情即將開始實施。但我想說，在年初的時候，他們的投資仍然非常專注於資料中心。我認為隨著時間的推移，其他類型的製造業也會陸續啟動。但正是這一點給了我們信心，也讓我們看到了真正恢復成長的希望：我們的預訂速度非常強勁，而且這些前瞻性指標也開始改善。

Okay. Did you have the percentage of your mix at data centers for us, please?

好的。請問您能否提供一下您在資料中心使用的各種產品的比例？

Yes. We -- I mean, we don't break that out in our backlog just because it gets too wonky when it comes to the differences in those mixes. But I would just tell you, it's heavily influenced by data centers as of today.

是的。我們——我的意思是，我們不會把這些單獨列入待辦事項清單，因為這些混音之間的差異會變得非常複雜。但我可以告訴你，就目前而言，它深受資料中心的影響。

Garik Shmois, Loop Capital.

Garik Shmois，Loop Capital。

Ronnie, you mentioned a couple of times about midyear price increases, recognizing it's not in your guidance, but what kind of demand do you need to see, whether it's big picture in a local market to start thinking about implementing mid-year price increases.

羅尼，你曾多次提到年中提價的問題，也承認這不在你的指導方針之內，但是你需要看到什麼樣的需求，或者說，在當地市場的整體形勢下，才能開始考慮實施年中提價。

Yes. I think it's twofold there. I think it's some visibility into demand improving. But when we talk about midyear, I mean it's really talking about two sides of our business on the fixed plant side, just talking about the Concrete side of our business as well as the Asphalt side of our business. I would single out the Concrete side of our business, we need to see some recovery on single-family. Our Concrete customers have had a lot of pressure on them around the muted demand on single-family. And so that side of it, that visibility into some help on affordability, some help with the relief on the interest rates would give us some tailwinds on midyear with the Concrete side of our business.

是的。我認為這裡包含兩方面因素。我認為這表明市場需求正在改善。但當我們談到年中時，我的意思是，這實際上指的是我們固定工廠業務的兩個方面，即混凝土業務和瀝青業務。我想特別指出我們業務中的混凝土部分，我們需要看到獨棟住宅業務有所復甦。由於單戶住宅需求疲軟，我們的混凝土客戶承受著很大的壓力。因此，如果能夠看到一些關於提高住房可負擔性、減輕利率負擔的幫助，將會在年中為我們混凝土業務帶來一些利多。

On the Asphalt side, it really is more of the public and private nonres continuing. So we've seen great momentum there. And so I'd say as we go into the year, I think we're in a good position. I would say we're in a better position in '26 for the success of those midyears than we were as we looked at how '25 developed. And so I think it's a combination of both single-family and public, but single-family will be weighted more towards the Concrete side of our business and the public will be weighted more towards the Asphalt side of our business.

在瀝青路面方面，這確實是更多的公共和私人非房地產的延續。所以我們看到這方面發展勢頭強勁。所以我覺得，展望新的一年，我們處於一個不錯的位置。我認為，與回顧 2025 年的發展相比，我們在 2026 年中期取得成功的情況要好得多。所以我認為這是單戶住宅和公共設施的結合，但單戶住宅業務將更側重於我們的混凝土業務，而公共設施業務將更側重於我們的瀝青業務。

Adam Thalhimer, Thompson Davis.

亞當·塔爾海默，湯普森·戴維斯。

I was hoping you could comment on the cadence of EBITDA this year. And I'm curious if we should bake in another EBITDA decline in Q1 followed by strengthening as the year goes on? Or if you actually see the year starting off faster than that?

我希望您能就今年的 EBITDA 成長節奏發表一些看法。我很好奇，我們是否應該預期第一季 EBITDA 將再次下降，然後隨著時間的推移而逐步走強？還是你覺得今年的開局速度其實比這更快？

Yes, Adam, I'll start on that one. I think the best way to think about 2026 EBITDA would be to think about seasonality and not year-over-year comparisons. And so if you think about normal seasonality to spread EBITDA in 2026, the year-over-year comps, as you referenced, will look different in the first half versus the second half, but I think that's the best way to go about it. .

好的，亞當，我會著手處理這件事。我認為考慮 2026 年 EBITDA 的最佳方法是考慮季節性因素，而不是逐年比較。因此，如果您考慮正常的季節性因素來推算 2026 年的 EBITDA，正如您所提到的，上半年和下半年的同比數據會有所不同，但我認為這是最好的方法。。

David MacGregor, Longbow Research.

David MacGregor，Longbow Research。

I guess my question is on price/cost. And in the guide, you're very specific about your price assumptions, but characterized cost is up low single digits. So it seems like maybe there's still some uncertainty there with respect to your perspective on costs. And so I guess I was just going to get you to walk through what are the biggest sources of uncertainty for you within your cost structure as you look forward into 2026?

我的問題是關於價格/成本的。指南中，您對價格假設做了非常具體的說明，但實際成本卻只有個位數。所以看來，您在成本方面可能仍然存在一些不確定性。所以，我想請您談談，在展望 2026 年時，您認為成本結構中最大的不確定因素是什麼？

Yes. I mean I think we're confident in that low single digit, which -- that's kind of how '25 played out. And so I think the things we can control when we talk about our labor, our energy, our fuel. I mean, I think we've got a lot of visibility into that. And so I think we have a lot of confidence in that. And I think the piece -- the rest of the pieces are really tied to continued performance on the demand side of our business. And so again, when you think about three years of downward or muted demand in our markets and our ability to control even with the variability of our cost structure, falling volumes is a tough headwind to continue to drive lower cost in an inflationary environment.

是的。我的意思是，我認為我們對個位數低位的預測很有信心，而2025年的情況也大致如此。所以我認為，當我們談論我們的勞動力、我們的能源、我們的燃料時，我們能夠控制的事情就是這些。我的意思是，我認為我們對此已經有了相當深入的了解。所以我認為我們對此很有信心。我認為這一部分——其餘部分——實際上都與我們業務需求的持續表現息息相關。因此，再想想過去三年市場需求的下降或疲軟，以及我們即使在成本結構存在波動的情況下也能控製成本的能力，銷量下降是通貨膨脹環境下繼續降低成本的一大阻力。

So I look at it overall, and I think we're in a really good position as far as Vulcan Way of Operating and the things we're focused on and our men and women out there every day show up dedicated to continue to drive efficiencies, continuous improvement in all of our operations. And so I'm excited about that. And I think we have a good runway ahead of us as markets continue to improve and demand, again, will give us as much tailwind on costs as it will on price. And so I think we're in a good position, and I'm confident in our ability to deliver that.

所以從整體來看，我認為就 Vulcan 的運作方式以及我們所關注的事項而言，我們處於非常有利的地位，我們每天在前線的員工都盡心盡力，不斷提高效率，持續改善我們所有的營運。所以我很興奮。我認為，隨著市場持續改善，需求將再次為我們帶來成本方面的利好，就像價格方面的利好一樣，所以我們未來還有很長的路要走。所以我認為我們處於有利地位，我對我們實現目標的能力充滿信心。

Yes. And importantly, that price/cost spread that we expect to deliver another year of cash gross profit per ton growth at the high single-digit percentage level. So just another demonstration of the way the business continues to compound.

是的。更重要的是，我們預計這一價格/成本差將使每噸現金毛利在未來一年繼續保持高個位數百分比的成長。這再次證明了企業是如何持續成長的。

Steven Fisher, ith UBS.

Steven Fisher，就職於瑞銀集團。

It sounds like you have a bigger mix of larger projects in backlog this year. Just curious what you're seeing in terms of project delays. Has anything been delayed in, say, the second half of '25 relative to the start timing that you were expecting? And have you baked those further -- or any further delays into your guidance in 2026? I know we're hearing that labor is a real issue. And I just want to make sure we're not going to be surprised by any sort of further delays on projects?

聽起來你們今年的待辦事項裡，大型專案的比例比較高。我只是好奇你們那邊的工程延誤情況如何。例如，在 2025 年下半年，是否有任何項目因故推遲，與你預期的開始時間不符？您是否已將這些因素進一步納入 2026 年的指導方針中，或者說是否已考慮進一步的延期？我知道大家都在談論勞動力短缺是個現實問題。我只是想確認一下，我們不會因為專案進一步延期而感到驚訝吧？

No, I think it's a mix. I would tell you on the -- as we look at our bookings in those large projects. One, there's a mix between private side as far as the data center work and then the public side with highways. And I'd really tell you it's the tale of kind of two different stories. On the private side, the data center stuff is actually moving faster. And so our times from bookings actually shipments has accelerated on that side.

不，我認為是兩者兼而有之。我會告訴你——當我們查看那些大型項目的預訂情況時。首先，資料中心建設涉及私有部分，而高速公路建設則涉及公共部分。我真的要告訴你，這其實是兩個不同的故事。從私有領域來看，資料中心的發展速度其實更快。因此，從預訂到實際發貨的時間在這方面已經加快了。

On the public side, it's been a mix. I mean it really is very geographic depending on weather impacts and other things as far as playing with the DOTs and throughout the evolution of IIJA, we saw it very slow to kick off. I do think as it's become more mature, those dollars are being put to work, the time from booking to actually shipping has become more of a normal pace, back to about a six-month time frame from the time we booked to the time we ship. Public sometimes can drag out a little longer than that. But as we go into 2026, we don't anticipate the timing of those to be impacted by anything we think they'll be back to kind of a normal flow.

公眾方面，情況喜憂參半。我的意思是，這真的很大程度取決於地理位置，取決於天氣影響和其他因素。至於 DOT 的運作，以及 IIJA 的發展歷程，我們看到它的啟動非常緩慢。我認為隨著這項業務日趨成熟，這些資金得到了有效利用，從預訂到實際發貨的時間已經恢復到正常水平，大約從預訂到發貨需要六個月的時間。公眾參與有時會持續比這更長的時間。但展望 2026 年，我們預期這些事情的進展時間不會受到任何影響，我們認為它們會恢復到某種正常的運作狀態。

Our next question comes from Ivan Yi with Wolfe Research.

我們的下一個問題來自 Wolfe Research 的 Ivan Yi。

You guided to 2% aggregate volume growth this year, and that's the same as [Martin.] But looking at the contract award data, you seem to have a more favorable geography with greater exposure to California, Georgia, Tennessee and some other states. So I guess I'm just wondering why your volume guidance isn't a little bit higher than that 2%.

你預計今年總銷量將成長 2%，這與 [Martin] 的預測相同。但從合約授予數據來看，你的地域分佈似乎更有利，在加州、喬治亞州、田納西州和其他一些州的業務覆蓋範圍更廣。所以我想知道為什麼你們的銷量預期沒有比 2% 更高。

Yes. I mean I think coming off of three years of down volume and what we've seen as far as the conversion of the bookings to shipments, I mean, like I said, our backlog is in a really good spot. But that backlog, again, only represents about 40% to 45% of our shipments. And if you look at the balance of it's kind of 50-50 between public and private. And so we really just need single-family to recover. And until we start continuing to see some relief on affordability and interest rates, I don't think we want to get out ahead of ourselves in thinking that demand can get back to anything really good. Single-family just has to kick in. And so we're going to continue to be very conservative as we look at that.

是的。我的意思是，我認為在經歷了三年的銷量下滑之後，以及我們看到的預訂量轉化為實際發貨量的情況，就像我說的，我們的積壓訂單目前處於非常有利的位置。但積壓的訂單僅占我們出貨量的 40% 到 45% 左右。如果你看一下比例，你會發現公立和私立的比例大致是 50/50。所以我們現在真正需要的只是獨棟住宅市場復甦。在我們開始看到住房負擔能力和利率方面出現一些緩解之前，我認為我們不應該過早地認為需求能夠恢復到真正良好的水平。單戶住宅必須發揮作用。因此，我們在看待這個問題時將繼續採取非常保守的態度。

And we'll go next to Brian Brophy with Stifel.

接下來我們將採訪 Stifel 的 Brian Brophy。

You mentioned in some of your comments, some repairs and insurance costs that impacted the quarter. I think you also mentioned some plant rebuilds, can you size the impact from some of these costs that you had mentioned that impacted the quarter? Should we be thinking about these as more onetime or ongoing? And then is there any reason to think that some of these costs linger into the first quarter?

您在先前的評論中提到了一些維修和保險費用，這些費用影響了本季業績。我想您也提到了一些工廠重建項目，您能否估算一下您提到的這些成本對本季業績的影響？我們應該把這些看作是一次性的還是持續的？那麼，是否有理由認為其中一些成本會持續到第一季？

Yes. Let me start. I'll turn it over to Mary Andrews, just so give you a little more color on some of the numbers. But as you think about how the year played out in 2025, I mean, we went into 2025 saying we would anticipate low single-digit increases in cost. We finished the year at less than 2%. And now as we started 2025, we had a lot of weather impact at the first part of the year, seasonality as far as really the first two quarters were tremendously impacted. It's a lot of the work when we talk about project work, those expenses that we're doing within our plants, it just got pushed throughout the year. And even in the third quarter of last year, we said don't measure cost with one quarter because it can be so lumpy. That's how the year played out.

是的。我先開始。接下來請瑪麗安德魯斯為大家詳細介紹一些數字。但當你回顧 2025 年的情況時，我的意思是，我們進入 2025 年時曾表示，我們預計成本只會以個位數百分比的速度增長。我們年底的收益率不到2%。2025 年伊始，我們受到了年初天氣的嚴重影響，季節性因素導致前兩個季度受到巨大影響。當我們談到專案工作時，我們工廠內部的那些開支，很多工作都被推遲到了全年。即使在去年第三季度，我們也說過不要用一個季度的數據來衡量成本，因為季度數據波動可能很大。這一年就是這樣過去了。

And so I think as we go into 2026, we plan these things out based on -- we would love for everything to be very uniform and like we spend the same amount every month is that's the way we would love to plan it out. But unfortunately, it's an outdoor sport and weather does impact that and weather does impact the timing of those. As far as the plant rebuilds, we call those out because we have several rebuilds going on, large projects, but they're all accounted for in both our cost as well as our CapEx plan for 2026. So I think we have really good visibility there that gives us a lot of confidence. Anything Mary Andrews, do you want to add on kind of the lumpiness of that?

所以我認為，展望 2026 年，我們根據以下原則來規劃這些事情——我們希望一切都非常統一，例如每個月花費相同的金額，這就是我們希望的規劃方式。但遺憾的是，這是一項戶外運動，天氣確實會影響比賽，天氣也會影響比賽時間。至於工廠重建，我們之所以特別提及，是因為我們正在進行幾個重建項目，都是大型項目，但這些項目都已計入我們的成本和 2026 年資本支出計畫中。所以我覺得我們在那裡的視野非常好，這給了我們很大的信心。瑪麗安德魯斯，你還有什麼想補充的嗎？就是那種凹凸不平的感覺？

No. I would say as we called out, it's really timing, our 2026 guidance includes what we anticipate for this year. If you do think about the fourth quarter, I would think about that being kind of 50-50 revenue and cost in terms of where where we landed versus expectations. And the majority of that cost was related to those timing issues that Ronnie described.

不。正如我們之前所說，關鍵在於時機，我們2026年的業績預期包含了我們對今年的預期。如果考慮第四季度，我認為收入和成本的比例大致為 50/50，這取決於我們最終的業績與預期之間的差距。而大部分成本都與羅尼所描述的那些時間安排問題有關。

At this time, there are no further questions in queue. I will now turn the meeting back to CEO, Ronnie Pruitt.

目前隊列中沒有其他問題了。現在我將把會議交還給執行長羅尼·普魯伊特。

Thank you, operator. As I said at the start, I'm honored to be leading the men and women of Vulcan Materials to continue a track record of creating value for all of our stakeholders. When I reflect back on just 4.5 years ago, and I had the opportunity to join this organization, our trailing 12 months aggregate cash gross profit per ton was $7.33. In 2025, it was $4 or 55% higher and within the range of our long-term range that we said of $11 to $12 that we provided at our last Investor Day in 2022. We look forward to sharing with you our plans for continuous improvements and future growth at our upcoming 2026 Investor Day next month. Again, thank you all for your interest in Vulcan Materials.

謝謝接線生。正如我一開始所說，我很榮幸能夠帶領 Vulcan Materials 的全體員工，繼續為我們所有的利害關係人創造價值。回想四年前，當我有機會加入這家公司時，我們過去 12 個月的每噸累積現金毛利為 7.33 美元。到 2025 年，這一數字將成長 4 美元，增幅達 55%，並符合我們在 2022 年上次投資者日上提出的 11 至 12 美元的長期目標範圍。我們期待在下個月即將舉行的 2026 年投資者日上與您分享我們持續改善和未來發展的計劃。再次感謝大家對 Vulcan Materials 的關注。

Thank you. This brings us to the end of today's meeting. We appreciate your time and participation. You may now disconnect.

謝謝。今天的會議到此結束。感謝您抽空參與。您現在可以斷開連線了。