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. We had an outstanding safety year and delivered another year of robust growth in earnings and cash generation. Their accomplishments position us well to take advantage of the growth opportunities ahead of us.
In 2025, we delivered $2.3 billion of Adjusted EBITDA, a 13% increase over the prior year. Importantly, our Aggregates cash gross profit per ton grew to $11.33, achieving our previously established target of $11-$12 and driving operating cash flow of over $1.8 billion, a 29% increase over the prior year. As expected, Aggregates units profitability continued to expand and public demand continued to grow. However, single-family residential activity was weaker than we initially anticipated, yielding a full year volume and price at the lower end of our initial expectations.
Our Aggregates units cash cost of sales increased less than 2% for the full year. Aggregate shipments 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. Aggregates mix adjusted price improved 6% for the full year and 5% in the fourth quarter.
| Metric | Period | Current guidance |
|---|---|---|
| Adjusted EBITDA | FY2026 | $2.4 billion to $2.6 billion (introduced; reflects continued compounding improvements and modest demand growth) |
| Aggregate shipments | FY2026 | grow between 1% and 3% (introduced; driven by public strength and improving private non-residential) |
| Aggregates freight adjusted average selling price | FY2026 | increase between 4% and 6% (introduced; weighted toward lower end early in year, higher end later) |
| Aggregates units cash cost of sales | FY2026 | increase by low single digit percentage (introduced; supports at least high single digit cash gross profit per ton expansion) |
| Downstream cash gross profit | FY2026 | approximately $290 million, about 85% from asphalt (introduced; reflects pruned ready-mix footprint) |
| SG&A expenses | FY2026 | $580 million to $590 million (introduced) |
| Metric | YoY | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Full year adjusted EBITDA | +13% | compounding unit profitability plus contribution of prior year acquisitions |
| Q4 aggregate shipments | +2% | growth from prior year acquisitions offset by nearly 30% lower shipments in hurricane-relief markets |
| Full year aggregates mix adjusted price | +6% | pricing discipline, though reported price impacted by geographic and product mix and acquisitions |
| Q4 aggregates mix adjusted price | +5% | acquisitions, prior year elevated high-priced shipments, and product mix shift toward base |
| Operating cash flow | +29% | expanding cash gross profit per ton and strong aggregates earnings |
| Topic | Previous mention | Current period | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q4 shortfall drivers | expected fourth quarter growth | three factors, weakening residential, early and wet weather, and timing on repair and insurance costs, kept Q4 EBITDA roughly flat ex hurricane comps | — |
| Data centers | biggest catalyst | over 150 million square feet under construction and nearly 450 million square feet announced, with over 70% within 30 miles of a Vulcan facility | — |
| Base versus clean stone mix | base weighing on reported price | data center projects start with base and fill (base sells $8 to $10 below clean stone) and shift to clean stone as projects go vertical; margin impact is small | — |
| M&A pipeline | 2025 was a year of integrating two large late-2024 deals amid a paused market | 2026 expected to be a very active year with a healthy pipeline and good seller conversations | — |
| Ready-mix divestiture | pending | California ready-mix excluded from guidance; same-store guide at midpoint implies over 10% growth in 2026 | — |