Valmont Industries, Inc. VMI shares touched a new 52-week high of $548.9 on yesterday, before closing the session at $547.14.
Valmont shares have gained 69.8% over the last year compared with the industry’s rise of 82%. It carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present.
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What’s Driving VMI?
VMI reported a profit of $108 million or $5.51 per share in the first quarter, up 27.5% year over year.It also witnessed an increase in its revenue of 6.2% year over year to$1,029.2 million.
The company has been undertaking restructuring and productivity initiatives to streamline operations. Its major segment, Infrastructure’s operating margins, reached some of the strongest levels in recent years. The cost savings are expected to translate to higher earnings growth in the near future. In addition to realigning cost structures, the company is also removing production bottlenecks and upgrading existing capacities.
The brownfield capacity expansions have increased annual revenues by $95 million. VMI is also deploying artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled scheduling and planning tools to enhance efficiency. The company is confident in the expansion of its Infrastructure operations and continues to invest strategically in capacity increment through distribution and substation structures. This will further support higher utility volumes. The expansion plans remain on track.
As strong backlog growth emerges, multi-year revenue visibility also becomes clearer. The Utility segment is poised for robust growth due to higher demands from electrification, grid modernization and data center demand. Per VMI, U.S. utilities are planning roughly $1.4 trillion of investment through 2030, and this segment steadily becomes VMI’s primary growth driver. Infrastructure is also supported by demand growth as the need to expand the electrical grid to support data centers and the need to replace aging assets arises.
VMI, on its first-quarter call, raised its full-year 2026 earnings per share guidance. The company anticipates net sales of approximately $4.2-$4.4 billion, with infrastructure-segment revenues of roughly $3.3-$3.45 billion, up from the previous guidance of $3.25-$3.4 billion. It expects agriculture-segment revenues of around $0.9-$0.95 billion compared with the previously expected range of $0.95-$1 billion.
For earnings per share, the guidance was revised from $20.5-$23.50 to $21.5-$23.5.
Valmont Industries, Inc. Price and Consensus
Valmont Industries, Inc. price-consensus-chart | Valmont Industries, Inc. Quote
Other Stocks to Consider
Some other top-ranked stocks in the Basic Materials space are CF Industries Holdings, Inc. CF, Albemarle Corporation ALB and Avino Silver & Gold Mines Ltd. ASM.
While CF and ALB sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) each at present, ASM carries a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CF’s 2026 earnings is pegged at $17.57 per share, indicating a rise of 87.51% year over year. Its earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, with an average surprise of 11.42%. CF’s shares have soared 21.8% over the past year.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ALB’s 2026 earnings is pinned at $12.39 per share, indicating a 1,668.35% year-over-year increase. Its earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters, while missing it in one, with an average surprise of 74.5%. ALB’s shares have jumped 210.7% over the past year.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ASM’s current fiscal-year earnings is pinned at 39 cents per share, indicating a 34.48% year-over-year increase. Its earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the four trailing quarters, with an average earnings surprise of 118.3%.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).