Core & Main, Inc. (CNM)

Price$44.32Cached quoteAs of 2026-09-07 17:47 UTC

AI: Fair-priced

Price checkThe shares look reasonably valued, with decent cash returns but only modest expected growth.

At the observed market price, CNM is about 18.5 times the last twelve months' diluted earnings of $2.36 and about 14 times roughly $608 million of free cash flow, meaning cash left after operations and capital spending. Including nearly $2.0 billion of net debt, the business value is about 11 times recent operating profit before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. Those are reasonable, not distressed, multiples for a slow-growing distributor. With management guiding only 2%-3% sales growth, the evidence supports Fair-priced, not a clear bargain.

Big pictureCore & Main is durable, but recent growth has slowed enough to limit valuation upside.

Revenue grew from $3.64 billion in fiscal 2020 to $7.65 billion in fiscal 2025, but the latest annual increase was only 2.8%. First-quarter sales were essentially flat because lower volume offset acquisitions. Recent cash generation is healthier: fiscal 2025 produced $650 million of operating cash and about $604 million after capital spending. Still, cash flow has varied substantially with working-capital movements. Demand also cycles: roughly 44% of sales serve municipalities, while 38% serve non-residential construction and 18% residential construction.

Business strengthImproving margins, ample liquidity, and buybacks offset meaningful debt and acquisition-heavy assets.

First-quarter gross margin improved to 27.2% from 26.7%, showing continued purchasing and pricing discipline. Current assets of $2.56 billion comfortably exceeded $1.11 billion of current liabilities, and the company reported roughly $1.23 billion of unused revolving borrowing capacity. Against that, net debt was about $2.0 billion, roughly 2.2 times recent operating profit before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, while goodwill was $1.92 billion. Capital allocation has favored owners: $155 million of fiscal 2025 buybacks was followed by $88 million in the latest quarter, outweighing modest stock compensation.

What could change the storyFaster municipal growth would create upside, while persistent volume weakness would expose today’s valuation.

The current valuation works if Core & Main broadly delivers its fiscal 2026 plan: $7.8-$7.9 billion of sales, $950-$980 million of adjusted operating profit before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, and operating cash equal to 60%-70% of that profit. Growth above 3% with profit exceeding the top of that range would strengthen the bull case. Conversely, profit below $950 million or cash conversion below 60% would weaken it. Municipal demand provides resilience, but continued softness in private construction could keep volumes and earnings growth subdued.

AI: News

First-quarter resultsProfit beat expectations, but flat sales and unchanged guidance left investors wanting stronger growth.

On June 10, Core & Main reported $1.91 billion of quarterly sales, essentially unchanged from the prior year, while gross margin improved to 27.2% and adjusted earnings per share reached $0.72. Management kept its full-year sales and profit guidance unchanged. The shares finished about 6.1% lower that session. That timing does not prove cause, but flat volumes and the absence of a guidance increase were plausible concerns despite the earnings beat.

Long-term debt refinancingCore & Main pushed major debt maturities farther out, reducing refinancing risk while retaining substantial leverage.

On July 1, the company issued $750 million of 6% notes due 2034 and replaced the remainder of a term loan due in 2028 with a new $800 million term loan due in 2033. The transaction substantially extends the maturity schedule, lowering near-term rollover risk, but it does not remove the roughly $2 billion net debt burden. Shares declined about 5.9% that day, although available evidence does not establish that the financing itself caused the move.

Fiscal 2026 outlookManagement forecast modest growth, reinforcing the view that near-term upside depends mainly on margins and cash.

On March 24, Core & Main reported fiscal 2025 sales of $7.65 billion and introduced fiscal 2026 guidance for $7.8-$7.9 billion of sales and $950-$980 million of adjusted operating profit before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. The outlook therefore implied only 2%-3% sales growth. Market reaction was mixed: one contemporaneous report cited a roughly 6% premarket decline, while the stock later finished the regular session about 4.5% above its prior close.

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Revenue

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

2025

Net income

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

2025

Free cash flow

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

2025

Total cash / debt

CashTotal debt

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

2025

Financial statements

	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019
Revenue	$7.65B	$7.44B	$6.70B	$6.65B	$5.00B	$3.64B	$3.39B
Gross profit	$2.06B	$1.98B	$1.82B	$1.79B	$1.28B	$878.0M	$789.0M
Gross margin	26.93%	26.61%	27.13%	26.99%	25.58%	24.11%	23.28%
Operating expenses	$1.34B	$1.26B	$1.08B	$1.02B	$855.0M	$693.0M	$634.0M
Operating income	$722.0M	$719.0M	$740.0M	$775.0M	$425.0M	$185.0M	$155.0M
Operating margin	9.44%	9.66%	11.04%	11.65%	8.49%	5.08%	4.57%
EBITDA	$914.0M	$913.0M	$894.0M	$923.0M	$575.0M	$338.0M	$293.0M
EBITDA margin	11.95%	12.27%	13.34%	13.88%	11.49%	9.28%	8.65%
Net income	$441.0M	$411.0M	$371.0M	$366.0M	$166.0M	$37.0M	$36.0M
Net profit margin	5.77%	5.52%	5.54%	5.50%	3.32%	1.02%	1.06%
Basic EPSper basic share	$2.32	$2.14	$2.15	$2.16	$0.57	—	—
Diluted EPSper diluted share	$2.31	$2.13	$2.15	$2.13	$0.55	—	—

Review official source filings ↗

Owners

Reported shareholders

Reference date Jun 30, 2026

≈9.81%of listed shares

BlackRock, Inc.18.36M shares · Jun 30, 2026

View holders

Top 20 reported holders of CNM
Holder	% owned
BlackRock, Inc.	≈9.81%18.36M shares
Capital World Investors	≈6.13%11.47M shares
FMR LLC	≈4.79%8.96M shares
VANGUARD CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC	≈4.55%8.52M shares
VANGUARD PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT LLC	≈4.41%8.25M shares
FIRST TRUST ADVISORS LP	≈3.34%6.25M shares
MORGAN STANLEY	≈3.23%6.04M shares
STATE STREET CORP	≈3.16%5.91M shares
Select Equity Group, L.P.	≈3.12%5.84M shares
ROYAL LONDON ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD	≈2.93%5.49M shares
Pictet Asset Management Holding SA	≈2.65%4.96M shares
D. E. Shaw & Co., Inc.	≈2.45%4.58M shares
Impax Asset Management Group plc	≈2.25%4.2M shares
Amundi	≈2.05%3.85M shares
GEODE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC	≈1.91%3.58M shares
Jupiter Topco LLC	≈1.82%3.41M shares
Point72 Asset Management, L.P.	≈1.64%3.08M shares
DIMENSIONAL FUND ADVISORS LP	≈1.50%2.81M shares
KBC Group NV	≈1.48%2.77M shares
Camrose Capital Investment Partners LLP	≈1.34%2.5M shares

Percentages use 187.19M shares of this listed class outstanding on Jun 5, 2026. ≈ compares the latest reported holding with a share total from a different date; it is not a confirmed current stake.

Gray completes the 100% scale. Reported positions may overlap; holders have different reporting dates.

Source: SEC Form 13F ↗Updated Sep 29, 2026 · Quarterly data

Insider buys & sells

Jul 1, 2024–Jun 30, 2026

Buys1$100.0K disclosed value

Sells (SEC code S)39$68.50M disclosed value

Transaction	Insider	Type	Shares	Price	Value	Owned after
Apr 17, 2026Form 4 · 10b5-1	Bradbury Robyn LChief Financial Officer	SellClass A Common Stock	3.4K	$52.84	$177.2K	12.5K
Apr 17, 2026Form 4 · 10b5-1	Bradbury Robyn LChief Financial Officer	SellClass A Common Stock	1.6K	$51.94	$85.5K	15.9K
Apr 7, 2026Form 4	Hope James DDirector	BuyClass A Common Stock	2.0K	$50.70	$100.0K	6.9K
Aug 18, 2025Form 4 · 10b5-1	Witkowski Mark RChief Executive Officer	SellClass A Common Stock	100.0K	$64.08	$6.41M	35.8K
Jul 22, 2025Form 4 · 10b5-1	Bradbury Robyn LChief Financial Officer	SellClass A Common Stock	5.0K	$64.51	$322.6K	8.6K