CRH PUBLIC LTD CO (CRH)

Price—Loading quote

AI: Fair-priced

Price checkThe shares look fairly priced, balancing steady earnings against heavier debt and deal risk.

The latest dated quote I could verify was $98.59 at the August 3 close, two weeks before this August 17 review, so the valuation carries price-staleness risk. Against CRH’s $5.60-$6.05 earnings-per-share guidance for 2026, that equals 16.3-17.6 times earnings, or 16.9 times the midpoint. Using 665.9 million June shares gives a $65.6 billion equity value. Adding $15.4 billion of net debt produces about $81.0 billion, 9.8 times midpoint adjusted EBITDA, an operating cash-profit measure. These levels look reasonable, not clearly cheap.

Big pictureProfits grew faster than sales, but cash spending rose and construction remains cyclical.

Revenue rose from $25.9 billion in 2020 to $37.4 billion in 2025, while operating income climbed from $2.0 billion to $5.4 billion. Operating cash flow remained positive throughout that period and reached $5.6 billion in 2025. However, free cash flow—cash left after running and investing in the business—was $2.9 billion after $2.7 billion of capital spending, below $3.2 billion in 2023. First-half 2026 cash after capital spending was negative $0.7 billion amid seasonal working-capital needs, while subdued housing reduced Building Solutions profit.

Business strengthScale, pricing, and ample liquidity support growth, while buybacks have limited dilution.

Second-quarter Americas Materials revenue rose 10% and adjusted operating cash profit rose 12%; aggregates prices increased 5% while volumes grew 2%, showing useful local pricing power. First-half diluted average shares fell 1.4% year over year after $0.7 billion of 2026 buybacks, comfortably exceeding $73 million of share-based compensation. Liquidity remains adequate: June current assets were $15.8 billion versus $10.0 billion of current liabilities, with $3.0 billion cash and $4.5 billion of unused committed facilities. However, buybacks are paused while CRH prepares to finance Arcosa.

What could change the storyArcosa can extend growth, but its price and added borrowing raise the stakes.

The strongest bull case is that the $8.5 billion Arcosa purchase adds 35 million tons of annual aggregates capacity and energy-infrastructure exposure, while delivering $175 million of yearly cost savings by year three. The bear case is that CRH is paying 11.5 times Arcosa’s adjusted operating cash profit including those unproven savings, while projected combined net debt rises to 2.4 times that profit measure. Today’s price assumes CRH meets its $5.60-$6.05 earnings guidance and integrates Arcosa successfully; weaker housing, delayed savings, or persistently high debt would undermine that balance.

$98.59 price considered

AI: News

Guidance held after growthSecond-quarter sales and profit rose, but unchanged guidance left expectations little room to improve.

On July 30, 2026, CRH reported second-quarter revenue of $10.8 billion, up 6%, and net income of $1.5 billion, up 13%. Adjusted operating cash profit increased 7% to $2.6 billion, and earnings per share rose 14% to $2.21. Management nevertheless kept full-year earnings guidance at $5.60-$6.05. Shares closed at $96.00, down 3.7% that day. The timing suggests possible disappointment with the unchanged outlook, but does not prove the results caused the decline.

Record Arcosa purchaseCRH agreed its largest acquisition, adding infrastructure assets while committing substantial cash and borrowing.

On June 22, 2026, CRH agreed to acquire Arcosa for $8.5 billion, or $150 per share, with closing expected in early 2027. Arcosa adds 35 million tons of annual aggregates shipments plus products for power grids and data centers. CRH expects $175 million of annual cost savings by year three and projected combined net debt at 2.4 times adjusted operating cash profit. CRH shares fell about 1% in early trading but finished nearly unchanged; that pattern shows caution without establishing acquisition-related causation.

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Financial statements

	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018
Revenue	$37.45B	$35.57B	$34.95B	$32.72B	$29.21B	$25.89B	$28.13B	$27.45B
Gross profit	$13.53B	$12.70B	$11.96B	$10.81B	$9.83B	$8.56B	$9.27B	$9.06B
Operating expenses	—	—	—	—	—	$6.90B	$6.48B	$6.61B
Operating income	$5.44B	$4.92B	$4.19B	$3.81B	$3.33B	$2.03B	$2.79B	$2.45B
EBITDAderived	$7.60B	$6.72B	$5.82B	$5.39B	$4.88B	$3.62B	—	—
Net income	$3.75B	$3.49B	$3.18B	$3.86B	$2.63B	$1.12B	$1.72B	$2.88B
Basic EPSper diluted share	$5.54	$5.06	$4.36	$5.15	$3.35	$1.43	$2.14	$346.50
Diluted EPSper diluted share	$5.51	$5.02	$4.33	$5.11	$3.32	$1.42	$2.13	$344.70

Review source filings at SEC.gov ↗

Insider buys & sells

Jul 1, 2024–Jun 30, 2026

Buys3$749.2K disclosed value

Sells (SEC code S)5$6.82M disclosed value

Transaction	Insider	Type	Shares	Price	Value	Owned after
May 15, 2026Form 4	ORiordain PadraigSee Remarks	SellOrdinary Shares	1.5K	$104.45	$155.8K	1.2K
Mar 12, 2026Form 4	Talbot SiobhanDirector	BuyOrdinary Shares	2.0K	$102.11	$204.2K	7.5K
Mar 11, 2026Form 4	FEARON RICHARD HDirector	BuyOrdinary Shares	3.8K	$104.49	$397.1K	143.8K
Aug 12, 2025Form 4	Lake RandyChief Operating Officer	SellOrdinary Shares	40.0K	$110.91	$4.44M	50.2K
May 13, 2025Form 4	ORiordain PadraigGroup General Counsel	BuyOrdinary Shares	1.5K	$99.16	$147.9K	1.5K

Review ownership filings at SEC.gov ↗

CRH PUBLIC LTD CO (CRH)

Financial charts

Financial statements

Insider buys & sells