Initiated with the acquisition of Ash Grove in 2018, the series of transactions in this direction continues at a pace of one major operation per year: Barrette Outdoor Living in 2022, Hydro International in 2023, the Texan cement and concrete assets of Martin Marietta Materials in 2024, Eco Material Technologies in 2025, and now Arcosa.

A subsidiary of the rail group Trinity until 2018, when it was taken public following a spin-off, the Dallas-based group operates two segments: aggregates and electrical infrastructure. Since its listing, it has delivered growth almost entirely driven by acquisitions.

Although its track record has been welcomed by the market, value creation could have been more prolific. This has not prevented Arcosa's current valuation from trading at fifteen times its EBITDA and more than thirty times its net income, multiples significantly higher than those assigned to CRH by investors.

It is worth noting that in 2023, the Irish group, which still generates about a third of its revenue in Europe, moved its primary stock listing to the United States specifically to mitigate a discount it considers unjustified.

This is especially true given that CRH has been an extremely efficient acquirer. Its operating profit has nearly tripled in ten years, with double-digit returns on investment on the $15bn invested in acquisitions.

In parallel, throughout this period, its number of shares outstanding decreased by a fifth due to well-timed share buybacks, while solvency ratios were maintained at a perfectly reasonable level.

This performance is all the more remarkable as it was achieved despite a truly apocalyptic contraction of activity in the Western European construction sector, it further validates the strategy of pivoting toward North America.

The market, however, still grants a clear valuation premium to aggregate pure players such as Vulcan or Martin Marietta. CRH's exposure to Europe and its more diversified platform are perceived here as a disadvantage compared to niche players who control strategic assets.

Recently, investors have shown great enthusiasm for lime and limestone producers, both of which are strategic under new decarbonization standards, and a sector in which quarrying permits have not been issued for a long time.

This is evidenced, for example, by the staggering stock market performance of U.S. Lime & Minerals, or the strong interest from major private equity funds in the Belgian firm Lhoist, which is expected to soon open its capital, until now entirely controlled by the Berghmans family.

https://www.marketscreener.com/news/crh-continues-its-american-conquest-ce7f5cd3da80f622