Al Root

CRH is one of the largest construction and construction materials companies in the country. Its outlook can affect many stocks.

The outlook looks solid, with 2026 projected to be a record year for U.S. infrastructure spending.

Wednesday evening, CRH reported fourth-quarter earnings per share of $1.52 from sales of $9.4 billion. Wall Street was looking for earnings per share of $1.52 from sales of $9.5 billion. A year ago, CRH reported earnings per share of $1.45 from sales of $8.9 billion.

Things are about as expected. For 2026, CRH expects earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, or Ebitda, to be between $8.1 billion and $8.5 billion. The $8.3 billion midpoint matches Wall Street estimates.

Shares were down 2.5% in after-hours trading at $121.60. Shares gained 2.2% in regular trading, while the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6% and 0.3%, respectively.

Meeting expectations can disappoint investors sometimes. Still, the outlook is solid and doesn't assume much benefit from M&A. CRH typically buys companies to add to growth and regional market share. It spent $4.1 billion in 2025 on 38 deals.

The coming year should be better than 2025, according to management, driven by additional federal infrastructure spending, higher aggregate prices, and American "reindustrialization" fueled by hyperscaler spending on data centers. Improvement comes despite a moribund residential construction industry.

It's about as good an outlook as investors could have expected. That, of course, doesn't mean the stock will go up on Thursday.

Through Wednesday trading, CRH stock was up about 13% over the past 12 months, trading for about 20 times earnings expected over the coming 12 months.

Write to Al Root at allen.root@barrons.com

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 18, 2026 16:56 ET (21:56 GMT)

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