How does CRH plc's performance this quarter compare to its major competitors in the building materials sector?
Answer
The filing you referenced simply tells us that CRH plc has submitted its Form 10‑Q for the quarter ended 30 June 2025. A Form 10‑Q is the SEC’s standard quarterly report that includes a company’s financial statements, management’s discussion of results, and a comparison of the current quarter’s performance with prior periods. However, the brief news excerpt you provided does not contain any of the actual performance figures (e.g., revenue, earnings, margins, order intake, geographic breakdowns, or guidance) that CR H disclosed in that filing.
Because the specific numbers are missing, we cannot make a direct, data‑driven comparison between CR H’s Q2 2025 results and those of its major peers in the global building‑materials industry. Below is a structured outline of what a full comparison would look like once the detailed 10‑Q data are available, together with the typical competitors you would benchmark against and the key performance metrics that are most informative in this sector.
1. What the CR H Q2 2025 Form 10‑Q would normally reveal
| Section (in a 10‑Q) | Typical data points | Why it matters for benchmarking |
|---|---|---|
| Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets | Total assets, net debt, cash, working‑capital ratios | Shows liquidity and capital‑structure health vs. peers. |
| Statement of Operations (Income Statement) | Net sales (by region & product line), cost of sales, gross profit, SG&A, operating profit, net income, EPS | Core profitability metrics; peers often compare sales growth and margin expansion. |
| Cash Flow Statement | Operating cash flow, capital expenditures, free cash flow | Indicates ability to fund growth, dividend, share‑repurchase, or acquisitions. |
| Management’s Discussion & Analysis (MD&A) | Order backlog, pricing trends, input‑cost inflation (e.g., cement, aggregates, steel), geographic performance, macro‑economic outlook | Provides qualitative context that is crucial for understanding the drivers behind the numbers. |
| Segment Information | Performance of “Construction Materials”, “Cement”, “Aggregates”, “Building Products”, etc., by geography (Europe, North America, Asia‑Pacific, etc.) | Allows a “like‑for‑like” comparison with competitors that may be more focused on a single segment. |
| Guidance/Outlook | Updated 2025‑2026 sales/EBITDA guidance, expected capex, dividend policy | Directly comparable to the guidance that peers issue each quarter. |
If you retrieve the full Form 10‑Q (e.g., from the SEC’s EDGAR database or CR H’s investor‑relations site), you can extract the above figures and then line them up against the same data from competitors’ filings.
2. Who the “major competitors” are in the building‑materials sector
| Company | Primary Business Focus | Geographic Footprint | Typical FY/Quarterly Reporting Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| LafargeHolcim (Holcim Group) | Cement, aggregates, ready‑mix, concrete, admixtures | Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia‑Pacific, Africa | Quarterly (Form 10‑Q) for U.S.‑listed entities; otherwise IFRS‑Q |
| HeidelbergCement (now part of Holcim) | Cement, aggregates, concrete | Europe, North America, Asia‑Pacific | Same as above |
| Martin Marietta Materials (MART) | Aggregates, heavy‑building materials, cement | Primarily U.S. (Western & Southern U.S.) | Quarterly (Form 10‑Q) |
| Vulcan Materials (VMC) | Aggregates, construction materials, cement | U.S. (regional focus) | Quarterly (Form 10‑Q) |
| Boral Ltd. (BLD) | Construction materials (aggregates, concrete, asphalt) | Australia, U.S., Asia‑Pacific | Quarterly (Form 10‑Q) |
| CEMEX (CX) – ADR | Cement, aggregates, concrete | Latin America, U.S., Europe, Asia‑Pacific | Quarterly (Form 10‑Q) |
| CRH’s own subsidiaries (e.g., CRH Americas, CRH Europe, CRH Asia‑Pacific) | Mix of cement, aggregates, building products, asphalt | Global | Quarterly (Form 10‑Q) |
The “major competitors” list can be expanded to include other diversified building‑materials groups (e.g., *Lafarge, **Heidelberg, Boral, CEMEX) and pure‑play aggregates or cement producers (e.g., Martin Marietta, Vulcan, Lhoist). The exact set of peers you compare against will depend on the segment you want to focus on (e.g., global cement vs. U.S. aggregates).*
3. Framework for a Quarter‑by‑Quarter Comparison (once data are in hand
Below is a template you can fill in with the actual numbers from CR H’s Q2 2025 filing and the same quarter from each competitor. The template highlights the most common performance dimensions that analysts, investors, and industry watchers use to gauge relative strength.
| Metric | CR H (Q2 2025) | Holcim (Q2 2025) | Martin Marietta (Q2 2025) | Vulcan (Q2 2025) | Boral (Q2 2025) | CEMEX (Q2 2025) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net sales (US$ bn) | ||||||
| YoY sales growth % | ||||||
| Geographic sales split (EU/NA/AP) | ||||||
| Gross margin % | ||||||
| EBITDA (US$ bn) | ||||||
| EBITDA margin % | ||||||
| Net income (US$ bn) | ||||||
| EPS (US$) | ||||||
| Operating cash flow (US$ bn) | ||||||
| Capex (US$ bn) | ||||||
| Free cash flow (US$ bn) | ||||||
| Order backlog (US$ bn) | ||||||
| Average selling price (per tonne/ft³) | ||||||
| Input‑cost inflation (cement, aggregates, steel) | ||||||
| Net debt / Net cash (US$ bn) | ||||||
| Dividend per share (US$) | ||||||
| Share‑repurchase activity (US$ bn) | ||||||
| Management outlook (2025‑2026 guidance) |
Key take‑aways you would normally extract from a table like the one above:
- Revenue growth: Is CR H expanding faster, slower, or flat relative to peers?
- Margin profile: Does CR H enjoy a higher gross or EBITDA margin, indicating better cost‑control or pricing power?
- Geographic diversification: A broader mix can smooth regional downturns; compare the share of sales from Europe vs. North America vs. Asia‑Pacific.
- Cash‑generation vs. capital needs: A higher free‑cash‑flow conversion ratio suggests stronger ability to fund dividends, share buybacks, or acquisitions.
- Balance‑sheet strength: Net‑debt levels relative to cash and earnings (e.g., net‑debt/EBITDA) indicate financial flexibility.
- Guidance: How does CR H’s updated 2025‑2026 outlook stack up against the guidance that peers have issued?
4. What we can infer from the filing announcement itself
- Regulatory compliance: By filing a Form 10‑Q, CR H is meeting SEC reporting requirements, which is a baseline indicator of transparency and governance—an area where some European‑based peers (e.g., Holcim) may not be as visible to U.S. investors if they are not listed on a U.S. exchange.
- Potential market‑moving information: The 10‑Q often contains material updates (e.g., a change in dividend policy, a new acquisition, a shift in capital‑expenditure plans, or a revised outlook) that can affect the stock price and therefore the competitive narrative.
- Timing: The filing date (6 August 2025) is just a few weeks after the quarter end (30 June 2025), which is typical for U.S.‑listed companies. It suggests CR H is keeping pace with the reporting cadence of its U.S. peers (e.g., Martin Marietta, Vulcan).
5. How to obtain the data you need for a concrete comparison
- SEC EDGAR – Search for “CRH plc 10‑Q 2025‑08‑06” to download the full filing.
- CR H Investor Relations – The company often posts a “Quarterly Results” slide deck or press release that highlights the key figures and management commentary.
- Competitors’ filings –
- Holcim (if listed on a U.S. exchange) – Form 10‑Q or Form 20‑F (if Swiss‑listed).
- Martin Marietta Materials (MART) – Form 10‑Q for the same quarter.
- Vulcan Materials (VMC) – Form 10‑Q.
- Boral Ltd. (BLD) – Form 10‑Q (ADR).
- CEMEX (CX) – Form 10‑Q (ADR).
- Holcim (if listed on a U.S. exchange) – Form 10‑Q or Form 20‑F (if Swiss‑listed).
- Financial data platforms – Bloomberg, Refinitiv, FactSet, or S&P Capital IQ can pull the quarter‑by‑quarter numbers and even generate the comparative tables automatically.
- Industry reports – Market‑research firms (e.g., Cement Association, Global Cement, Statista, CRU) often publish “Quarterly Cement & Aggregates Outlook” that includes peer‑group performance aggregates.
6. Bottom‑line answer to your question (given the current information)
Based solely on the news snippet you provided, we cannot yet assess how CR H plc’s Q2 2025 performance stacks up against its major competitors in the building‑materials sector. The announcement confirms that CR H has filed a Form 10‑Q, which will contain the detailed financial and operational data needed for a meaningful comparison. Once those figures are extracted, you can benchmark CR H’s sales growth, margins, cash‑flow generation, balance‑sheet strength, and forward guidance against peers such as Holcim, Martin Marietta, Vulcan, Boral, and CEMEX using the framework outlined above.
Next steps:
- Retrieve the full CR H Q2 2025 Form 10‑Q (SEC EDGAR or CR H’s website).
- Pull the same quarter’s data for the listed competitors.
- Populate the comparative table and analyze the key performance drivers (sales, margins, cash, debt, guidance).
When you have those numbers, a precise, data‑driven answer can be crafted that highlights where CR H is out‑performing, in line with, or lagging behind its peers in the current quarter.