Vulcan Materials Surges as Top 500 Volume Stock Drives 166.71% Strategy Return

Vulcan Materials (VMC) traded higher on July 31, 2025, with a 0.70% gain, as a 67.01% surge in trading volume to $650 million underscored investor interest. The stock’s performance aligned with the company’s Q2 2025 results, which highlighted strong operational execution and margin expansion despite weather-related challenges.

Second-quarter financials showed total revenues of $2.1 billion, up 4.4% year-over-year, driven by disciplined pricing and cost control. Aggregates, Vulcan’s core business, delivered a 33.9% gross margin, with cash gross profit per ton rising 9% to $11.88. Freight-adjusted sales prices increased 5% year-over-year, while shipments declined 1% due to heavy rainfall in key Southeastern markets. The asphalt and concrete segments also contributed to earnings growth, with unit cash gross profits rising 5% and 30%, respectively.

Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter reached $660 million, a 9.5% increase from the prior year, with margins expanding 150 basis points to 31.4%. Management attributed the results to “pricing discipline and excellent cost performance,” which supported a reaffirmed full-year Adjusted EBITDA outlook of $2.35–$2.55 billion. Capital expenditures of $102 million and $65 million in shareholder returns further reinforced Vulcan’s strategic focus on growth and capital efficiency.

A backtested trading strategy involving the top 500 stocks by daily trading volume yielded a 166.71% return from 2022 to July 30, 2025, significantly outperforming a 29.18% benchmark. The strategy’s success was linked to capturing momentum in high-liquidity stocks, with Vulcan’s strong earnings and operational resilience likely contributing to its inclusion in such a high-volume portfolio during this period.