Q2 2026 Core & Main Inc Earnings Call Transcript
Key Points
- Core & Main Inc (CNM) delivered growth in sales, adjusted EBITDA, and EPS, with adjusted diluted EPS increasing 8% year-over-year to $0.94.
- The company saw strong performance in treatment plant solutions, fire protection (sales up 14%), and data center projects, which nearly doubled year-over-year.
- Core & Main Inc (CNM) executed its second consecutive quarter of record open market share buybacks, repurchasing nearly 25% of shares outstanding since its IPO.
- The M&A pipeline has meaningfully accelerated, with several opportunities advanced through the LOI stage and the acquisition of Walker Industries completed post-quarter.
- The company maintained its full-year guidance, reflecting confidence in its outlook, supported by strong cash generation and a free cash flow yield of 7.5%.
- Residential lot development remained challenged, declining high single digits in the quarter, with continued softness expected in the near term.
- PVC pricing remained flat with no ability to support price increases, and the company saw lower year-over-year PVC pricing.
- Gross margin was slightly lower sequentially due to project mix, with expectations of variability in the back half of the year.
- Smart utility volumes were essentially flat, impacted by timing delays in large project starts, such as Miami-Dade, which is not expected to hit full run rate until 2027.
- Non-residential construction performance varied, with ongoing softness in light commercial and retail offsetting strength in data centers.
Hello, everyone. Thank you for joining us, and welcome to the Core & Main Q2 2026 earnings call. (Operator Instructions)
I will now hand the conference over to Landon Althoff, Vice President of Investor Relations. Landon, please go ahead.
Good morning, and thank you for joining us. I'm Landon Althoff, Vice President of Investor Relations at Core & Main. We appreciate your time to be with us today for Core & Main's fiscal 2026 second quarter earnings call. Joining me this morning are Mark Witkowski, our Chief Executive Officer; and Robyn Bradbury, our Chief Financial Officer. Brad Cowles, our President, is also with us and will be available for the question-and-answer portion of today's call.
Mark will begin with a business update, highlighting our quarterly performance and the continued momentum across the business including large project opportunities, greenfield expansion and our M&A pipeline. Robyn will follow with a review of our financial results and outlook
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