CluenexCore & Main CNM
Core & Main scores weak on business quality (4.3 of 10). Here is why, in plain words, and what our sealed record shows.
Why it matters
- What Core & Main does
Core & Main distributes water, wastewater, storm drainage, and fire protection products. Municipalities, contractors, and developers pay them for reliable supply chain access to critical infrastructure components.The business is expanding its product footprint through acquisitions and local branch density to capture localized infrastructure spending.
- What it does best
Core & Main excels at localized distribution network density, supported by a gross margin of 27.1% that outperforms peers like WCC at 21.4%. This dense branch network creates high logistical barriers for new entrants trying to replicate municipal supply chains.
- The main risk
Net debt of $1.9 billion creates balance sheet vulnerability if municipal infrastructure spending slows down or interest rates stay elevated.
Quality, check by check
Scored against its own industry, from company filings.
Operating margin sits at 9.6% with FCF generation tracking closely to net income, indicating steady but non-expanding profitability at scale.
Scale and local branch presence lock in regional contractors and municipalities, though operating in the bottom quartile for gross margin sector-wide at the 26th percentile limits true pricing power.
Revenue grew 2.8% to $7.7B, showing a significant slowdown compared to historical double-digit jumps seen in earlier periods.
Debt-to-equity of 1.1 alongside interest coverage of 6.3x leaves moderate room for error, while free cash flow reached $628M, showing stable cash generation.
Insiders
Executives and directors, from SEC Form 4 filings we read ourselves. Open market trades only; grants, option exercises and pre-planned sales left out.
No open market buys or unplanned sales by executives or directors.
Our sealed record on CNM
Verdicts appear here 30 days after we publish them; members see today's. Each one is in the nightly ledger, fingerprinted the night it was made.
The first sealed verdicts appear here on Oct 11, 2026.
Questions
Core & Main scores weak on the Cluenex quality check (4.3 of 10), measured against its own industry. Profitability is weak, moat fair, growth slow and financial health fair.
In the last 90 days of SEC Form 4 filings: No open market buys or unplanned sales by executives or directors.
Not scheduled yet.
See CNM today
- Today's verdict on CNM, and why
- Fair value with cautious, base and optimistic cases
- The exact price that would change the verdict
- Which stocks each signal names, the night it fires
Cite this page: Cluenex, “Core & Main (CNM)”, https://cluenex.com/stocks/cnm/, data as of Oct 10, 2026.