CluenexMartin Marietta Materials MLM
Martin Marietta Materials scores average on business quality (5.5 of 10). Here is why, in plain words, and what our sealed record shows.
Why it matters
- What Martin Marietta Materials does
Martin Marietta Materials extracts and supplies aggregates like crushed stone, sand, and gravel to heavy construction and infrastructure projects across the United States. Revenue flows primarily from public and private contractors building roads, highways, and commercial facilities.
- What it does best
Martin Marietta dominates regional aggregates supply through geographically isolated quarries that create localized monopolies. Its gross margin of 29.2% outpaces peer KNF at 17.8%, reflecting pricing power that competitors cannot easily undercut due to crushing local freight costs.
- The main risk
Net debt sits at $5.6 billion against an interest coverage ratio of 6.5x, leaving cash generation sensitive to volume slowdowns in heavy construction. Higher interest costs directly compress free cash flow if aggregates demand softens.
Quality, check by check
Scored against its own industry, from company filings.
Operating margin hits 22.5% and free cash flow margin matches sector strength in the top decile at 81st percentile, proving the business scales efficiently with volume.
Aggregates supply creates heavy asset-based switching costs for builders who cannot afford long-distance transit. An operating margin sector percentile of 81 reflects this pricing moat.
Revenue grew 8.6% to $6.7 billion, landing in the sector top quartile at the 78th percentile for growth while recovering from prior cyclical dips.
Debt-to-equity is 0.6x and interest coverage is 6.5x, supported by $810 million of free cash flow, pointing to a manageable capital structure getting steadily more secure.
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 MLM
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
Martin Marietta Materials scores average on the Cluenex quality check (5.5 of 10), measured against its own industry. Profitability is strong, 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.
Nov 4, 2026.
See MLM today
- Today's verdict on MLM, 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, “Martin Marietta Materials (MLM)”, https://cluenex.com/stocks/mlm/, data as of Oct 10, 2026.