CRH (NYSE:CRH) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.02 EPS

CRH (NYSE:CRH) announced its earnings results on Thursday. The construction company reported ($0.20) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.22) by $0.02, FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.07 billion. CRH had a return on equity of 15.37% and a net margin of 9.65%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. CRH updated its FY 2026 guidance to 5.600-6.050 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from CRH’s conference call:

• CRH reported a strong Q1 with total revenues of $7.4 billion (+9%), adjusted EBITDA of $586 million (+18%) and a 70bps margin expansion, and has reaffirmed full‑year adjusted EBITDA guidance of $8.1 billion to $8.5 billion.
• The company is actively reallocating capital, agreeing divestitures of non‑core businesses for $1.9 billion and investing ~$900 million in nine acquisitions, the largest being the planned Axius Water purchase (~$700 million) to strengthen its U.S. water infrastructure platform.
• CRH continues to return cash to shareholders, having repurchased ~$400 million year‑to‑date, commencing a further $300 million buyback tranche, and raising the quarterly dividend by 5% to $0.39 per share.
• Management cites a supportive demand backdrop—continued IIJA fund rollouts, strong state budgets, and megatrends in transportation, water and reindustrialization—with improving backlogs and bidding activity underpinning near‑term visibility.
• Cost pressures remain a risk: energy volatility (≈5% of revenue) and mid‑single‑digit inflation in labor, materials and subcontractors could pressure margins despite hedging, targeted price actions and a well‑executed winter‑fill program.

CRH Price Performance

CRH stock traded down $2.76 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $115.66. The stock had a trading volume of 4,004,094 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,336,339. The firm has a market cap of $77.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.36. The business has a 50-day moving average of $111.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $117.87. CRH has a 52-week low of $86.82 and a 52-week high of $131.55.

CRH Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. CRH’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on CRH shares. Citigroup upped their target price on CRH from $142.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. DA Davidson set a $120.00 target price on CRH in a report on Friday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on CRH from $133.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded CRH to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on CRH from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $139.54.

CRH News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting CRH this week:

• Positive Sentiment: CRH completed another phase of its share buyback program, returning $0.3 billion this tranche and bringing total repurchases to $10 billion since 2018 — supportive for EPS and shareholder returns. CRH Continues Share Buyback Program
• Positive Sentiment: CRH declared a quarterly dividend of $0.39 per share (annualized yield ~1.3%), with an ex‑dividend date of May 15 — a direct cash return that can support investor confidence.
• Neutral Sentiment: Q1 results were mixed: revenue of $7.37B topped estimates and rose ~9.1% year‑over‑year, showing demand resilience, while adjusted EPS was a loss of ($0.20) — a slight beat to the consensus loss but still negative. This underlines top‑line strength alongside margin pressure. View Press Release
• Neutral Sentiment: CRH posted its Q1 presentation/earnings call materials, useful for detail on regional performance and cost drivers but not altering headline figures. CRH plc 2026 Q1 – Results – Earnings Call Presentation
• Neutral Sentiment: Local non‑operational items (CRH sites hosting an emergency simulation; moving an urgent care service location) were reported but are unlikely to meaningfully affect corporate fundamentals. CRH will be location of emergency simulation CRH moving urgent care service location
• Negative Sentiment: CRH updated FY‑2026 EPS guidance to a range of 5.600–6.050, slightly below the consensus (~5.93). The guidance miss is a primary driver of downside pressure as it signals continued cost/margin headwinds despite revenue strength.
• Negative Sentiment: A Zacks write‑up highlighted that CRH’s adjusted Q1 loss was wider than their consensus and called out higher costs as the reason — reinforcing investor concerns about margin compression. CRH Q1 Earnings Miss Estimates on Higher Costs, Revenues Up Y/Y

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CRH

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in CRH by 81.3% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,895,205 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,106,927,000 after purchasing an additional 11,167,189 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its stake in CRH by 1.7% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 9,816,938 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,176,530,000 after purchasing an additional 162,110 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in CRH by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,742,448 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,215,858,000 after purchasing an additional 1,177,283 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in CRH by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,889,452 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $984,604,000 after purchasing an additional 440,065 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of CRH by 33.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,566,178 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $694,659,000 after acquiring an additional 1,392,573 shares during the last quarter. 62.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About CRH

CRH plc, originally formed as Cement Roadstone Holdings in 1970 and headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, is a global building materials group. The company has grown from its Irish roots into one of the largest international suppliers of construction materials, expanding primarily through acquisitions and regional business development. CRH operates an integrated network of manufacturing and distribution businesses that serve both public and private construction markets.

CRH’s core activities include the production and distribution of aggregates, cement, asphalt, ready-mixed concrete and other bulk materials, together with a broad range of value-added building products such as precast concrete, masonry, bricks, roofing products, pipe and drainage systems, and construction accessories.