CRH cuts 2026 profit forecast as Q3 revenue misses estimates

CRH said on Oct. 29 that it lowered its 2026 net income and Adjusted EBITDA forecasts, after third-quarter revenue of $11.40 billion missed the $11.63 billion consensus estimate compiled by Finnhub.

The company, which has 83,000 people across 4,000 locations, said it is the leading provider of building materials. It reported results for the quarter ended Sept. 30.

Net income fell to $1.2 billion from $1.5 billion a year earlier. The company said the decline was primarily due to a $178 million loss on impairments related to its Philippines reporting unit within International Solutions.

Adjusted EBITDA of $2.7 billion was in line with the prior year period.

Here's how the company did:

• Revenue: $11.40 billion vs. $11.07 billion a year earlier
• Diluted EPS: $1.86 vs. $2.21 a year earlier
• Diluted EPS pre-impairment: $2.09 vs. $2.27 a year earlier
• Adjusted EBITDA: $2.68 billion vs. $2.70 billion a year earlier

2026 guidance

CRH lowered its 2026 net income forecast to $3.1 billion to $3.3 billion, from the $3.9 billion to $4.1 billion range it gave in its July 30 results release.

Adjusted EBITDA guidance fell to $7.8 billion to $8.0 billion, from $8.1 billion to $8.5 billion. Diluted EPS guidance is now $4.63 to $4.85, down from $5.60 to $6.05.

The company also introduced an Adjusted Diluted EPS forecast of $5.37 to $5.59. It said it intends to present that measure on a consistent basis in future periods.

Capital expenditure guidance is $2.6 billion to $2.8 billion, down from $2.7 billion to $2.9 billion.

The company cited the earlier than anticipated completion of the Arcosa Acquisition, the inflationary cost backdrop and a more challenging residential construction market. The guidance assumes approximately $0.8 billion of interest expense, net, an effective tax rate of approximately 27% and about 670.5 million diluted shares.

Velocity and costs

CRH launched Velocity, a two-year transformation program. The company expects it to deliver annual run-rate benefits of approximately $400 million by the end of 2028.

Total non-routine costs for the program are expected to be approximately $400 million. The company has recognized $49 million of such costs since the program began.

Income tax expense was $494 million, compared with $428 million a year earlier, reflecting a higher effective tax rate.

Arcosa and acquisitions

CRH completed its acquisition of Arcosa, Inc. on Oct. 23. Arcosa stockholders received $150.00 per share in cash, for a total enterprise value of approximately $8.5 billion.

The company financed the transaction with borrowings under a $2.5 billion term loan facility, a $3.3 billion bridge facility and cash on hand.

In the quarter, CRH completed nine acquisitions for a total consideration of $0.5 billion, compared with $2.5 billion in the same period of 2025.

Buybacks and dividend

The board authorized a new share buyback program of up to $6 billion, expiring at the end of 2030. CEO Jim Mintern said, “Against a challenging and volatile inflationary cost backdrop our teams delivered a resilient Q3 performance.”

In the third quarter, CRH repurchased approximately 0.8 million Ordinary Shares for $0.1 billion. Repurchases through the third quarter totaled $0.7 billion, compared with $0.9 billion in the first nine months of the prior year.

CRH announced a quarterly dividend of 39 cents per share, a 5% increase on the prior year. It will be paid on Dec. 9 to shareholders registered at the close of business on Nov. 13.

Balance sheet

Net Debt was $15.0 billion at Sept. 30, compared with $14.2 billion at Dec. 31, 2025. The company ended the quarter with $5.1 billion of cash and cash equivalents.

Net income swung from a loss of $176.0 million in the first quarter of 2026 to a profit of $1.49 billion in the second quarter, according to its SEC filings.