CRH revenue rises 3% to $11.4 billion as earnings per share beat forecasts
Key Facts
CRH reported third-quarter results on October 29, 2026, posting revenue of $11.4 billion, up 3% from $11.1 billion in the same period last year. Revenue came in below the average analyst estimate of $11.56 billion, while adjusted earnings per share beat expectations. Earnings per share were $2.09, compared with an estimate of $2.03, a difference of $0.06. The results therefore combined year-over-year revenue growth and a miss against forecasts with adjusted earnings per share that exceeded them. The company had scheduled its results call for 8:00 a.m. Eastern time on the day of the announcement.
Net income did not keep pace with revenue growth, coming in at $1.2 billion in the third quarter, down from $1.5 billion a year earlier. The company attributed the decline primarily to impairment losses. Net income margin fell to 10.4% from 13.7% in the third quarter of 2025, reflecting a lower ratio of net profit to revenue. Adjusted EBITDA margin also declined to 23.5% from 24.3%. The year-over-year comparison indicates that pressure extended to margins even as total revenue increased.
Adjusted EBITDA was $2.7 billion, broadly unchanged from $2.7 billion in the same period last year. CRH said disciplined commercial execution, performance improvement initiatives and acquisition contributions supported the result. It added that these factors were offset by cost inflation, weak residential activity and the impact of divestitures. Revenue growth therefore did not translate into growth in this operating metric, which remained at the year-earlier level. Adjusted margins, meanwhile, showed a year-over-year decline to 23.5% from 24.3%.
For its full-year outlook, CRH maintained its 2026 net income forecast at between $3.1 billion and $3.3 billion, and its adjusted EBITDA forecast at between $7.8 billion and $8.0 billion. These ranges provide a framework for assessing the remainder of the fiscal year amid the pressures the company cited in the third quarter. In a separate fourth-quarter forecast, Investing.com cited an earnings-per-share range of $4.63 to $4.85, compared with an average analyst estimate of $5.57. These figures put the final-quarter estimate below the cited average, while the company's annual outlook remains expressed as ranges for net income and adjusted operating earnings. CRH also described its outlook for 2027 as positive across key end markets.
On capital allocation, CRH announced a new share repurchase program of up to $6 billion, set to run through the end of 2030. The announcement came alongside acquisition activity that the company said included the completion of the $8.5 billion Arcosa deal. It added that it had invested $1.9 billion in 27 additional acquisitions from the start of 2026 through the results announcement, describing the deals as value-accretive. The figures place acquisitions and buybacks among the company's major decisions announced alongside the quarterly results, without changing the year-over-year declines in net income and margins.
The company announced the development of its operating model under the name Velocity, saying it targets an annual run rate of $400 million in benefits by the end of 2028. CRH linked the initiative to its goal of structurally higher margins and presented it as part of its future operating plans. In trading, EL7 data show the stock closed at $86.54 on October 28, the day before the results announcement. Investing.com shows a close of $86.54 and a gain of 0.90% for the session displayed, with a daily range of $85.16 to $86.99. The open page does not specify that this daily range is for the October 28 session, while the data available here do not include the stock's movement after the results announcement.