Martin Marietta Earnings: Pricing Power Is on Full Display, but Shares Remain Pricey

Narrow-moat-rated Martin Marietta reported solid fourth-quarter results that capped off a strong year for the company. Martin Marietta continues to flex its pricing power across its portfolio as all four segments experienced selling price growth. Conversely, shipments were down in the quarter from a year ago for three of its four core segments as Martin Marietta navigates moderating end-market demand. Martin Marietta’s focus on value over volume continues to bear fruit for the firm and management has shown no sign of letting up on pricing actions. While we expect shipments to face headwinds for much of 2024, we expect this will largely be offset by additional pricing gains during the year. As such, we have increased our fair value estimate to $350 from $330 per share.