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Core & Main
(NYSE:CNM)
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Rating:63Neutral
Price Target:
$48.00
▼(-5.49% Downside)
Action:Reiterated
Date:07/03/26
CNM scores highest on underlying fundamentals and earnings-call outlook: stable margins, strong free cash flow, and reaffirmed FY2026 guidance with continued capital returns support the investment case. The overall score is held back primarily by weak technicals (downtrend vs. key moving averages and negative MACD) and moderate balance-sheet leverage alongside slightly negative TTM revenue growth. Valuation appears reasonable at ~18.9x earnings, but no dividend yield data is available to add support.
Positive Factors
Free Cash Flow Strength
Consistent high FCF (TTM ~$608M and ~0.93x net income) shows the business reliably converts earnings into cash. That durability funds buybacks, M&A, capex and working-capital needs, providing long-term financial flexibility and resilience through project timing cycles.
Negative Factors
Meaningful Leverage
Material leverage (TTM debt/equity ~1.22; net debt ~$2.0B, net leverage ~2.2x) restricts balance-sheet flexibility and increases sensitivity to higher rates or weaker cash flow. Even with maturity extensions, elevated leverage limits room for aggressive capital deployment if volumes soften.
Read all positive and negative factors
Positive Factors
Negative Factors
Free Cash Flow Strength
Consistent high FCF (TTM ~$608M and ~0.93x net income) shows the business reliably converts earnings into cash. That durability funds buybacks, M&A, capex and working-capital needs, providing long-term financial flexibility and resilience through project timing cycles.
Read all positive factors
Core & Main (CNM) vs. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)
Market Cap
$8.86B
Dividend YieldN/A
Average Volume (3M)2.79M
Price to Earnings (P/E)19.2
Beta (1Y)1.10
Revenue Growth0.46%
EPS Growth8.94%
CountryUS
Employees5,600
SectorIndustrials
Sector Strength72
IndustryIndustrial - Distribution
Share Statistics
EPS (TTM)2.38
Shares Outstanding187,192,830
10 Day Avg. Volume1,906,481
30 Day Avg. Volume2,791,327
Financial Highlights & Ratios
PEG Ratio2.80
Price to Book (P/B)5.20
Price to Sales (P/S)1.36
P/FCF Ratio17.19
Enterprise Value/Market Cap<0.01
Enterprise Value/Revenue<0.01
Enterprise Value/Gross Profit<0.01
Enterprise Value/Ebitda<0.01
Forecast
1Y Price Target
$58.00Price Target Upside14.20% Upside
Rating ConsensusModerate Buy
Number of Analyst Covering8
EPS Forecast (FY)2.54
Revenue Forecast (FY)$7.85B
Core & Main Business Overview & Revenue Model
Company Description
Core & Main, Inc. (CNM) is a leading supplier of vital infrastructure products and services across the United States. The company specializes in providing comprehensive solutions for water, wastewater, storm drainage, and fire protection systems. ...
How the Company Makes Money
Core & Main primarily makes money by purchasing infrastructure-related products from manufacturers and reselling them to contractors, municipalities, utilities, and other infrastructure customers at a markup, with revenue recognized on product sal...
Core & Main Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Date:Jun 10, 2026
(Q1-2026)
| % Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:Sep 09, 2026
Earnings Call Sentiment Positive
The call presents a fundamentally positive picture driven by municipal strength, margin improvement, robust cash generation, active share repurchases, accelerating secular growth in smart utility and treatment plant solutions, and an improving M&A pipeline. Offsetting items include soft residential demand, modest organic volume declines, PVC-related headwinds, and some near-term timing and macro uncertainty. On balance, the highlights (margin expansion, cash returns, strategic growth initiatives and reaffirmed guidance) outweigh the lowlights.Positive Updates
Strong Top-line and Profitability Metrics
Net sales of $1.9 billion in Q1 FY2026, adjusted EBITDA of $226 million (up ~1% YoY) and adjusted diluted EPS of $0.72 (up ~6% YoY from $0.68), demonstrating resilient demand and execution.
Negative Updates
Organic Volumes Decline and Soft End-Market Mix
Organic volumes were down ~1% year-over-year in Q1 and management estimates end-market demand down low single digits, reflecting weakness primarily in residential lot development.
Read all updates
Q1-2026 Updates
Positive
Negative
Strong Top-line and Profitability Metrics
Net sales of $1.9 billion in Q1 FY2026, adjusted EBITDA of $226 million (up ~1% YoY) and adjusted diluted EPS of $0.72 (up ~6% YoY from $0.68), demonstrating resilient demand and execution.
Read all positive updates
Company Guidance
Core & Main reaffirmed its fiscal 2026 guidance calling for net sales of $7.8–$7.9 billion, adjusted EBITDA of $950–$980 million and operating cash‑flow conversion of 60%–70% of adjusted EBITDA, while expecting overall end‑market volumes to be roughly flat for the year. In Q1 the company reported net sales of $1.9 billion, adjusted EBITDA $226 million, adjusted diluted EPS $0.72, gross margin 27.2% (up ~50 bps), adjusted EBITDA margin 11.8% (up 10 bps), organic volumes down ~1% with acquisitions contributing ~+1 point, and operating cash flow of $82 million. Balance‑sheet and capital metrics included net debt $2.0 billion (2.2x leverage), liquidity ≈$1.4 billion (including $150 million cash), LTM free cash‑flow yield 6.4% of market cap, $125 million of repurchases fiscal‑to‑date (≈$88M in Q1) and ~2.5 million shares repurchased YTD; the company opened 5 greenfields in Q1 and targets 8–10 in FY26. Treatment‑plant and smart‑utility grew double‑digit and high single‑digit in the quarter (25% and 15% 5‑yr CAGRs), and management expects further margin expansion from gross‑margin initiatives, cost actions and operating leverage, with PVC supplier price increases a potential modest tailwind later in the year.Core & Main Financial Statement Overview
Summary
Income Statement
78
Positive
Balance Sheet
64
Positive
Cash Flow
72
Positive
| Breakdown | TTM | Jan 2026 | Jan 2025 | Jan 2024 | Jan 2023 | Jan 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Income Statement | ||||||
| Total Revenue | 7.65B | 7.65B | 7.44B | 6.70B | 6.65B | 5.00B |
| Gross Profit | 2.07B | 2.06B | 1.98B | 1.82B | 1.79B | 1.28B |
| EBITDA | 944.00M | 914.00M | 913.00M | 894.00M | 924.00M | 524.00M |
| Net Income | 449.00M | 441.00M | 411.00M | 371.00M | 366.00M | 166.00M |
Balance Sheet | ||||||
| Total Assets | 6.32B | 6.08B | 5.87B | 5.07B | 4.91B | 4.43B |
| Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments | 150.00M | 220.00M | 8.00M | 1.00M | 177.00M | 1.00M |
| Total Debt | 2.44B | 2.44B | 2.51B | 2.07B | 1.63B | 1.62B |
| Total Liabilities | 4.21B | 4.01B | 4.10B | 3.54B | 2.50B | 2.60B |
| Stockholders Equity | 2.04B | 2.00B | 1.70B | 1.45B | 1.75B | 1.32B |
Cash Flow | ||||||
| Free Cash Flow | 608.00M | 604.00M | 586.00M | 1.03B | 376.00M | -51.00M |
| Operating Cash Flow | 655.00M | 650.00M | 621.00M | 1.07B | 401.00M | -31.00M |
| Investing Cash Flow | -150.00M | -145.00M | -788.00M | -270.00M | -152.00M | -203.00M |
| Financing Cash Flow | -363.00M | -293.00M | 174.00M | -975.00M | -73.00M | -146.00M |
Core & Main Technical Analysis
Neutral
50.79
Price Trends
47.98
Negative
49.30
Negative
51.19
Negative
Market Momentum
-0.97
Positive
45.30
Neutral
32.12
Neutral
Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For CNM, the sentiment is Neutral. The current price of 50.79 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 46.43, above the 50-day MA of 47.98, and below the 200-day MA of 51.19, indicating a bearish trend. The MACD of -0.97 indicates Positive momentum. The RSI at 45.30 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 32.12 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Neutral sentiment for CNM.
Core & Main Risk Analysis
Core & Main disclosed 48 risk factors in its most recent earnings report. Core & Main reported the most risks in the "Finance & Corporate" category.
Finance & Corporate - Financial and accounting risks. Risks related to the execution of corporate activity and strategy
Latest Risks Added 0 New Risks
Core & Main Peers Comparison
UnderperformOutperform
Sector (63)
Name | Overall Rating | Market Cap | P/E Ratio | ROE | Dividend Yield | Revenue Growth | EPS Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
81 Outperform | $66.19B | 37.57 | 47.84% | 0.86% | 6.61% | -4.69% | |
77 Outperform | $12.28B | 30.95 | 21.64% | 0.70% | 7.54% | 6.04% | |
72 Outperform | $7.02B | 30.35 | 15.00% | 3.96% | 4.41% | 16.62% | |
69 Neutral | $15.91B | 22.94 | 13.70% | 0.72% | 11.16% | 6.33% | |
65 Neutral | $45.40B | 22.15 | 35.56% | 1.35% | 2.57% | 9.40% | |
63 Neutral | $10.79B | 15.43 | 7.44% | 2.01% | 2.89% | -14.66% | |
63 Neutral | $8.86B | 19.24 | 22.73% | ― | 0.46% | 8.94% |
* Industrials Sector Average
CNM
Core & Main
45.78
-16.22
-26.16%
AIT
Applied Industrial Technologies
332.13
73.24
28.29%
MSM
MSC Industrial
125.63
41.35
49.07%
GWW
WW Grainger
1,402.03
382.55
37.52%
WCC
Wesco International
326.71
122.30
59.83%
FERG
Ferguson PLC
234.10
14.68
6.69%
Core & Main Corporate Events
Business Operations and StrategyStock BuybackPrivate Placements and Financing
Core & Main refinances debt, extends maturities to 2033
Positive
Jul 2, 2026
On July 1, 2026, Core Main LP issued $750 million of 6.000% senior notes due 2034, guaranteed on an unsecured senior basis by its parent entities and certain future domestic subsidiaries and sold to institutional and offshore investors under secu...
Business Operations and StrategyPrivate Placements and Financing
Core & Main Announces $750 Million Senior Notes Offering
Positive
Jun 25, 2026
On June 25, 2026, Core Main announced the launch and pricing of a $750 million private offering of senior notes due 2034 through its indirect wholly owned subsidiary, Core Main LP. The notes will be issued on an unsecured senior basis and guaran...
Executive/Board ChangesShareholder Meetings
Core & Main Shareholders Reelect Directors, Back Governance Measures
Positive
Jun 23, 2026
Core Main, Inc. held its annual meeting of shareholders on June 23, 2026, at which investors elected three Class II directors — Bhavani Amirthalingam, Orvin T. Kimbrough and Margaret M. Newman — to serve on the board until the 2029 an...
Business Operations and StrategyPrivate Placements and Financing
Core & Main Proposes New $800M Term Loan Refinancing
Positive
Jun 22, 2026
On June 22, 2026, Core Main LP initiated a proposed amendment to its existing term loan credit agreement in order to arrange a new $800 million senior term loan expected to mature seven years from issuance. The move continues a series of amendmen...
Business Operations and StrategyPrivate Placements and Financing
Core & Main Extends ABL Credit Facility and Maturity
Positive
Apr 10, 2026
On April 9, 2026, Core Main LP amended its existing ABL Credit Agreement to extend the maturity date of $1.25 billion in aggregate commitments to April 9, 2031, subject to an earlier maturity if certain other indebtedness remains outstanding 91 d...
Glossary
BuyA stock rated as a "Buy" is expected to perform better than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock is likely to deliver higher returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
HoldA stock rated as a "Hold" is expected to perform in line with the overall market or a specific benchmark. This rating indicates that the stock is neither particularly compelling nor unfavorable for investment. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
SellA stock rated as a "Sell" is expected to perform worse than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock may deliver lower returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
Disclaimer
This AI Analyst Stock Report is automatically generated by our AI systems using advanced algorithms and publicly available financial, technical, and market data. While the information provided aims to be accurate and insightful, it is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Any content created by an AI (Artificial Intelligence) system may contain inaccuracies and/or contain errors. Investing in stocks carries inherent risks, and past performance is not indicative of future results. This report does not account for your personal financial circumstances, objectives, or risk tolerance. Always conduct your own research or consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. The analysis and recommendations provided are based on historical and current data and may not fully reflect future market conditions or unexpected developments. Neither the creators of this report nor its affiliated entities guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented. Use this report at your own discretion and risk.