Chairman, Chief Executive Officer & President, Martin Marietta Materials
Martin Marietta Materials CEO: Tackling Texas | Mad Money | CNBC
Earlier this year the White House was set on improving our infrastructure. But with priorities shifting, how could it impact plays in the space? Jim Cramer asks the CEO of Martin Marietta to find out.
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About C. Nye
Ward Nye, chairman, president, and CEO of Martin Marietta Materials, reported that the company achieved a record first quarter in 2026, with revenues increasing 17% to $1.4 billion and organic aggregate shipments growing 7.2%. Nye attributed the results to an early construction season and continued strength in infrastructure and heavy non-residential demand. He noted that the company closed the Quikrete Asset Exchange in February 2026, which he described as its largest aggregates acquisition to date, shifting the portfolio away from cement and concrete assets. Nye stated that a significant portion of Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funding remains undistributed, and he expressed confidence that a successor surface transportation bill would be passed before the current law's expiration. Nye has emphasized the durability of the company's aggregates-led portfolio and its positioning in attractive markets. He stated that the company delivered a 208 basis point price-cost spread over its previous five-year strategic plan, exceeding its target. Looking ahead, Nye said the company expects low single-digit aggregate volume growth and mid-single-digit pricing gains in 2026, with a price-cost spread exceeding 250 basis points. He commented that the nomination of Kevin Walsh to chair the Federal Reserve could be a positive development for lowering interest rates, and he noted that the housing market would require approximately 4 million additional homes to restore balance.
Transcript (17 segments)
✨ AI-enhanced transcript with speaker attribution
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Jim Cramer0:06
Just coming in the new year, I've almost all fired up about tax cuts, possibility of a big infrastructure bill. It seemed like anything was possible, at least to many professional money managers. Although at the time, I told you not to get too fired up, don't get your hopes up that much, because while Congress is adamantly opposed to infrastructure spending, sure enough, fast forward today and the infrastructure bill is, let's say, moribund. Oh well, the White House has turned its focus to tariffs, guns, video games, you name it. If you were thinking Gary Cohn would shepherd an infrastructure package through, think again. This has not been a great moment for stocks like Martin Marietta, MLM, the maker of aggregates, concrete, asphalt, and other basic materials. And look, we have liked Martin Marietta Materials for ages, but I've got to tell you, this is the kind of thing with or without the big infrastructure projects for the federal government, gotta be worried. It's always been a mistake to view this company through the prism of Washington, though. The truth is, with or without an infrastructure bill, Martin Marietta's business is booming. The company just delivered a fantastic quarter a few weeks ago, very buoyed guidance for 2018. If the stock's down more than five bucks from where it was when the company reported, I think you may, let's just say, be getting a bargain here. So let's dig deeper with Ward Nye, this year Martin Marietta Materials, to get a better sense of where the company is, and should I welcome back to Mad Money.
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C. Nye1:24
Great to be here, Jim. Thank you.
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Jim Cramer1:27
Okay, we got to go up, we got to go over this, Mr. Nye. I gotta tell you, we have an unbelievably good situation as you outlined in a couple of key states. At the same time, the federal government is stalled. Are the states enough to be able to make it so you have a great year?
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C. Nye1:44
You know, the states are going to be there this year. If you look back toward last year, Jim, we had a great year in private. We didn't have a great year, and by that I mean the industry didn't have a great year in public. I think we're going to see a lot more in public this year. State departments of transportation have been hiring, they've been using more outside resources to get projects ready and out the door. We're seeing volumes up this year four to six percent, and for us that's a pretty notable move.
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Jim Cramer2:10
Now you highlight Texas DOT. What is going on in Texas that is just incredibly strong?
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C. Nye2:19
Well, number one, I'm in Houston today and we've had some industry association meetings here for the last several days. What we see across Texas, particularly in that Golden Triangle, Dallas down to Houston over to San Antonio, is an enormous amount of activity. As you have indicated, TxDOT, Texas DOT, has indicated they intend to spend over seventy billion dollars over the next decade improving their highways, bridges, roads, and streets. To us, that matters a lot. We're the largest producer of aggregates, cement, and ready mix concrete in Texas, and we're clearly the largest in that big Golden Triangle. So we believe Texas DOT will be very healthy this year. We also think private work, meaning residential and non-residential, will be healthy.
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Jim Cramer3:02
Now we know that oil has come up a lot since the bottom. You highlight shale business being strong.
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C. Nye3:09
Shale business is getting much, much better. Several years ago, to give you a sense, we sold about 7.5 million tons to different shale plays across the United States, some of the biggest ones right here in Texas. Last year, more like 1.4 million, so they've been way down. But we did see them up nicely in the fourth quarter, we saw them up year-over-year. We believe a standard run for that business should be in the three and a half to four million tons a year, that's almost double where it was last year. We think with oil sitting where it is today, the shale activity will get much better in Texas and throughout much of the rest of the United States as well.
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Jim Cramer3:46
All right, now you do point out, you said government uncertainty, labor constraints, ensuing project delays have created a bit of a headwind here. Please go over all three.
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C. Nye3:59
Well, we can talk first about unemployment, and look, that's the good news and the bad news. Because when you go through different parts of the country, you see remarkably low levels of unemployment. Now that's great because you do have people who have jobs, people who are moving to places like Texas and Colorado and North Carolina and Georgia and Florida, which are all key states for us. At the same time, contractors and on occasion some people in the supply chain have had trouble getting workers. We believe that is easing in a number of these places. At the same time, you and I mentioned before, different DOTs have had some trouble putting work out, and we're seeing that problem begin to fade as we come into the new year as well. TxDOT last year, for example, when they hit the beginning of this fiscal year, hired several hundred people to come to work for Texas DOT. We've seen the same types of activity in a host of other DOTs across the United States, particularly in the southwest and southeast, which are important geographies for Martin Marietta.
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Jim Cramer5:01
All right, well, nice question. Bluegrass Materials, you do that financing deal. Sounds like it's going to be what, maybe second half 2018 start to really help?
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C. Nye5:10
You know what, we think we'll get that done in the first half of 2018, and it'll certainly help relative to the second half. We're excited about Bluegrass. It's a pure play, it was the largest pure play aggregates business that was privately owned in the United States. Importantly, in the geographies where we're picking up assets, Georgia, Maryland primarily, those are parts of geographies that are off 20% to peak, 20% to midpoint relative to volumes. We like that business, we like where it is, we like when we're buying it, and we like where we're buying it.
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Jim Cramer5:42
Your areas do seem to be a benefit if there are tariffs put on dumping in steel. You are in the areas where there could be some tremendous building and restarting. Any feeling that...
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C. Nye5:55
We do think that will likely help some of our business. The piece of our business that will help most particularly is in our magnesia specialties business. We sell a big portion of our material in that to do purification or fluxing agents in the manufacture of steel. What we've long said is, if you're looking at our mag specialties business, there are two things to watch: number one, where is steel producing relative to capacity, and if it's over 70%, that's going to be good for our business; and what's happening with respect to energy. We think both of those will be good for our business this year.
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Jim Cramer6:30
All right, well, this stock is just an honor to perform for the moment, but not I think for 2018. Thank you, Ward Nye. He's the CEO of Martin Marietta. Great to have you on the show, sir.
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C. Nye6:39
Great to be here. It's gotten too cheap, what can I say? They have bunnies back in the ring.
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Jim Cramer6:44
Booyah! Jim Cramer here from there, buddy. Thanks for watching. See me, see you on YouTube. Click here to subscribe and get the jump on my exclusives with CEOs, plus market news, investing advice, and a whole lot more.