Valmont Industries tops Q3 forecasts, lifts EPS outlook as steel and zinc costs stay the swing factor

Revenue came in at $1.10 billion, short of the $1.13 billion expected, even as profit guidance moved higher

Valmont Industries posted third-quarter earnings per share of $6.24, beating expectations by $0.48. Revenue totaled $1.10 billion, below the $1.13 billion analysts had forecast.

The company raised its full-year 2026 adjusted diluted earnings per share guidance to a range of $22.75 to $23.75, up from $22.25 to $23.50 previously. It left full-year net sales guidance unchanged at $4.3 billion to $4.45 billion, with Infrastructure segment sales expected at $3.4 billion to $3.5 billion and Agriculture segment sales at $0.9 billion to $0.95 billion.

President and CEO Avner Applbaum said the pace of further margin expansion depends on how quickly steel and zinc input costs stabilize, as the company leans on pricing actions and contractual pass-throughs to offset higher material costs.

The higher profit outlook came without any change to sales guidance, pointing to cost management and pricing rather than volume growth as the source of the improvement. Applbaum's own framing ties additional margin gains to metal costs settling down, which is why the guidance range was widened rather than narrowed. That leaves the earnings upgrade looking more like a function of pricing mechanisms holding steady than of input costs easing, a distinction that matters if steel and zinc prices move against the company in coming quarters.