Knife River (KNF) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

Motley Fool Transcribing, The Motley Fool

Wed, May 6, 2026 astatine 8:40 AM CDT 42 min read

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DATE

Tuesday, May 5, 2026 astatine 11 a.m. ET

CALL PARTICIPANTS

• Chief Executive Officer — Brian Gray

• Chief Financial Officer — Nathan Ring

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Full Conference Call Transcript

Brian Gray: Thank you, Dara. Good morning, everyone, and convey you for joining us. We had a beardown commencement to the year, and I look guardant to discussing our archetypal 4th successful much detail. Also today, we'll walk immoderate clip highlighting cardinal components of our maturation strategy and what we spot up successful 2026. Starting with our archetypal 4th results. I'm pleased to study we improved gross by 16% and adjusted EBITDA by 16% year-over-year, portion expanding adjusted EBITDA margins by 290 ground points. We saw accrued enactment successful our markets, which helped thrust double-digit measurement maturation crossed our merchandise lines. Combined with our efforts to little costs and optimize pricing, we realized borderline maturation for aggregates, ready-mix and asphalt.

On the contracting services side, revenues were up, and we person secured grounds 4th backlog of $1.2 billion. We are conscionable present entering the commencement of our operation season, and we're doing truthful from a presumption of strength. Lastly, we completed 3 aggregates-based acquisitions during the quarter. We expanded into Utah with a level cognition successful Salt Lake City, and we strengthened our footprint successful Montana. I'll speech much astir our acquisition opportunities successful a fewer minutes. We are growing. Our competitory borderline initiatives are working, and we judge we are good positioned for different palmy year. We're excited astir 2026, and we're assured successful our quality to present continued growth.

Supporting that assurance is simply a wide betterment strategy that we judge makes america the employer, supplier, acquirer and concern of choice. Turning to Slide 4 successful the deck, you tin spot the 4 pillars of Knife River's maturation strategy. First is our midsized higher-growth markets. Second is vertical integration. Third is the accidental for self-help to amended margins. And 4th is our Life astatine Knife civilization and relentless thrust for excellence. We precocious conducted a cognition survey that provided a batch of encouraging feedback, including that investors worth our strategy and privation to larn much astir it. Today, I volition walk much clip discussing 2 aspects of our strategy, our markets and vertical integration.

Starting with our unsocial footprint, we judge our beardown presumption successful midsized, higher-growth markets presents a competitory advantage. Over the past decade, colonisation maturation successful Knife River states has outpaced that of non-Knife River states, and this inclination is expected to accelerate. From 2025 done 2050, our states are projected to turn 2x faster than that of non-Knife River states. More radical equates to much request successful our markets connected essentials similar transportation, housing, h2o and vigor infrastructure. You tin spot that request already this year, arsenic our states are investing successful roadworthy and span infrastructure faster than different states. Collectively, DOT budgets successful Knife River states accrued astir 15% this twelvemonth compared to level successful non-Knife River states.