These risks, along with other legal disclaimers, are described in detail in the company's earnings release and in other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures are defined and reconciled in our earnings release, supplemental presentation, and other SEC filings. Gross margin and unit profitability expanded in each segment, and adjusted EBITDA margin expanded 310 basis points. Adjusted EBITDA of $735 million improved 27% compared to the prior year.
Aggregates cash gross profit per ton grew 9% in the quarter through a combination of commercial and operational execution. As anticipated, the prior year acquisitions and a higher percentage of base shipments contributed to 150 basis points of mix. I'm proud of the way our operators are adopting new tools and disciplines to drive plant efficiencies, and I'm excited about the runway ahead for continued profitability improvements, especially as private demand recovers. The private non-residential end use is improving, while residential demand remains weak since there has been little relief in affordability to date.
Some states are already showing growth in starts, which should begin to help offset weakness in single-family activity. Growth in public contract awards in our markets continues to outpace other markets. Now I'll turn the call over to Ronnie to discuss our continued execution of our aggregates-led two-pronged growth strategy. Over the last 24 months as Chief Operating Officer, I've been highly focused on growing the profitability of our existing business in addition to shaping our portfolio for optimal future growth.
| Metric | Period | Current guidance |
|---|---|---|
| Full year aggregate shipments | FY2025 | approximately 3% (lowered to the low end given year-to-date trends and tough Q4 weather comps) |
| Full year adjusted EBITDA | FY2025 | $2.35 billion to $2.45 billion (narrowed to a 17% increase over prior year at midpoint) |
| Aggregates pricing | FY2026 | mid-single-digit improvement (introduced preliminary view; supported by public and private non-res demand) |
| Full year capital expenditures | FY2025 | approximately $700 million (reiterated) |
| Metric | YoY | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Adjusted EBITDA | +27% | consistent execution, margin and unit profitability expansion in each segment, favorable weather versus prior year |
| Aggregate shipments | +12% | pent-up demand from a weak first half, easy comps, and strong public plus improving non-residential demand |
| Aggregates cash gross profit per ton | +9% | combination of commercial and operational execution |
| Aggregates mix adjusted price | +5% | pricing as expected, with 150 basis points of mix from acquisitions and base shipments |
| Aggregates freight adjusted unit cash cost of sales | -2% | Vulcan Way of Operating efficiencies plus tailwinds from volume and more base sales |
| Topic | Previous mention | Current period | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| CEO transition | Tom Hill as Chairman and CEO | Ronnie Pruitt named CEO effective January; Tom Hill's final earnings call as CEO after building the culture over a decade | — |
| Portfolio optimization | aggregates-led two-pronged strategy | completed asphalt/construction services disposition in early October and announced California concrete divestiture; retaining aggregates and downstream expertise | — |
| Public demand | strong and outpacing other markets | trailing 12-month awards up 17% year over year in Vulcan markets versus 5% in other states, with about 60% of IIJA funds still unspent | — |
| Data centers and large projects | robust | about 60 million square feet under construction plus 140 million square feet proposed, nearly 80% within 30 miles of a Vulcan operation; data center subcategory up 26%, plus two LNG and several manufacturing bookings | — |
| Vulcan Way of Operating maturity | early implementation | technology investment complete in top 127 plants (over 70% of production); now in final human behavioral training stage with more momentum expected in 2026 | — |