Which Is a Better Investment, CRH PLC or Martin Marietta Materials Inc Stock?

By Grace Malone
August 01, 2026
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Sifting through countless of stocks in the Construction Materials industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in CRH plc, Martin Marietta Materials or Inc. because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how CRH plc, Martin Marietta Materials and Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About CRH plc, Martin Marietta Materials and Inc.

CRH plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides building materials solutions in Ireland, the United States, the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Americas Materials Solutions, Americas Building Solutions, and International Solutions. The company offers building materials for the construction and maintenance of public infrastructure, and commercial and residential buildings, as well as construction and renovation of transportation infrastructure, critical utility networks, commercial and residential buildings, and outdoor living spaces; paving and construction services; and produces and sells aggregates, cementitious materials, ready mixed concrete and mortars, and asphalt. It also manufactures, supplies, and delivers building products for the built environment in communities in North America; and provides building and infrastructure solutions for complex critical utility infrastructure, such as water, energy, transportation, and telecommunications projects, and outdoor living solutions for private and public spaces. In addition, the company produces and supplies precast and pre-stressed concrete products comprising vaults, pipes, and manholes; and concrete and polymer-based products, such as underground vaults, drainage systems, enclosures, and modular precast structures for applications in transportation, water, energy, and telecommunications markets. Further, it provides crushed stone, sand, and gravel; granite, limestone, and sandstone; fly ash, pozzolans, synthetic gypsum, calcined clay, and ground granulated blast-furnace slags; fencing and railing systems, lawn and garden products, and packaged concrete mixes; and concrete masonry, hardscape and related products, including pavers, blocks and curbs, retaining walls, and slabs. CRH plc was founded in 1936 and is based in Dublin, Ireland.

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc., a natural resource-based building materials company, supplies aggregates and heavy-side building materials to the construction industry in the United States and internationally. It operates through East Group and West Group segments. The company offers crushed stone, sand, and gravel products; ready mixed concrete and asphalt; and paving products and services for use in the infrastructure projects, and nonresidential and residential construction projects, as well as in the railroad, agricultural, utility, and environmental industries. It also produces magnesia-based chemicals products, and dolomitic lime primarily to customers for steel production and soil stabilization. Its chemical products are used in flame retardants, wastewater treatment, pulp and paper production, and other applications. The company was founded in 1939 and is based in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Latest Construction Materials and CRH plc, Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. Stock News

As of July 31, 2026, CRH plc had a $63.2 billion market capitalization, compared to the Construction Materials median of $3.5 million. CRH plc’s stock is down 23.9% in 2026, down 4.9% in the previous five trading days and down 1.56% in the past year.

Currently, CRH plc’s price-earnings ratio is 16.7. CRH plc’s trailing 12-month revenue is $38.6 billion with a 9.9% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 5.6%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $5.903 per share for the current fiscal year. CRH plc currently has a 1.6% dividend yield.

As of July 31, 2026, Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. had a $31.5 billion market cap, putting it in the 90th percentile of all stocks. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc.’s stock is down 15.7% in 2026, down 6.2% in the previous five trading days and down 8.72% in the past year.

Currently, Martin Marietta Materials, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 32.9. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $6.4 billion with a 36.7% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 17.2%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $19.016 per share for the current fiscal year. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. currently has a 0.6% dividend yield.

How We Compare CRH plc, Martin Marietta Materials and Inc. Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at CRH plc, Martin Marietta Materials and Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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CRH plc, Martin Marietta Materials and Inc. Stock Value Grades

Company Ticker Value
CRH plc CRH C
Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. MLM D

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection.

Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.

CRH plc has a Value Score of 52, which is Average. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a Value Score of 23, which is Expensive.

The Value Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither CRH plc, Martin Marietta Materials or Inc. has a high enough value grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolio. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if CRH plc, Martin Marietta Materials or Inc. is the better investment when it comes to value.

CRH plc, Martin Marietta Materials and Inc. Growth Grades

Company Ticker Growth
CRH plc CRH A
Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. MLM B

The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.

In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.

The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.

CRH plc has a Growth Score of 100, which is Very Strong. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a Growth Score of 77, which is Strong.

The Growth Grade Winner: CRH plc

As you can clearly see from the Growth Grade breakdown above, CRH plc has a more attractive growth grade than Martin Marietta Materials, Inc.. For investors who focus solely on how a company is growing relative to other companies in the same industry, CRH plc could be a good stock to add to their portfolio. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

CRH plc, Martin Marietta Materials and Inc.’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company Ticker Earnings Estimate
CRH plc CRH D
Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. MLM D

Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

CRH plc has a Earnings Estimate Score of 28, which is Negative. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 30, which is Negative.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither CRH plc, Martin Marietta Materials or Inc. has an Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade that could be considered a “winner.” Investors considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if CRH plc, Martin Marietta Materials or Inc. is the better investment when it comes to estimate revisions.

Don’t Forget Your Free Special Report on How A+ Grades Can Help You Make Investment Decisions

Other CRH plc, Martin Marietta Materials and Inc. Grades

In addition to Growth, Estimate Revisions and Value, A+ Investor also provides grades for Momentum and Quality.

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Momentum grades help uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming.

AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the ranking of key metrics. Specifically, the quality grade is the percentile rank of the composite of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and F-Score.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether CRH plc, Martin Marietta Materials and Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, CRH plc, Martin Marietta Materials or Inc. Stock?

Overall, CRH plc stock has a Value Score of 52, Growth Score of 100 and Estimate Revisions Score of 28.

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. stock has a Value Score of 23, Growth Score of 77 and Estimate Revisions Score of 30.

Comparing CRH plc, Martin Marietta Materials and Inc.’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

Learn More About A+ Investor

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.



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