The Moat Index

VALMONT INDUSTRIES INC

VMI · Industrials · $10.4B mkt cap · FY2025 filings · Shallow moat ·

Doesn't clear the bar

58/ 100
Shallow moat

The four filters

Pricing power40

Median gross margin 26.0% over 10y, stable.

Returns on capital61

Median ROIC 11.9%, above the 9% hurdle in 90% of years.

Balance-sheet safety59

Net debt/EBITDA 1.2x, interest coverage 10x.

Capital discipline80

Owner earnings +6.3%/yr, share count shrinking (buybacks).

Margin of safety

Above valueOn sale
127% above value
Owner earnings (normalized)
$254.7M
Est. intrinsic value / share
$234.72
Recent price
$531.66
Discount to value
127% above value

Conservative model: 9% discount rate, 4% assumed growth (capped at 4%), maintenance capex ≈ min(capex, D&A).

19 years of fundamentals

The business, in plain English

VALMONT INDUSTRIES INC booked $4.1B of revenue in FY2025 in the Industrials sector and kept 30.2% of it as gross profit — a moderate-margin business by that measure. After every other cost, 8.5% of each revenue dollar reached the bottom line.

Across the filed record, revenue grew from $1.9B (FY2008) to $4.1B (FY2025) — about 4.6% a year compounded over 17 years.

It earned 17.4% on invested capital in FY2025, with a median of 14.2% across 18 filed years. The Returns on Capital filter above scores it 61/100.

The balance sheet carried $795.7M of total debt in FY2025 against $350.3M of owner earnings — roughly 2.3 years of owner earnings to retire it all. Balance-Sheet Safety scores it 59/100.

The share count fell 25.8% between FY2010 and FY2025 — management has been retiring shares, which concentrates each remaining owner's claim. Capital Discipline scores it 80/100.

Put together: Capital Discipline is the strongest of the four filters (80/100) and Pricing Power the weakest (40/100), which is how VMI lands at 58/100 — a Shallow moat.

This breakdown is generated from the filed numbers and sub-scores above — no outside narrative, no estimates. Where a filing doesn’t disclose an input, the sentence that would need it is omitted instead of guessed.

FY2007–FY2025 · 19 fiscal years, normalized from VMI’s SEC filings

RevenueSales, as filed$4.1B FY2025
$0$2B$4B2007201320192025
Gross marginRevenue kept after cost of goods30.2% FY2025
0%20%2007201320192025
Return on invested capitalOperating profit on the capital employed17.4% FY2025
0%10%20%2007201320192025
Owner earningsCash an owner could take out$350.3M FY2025
$0$200M2007201320192025

Gaps in a line mean that item isn’t in VMI’s filings for that year — the series is never interpolated or estimated. The Table view lists every filed value, including operating and net margins, total debt, and share count.

Moat Score history

3 logged readings since Jul 17, 2026 · append-only, never rewritten

Moat Score over timeLast scored reading of each day, on the 0–100 scale58.3 / 100
0406080100WideNarrowShallowNo moatJul 17, 2026

Score history begins Jul 17, 2026 — the record builds from here and can’t be backfilled.

Tier changesSame-methodology crossings of the Wide / Narrow / Shallow bars

None yet — VMI has read Shallow moat for every logged capture since Jul 17, 2026.

Scores are logged append-only and never overwritten — this record can’t be backfilled, which is exactly why it’s worth keeping.

Industrials context

#86 of 309 scored Industrials companies, ranked by Moat Score.

Nearest peers by Moat Score

  1. #84MYRG MYR GROUP INC.58.5 out of 100, Shallow moatShallow moat
  2. #85SITE SiteOne Landscape Supply, Inc.58.4 out of 100, Shallow moatShallow moat
  3. #87ALG ALAMO GROUP INC.58.2 out of 100, Shallow moatShallow moat
  4. #88TKR TIMKEN CO58.1 out of 100, Shallow moatShallow moat

Compare VMI with its nearest peersAll Industrials companies on the Index →

Common questions about VMI

Does VALMONT INDUSTRIES INC have an economic moat?
Based on its FY2025 SEC filings, the Moat Index scores VALMONT INDUSTRIES INC (VMI) 58.3 out of 100 — a Shallow moat. The four filters behind that score (each 0–100): pricing power 40, returns on capital 61, balance-sheet safety 59, capital discipline 80.
Is VMI stock trading below its intrinsic value?
Against a deliberately conservative owner-earnings model (9% discount rate, 4% assumed growth, capped at 4%), estimated intrinsic value is $234.72 per share versus a recent price of $531.66 — 127% above value. This is an educational estimate computed from primary SEC filings, not investment advice.
How has VMI's Moat Score changed over time?
The record logs 3 readings since Jul 17, 2026; the latest reads 58.3 out of 100 (shallow moat). No tier changes on record yet. The history is append-only — readings are only ever added, never rewritten.
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VALMONT INDUSTRIES INC (VMI) Moat Score — The Moat Index · Buy Like Buffett