Valmont Industries (VMI): 3Q Results: Utility Momentum Builds as Price/Cost Creates Near-Term Headwinds

Valmont delivered a solid 3Q26, in our view, with Infrastructure sales of $882M (+9% YoY) and N.A. Utility growth of ~23% YoY, driven by double-digit pricing alongside volume gains. Infrastructure backlog reached ~$1.8bn (+$220M sequentially) as alliance pipeline opportunities converted into firm orders and as lead times extended to 60-70 weeks, while Ag continues to remain challenged. Management pointed to accelerating steel inflation and a 2-3 quarter pass-through lag as a greater margin headwind in 4Q26, prompting us to lower our FY26 estimates while raising FY27/FY28 on delayed pricing recovery and incremental volumes from higher growth capex. We are maintaining our Overweight rating and price target of $620, based on 14.7x our FY27E adj. EBITDA.