Valmont Industries (VMI) Baird 2026 Global Industrial Conference summary

Strategic position and 2029 targets

• 2025 sales of $4.1B; adjusted operating income of $538M, or 13.1%. Infrastructure and North America each represent roughly three-quarters of the business.

• Portfolio focus, closer coordination of operations and commercial teams, and higher-return capital allocation improved earnings through Q3 2026 despite a largely flatline environment before 2026.

• 2029 targets: $5.4B sales, $35 EPS, 17% operating margin and 21% ROIC; plan assumes no market recovery and does not require acquisitions or additional leverage.

• Strategy centers on capturing above-market utility growth, strengthening infrastructure and agriculture through mix, productivity and execution, and enabling results through disciplined capital allocation.

Utility growth opportunity

• Utility is the largest growth engine, with a target of $2.5B sales by 2029, roughly $1B above the 2025 base, and $10 EPS contribution.

• The $6.7B project pipeline is based on alliance customers’ capital plans and Valmont’s expected share; it excludes bid-market opportunities. Infrastructure backlog reached $1.8B by Q3 2026, mostly utility.

• Power demand is driven by data centers and AI, industrial expansion, electrification, onshoring and population shifts; utility investment needs extend beyond 2029.

• Excluding AI, industry demand is expected to grow at a mid-single-digit rate; the outlook incorporates equipment, labor, permitting and affordability constraints.

• Around 20% of planned incremental utility steel-production equipment was operational by Q3 2026, with employee training and productivity ramp still underway; growth CapEx is planned to double in 2027.

Portfolio execution

• Infrastructure priorities include targeted growth, improved mix and execution; transportation is strong, while lighting and telecom are weaker. The plan contributes $3 EPS.

• Agriculture is a mid-teen profit business; the plan contributes $2 EPS and assumes no market rebound through 2029. A $100M North Africa project was won in Q3 2026.

• Irrigation demand is supported by land and water productivity, farm consolidation, replacement demand, aftermarket parts, technology and food security; pivot ROI can be three to five years, or one year in drought conditions.

• Coatings sales grew more than 14% in the quarter, supporting utility infrastructure; capacity investment uses brownfield options to improve returns and speed delivery.

• AI initiatives target manufacturing process redesign, more efficient functional workflows and broad employee adoption of AI agents to improve productivity.