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James Hardie Industries vs Vulcan Materials Company: Which Stock Looks Stronger in 2026?

Vulcan Materials Company holds the cleaner structural position, with the lead spread across growth and stability. James Hardie Industries does not offset that deficit through any equally strong structural edge elsewhere. Both sides have seen trend damage — neither carries a clear market edge right now. With both trends damaged, the structural comparison carries most of the weight here.

The comparison is based on similar long-term financial trajectories, not sector labels. Both peer scores are relative to the Russell 1000 universe, making them directly comparable.

Updated 2026-05-17

The lead is spread across growth and stability, rather than sitting in one isolated gap. The overall score gap is 28 points in favour of Vulcan Materials Company.

INDUSTRY COMPARISON

Both operate in: Building Materials

This comparison is based on industry proximity, not on functional trajectory similarity. JHX and VMC share the same industry classification.

For a similarity-based comparison, see how James Hardie Industries and Vulcan Materials Company each position within their functional peer groups in AssetNext.

Peer-Relative Score
JHX
James Hardie Industries plc
23
Peer-Score
Signal qualityMedium
Peer basis: Russell 1000
vs
VMC
Vulcan Materials Company
51
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: Russell 1000

Scores reflect position relative to comparable companies with similar long-term financial trajectories.

The largest gaps do not all point in the same direction.

Dimension spread: JHX vs VMC Profitability 20 19 Stability 19 57 Valuation 20 57 Growth 38 83 JHX VMC
Gap Ranking
#1 Growth +45
#2 Stability +38
#3 Valuation +37
#4 Profitability +1
Price Setup

Left means cheaper relative valuation. Higher means stronger structure.

Price setup map for JHX and VMC Stronger + cheaper Stronger + richer Weaker + cheaper Weaker + richer JHXVMC Relative valuation Structural strength

Vulcan Materials Company looks stronger on relative valuation, while the broader price setup remains mixed.

Valuation position uses peer-relative PE percentile (idx_pct_pe) where available.

Entry today — historical context

Where JHX and VMC each sit in their own 5-year price and valuation history.

BASED ON 5-YEAR HISTORY JHX Lower · below norm 0th 50th 100th 70 pct gap VMC Elevated · below norm 0th 50th 100th 10th 80th
Today JHX sits in the lower portion of its own 5-year history (10th percentile), while VMC sits higher in its own history (80th). Within each stock's own 5-year context, JHX is at a historically more favourable entry position than VMC. This reflects entry timing, not which company is structurally stronger — peer-relative analysis is a separate question addressed above.

Describes historical entry positioning only. Descriptive — not investment advice.

Relative Position vs Comparable Companies
Growth
Vulcan Materials Company ranks near the top of the group on growth; James Hardie Industries plc sits in the weaker half.
Stability
On stability, Vulcan Materials Company is positioned higher in the group, while James Hardie Industries plc is closer to the middle.
Growth — Dominant Gap
JHX
38
VMC
83
Gap+45in favour of VMC

Earnings growth is one contributing factor within the growth lead.

What keeps the gap from being one-sided

James Hardie Industries plc still looks less cycle-sensitive — that keeps the result from looking completely one-sided.

What this means for the comparison

The lead is built on both growth and stability, making it broader than a single-dimension result.

Explore full peer positioning in AssetNext

Break down the JHX vs VMC comparison across all dimensions with the full interactive tool.

Explore full breakdown →
Similar growth-and-stability comparisons

Explore how JHX and VMC each compare against other companies in their peer groups.

Rule-based, descriptive analysis only. Derived from peer percentile dimensions. Not investment advice. Peer groups are determined algorithmically based on structural similarity — not by sector classification alone.

How AssetNext Peer Scores Work

AssetNext scores reflect each company's structural position within its functional peer group — not a ranking against all stocks simultaneously. Peers are identified by similarity across eight financial dimensions, including revenue growth trajectory, margin structure, capital intensity, and earnings stability. A score of 75 means the company ranks in the top quartile within its own peer group, not the entire market.

Four dimension scores drive the overall peer score: Growth (revenue trajectory and expansion dynamics), Quality (margin structure and capital efficiency), Valuation (peer-relative pricing on standard multiples), and Stability (earnings consistency and financial predictability). Each dimension is scored 0–100 relative to the peer group, then combined into an overall peer score using equal weighting.

Because scores are peer-relative, the same company can have slightly different scores in different index universes. On comparison pages, both companies are shown within their shared peer universe wherever possible — so the scores are directly comparable. The peer basis is stated on each score card.

Scores are recalculated periodically as underlying financial data is updated. All analysis is descriptive and rule-based — AssetNext describes structural realities and never issues buy, sell or hold recommendations.