CRH CRH PUBLIC LTD CO

NYSE Cement, Hydraulic L2 CIK: 0000849395
AI RATING
STRONG_SELL
88% Confidence

Investment Thesis

CRH is fundamentally unprofitable with negative operating cash flow (-$616M) and deeply negative free cash flow (-$1.2B), indicating operations cannot sustain $18.4B debt load. Interest coverage of -0.1x signals inability to service debt from operations, creating acute refinancing and distress risk despite modest 5.3% revenue growth.

Strengths

  • + Gross margin of 27.7% indicates reasonable pricing power in core cement operations
  • + Current ratio of 1.59x and quick ratio of 1.09x provide adequate short-term liquidity cushion
  • + Revenue growth of 5.3% YoY demonstrates market demand persists despite operational challenges

Risks

  • ! Negative operating cash flow of -$616M and free cash flow of -$1.2B indicates unsustainable cash burn despite $3.2B cash position
  • ! Net margin of -2.4%, operating margin of -0.5%, and interest coverage of -0.1x show inability to generate profits or service debt from operations
  • ! Debt/equity of 0.80x with $18.4B long-term debt combined with unprofitability creates acute refinancing and default risk in prolonged downturn

Key Metrics to Watch

Financial Metrics

Revenue
7.4B
Net Income
-176.0M
EPS (Diluted)
$-0.27
Free Cash Flow
-1.2B
Total Assets
58.2B
Cash
3.2B

Profitability Ratios

Gross Margin 27.7%
Operating Margin -0.5%
Net Margin -2.4%
ROE -0.8%
ROA -0.3%
FCF Margin -16.5%

Balance Sheet & Liquidity

Current Ratio
1.59x
Quick Ratio
1.09x
Debt/Equity
0.80x
Debt/Assets
57.8%
Interest Coverage
-0.13x
Long-term Debt
18.4B
Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI based on publicly available SEC EDGAR filings. It does not include stock price data and should not be considered financial advice. All fundamental data is sourced from SEC public domain filings. Always conduct your own research before making investment decisions.
Data Source: SEC EDGAR | Analysis Date: 2026-05-06T17:21:30.747207 | Data as of: 2026-03-31 | Powered by Claude AI