Valmont Industries Targets $35 EPS by 2029 on Utility Infrastructure Boom

Key Points

• Valmont targets approximately $5.4 billion in sales and $35 EPS by 2029, representing a 16.4% annual EPS growth rate from 2025, with projected operating margins near 17% and ROIC around 21%.
• Utility infrastructure is the primary growth driver. North American utility sales are expected to rise from nearly $1.5 billion in 2025 to about $2.5 billion by 2029, supported by transmission, distribution and substation investment and potentially contributing roughly $10 in incremental EPS.
• Operational improvements, agriculture initiatives and share repurchases are expected to add about $6 in incremental EPS, while rising steel, zinc and diesel costs, geopolitical risks and weak agricultural markets remain near-term challenges.

Valmont Industries NYSE: VMI outlined a plan to reach approximately $5.4 billion in sales and $35 in earnings per share by the end of 2029, driven primarily by demand for utility infrastructure, operating improvements and disciplined capital allocation.

Speaking at a D.A. Davidson presentation, CFO John Schwietz said the company’s $35 per-share target represents a 16.4% compound annual growth rate from 2025 earnings per share and is based on organic initiatives already underway. The company expects to generate operating margins of about 17% and return on invested capital of roughly 21% by 2029.

Valmont reported approximately $4.1 billion of revenue in 2025, with infrastructure representing about 75% of sales and agriculture accounting for the remaining 25%. Senior Vice President of Capital Markets, Risk, and Treasurer Renee Campbell said the infrastructure segment produced adjusted operating margins of 17.3% last year, while agriculture remains at a cyclical low despite Valmont’s global market position in center-pivot irrigation through its Valley brand.

Utility Demand Drives Growth Outlook

Campbell identified North American utility operations as Valmont’s largest business and its primary growth engine. The business generated nearly $1.5 billion in sales during 2025. Valmont expects North American utility sales to reach about $2.5 billion by the end of 2029, implying approximately $1 billion of incremental revenue and a 13% annual growth rate.

The company cited utility investment plans totaling about $1.4 trillion through 2030, with nearly half related to transmission, distribution and substations. Valmont estimates a cumulative $53 billion serviceable market for its structures and solutions and said its customer-informed pipeline totals $6.7 billion through 2029.

“Our primary driver is capturing above-market growth in the utility business,” Schwietz said, adding that the opportunity could contribute roughly $10 of incremental earnings per share to the company’s 2029 outlook.

Casey Meyer, Valmont’s vice president of Treasury and Investor Relations, said substation spending is expected to provide the largest growth opportunity on a percentage basis as individual projects become larger and more complex. Transmission remains the largest part of the company’s utility portfolio in absolute dollars, followed by distribution.

Schwietz said incremental operating margins on new utility capacity are currently in the mid-20% range. He attributed that performance to a brownfield expansion approach that uses existing facilities, teams and customer relationships while limiting fixed-cost growth.

Operational Initiatives and Capital Deployment

Beyond utility growth, Valmont expects commercial initiatives and cost reductions across lighting, traffic, telecommunications and international infrastructure operations to improve performance. In agriculture, the company is targeting growth in aftermarket parts, technology penetration and emerging markets.

Those efforts are expected to add $300 million in sales, including approximately $200 million from broader infrastructure operations and $100 million from agriculture. Schwietz said the initiatives are expected to produce a net $4 of incremental earnings per share after an unfavorable $1-per-share tax normalization impact.

The company also expects disciplined capital allocation, including share repurchases, to contribute an additional $2 of incremental earnings per share. Valmont continues to execute under its $700 million repurchase authorization.

From 2026 through 2029, Valmont projects about $2.5 billion of operating cash flow and approximately $1.5 billion of free cash flow after about $1 billion in capital expenditures. Much of that capital spending is planned for utility manufacturing capacity. The company said it sees more than $1 of annualized revenue for every $1 of capital expenditures deployed in that business.

Including existing debt capacity, Valmont expects approximately $2.7 billion of capital deployment capacity over the period. Schwietz said acquisitions remain part of the strategy but must fit within core businesses or established adjacencies and meet earnings-accretion and return-on-invested-capital thresholds.

Costs and Agriculture Remain Near-Term Considerations

Management acknowledged near-term input-cost pressure. Schwietz said hot-rolled coil steel prices were up about 40% year to date, zinc was up about 35%, and diesel was up about 85%. Valmont uses escalators and de-escalators in contracts with alliance customers and reprices based on input indices quarterly, though the company typically experiences about a two-quarter lag between cost movements and corresponding pricing effects.

In agriculture, Campbell said North America and the Middle East appear to be at or near the bottom of the cycle, while Brazil faces high interest rates and tight credit conditions. The company is monitoring crop prices, grower input costs, interest rates and government agricultural investment.

Valmont did not assume a broad agriculture-market recovery in its 2029 framework, Schwietz said, meaning a return to more typical mid-cycle conditions could provide upside. Campbell also said aftermarket parts and technology products are margin-accretive and can help support dealer profitability when equipment demand remains weak.

Management said geopolitical conflict has delayed project activity in the Middle East, but it continues to view the region’s long-term irrigation opportunity favorably due to food-security needs, water scarcity and limited arable land. Risks to the broader outlook include inflation, changes in trade policy and geopolitical disruptions, according to Schwietz.

About Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI)

Valmont Industries, Inc is a global manufacturer of engineered products and services serving the infrastructure and agricultural markets. Founded in 1946 and headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, the company operates through its Infrastructure and Agriculture segments.

Valmont's Infrastructure segment provides utility and substation structures, engineered poles, lighting and traffic structures, wireless communication infrastructure, transportation products, and protective coatings for steel and other materials.

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