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Achieved record profitability in 2025 by executing ‘Competitive Edge’ initiatives, focusing on dynamic pricing and operational cost controls across all product lines.
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Capitalized on a vertically integrated model to capture higher margins through the ‘pull-through’ of upstream materials like aggregates into asphalt and ready-mix projects.
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Leveraged a favorable geographic footprint where population growth in Knife River states is forecasted to outpace non-Knife River states by double over the next 20 years.
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Successfully integrated five acquisitions in 2025, including the Strata deal, which expanded the company’s presence in high-growth mid-sized markets.
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Maintained a ‘Life at Knife’ culture that prioritized safety and employee engagement, resulting in the safest year in company history and improved operational efficiency.
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The company navigated a fluid funding environment in Oregon by capitalizing on private sector opportunities like data centers and warehouses, while the broader West segment continued to grow.
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Utilized ‘Pit Crew’ production teams to lower variable operating costs in aggregates, specifically in the Western Mountain segment.
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Entered 2026 with a record $1 billion backlog, a 38% year-over-year increase, driven by robust public infrastructure funding and approximately 46% of IIJA funds remaining to be dispersed.
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Anticipate mid-single-digit growth in aggregates pricing and volume, supported by internal paving demand and continued application of dynamic pricing tools.
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Expect ready-mix volumes to increase in the mid-teens, largely due to the full-year contribution of the Texcrete acquisition in the Texas Triangle.
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Project 2026 adjusted EBITDA between $520 million and $560 million, assuming normal weather conditions and a stable infrastructure budget in Oregon.
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Plan to allocate approximately $131 million toward organic growth projects and reserve additions, while maintaining a disciplined M&A pipeline of aggregates-based, vertically integrated targets.
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Identified a geographic shift in backlog toward the Mountain and Central regions, which typically carry slightly lower EBITDA margins than the West segment.
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Noted that while 2026 contracting services margins are expected to improve, current backlog margins are lower than the prior year due to project mix.
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Acknowledged that first-quarter results will face a seasonal headwind from the Strata acquisition, which typically incurs losses during the winter months in North Dakota.
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Flagged that 2026 SG&A comparisons will be impacted by the absence of one-time asset sale gains recorded in 2025, such as the East Texas property sale.
