The thesis
Infrastructure stocks build, supply and run roads, railroads and water systems. Their revenue depends on public budgets, freight volumes and regulated rates, and federal highway and transit programs now run on a stopgap to December 11, 2026. Compare each company with its own history, then check who pays for its work.
By Jake, founder of StockResearch.app · Oct 23, 2026 · Opinion, not investment advice
Federal road money is on a stopgap
The 2021 infrastructure law authorized federal highway and transit programs through September 30, 2026. H.R. 6500, signed September 2, extended them to December 11, 2026 without setting funding for the years after. State transportation departments plan road and bridge contracts years ahead, so the length of the next bill matters to materials producers and contractors as well as its size.
Work already funded continues. The Census Bureau put August 2026 public highway and street construction at $150.6 billion at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, 4.4% above August 2025 (Census). That measures work put in place, so it lags new contracts, and it is a preliminary estimate.
Rail and rental near the top, water and materials near the bottom
When we reviewed this page (October 23, 2026), Union Pacific, CSX and Norfolk Southern sat between the 88th and 91st percentiles of their own five-year EV/Sales ranges, and United Rentals at the 96th. Xylem sat at the 4th, Eagle Materials at the 16th and CRH at the 4th on about two years of history. Switch the chart to P/E to see today’s numbers.
Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern announced their merger in July 2025. Comments on the revised application are due November 18, 2026, and the Surface Transportation Board has not set a decision date (STB).
Sales and earnings disagree in materials
At the same review Vulcan Materials sat at the 43rd percentile on EV/Sales and the 3rd on P/E. Trailing revenue grew 7% and trailing earnings per share 18%, so profit per dollar of sales rose. A low P/E rank after margins expand can also mean the market doubts those margins will last. The EV/Sales and EV/EBITDA guide and how to value infrastructure stocks show what to check.
Martin Marietta and AECOM were under data review and do not count toward a layer median. CRH ranks against history since November 2024, and Jacobs against 75 weeks after the years affected by its 2024 separation. The missing-percentile guide explains each status.
What this page covers
Infrastructure here means roads, rail, water and the materials and contractors behind them. Chip and data-center stocks sit in AI Infrastructure, power and grid equipment in AI Power, and steel, machinery and distributors in US Manufacturing. IES Holdings also appears in AI Power because it builds electrical systems for data centers.
PAVE is the benchmark: about 100 companies that earn at least half their revenue in the US and much of it from infrastructure development, weighted by its own index. Our basket is equal-weighted across 15 names and is not a replica of the fund. Open the infrastructure screen to compare the members one measure at a time.
What would change the view
- Congress passing a multi-year highway bill, or extending the stopgap again past December 11, 2026.
- Aggregates prices rising more slowly than costs, or shipped volumes falling for several quarters.
- Regulators approving, conditioning or rejecting the Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern merger.
- Data-center and factory site work slowing in contractor backlogs.