View the chart data
| As of | Backlog |
|---|---|
| December 31, 2025 | 434.9 |
| June 30, 2026 | 648.1 |
Increase: (648.1 / 434.9 - 1) x 100 = 49.02%, approximately 49%. Bars start at zero on a shared $700 million scale. Backlog means orders awaiting delivery, not booked revenue or guaranteed profit. Figures cover this Arcosa business, not all Arcosa or CRH operations.
CRH completed its roughly $8.5 billion purchase of Arcosa on October 23, adding an unexpected business to its building-materials empire: structures for the electricity grid. The deal brings utility poles alongside the stone used in roads and construction. [1] [2]
For CRH shareholders (NYSE: CRH), the attraction reaches beyond more quarries. Arcosa has been shifting factory capacity toward utility structures as customers strengthen their grids and meet rising electricity needs. Its new owner gains a business already responding to that demand. [3]
A wind-tower factory finds another job
The change is visible on a factory floor. Arcosa's June-quarter filing said an idle wind-tower facility had been converted to utility structures and started delivering poles in the second quarter. Another wind-tower facility was planned for conversion in 2027. [3]
Orders help explain the switch. Utility and related structures backlog reached $648.1 million at June 30, up about 49% from December. Arcosa pointed to grid reliability work and electricity demand from artificial-intelligence projects. These are earlier operating figures, not a new October order announcement. [3]
The acquired factories give CRH another way to earn money from infrastructure spending. A road needs construction materials; an expanded power network also needs the structures holding its lines. Owning both broadens the kinds of projects the company can serve.
“Arcosa is an excellent strategic fit for CRH”
Jim Mintern, CRH chief executive - October 23, 2026 [1]
The quarries still matter
CRH is also buying substantial familiar territory. June's agreement described 109 quarries and yards, nine asphalt plants and 19 terminals. Arcosa shipped about 35 million tons of aggregates in 2025. Aggregates are crushed stone, sand and gravel used to build roads and other structures. [2]
Putting those operations into a larger supplier could lower purchasing and operating costs. CRH originally targeted $175 million in annual cost savings by the third year. That is management's target, not money already earned. Integrating plants, purchasing and administration is the work needed to deliver it. [2]
The market connection CRH now has more ways to supply U.S. infrastructure projects. The purchase pays off only if those businesses produce enough cash to justify their cost.
The first update is days away
The broader demand picture is uneven. Arcosa reported that housing affordability and high interest rates hurt residential volumes. Wind-tower revenue fell 19% in the June quarter even as utility-related revenue grew. A stronger grid business does not lift every acquired operation together. [3]
The purchase also uses financial resources. June's funding plan called for available cash and committed debt financing. Savings, demand and integration therefore matter to CRH's ability to earn a worthwhile return on a large acquisition. [2]
CRH reports before the market opens on October 29 and says it will update full-year guidance for the completed purchase. The transaction is finished; turning that wider collection of quarries and factories into stronger earnings is the next part of the story. [1] [4]