President Biden’s $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill to rebuild infrastructure and reshape the U.S. economy could create solid growth opportunities for the infrastructure sector. Furthermore, the resumption of infrastructure activities with the reopening of the economy should boost the growth of infrastructure companies. As such, we think CRH (NYSE:CRH) and Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) should both benefit from the industry tailwinds. But which of these two stocks is a better buy now? Read more to find out.Headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, CRH plc (CRH) manufactures and distributes building materials through its subsidiaries. It operates in three segments: Americas Materials, Europe Materials, and Building Products. The company manufactures and supplies cement, lime, aggregates, precast, ready-mixed concrete, and asphalt products. In comparison, Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (MLM) in Raleigh, N.C. is a natural resource-based building materials company that supplies aggregates and heavy-side building materials to the construction industry internationally. In addition, it offers crushed stone, sand, and gravel products. The company also manufactures dolomitic lime primarily for customers in the steel and mining industries.
Infrastructure-related activities such as repairing roads, bridges, and ports are expected to go up significantly with the reopening of the economy, driving near-term growth for companies in this space. Moreover, President Biden expects a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill moving ahead on Monday. The passage of this bill would create many opportunities for infrastructure companies to grow in the long run.
MLM has gained 24.1% year-to-date, while CRH returned 14.7%. Also, MLM’s 37.6% gain over the past nine months is significantly higher than CRH’s 30.1% returns. Moreover, in terms of past years’ performance, MLM is the clear winner with 56.2% gains versus CRH’s 26.2% returns.