CNM
BuyFallen FavouriteAI neutralCore & Main, Inc. · Industrials · United States · $7.7B cap · $88.6M/day traded
$41.97 -0.9% · close 23 Oct · scored 24 Oct
Fallen Favourite: A good business, still expensive, and the price is falling.
Report expected 8 Dec: the next-year EPS estimate has risen 13.7% over the last 14 weeks.
As of 24 Oct 2026, MoatMap's StockRank for Core & Main, Inc. (CNM) is 71/100, ranked against 24,000+ stocks in 35 markets (Quality 71, Value 50, Momentum 45, each scored against its sector).
Does StockRank work? Each month we publish how every decile did, whichever way it went. See the record →
Core & Main is the leading US distributor of water, wastewater, storm drainage and fire protection products, with about 370 branches serving municipalities and contractors. Its scale gives it purchasing and service advantages, it is buying back stock at a record pace and forward earnings estimates rose about 8.5% in the past month. Revenue grew only 2.5% in the latest quarter, though, and the business is tied to construction and municipal budgets, so the growth runway, while real, is not yet accelerating.
ABOUT CORE & MAIN, INC.
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Core & Main, Inc. is a leading distributor of water, wastewater, storm drainage, and fire protection products and services to municipalities, private water companies, and professional contractors. It holds a leading market position as one of the largest distributors in its fragmented industry, benefiting from an extensive national network, broad product offering, and value-added services. The company is a mission-critical supplier to essential infrastructure, acting as a crucial link between manufacturers and end-users.
FINANCIAL SUMMARY (USD)
| Year | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | CAGR | TTM | 2027E | 2028E | Fwd CAGR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 5.0B | 6.7B | 6.7B | 7.4B | 7.6B | 11.2% | 7.7B | 7.8B | 8.2B | 3.3% |
| EPS | 0.57 | 2.16 | 2.15 | 2.14 | 2.32 | 42.0% | 2.43 | 3.17 | 3.51 | 22.9% |
| Shares | 167.5M | 172.8M | 191.7M | 189.8M | 188.8M | +12.7% | 184.4M | — | — | — |
| Debt | 1.6B | 1.6B | 2.1B | 2.5B | 2.4B | 10.7% | 2.7B | — | — | — |
| Equity | 1.3B | 1.7B | 1.5B | 1.7B | 2.0B | 10.8% | — | — | — | — |
| Op CF | -31.0M | 401.0M | 1.1B | 621.0M | 650.0M | 17.5% | 683.0M | — | — | — |
| Inv CF | -203.0M | -152.0M | -270.0M | -788.0M | -145.0M | — | — | — | — | — |
| Fin CF | -146.0M | -73.0M | -975.0M | 174.0M | -293.0M | — | — | — | — | — |
Made a new 52-week low 12 trading days ago, 30% below its 52-week high. The fall has not stopped yet.
Calmer than 68% of stocks we rank over the past year (32% a year).
How this is worked out
StockRank judges the business. The price check reads only the chart: it is the price side of the Momentum score, in words.
The rules: Still falling is a new 52-week low in the last two weeks, at least 25% below the high. Finding a floor is no new low since. Turning up is 20 or more trading days without a new low, at least 10% off it, and back above a rising 50-day average. In an uptrend is above the 200-day average and within 15% of the high.
In 2,112 US drawdowns since 2001, buying while the price was still falling was followed by a further 20% drop 42% of the time. Waiting for a turn like this one cut that to 33%, at about 7% higher prices and with no better returns. Part of that cut is simply not buying: 13% of falls never turned, and waiting kept those out. Among turns that were bought, 38% still fell another 20%, and 33% of turns were followed by a new low within six months. The benefit was largest in crashes such as 2008 and 2020.
What it measures: day-to-day price moves over the past year, as a yearly figure, ranked against every stock we cover. Very calm under 20% a year, Calm 20 to 30%, Average 30 to 40%, Bumpy 40 to 55%, Very bumpy above that.
What we found: across about 13,500 stocks in 34 markets (2002 to 2025), past swings were a good guide to the next year's, and bumpier stocks fell further. How much further changed too much between eras to put a number on it.
Calm is not safe: a calm stock can still slide steadily.
Rules fixed before any data was fetched. Describes the chart, not a recommendation.
SCORE BREAKDOWN
FUNDAMENTALS
SECTOR PEERS
Closest peers in Industrials, ranked by industry match, size, and score similarity. Cross-listings of CNM are excluded.
| Ticker | Company | Mkt Cap | StockRank | Signal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CNM | Core & Main, Inc.(you) | $7.7B | 71 | Buy |
| MSM | MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. | $7.0B | 79 | Buy |
| AIT | Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. | $11.6B | 75 | Buy |
| WSO-B | Watsco, Inc. | $11.7B | 58 | Hold |
| POOL | Pool Corporation | $7.2B | 50 | Hold |
| DXPE | DXP Enterprises, Inc. | $2.4B | 63 | Hold |
| WCC | WESCO International, Inc. | $15.5B | 53 | Hold |
| DNOW | DNOW Inc. | $2.8B | 54 | Hold |
| DSGR | Distribution Solutions Group, Inc. | $1.6B | 63 | Hold |
| SITE | SiteOne Landscape Supply, Inc. | $4.5B | 40 | Hold |
Peer medians: ROE 8.9% · P/E 25.9x · Gross margin 29.2%
Company Deep Dive
Business segments breakdown, earnings transcript analysis, management credibility scoring, competitive landscape, and scenario modelling.