Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. MLM scored 56.4, KNF scored 49.2 — MLM leads.
Compare another set
MLM
Martin Marietta Materials, Inc.
Building Materials · Quality-Growth
56.4
$478.35 · $34.0B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
7.2
MLM leads
KNF
Knife River Corporation
Building Materials · Quality-Growth
49.2
$49.84 · $2.8B
fundamentals as of
At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
CheapestKNF20.3x
Fastest growthMLM+14.8%
Strongest balance sheetMLM0.55
Highest qualityMLM64 / 100
Side by side · every name on one set of axes
Growth against the P/E multiple. Up and to the right is cheaper and faster — the quality-growth idea in one picture. Points beyond the axis are pinned to the edge and marked off-scale rather than allowed to compress everything else.
The model, pillar by pillar (0–100 each)
MLM
stronger →← stronger
KNF
64
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
45
50
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
50
56
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
53
MLM is stronger on 2 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
MLM
KNF
$810mC+
FCF
$43mC-
+14.8%B+
Rev
+12.1%B+
0.55C+
D/E
1.04C
31.3xC
P/E
20.3xB
1.82C+
PEG
1.62C+
Winner per row is the stronger grade; where grades tie, the better figure breaks it. A true tie or a missing value shows no highlight.
Valuation · DCF cross-check
MLM
KNF
175% above
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
170% above
~32%/yr
Growth the price impliesyr-1 FCF growth, fading to 4% · lower = less priced in
~31%/yr
-66%
1-yr DCF upside
-65%
-64%
5-yr DCF upside
-63%
-61%
10-yr DCF upside
-59%
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
Model signals
MLM
Why this score
Cyclical growth
KNF
Why this score
Cyclical growth
The companies
MLMMartin Marietta Materials, Inc.
Building Materials · $478.35 · beta 1.08
Why now
Building Materials · market cap $34.0b. Down 33% from 52-week high of $710.97 — deep drawdown territory. Revenue growing +15%, comfortably above the S&P median. 24 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $635.17 (implying +33% upside).
Moat
Net margin 37% is exceptional — pricing-power territory rare outside premium software, branded staples, and specialty pharma. ROE 21% is above 15% — the equity base is compounding at a rate the market struggles to discount accurately. Mining moat is reserve quality + extraction cost per unit — top-quartile cost producers generate cash through the commodity cycle while marginal producers burn it.
Risk
Down 33% from the 52-week high — the market is pricing in something the screen can't see; verify the bear case before sizing up. Trailing P/E 31x sits well above the S&P median (~20x) — multiple compression is a real risk if revenue growth decelerates. Reserve-replacement treadmill — every barrel or ounce extracted has to be replaced through exploration or acquisition; underspending on replacement reserves shows up in production declines 2-3 years out.
KNFKnife River Corporation
Building Materials · $49.84 · beta 0.60
Why now
Building Materials · market cap $2.8b. Down 48% from 52-week high of $96.28 — deep drawdown territory. Revenue growing +12%, comfortably above the S&P median. 8 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $78.75 (implying +58% upside).
Moat
Mining moat is reserve quality + extraction cost per unit — top-quartile cost producers generate cash through the commodity cycle while marginal producers burn it.
Risk
Down 48% from the 52-week high — the market is pricing in something the screen can't see; verify the bear case before sizing up. Net margin 4.2% is thin — operating leverage cuts both ways; input-cost inflation or pricing pressure hits the bottom line first. Hedge-book exposure — many commodity producers hedge forward production; if the hedge book is concentrated at prices well below spot, the upside the market expects is already locked away.
Verdict — model-derived comparison
Generating verdict… typically 5–10 seconds
Not investment advice. The Bull Rankings publishes a quantitative ranking model and accompanying analysis for general informational purposes only. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security; nothing is personalized to your circumstances, risk tolerance, or tax situation. Investing carries the risk of loss — invest at your own risk and consider consulting a licensed financial professional before acting on anything you read here. See terms and methodology for full disclosures.
Where MLM and KNF diverge
On the headline score the gap is 7.2 points in favor of MLM. The widest single difference is Quality, where MLM leads by 18.7 points.
QualityMLM 63.6 · KNF 44.9MLM +18.7
ValueMLM 56.3 · KNF 52.9MLM +3.4
GrowthMLM 50.0 · KNF 50.0level
Pillars run 0–100. Value is judged against each company's own sector, so a Value score is a statement about a company relative to its own industry rather than to the other name here. A wide Value gap usually means the market already prices the difference in quality or growth — which is the trade-off this comparison comes down to.
Common questions
Is MLM or KNF the better stock?
MLM scores higher: MLM 56.4, KNF 49.2 out of 100 on the Bull Rankings quality-growth score, which blends business quality, growth and valuation into one number. A higher score means a stronger business at a more reasonable price — it is not a price target or a recommendation.
Where do MLM and KNF differ most?
The widest gap is quality, where MLM leads by 19 points on the 0–100 pillar scale. MLM also leads value, while growth is effectively level between them.
How are MLM and KNF scored?
Each carries the same 0–100 quality-growth score used everywhere on the site, built from three pillars — quality (profitability and returns on capital), growth (revenue and earnings), and value (what you pay for them) — combined as a geometric mean, so a weak pillar cannot be papered over by a strong one.
How current is this comparison?
The whole universe is re-scored every trading day after the US market close, so the scores and fundamentals here reflect the latest published edition.