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AbbVie Inc. (ABBV) vs Vulcan Materials Company (VMC): Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

As of 2026-08-03, ABBV is overvalued at $251, with a DCF intrinsic value of $178 and a margin of safety of -41%. VMC is overvalued at $269, with an intrinsic value of $241 and a margin of safety of -11%. Of the two, VMC has the wider margin of safety.

ABBV
AbbVie Inc.
$250.94
VS
VMC
Vulcan Materials Company
$268.57

Rewards

ABBV
  • ★AbbVie Inc. has maintained ROIC above 10% for 4 consecutive years, suggesting solid business economics.
  • ★Gross margin of 72.8% indicates strong pricing power — typical of businesses with significant intellectual property or brand strength.
  • ★AbbVie Inc. scores 82/100 on the Economic Moat Score (Wide Moat), with reinvestment efficiency as the strongest competitive dimension.
VMC
  • ★Free cash flow has grown at a 28.5% CAGR over the past 4 years, demonstrating strong earnings power growth.
  • ★Each dollar of retained earnings has created $2.54 of earning power — management is an exceptional capital allocator.
  • ★Altman Z-Score of 4.11 indicates very low bankruptcy risk — the company is firmly in the safe zone.

Risks

ABBV
  • ⚠Buybacks have been poorly timed — 3 out of 4 years involved repurchases at relatively expensive valuations.
  • ⚠Free cash flow has declined at a 9.8% CAGR over the past 4 years — a concerning trend.
VMC
  • ⚠PEG ratio of 2.31 indicates the stock is expensive relative to its expected growth — the market may be pricing in more growth than analysts project.
  • ⚠10 insider sales with no purchases over the past 12 months — a persistent pattern of insider selling.

Key Valuation Metrics

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ABBV
VMC
Valuation
N/A
Free Cash Flow
$1.14B
N/A
FCF Yield
3.26%
70.89
Trailing P/E
31.63
15.41
Forward P/E
24.88
Quality & Moat
27.60%
ROIC
10.32%
N/A
ROE
13.23%
72.79%
Gross Margin
27.51%
0.41
PEG Ratio
2.31
Balance Sheet Safety
N/A
Net Debt / Equity
0.56
N/A
Interest Coverage
N/A
2.06
Net Debt / EBITDA
2.03
2.76%
Dividend Yield
0.77%
ABBV: 5Ties: 2VMC: 1
ABBVVMC

Historical Fundamentals

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ABBV

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation. The dashed forward point is the forward P/E — today's price ÷ analyst consensus EPS.

VMC

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation. The dashed forward point is the forward P/E — today's price ÷ analyst consensus EPS.

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation. The dashed forward point is the forward P/E — today's price ÷ analyst consensus EPS.

$1 Retained Earnings Test

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ABBV
N/A
Net losses over 3 years — test not applicable
Company had negative cumulative retained earnings
Σ Retained
$-19.85B
Δ Market Cap
+$118.02B
Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer
VMC
$6.38
created per $1 retained over 3 years
Exceptional Value Creator
Σ Retained
$2.19B
Δ Market Cap
+$13.98B
Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer

Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer

Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) Analysis

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ABBV
40.7% Overvalued
Price is 40.7% above estimated fair value
Current Price: $250.94
Fair Value: $178.31
Strongly undervalued
Undervalued
Fairly valued
Overvalued
Strongly overvalued
VMC
6.6% Margin of Safety
Price is 6.6% below estimated fair value
Current Price: $268.57
Fair Value: $287.70
Strongly undervalued
Undervalued
Fairly valued
Overvalued
Strongly overvalued

Reverse DCF — Market-Implied Growth

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ABBV

Requires positive FCF to compute implied growth rate.

VMC

What growth rate is the market pricing in at $269?

+16.0%
Market-Implied Owner Earnings Growth
Standard FCF implies +15.3%

The market implies +16.0% Owner Earnings growth, below historical trends — potential opportunity.

Standard FCF implies a more demanding +15.3%, reflecting heavy growth investment expected to generate future returns.

Economic Moat Score

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ABBV
82/100
Wide Moat
70+ Wide · 40-69 Narrow · <40 None

Wide moat with strength across all dimensions. Reinvestment Efficiency is the standout factor.

Composite score measuring competitive advantage durability across four dimensions: returns above cost of capital, pricing power stability, revenue predictability, and capital efficiency. Based on 4 years of fundamental data.
VMC
44/100
Narrow Moat
70+ Wide · 40-69 Narrow · <40 None

Narrow moat with revenue predictability as the key competitive advantage. Improving roic consistency would strengthen the moat.

Composite score measuring competitive advantage durability across four dimensions: returns above cost of capital, pricing power stability, revenue predictability, and capital efficiency. Based on 4 years of fundamental data.

Forensic Accounting

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ABBV
-2.86
Unlikely Manipulator
Above -1.78 = likely manipulator · -2.22 to -1.78 = grey zone

M-Score Trend

Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.
VMC
-2.68
Unlikely Manipulator
Above -1.78 = likely manipulator · -2.22 to -1.78 = grey zone

M-Score Trend

Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.

Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.

Ownership Breakdown

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ABBV
Insiders 0.1%Institutions 76.9%Retail & Other 23.0%
No. of Institutional Holders5,146
High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders — a key signal in Buffett-style analysis. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.
VMC
Insiders 0.2%Institutions 98.8%Retail & Other 1.0%
No. of Institutional Holders1,432
High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders — a key signal in Buffett-style analysis. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.

High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.

Insider Buying Activity

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ABBV
0
Buys (3M)
0
Buys (12M)
No open market insider purchases found.
Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises
VMC
0
Buys (3M)
0
Buys (12M)
No open market insider purchases found.
Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises

Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises.

Insider Selling Activity

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ABBV
0
Sells (3M)
0
Sells (12M)
No open market insider sales found.
Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives
VMC
0
Sells (3M)
10
Sells (12M)
Total value (12M): $8.19M
ANDERSON MELISSA HANFT
Director
$345,330
@ $303.72 · 2026-02-20
FRANKLIN DENSON N III
General Counsel
$196,175
@ $295.00 · 2025-12-10
CLEMENT DAVID P
Officer
$577,100
@ $288.55 · 2025-11-19
BAKER THOMPSON S II
President
$1.43M
@ $295.63 · 2025-11-12
BAKER THOMPSON S II
President
$1.23M
@ $289.76 · 2025-11-10
HALL O.B. GRAYSON JR.
Director
$1.35M
@ $290.74 · 2025-11-10
BASS STANLEY G.
Officer
$959,904
@ $288.00 · 2025-11-07
BAKER THOMPSON S II
President
$1.70M
@ $292.26 · 2025-11-04
CLEMENT DAVID P
Officer
$208,395
@ $298.56 · 2025-09-12
PIGG RANDY L.
Officer
$186,264
@ $286.56 · 2025-08-21
CLEMENT DAVID P
Officer
$405,000
@ $270.00 · 2025-05-15
BASS STANLEY G.
Officer
$795,000
@ $265.00 · 2025-05-02
CLEMENT DAVID P
Officer
$253,638
@ $285.95 · 2024-11-25
FRANKLIN DENSON N III
General Counsel
$832,742
@ $290.66 · 2024-11-12
PERKINS JERRY F. JR.
Officer
$481,491
@ $290.58 · 2024-11-08
HILL JAMES THOMAS
Chief Executive Officer
$3.55M
@ $290.56 · 2024-11-07
HILL JAMES THOMAS
Chief Executive Officer
$3.36M
@ $275.54 · 2024-10-31
HILL JAMES THOMAS
Chief Executive Officer
$8.70M
@ $244.43 · 2024-08-09
Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives

Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives.

🎭 Mr. Market's Mood

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ABBV
FearGreed
😏Greed(61/100)

"Market is optimistic — be cautious and ensure you have a margin of safety"

Composite sentiment score based on 6 market signals. Inspired by Buffett's "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.
VMC
FearGreed
😨Fear(37/100)

"Market is pessimistic — investigate whether fears are temporary or structural"

Composite sentiment score based on 6 market signals. Inspired by Buffett's "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.

Composite sentiment score based on market signals. Inspired by Buffett’s "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.

⚖️ Buffett Signal

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ABBV
⚪Awaiting DCF Data

The Buffett Signal cross-references market sentiment with DCF valuation. Configure the DCF Analysis above to generate a signal.

DCF Margin of Safety: N/AMr. Market's Mood: Greed (61)
VMC
⚪Awaiting DCF Data

The Buffett Signal cross-references market sentiment with DCF valuation. Configure the DCF Analysis above to generate a signal.

DCF Margin of Safety: N/AMr. Market's Mood: Fear (37)
View ABBV Full AnalysisView VMC Full Analysis

Frequently Asked Questions: ABBV vs VMC

Is AbbVie Inc. or Vulcan Materials Company more undervalued in 2026?▼

Based on our discounted cash flow model, VMC trades at a -11.3% margin of safety (intrinsic value $241 vs. price $269), compared to ABBV's -40.7% margin of safety (intrinsic $178 vs. $251).

Which stock has a wider economic moat, AbbVie Inc. or Vulcan Materials Company?▼

ABBV scores 82/100 (Wide moat), while VMC scores 44/100 (Narrow moat). The moat score measures competitive advantage durability across ROIC consistency, margin stability, revenue predictability, and reinvestment efficiency.

Is AbbVie Inc. in financial distress?▼

ABBV's Altman Z-Score of 2.4 places it in the Grey zone, signaling elevated bankruptcy risk. VMC scores 4.1 (Safe zone). The Altman Z-Score is a five-factor model that predicts insolvency within two years; scores below 1.81 indicate significant distress.

Which stock has higher return on invested capital, AbbVie Inc. or Vulcan Materials Company?▼

ABBV earns 27.6% ROIC versus VMC's 10.3%. A higher ROIC means the company generates more profit per dollar of capital employed, a hallmark of durable competitive advantage in Buffett-style analysis.

Which dividend is safer, AbbVie Inc.'s or Vulcan Materials Company's?▼

VMC's dividend earns a safety score of 94/100 (Very Safe), compared to ABBV's 39/100 (Unsafe). VMC has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years.

ABBV vs VMC: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026? | SafetyMargin.io