In short: The other new TCI position, and the issue's long-run exhibit: the second-best US stock of 1925–2023, behind Altria — "if you bought Vulcan Materials 98 years ago, $1 would have turned into almost $400,000." Cited as evidence that "boring businesses can deliver exciting returns"; no Compounding Quality rating or valuation attached.
Vulcan is the other big American aggregates producer, and the same local-monopoly logic applies. The letter adds one striking fact: over the 98 years from 1925 to 2023 it was the second-best performing US stock of all, behind Altria — a dollar invested at the start would have become almost $400,000.
The point being made is about what actually compounds. Neither of the top two long-run performers was exciting; both simply survived and kept charging a little more each year. That is the same durability argument the archive makes elsewhere through the Lindy series, arriving here with a price attached to it. As with Martin Marietta, this is reported as Hohn's purchase, not rated.
In short: Ahlsten: "America's tollbooth on concrete" — a top aggregates producer with a geological moat (50-yr+ reserves; new quarries near-impossible to permit; rocks too heavy to ship far), #1/#2 in markets covering ~90% of revenue, 40–55% public infrastructure. Cash gross profit/ton: $7 (2021) → $11 (2025) → $15E (2028); 4–6% annual pricing + mid-single-digit volume ⇒ ~14% EBIT growth 3 years out. Data centers, energy infrastructure and reshoring add new demand layers; 3-yr target >$400 vs ~$313 (double-digit IRR).
Vulcan sells crushed stone, sand and gravel — the literal foundation under roads, bridges, homes and data centers. The moat is geology plus geometry: rocks are too heavy to truck far, and new quarries are nearly impossible to permit, so owning quarries near growing cities is a local monopoly ("America's tollbooth on concrete"). Profit per ton has climbed from $7 to $11 since 2021 and Ahlsten sees $15 by 2028, because Vulcan can raise prices faster than costs. With state highway programs, data centers and reshoring all pouring concrete, he targets $400+ in three years vs ~$313.
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Verbatim excerpts from the public transcripts (auto-pulled at each mention's timestamp, lightly cleaned). Timestamps link into the video; "source page" opens that commentator's full analysis at this row. Click a mention's header line to expand it (one open at a time). For personal study — not investment advice.