SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2021
SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES [Abstract]
SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES	Note 1: summary of significant accounting policies NATURE OF OPERATIONS Vulcan Materials Company (the “Company,” “Vulcan,” “we,” “our”), a New Jersey corporation, is one of the nation’s largest suppliers of construction aggregates (primarily crushed stone, sand and gravel) and a major producer of asphalt mix and ready-mixed concrete. We operate primarily in the United States and our principal product — aggregates — is used in virtually all types of public and private construction projects and in the production of asphalt mix and ready-mixed concrete. We serve markets in twenty-three states, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Washington D.C., and the local markets surrounding our operations in Quintana Roo, Mexico and British Columbia, Canada. Our primary focus is serving metropolitan markets in the United States that are expected to experience the most significant growth in population, households and employment. These three demographic factors are significant drivers of demand for aggregates. While aggregates is our focus and primary business, we produce and sell asphalt mix and/or ready-mixed concrete in our Alabama, Arizona, California, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, the U. S. Virgin Islands and Washington D.C. markets. BASIS OF PRESENTATION Our accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements were prepared in compliance with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X and thus do not include all of the information and footnotes required by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (GAAP) for complete financial statements. We prepared the accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements on the same basis as our annual financial statements, except for the adoption of new accounting standards as described in Note 17. Our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet as of December 31, 2020 was derived from the audited financial statement, but it does not include all disclosures required by GAAP. In the opinion of our management, the statements reflect all adjustments, including those of a normal recurring nature, necessary to present fairly the results of the reported interim periods. For further information, refer to the consolidated financial statements and footnotes included in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K. Operating results for the three and nine month periods ended September 30, 2021 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2021, particularly in light of 1) our acquisition of U.S. Concrete in August 2021, and 2) the uncertainty over the economic and operational impacts of the current novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic as construction activity continues to be impacted by capacity constraints (supply chain bottlenecks, labor shortages and transportation availability) and cost inflation. Additionally, period-over-period comparisons are significantly impacted by our acquisition of U.S. Concrete (see Note 16). Our condensed consolidated financial statements reflect estimates and assumptions made by management that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses. The most significant estimates and assumptions included in the preparation of these financial statements are related to goodwill and long-lived asset impairments, business combinations and purchase price allocation (see Note 16 for our 2021 acquisition of U.S. Concrete), pension and other postretirement benefits, environmental compliance, claims and litigation including self-insurance, and income taxes. Events and changes in circumstances arising after September 30, 2021, will be reflected in management’s estimates for future periods. Due to the 2005 sale of our Chemicals business as described within this Note under the caption Discontinued Operations, the results of the Chemicals business are presented as discontinued operations in the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income. RESTRICTED CASH Restricted cash primarily consists of cash proceeds from the sale of property held in escrow for the acquisition of replacement property under like-kind exchange agreements. The escrow accounts are administered by an intermediary. Cash restricted pursuant to like-kind exchange agreements remains restricted for a maximum of 180 days from the date of the property sale pending the acquisition of replacement property. Restricted cash may also include cash reserved by other contractual agreements (such as asset purchase agreements) for a specified purpose and therefore is not available for use for other purposes. Restricted cash is included with cash and cash equivalents in the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows. DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS In 2005, we sold substantially all the assets of our Chemicals business to Basic Chemicals, a subsidiary of Occidental Chemical Corporation. The financial results of the Chemicals business are classified as discontinued operations in the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income for all periods presented. Results from discontinued operations are as follows: Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended September 30 September 30in thousands2021 2020 2021 2020 Discontinued Operations Pretax loss$ (292) $ (1,810) $ (3,650) $ (2,868) Income tax benefit 80 473 948 750 Loss on discontinued operations, net of tax$ (212) $ (1,337) $ (2,702) $ (2,118) Our discontinued operations include charges/credits related to general and product liability costs, including legal defense costs, and environmental remediation costs associated with our former Chemicals business (including certain matters as discussed in Note 8). There were no revenues from discontinued operations for the periods presented. EARNINGS PER SHARE (EPS) Earnings per share are computed by dividing net earnings by the weighted-average common shares outstanding (basic EPS) or weighted-average common shares outstanding assuming dilution (diluted EPS), as set forth below: Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended September 30 September 30in thousands2021 2020 2021 2020 Weighted-average common shares outstanding 132,810 132,573 132,780 132,564 Dilutive effect of Stock-Only Stock Appreciation Rights 303 314 308 307 Other stock compensation plans 431 381 392 321 Weighted-average common shares outstanding, assuming dilution 133,544 133,268 133,480 133,192 All dilutive common stock equivalents are reflected in our earnings per share calculations. In periods of loss, shares that otherwise would have been included in our diluted weighted-average common shares outstanding computation would be excluded. Antidilutive common stock equivalents are not included in our earnings per share calculations. The number of antidilutive common stock equivalents for which the exercise price exceeds the weighted-average market price is as follows: Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended September 30 September 30in thousands2021 2020 2021 2020 Antidilutive common stock equivalents 65 146 65 269

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2021

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES [Abstract]

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Note 1: summary of significant accounting policies NATURE OF OPERATIONS Vulcan Materials Company (the “Company,” “Vulcan,” “we,” “our”), a New Jersey corporation, is one of the nation’s largest suppliers of construction aggregates (primarily crushed stone, sand and gravel) and a major producer of asphalt mix and ready-mixed concrete. We operate primarily in the United States and our principal product — aggregates — is used in virtually all types of public and private construction projects and in the production of asphalt mix and ready-mixed concrete. We serve markets in twenty-three states, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Washington D.C., and the local markets surrounding our operations in Quintana Roo, Mexico and British Columbia, Canada. Our primary focus is serving metropolitan markets in the United States that are expected to experience the most significant growth in population, households and employment. These three demographic factors are significant drivers of demand for aggregates. While aggregates is our focus and primary business, we produce and sell asphalt mix and/or ready-mixed concrete in our Alabama, Arizona, California, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, the U. S. Virgin Islands and Washington D.C. markets. BASIS OF PRESENTATION Our accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements were prepared in compliance with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X and thus do not include all of the information and footnotes required by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (GAAP) for complete financial statements. We prepared the accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements on the same basis as our annual financial statements, except for the adoption of new accounting standards as described in Note 17. Our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet as of December 31, 2020 was derived from the audited financial statement, but it does not include all disclosures required by GAAP. In the opinion of our management, the statements reflect all adjustments, including those of a normal recurring nature, necessary to present fairly the results of the reported interim periods. For further information, refer to the consolidated financial statements and footnotes included in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K. Operating results for the three and nine month periods ended September 30, 2021 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2021, particularly in light of 1) our acquisition of U.S. Concrete in August 2021, and 2) the uncertainty over the economic and operational impacts of the current novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic as construction activity continues to be impacted by capacity constraints (supply chain bottlenecks, labor shortages and transportation availability) and cost inflation. Additionally, period-over-period comparisons are significantly impacted by our acquisition of U.S. Concrete (see Note 16). Our condensed consolidated financial statements reflect estimates and assumptions made by management that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses. The most significant estimates and assumptions included in the preparation of these financial statements are related to goodwill and long-lived asset impairments, business combinations and purchase price allocation (see Note 16 for our 2021 acquisition of U.S. Concrete), pension and other postretirement benefits, environmental compliance, claims and litigation including self-insurance, and income taxes. Events and changes in circumstances arising after September 30, 2021, will be reflected in management’s estimates for future periods. Due to the 2005 sale of our Chemicals business as described within this Note under the caption Discontinued Operations, the results of the Chemicals business are presented as discontinued operations in the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income. RESTRICTED CASH Restricted cash primarily consists of cash proceeds from the sale of property held in escrow for the acquisition of replacement property under like-kind exchange agreements. The escrow accounts are administered by an intermediary. Cash restricted pursuant to like-kind exchange agreements remains restricted for a maximum of 180 days from the date of the property sale pending the acquisition of replacement property. Restricted cash may also include cash reserved by other contractual agreements (such as asset purchase agreements) for a specified purpose and therefore is not available for use for other purposes. Restricted cash is included with cash and cash equivalents in the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows. DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS In 2005, we sold substantially all the assets of our Chemicals business to Basic Chemicals, a subsidiary of Occidental Chemical Corporation. The financial results of the Chemicals business are classified as discontinued operations in the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income for all periods presented. Results from discontinued operations are as follows: Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended September 30 September 30in thousands2021 2020 2021 2020 Discontinued Operations Pretax loss$ (292) $ (1,810) $ (3,650) $ (2,868) Income tax benefit 80 473 948 750 Loss on discontinued operations, net of tax$ (212) $ (1,337) $ (2,702) $ (2,118) Our discontinued operations include charges/credits related to general and product liability costs, including legal defense costs, and environmental remediation costs associated with our former Chemicals business (including certain matters as discussed in Note 8). There were no revenues from discontinued operations for the periods presented. EARNINGS PER SHARE (EPS) Earnings per share are computed by dividing net earnings by the weighted-average common shares outstanding (basic EPS) or weighted-average common shares outstanding assuming dilution (diluted EPS), as set forth below: Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended September 30 September 30in thousands2021 2020 2021 2020 Weighted-average common shares outstanding 132,810 132,573 132,780 132,564 Dilutive effect of Stock-Only Stock Appreciation Rights 303 314 308 307 Other stock compensation plans 431 381 392 321 Weighted-average common shares outstanding, assuming dilution 133,544 133,268 133,480 133,192 All dilutive common stock equivalents are reflected in our earnings per share calculations. In periods of loss, shares that otherwise would have been included in our diluted weighted-average common shares outstanding computation would be excluded. Antidilutive common stock equivalents are not included in our earnings per share calculations. The number of antidilutive common stock equivalents for which the exercise price exceeds the weighted-average market price is as follows: Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended September 30 September 30in thousands2021 2020 2021 2020 Antidilutive common stock equivalents 65 146 65 269