Infrastructure and industrial supplies distributor Core & Main reported continued strong year-over-year sales and profit gains during its 2025 fiscal second quarter that ended Aug. 3, but that didn’t stop the company from modestly reducing its annual sales growth outlook.

St. Louis-based Core & Main — No. 1 on MDM’s 2025 Top Distributors List for Industrial PVF Supplies — posted 2Q sales of $2.09 billion, up 6.6% year-over-year. That followed 9.8% growth during 1Q.

The company said that sales increased primarily due to higher volumes and acquisitions, with net sales up for pipes, vales and fittings, storm drainage and fire protection products. Sales of meter products declined due to project delays in the current quarter following major growth a year earlier.

The company’s 2Q gross profit increased 8.1% to $560 million, while gross margin of 26.8% ticked up 10 basis points from 1Q. Operating profit of $213 million increased 4.4% year-over-year, while net profit of $141 million jumped 11.9% and topped 1Q’s $105 million and 4% growth. 

Core & Main’s 2Q adjusted EBITDA increased 3.5% year-over-year to $266 million.

“We drove significant sales growth across key initiatives, including treatment plant and fusible high-density polyethylene projects, where our technical expertise and consistent execution set us apart,” Core & Main CEO Mark Witkowski said in the company’s 2Q financial report. “We also continued to expand gross margins, both sequentially and year-over-year, through better price realization and the execution of our private label and sourcing initiatives.”

But despite the rosy 2Q figures, Core & Main said it is lowering its broader full-year outlook to account for current market conditions and higher operating expenses.

“At the same time, we are operating in an environment marked by higher operating expenses and softer residential demand,” Witkowski continued. “To address these dynamics, we have implemented targeted actions to improve productivity and operating margins.”

Core & Main lowered its expectations for full-year net sales to $7.6 billion to $7.7 billion (from $7.6B-$7.8B); adjusted EBITDA to $920 million to $940 million (from $950M-$1.0B); and operating cash flow to $550 million to $610 million (from $570M-$650M).