Page 161 - Martin Marietta - 2025 Proxy Statement

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS (Continued)
Generally,the Company’sbuilding materials arebothsourced andsoldlocally.Asa result,geography is critically important
whenassessing market attractiveness andgrowthopportunities.Attractive geographiesgenerally exhibit (a) populationgrowth
and/or high populationdensity,bothofwhich are driversof heavy-sidebuilding materials consumption; (b)businessand
employment diversity,drivers of greatereconomicstability; and (c) a superior state financial position, a driver of public
infrastructure investment.

Populationgrowthand densityare typically assessedbased on asite’sproximity to oneof the megaregions inthe United States.
Megaregions arelarge networks of metropolitan population centerscoveringthousands of square miles. Accordingto America
2050, a planning andpolicy program of the RegionalPlanAssociation, most of thenation’spopulationand economic growth
through 2050 will occur in11 megaregions. The Company has a meaningful presence inten megaregions. As evidence of the
successful executionof SOAR, the Company’s leadingpositions in theTexas Triangle, Colorado’sFront Range, northern and
southern Californiaand Arizona’sSun Corridor megaregions and its growth platform in thesouthernportion of theNortheast
megaregion arethe resultsof acquisitionssince 2011. The Company'senhancedpositions in thePiedmontAtlantic megaregion
and Florida megaregion wereexpanded withthe Blue Water Industries LLC (BWI Southeast) acquisitioncompleted during2024.
The Company has alegacy presence inthe southeastern portionof the Great Lakes megaregion,encompassing operations in
Indianaand Ohio, as wellasthe GulfCoast megaregion in Texas.

The Companyfocuses itsgeographic footprint along significant transportation andcommercecorridors,particularlyinkey
Sunbelt metropolitan statisticalareas (MSAs) across theSoutheast andSouthwest.The retail sector (bothe-commerceas well
as brickand mortar) valuestransportationcorridors, aslogistics anddistributionare critical considerations forconstruction
supportingthat industry. In addition,technology companies viewthese areasasattractive locations for data centers.
The Company considersa state’s financial health rating, as issued by S&PGlobal Ratings, indetermining theopportunities and
attractiveness of areas for both expansion and/or development. The Company’s topten revenue-generating stateshavebeen
evaluated andscoreda financialhealth ratingof AA- or higher, where AAA is thehighest score. The Company also reviewsthe
state’sability tosecureadditional infrastructure funding and financing.

2024 Annual Report ♦ Page 53