What Is Cemex? Mexico’s Cement Giant, Its Turnaround and What Investors Should Know
COMPANIES · MEXICO
Key Facts
- —The company Mexican building-materials group founded in 1906 that sells cement, concrete and aggregates in Mexico, the US, Europe and beyond.
- —The numbers Second-quarter 2026 operating EBITDA hit a record US$1.02 billion on sales of US$4.59 billion.
- —The owners No controlling shareholder, listed in Mexico City and New York, rated BBB- investment grade.
- —The catch US tariffs, an EU antitrust charge and weak private investment in Mexico cloud the outlook.
Cemex is a Mexican multinational and one of the world’s largest cement makers. This guide explains what it sells, where it earns its money, who owns it and which risks investors should weigh.
Cemex has spent recent years selling smaller businesses and paying down the debt left by its expansion in the 2000s. In 2026 a new chief executive’s cost cuts and a recovery in Mexico pushed its quarterly operating earnings to a record.
What Cemex Is
Cemex is a Mexican building-materials company based in San Pedro Garza García, part of the Monterrey metropolitan area in Nuevo León. Mexico, the United States’ southern neighbour, has about 132 million people and uses the peso.
The Banco de México, the central bank, put the official FIX rate at 18.07 pesos per US dollar on 30 September 2026. Cemex reports its results in US dollars, so most figures in this guide need no conversion.
The company started doing business in 1906, when Cementos Hidalgo opened. In 1931 it merged with Cementos Portland Monterrey to form Cementos Mexicanos, the name later shortened to Cemex.
It listed on the Mexican stock exchange in 1976 and became the country’s largest cement producer. Under Lorenzo Zambrano, chief executive until his death in 2014, it expanded abroad from the early 1990s.
Big purchases followed, including Spain’s two largest cement makers in 1992, Britain’s RMC in 2005 and Australia’s Rinker in 2007. The debt taken on for those deals became a heavy burden when the 2008 financial crisis struck.
In 2009 Cemex sold its Australian operations to Holcim to help refinance about US$14 billion of debt. Rogelio Zambrano Lozano became chairman in 2014 and remains executive chairman, while Jaime Muguiro has been chief executive since 2025.
What It Sells and How It Makes Money
Cemex makes and sells three core products: cement, ready-mix concrete and aggregates, meaning sand, gravel and crushed stone. It also sells related materials such as mortars and admixtures, chemicals that change how concrete behaves.
At the end of 2025 it had 78.0 million tonnes a year of cement production capacity. That year it sold 48.0 million tonnes of cement, 42.9 million cubic metres of ready-mix and 132.5 million tonnes of aggregates.
The company reports four regions: Mexico, the United States, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), and South, Central America and the Caribbean. The last includes Colombia, Puerto Rico, Nicaragua, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Barbados, Peru and the Bahamas.
The four regions are uneven in size. In the first half of 2026, EMEA brought in US$2.68 billion of sales, Mexico US$2.57 billion and the United States US$2.51 billion.
South, Central America and the Caribbean added US$602 million. Profitability is usually measured by operating EBITDA, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation.
Mexico is the most profitable region by far. In the second quarter of 2026 the Mexican operating EBITDA margin was 37.5 percent, against 18.9 percent in the United States.
In Mexico much cement is sold in bags to families who build or extend their own homes. Cemex said self-construction and government programmes such as Rural Roads and social housing lifted Mexican cement volumes for a second straight quarter.
In the United States, unusually wet weather in Texas and parts of the Mid-South held back volumes in the second quarter. US operating EBITDA fell 11 percent to US$248 million.
In EMEA, operating EBITDA rose 28 percent to US$293 million, helped by a one-off US$42 million settlement in Europe. Cemex also cites the gradual cut in free carbon permits under the EU’s emissions trading system as support for prices.
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The Numbers
Cemex reported its second-quarter 2026 results on 23 July 2026. Sales rose 12 percent to US$4.59 billion, and operating EBITDA rose 24 percent to a record US$1.02 billion.
The operating EBITDA margin widened by 2.1 percentage points to 22.2 percent. Net income attributable to shareholders rose 9 percent to US$347 million.
Free cash flow from operations, the cash left after running costs, interest, taxes and maintenance spending, roughly tripled to US$637 million. Chief executive Jaime Muguiro said the results showed that “our transformation is delivering and gaining momentum”.
For the first half, net income fell 45 percent to US$574 million. The comparison is distorted because the first half of 2025 included about US$600 million from discontinued operations, mainly the Dominican Republic sale.
Sales in 2025 were US$16.13 billion and operating EBITDA US$3.08 billion, both almost unchanged from 2024. Net income rose 2 percent to US$960 million, held back by goodwill and asset write-downs in the fourth quarter.
Much of the recent improvement comes from Project Cutting Edge, a cost-cutting programme introduced in 2025. In July 2026 Cemex raised its savings target by US$75 million to US$475 million a year, mostly from cheaper purchasing.
Management also raised its 2026 guidance and now expects operating EBITDA to grow 16 to 17 percent. That forecast assumes the peso trades between 18.25 and 18.50 per dollar in the second half.
Debt, Dividends and Owners
Net debt, meaning borrowings minus cash, was US$6.23 billion on 30 June 2026, against US$4.96 billion at the end of 2025. The rise reflects the redemption of US$1 billion of subordinated notes, a type of hybrid bond, plus dividends and share buybacks.
The leverage ratio, net debt plus subordinated notes divided by operating EBITDA, fell to 2.08 times from 2.72 times a year earlier. Cemex’s new US$3 billion credit line, signed in May 2026, allows a maximum of 3.75 times.
Cemex holds an investment-grade credit rating, the level that signals low default risk. S&P kept it at BBB- and raised its outlook to positive on 3 September 2026, as Rio Times reported.
Fitch had already moved its BBB- rating to a positive outlook in April 2026. Cemex itself warns that losing investment-grade status would raise its cost of capital.
Shareholders approved a dividend of US$180 million on 26 March 2026, paid in four instalments of US$45 million. Cemex also plans to buy back up to US$500 million of its shares over three years.
No investor controls Cemex. BlackRock held about 8.5 percent of the capital in March 2025, and Dodge & Cox about 6.6 percent in June 2025.
In Mexico the shares trade as CPOs, certificates that each represent two A shares and one B share, under the ticker CEMEX.CPO. In New York, American depositary shares trade under the ticker CX, each equal to ten CPOs.
Selling Abroad, Buying in the US
Since 2018 Cemex has been selling businesses in smaller markets to cut debt and focus on the United States, Europe and Mexico. Muguiro said in March 2026 that the group had “accomplished most of what we have set out to do”.
In January 2025 it sold its Dominican Republic business to Cementos Progreso and partners for US$928 million. In October 2025 it sold most of its Panama assets to Grupo Estrella for US$200 million.
In March 2026 Cemex agreed to sell a cement plant, a grinding mill and other Colombian assets to Holcim for US$485 million. The deal is expected to close by the end of 2026, as Rio Times reported on the Colombia sale.
Further Colombian sales could bring about US$70 million more, for a combined price of about US$555 million. Cemex will keep its Maceo and Cúcuta cement plants in Colombia, with 1.6 million tonnes a year of capacity.
Much of the money is going north. In 2025 Cemex raised its holding in Couch Aggregates, a US sand and gravel business, to a majority stake.
In 2026 it bought Omega Products International, a stucco maker with plants in California, Nevada and Colorado. Omega generates about US$23 million a year in EBITDA, according to Cemex.
Mexico, Politics and Trade
Mexico’s president since October 2024 is Claudia Sheinbaum of the left-wing Morena party, as the Rio Times profile of Sheinbaum explains. Her housing drive matters for Cemex, since El Economista reported in March 2026 that housing absorbs 63 percent of Mexican cement consumption.
Sheinbaum has promised close to 2 million new homes during her term through the state housing agencies. In June 2026 she said the programme would add “around one percentage point” to economic growth, El Economista reported.
Business groups are less upbeat, according to the magazine Proceso. In September 2026 the employers’ federation Coparmex warned that “without security there is no confidence, investment or conditions to grow”.
Coparmex also cited uncertainty from the judicial overhaul that put judges to a popular vote in 2025. Critics say that reform politicises justice, while supporters present it as democratisation.
Trade with the United States is the other big political risk. As of September 2026, Washington charges 50 percent tariffs on Mexican steel and aluminium.
In July 2026 the United States declined to renew the USMCA, the North American trade pact, in its current form. Sheinbaum said after a call with President Donald Trump in September that her aim was “at least a reduction” in tariffs.
Cemex also faces new state taxes on emissions, which Nuevo León and San Luis Potosí are pushing, Expansión reported in September 2026. The cement industry chamber, Canacem, has filed a legal challenge known as an amparo in San Luis Potosí.
Legal Questions
Cemex carries two notable legal matters. In July 2026 the European Commission charged it formally, in a statement of objections, over admixtures in France and Germany.
The Commission alleges price coordination in construction chemicals, a case that began with raids in October 2023, as Rio Times reported. Cemex says it disagrees with the preliminary findings, has insignificant third-party admixture sales in Europe and will respond formally.
The second matter dates from 2016 and concerns the Maceo cement plant in Antioquia, Colombia. Internal audits found payments linked to the project that did not follow company controls, and the officers responsible were dismissed.
US authorities opened inquiries, with the Securities and Exchange Commission issuing subpoenas in December 2016 and the Justice Department in March 2018. Cemex says it has received no requests since 2020 and believes the inquiries are possibly no longer actively pursued.
The subpoenas do not mean that either agency has concluded Cemex broke the law. The Maceo plant began commercial operations in 2025 and will stay with Cemex after the Holcim sale.
What It Means for Foreigners and Investors
For foreign investors, Cemex offers exposure to Mexican construction alongside large businesses in the United States and Europe. Mexico produced about 30 percent of first-half sales but nearly half of regional operating EBITDA.
The New York-listed shares are the simplest route for most foreigners. Results are reported in dollars, but Mexican earnings still move with the peso.
Cemex also runs social programmes in Mexico. Since 1998 its Patrimonio Hoy scheme has offered low-income families microcredit, technical advice and building materials to improve their homes.
The main risks are trade frictions, a US slowdown and weak private investment at home. Coparmex says private investment has fallen to 17.9 percent of gross domestic product, the lowest level since 2020.
What to Watch
The first test is whether Cemex meets its raised guidance of 16 to 17 percent EBITDA growth in 2026. The next quarterly results will show whether US volumes recover from the weather disruptions.
The second is the Colombia sale to Holcim, which still needs regulatory approval. Its completion would further shrink Cemex’s footprint in Latin America outside Mexico.
The third is the credit rating. S&P has said an upgrade is possible within one to two years if the improvements last.
Trade talks with Washington matter for all Mexican industry, and the USMCA now faces annual reviews that can run through 2036. The EU antitrust case and the new state emissions taxes add further uncertainty.
As of September 2026, it is not known whether the European Commission will fine Cemex, or by how much. Cemex said in July that it could not yet assess the likely outcome.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Cemex a Mexican company?
Yes. Cemex is headquartered in San Pedro Garza García, near Monterrey, and traces its origins to 1906. It operates in Mexico, the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and parts of Latin America and the Caribbean.
Where is Cemex stock listed?
Cemex trades on the Mexican stock exchange as CEMEX.CPO and in New York as CX. One New York share equals ten Mexican CPOs.
Who runs Cemex?
Jaime Muguiro has been chief executive since 2025, and Rogelio Zambrano Lozano is executive chairman. No single shareholder controls the company.
How much did Cemex earn in the second quarter of 2026?
Net income was US$347 million, up 9 percent year on year. Operating EBITDA reached a record US$1.02 billion on sales of US$4.59 billion.
Is Cemex leaving Latin America?
No, but it is shrinking there outside Mexico. It sold its Dominican Republic and Panama businesses and agreed to sell part of its Colombian business. It still operates in markets such as Jamaica, Puerto Rico and Peru.
Is Cemex debt investment grade?
Yes. S&P and Fitch both rate it BBB-, the lowest investment-grade level, and both have a positive outlook as of September 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error
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