QXO Chairman and CEO Brad Jacobs plans to lead a $1 billion investment in CKX Lands, a publicly traded land-management company, while keeping his leadership roles at QXO. On a separate track, QXO reported preliminary third-quarter revenue of $4.9 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $557 million, saying business strengthened toward the end of the quarter.
The announcements pair Jacobs’ new venture with an upbeat account of QXO’s operating progress. The CKX investment still requires closing conditions, including approval from CKX stockholders.
Jacobs’ investment in CKX Lands
- Jacobs’ family office, Jacobs Private Equity, and minority co-investors have agreed to invest a total of $1 billion in CKX. Jacobs is expected to contribute $900 million, with $100 million from co-investors led by Heritage Partners, formerly Sequoia Heritage.
- If the investment closes, Jacobs will own a majority stake in CKX and become its chairman and CEO. He said he will continue as QXO’s chairman and CEO.
- CKX currently earns revenue from oil and gas royalties and mineral leases, timber sales, and surface rents. Jacobs said the industry focus for the new venture is still to be determined.
- The plan is to develop CKX as a growth platform and operate it as a standalone public company under a new name.
- CKX’s existing stockholders are intended to have the opportunity to receive an upfront cash payment of $20.8 million, retain the value of CKX’s existing business, and participate in potential future growth.
- The investment remains subject to closing conditions, including CKX stockholder approval.
QXO’s preliminary results and business update
- QXO reported preliminary third-quarter revenue of $4.9 billion, adjusted EBITDA of $557 million and an adjusted EBITDA margin of 11.4%. Jacobs said September was stronger than expected and the quarter ended on a high note.
- The company said it would provide further detail in its earnings release and quarterly report later that week. The figures cited on the call were preliminary, and adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP measure.
- Jacobs credited QXO’s acquisitions of Beacon, Kodiak and TopBuild with giving it leading positions in several building-products categories, along with customer relationships and management depth.
- QXO described itself as North America’s largest distributor of insulation products and waterproofing, the second-largest roofing distributor, and a top-one or top-two distributor of lumber and building materials in key regions. It also said it is the largest installer in insulation.
- The company said its 28,000 employees serve 194,000 customers through 1,150 branches across all 50 U.S. states and seven Canadian provinces.
- Jacobs said QXO is seeing stronger pricing, customer engagement, cross-selling and service execution, which he attributed to accelerating sales and profitable market-share gains.
What changes
If the CKX investment closes, Jacobs will lead a second public company while retaining his top roles at QXO. CKX would remain a standalone public company, but under a new name and with a growth strategy still to be defined. At QXO, the call highlighted preliminary quarterly results and management’s view that its acquisitions and operating initiatives are supporting stronger performance.