Earnings

Tutor Perini Lifts 2026 Adjusted EPS Forecast To $5.90-$6.10 After Record Quarter

The contractor's third-quarter operating income rose 213% to $125.4 million, helped by a $39.5 million drop in share-based pay.

Matteo Parrino Jonathan Ponciano

Matteo Parrino, Jonathan Ponciano

— 2 min read
Share
Tutor Perini Lifts 2026 Adjusted EPS Forecast To $5.90-$6.10 After Record Quarter

Tutor Perini, a construction company that builds highways, hospitals, casinos and other large projects, raised its 2026 adjusted earnings-per-share forecast to $5.90 to $6.10, up from $5.15 to $5.45, after reporting record third-quarter revenue and operating income on Wednesday. It also said it anticipates continued strong revenue and adjusted EPS growth in 2027.

Record revenue, tripled operating income

Third-quarter revenue reached a record $1.7 billion, up 22% from $1.4 billion a year earlier. Civil revenue rose 16%, Building 29% and Specialty Contractors 26%, which the company tied mainly to newer higher-margin projects in the Northeast, California, Texas and the Indo-Pacific region.

Income from construction operations hit a record $125.4 million, up 213% from $40.1 million. Part of that jump came from a $39.5 million drop in share-based compensation expense, worth $0.73 per diluted share net of tax, because certain liability-classified awards vested at the end of 2025.

Net income attributable to the company was $20.7 million, or $0.39 a share, versus $3.6 million, or $0.07. Adjusted EPS, which strips out share-based pay, a loss on extinguishing debt and a pension settlement charge, was $1.83 against $1.15.

Cash, backlog and a net cash cushion

Operating cash flow was a record $330.9 million for the quarter and $665.1 million for the first nine months, up 14% and 16%. Total debt was $404 million at September 30, and cash exceeded it by $707 million.

Backlog stood at $20.4 billion after about $2.2 billion of new awards and contract adjustments, the second straight quarter in which awards exceeded revenue burned. The largest addition was $1.0 billion of extra work on a Civil project, followed by $577 million of new federal Building awards.

The company said its pipeline of potential projects over the next three to four years totals more than $200 billion.

Pay expense set to fall in 2027

Tutor Perini said most remaining liability-classified awards vest by the end of 2026, so share-based compensation expense should decline significantly in 2027. It does not give GAAP EPS guidance, citing the difficulty of forecasting that expense, which moves with its share price.

CEO Gary Smalley said the backlog and bid pipeline give "substantial visibility" into future revenue, earnings and cash flow. The company's market value was $4.4 billion as of Wednesday's report.

The company scheduled its conference call on the results for 2:00 p.m. Pacific time on Wednesday.

Sources

Read more