Sterling Reports Record Third Quarter Results and Raises Full Year 2026 Guidance

, /PRNewswire/ -- Sterling Infrastructure, Inc. (NasdaqGS: STRL) ("Sterling" or the "Company") today announced strong financial results for the third quarter of 2026.

The financial comparisons herein are to the prior year quarter, unless otherwise noted.

Third Quarter 2026 Consolidated Results:

Revenues of $1.56 billion, an increase of 127%.

Net income of $214.9 million, or $6.92 per diluted share, both increases of 133%.

EBITDA (1) of $320.8 million, an increase of 124%.

Each of these third quarter 2026 metrics represent a new record.

Adjusted Results:

Adjusted net income (1) of $235.4 million, or $7.58 per diluted share, increases of 119% and 118%, respectively.

Adjusted EBITDA (1) of $337.8 million, an increase of 117%.

Cash Flow Metrics:

Cash flows from operations totaled $427.1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2026.

Cash and cash equivalents totaled $216.9 million at September 30, 2026.

Share repurchases totaled $107.3 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2026.

Backlog Metrics:

Signed Backlog at September 30, 2026 was $4.14 billion, an increase of 61% from the prior year period.

Combined Backlog (2) at September 30, 2026 was $6.14 billion, an increase of 78% from the prior year period.

Third quarter 2026 book-to-burn ratios were 0.9x for Backlog and 1.4x for Combined Backlog.

(1)

See "Non-GAAP Measures", "Adjusted Net Income Reconciliation", and "EBITDA Reconciliation" sections below for more information.

(2)

Combined Backlog includes Unsigned Awards of $2.00 billion at September 30, 2026.

Third Quarter 2026 Segment Results:

E-Infrastructure Solutions

E-Infrastructure Solutions revenues of $1.30 billion, an increase of 212%. Revenues from Site Development operations increased 133%.

The CEC electrical business, which was acquired on September 1, 2025, contributed $425.6 million of revenues in the quarter, compared with $41.4 million during the partial ownership period of the third quarter of 2025. On a pro forma basis assuming a full quarter of ownership in the third quarter of 2025, CEC revenues increased 305% year-over-year.

E-Infrastructure Solutions operating income of $294.5 million, an increase of 176%. E-Infrastructure Solutions operating margin of 22.6% declined year-over-year and slightly sequentially due to the higher contribution from CEC. Site Development operating margin was in line with levels achieved in the first half of the year.

CEC operating margin improved both year-over-year and sequentially.

E-Infrastructure Solutions adjusted operating income (1) of $302.4 million, an increase of 171%. E-Infrastructure Solutions adjusted operating margin of 23.2%.

Transportation Solutions

Transportation Solutions revenues of $165.2 million, a 3.1% decline, reflecting the reallocation of resources toward E-Infrastructure Solutions work.

Transportation Solutions operating income of $30.2 million, an increase of 24.0%. Transportation Solutions operating margin of 18.3%.

Transportation Solutions adjusted operating income (1) of $32.6 million, an increase of 22.2%. Transportation Solutions adjusted operating margin was 19.7%.

Building Solutions

Building Solutions revenues of $96.0 million, a decline of 5.4%.

Building Solutions operating income of $5.7 million, a decline of 47.3%. Building Solutions operating margin of 5.9%.

Building Solutions adjusted operating income (1) of $7.7 million, a decline of 38.7%. Building Solutions adjusted operating margin of 8.0%.

CEO Remarks and Outlook

"We delivered another exceptional quarter, with adjusted net income increasing 119%, adjusted diluted EPS reaching $7.58, and adjusted EBITDA more than doubling. Revenue increased 127%, including 70% organic growth," stated Joe Cutillo, Sterling's Chief Executive Officer. "These results reflect the strength of our strategy and the disciplined execution of our teams."

"Demand remains strong, and our multi-year visibility continues to expand. Together, our signed backlog, unsigned awards, and next phases in design on our current projects represent nearly $8 billion of scoped work, up approximately 90% year-over-year. Importantly, these metrics do not capture the full potential for additional phases and expanded scopes as these large, multi-year projects advance."

Mr. Cutillo continued, " E-Infrastructure Solutions continued to deliver, with revenue increasing 212% and adjusted operating income growing 171%, driven by exceptional performance across both our site development and electrical operations. Site Development generated significant growth across all regions, while maintaining strong operating margin. Demand for CEC's electrical services remains extremely strong, and the business is scaling to capitalize on this opportunity. CEC revenue quadrupled on a pro forma year-over-year basis (2) and operating margin improved both year-over-year and sequentially. We now believe that CEC has the potential to generate over $1 billion in revenue in 2026.

Within E-Infrastructure, our signed backlog, unsigned awards and next phases in design now approach $7 billion, an increase of more than 130% year-over-year. Mission-critical projects, including data center campuses, manufacturing and semiconductor facilities, represent approximately 95% of this opportunity.

In Transportation Solutions, revenue declined 3%, as we continued to reallocate resources from transportation projects toward higher-margin E-Infrastructure opportunities. Adjusted operating income increased 22%, while adjusted operating margin expanded 410 basis points year-over-year to reach 19.7%, reflecting disciplined transportation project selection.

In Building Solutions , revenue declined 5%, reflecting slower homebuilder activity, while adjusted operating income decreased 39%. We expect market conditions to remain challenging through 2026 as housing affordability continues to weigh on demand, but remain optimistic about the long-term growth opportunities in key geographies."