The headline result is far worse than expected, but the core earnings result was roughly in line. Reported adjusted EPS was ($0.50) versus the published consensus of approximately $1.46, but that includes a $1.99-per-share Construction Management project charge. Excluding the charge, adjusted EPS was $1.49, a narrow beat to expectations. The distinction matters: this was not a broad collapse in the underlying design and infrastructure business, but the size of the project loss makes the quarter materially worse than the clean EPS comparison suggests.
| Metric | Q3 FY2026 | Q3 FY2025 / expectation | Read-through |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $3,586 million | $4,178 million; down 14% YoY (Income Statement) | Sharp contraction |
| Net service revenue | $1,609 million | $1,938 million; down 16% YoY (Net Service Revenue reconciliation) | Core revenue weaker |
| Adjusted EPS | ($0.50) | $1.34 prior year; ~$1.46 published consensus (Adjusted EPS reconciliation) | Large reported miss |
| Adjusted EPS excluding project charge | $1.49 | $1.34 prior year; ~$1.46 consensus | Narrow underlying beat |
| Adjusted EBITDA | ($8) million | $313 million prior year (Adjusted EBITDA reconciliation) | Charge overwhelms operations |
| Free cash flow | $55 million | $262 million prior year (Cash Flow statement) | Significant deterioration |
| Total backlog | $27,816 million | $24,588 million prior year; up 13% (Segment results — Backlog) | Strong future work visibility |
The $337 million project loss is the central negative surprise and exposes execution risk. Management attributed it to lower subcontractor productivity, delayed completion and a higher cost estimate on a project bid in 2019 under risk terms the company says would no longer pass its current controls (Management discussion). Even after excluding the charge, adjusted segment margin fell to 16.5%, down 60 basis points year over year, while the company cited elevated business-development spending and project-start timing as additional pressure (Metrics excluding Construction Management project charge).
Management left the full-year outlook intact, but that now requires a strong finish. Full-year adjusted EPS guidance remains $3.95–$4.15 and adjusted EBITDA guidance remains $935–$965 million (Full-year guidance). With nine-month adjusted EPS at $2.40, the unchanged outlook implies roughly $1.55–$1.75 of adjusted EPS in the fourth quarter. That is achievable on the filing's numbers, but the required rebound is more demanding after an underlying third-quarter result of $1.49 and a major project-control failure.
Backlog is the genuine offset, not a cure for the quarter. Total backlog reached a record $27.8 billion, up 13%, with Americas backlog up 8% and a 1.8 book-to-burn ratio (Segment results — Backlog). That supports longer-term demand and helps explain why guidance was not cut. However, cash generation weakened sharply: nine-month free cash flow fell to $70 million from $551 million, while net debt rose to $1.73 billion from $0.75 billion year over year (Cash Flow statement; Net debt table). Net, the underlying business slightly exceeded the quarterly EPS bar, but the unexpectedly large charge, weaker margins and much poorer cash conversion leave the filing narrowly negative versus expectations.
Read the original 8-K on SEC EDGAR ↗