Investing.com — reported fourth-quarter results that exceeded analyst expectations and issued 2026 guidance well above Wall Street estimates, sending shares up 7.6% in after-hours trading Wednesday.
The company posted adjusted earnings per share of $3.08 for the fourth quarter, beating the analyst consensus of $2.52 by $0.56. Revenue reached $755.6 million, surpassing the estimate of $634.73 million and marking a 69% increase from the prior-year quarter when adjusted to exclude the deconsolidated RHB joint venture. The CEC acquisition contributed $129.1 million to quarterly revenue.
Adjusted EBITDA grew 70% to $142.1 million in the quarter, while gross profit margins of 22% set a new fourth-quarter record. The company’s backlog reached $3.01 billion at year-end, up 78% from the prior year, with the CEC acquisition contributing $488.9 million. Excluding the acquisition, backlog increased 49%.
“2025 was another outstanding year for Sterling as we grew adjusted net income by 53% to deliver adjusted diluted EPS of $10.88, surpassing the upper end of our previously guided range,” stated Joe Cutillo, Sterling’s Chief Executive Officer.
For fiscal 2026, Sterling issued adjusted EPS guidance of $13.45 to $14.05, with a midpoint of $13.75 significantly above the analyst consensus of $12.07. The company expects revenue of $3.05 billion to $3.20 billion, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.824 billion. The midpoint of the revenue guidance represents 25% YoY growth.
The E-Infrastructure Solutions segment drove strong performance with 123% revenue growth and 91% adjusted operating income growth, bolstered by organic expansion and the CEC acquisition. Mission-critical work, including data centers, manufacturing, and semiconductors, represented 84% of E-Infrastructure backlog.
Sterling generated operating cash flow of $440 million for the full year 2025 and ended the quarter with $390.7 million in cash and cash equivalents.
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