Fluor (NYSE:FLR) reported record third-quarter 2026 project awards of $10.9 billion, led by a $7.5 billion LNG Canada contract, as its backlog rose to $34.3 billion. The engineering and construction company maintained its full-year earnings outlook and forecast low-double-digit adjusted EBITDA growth in 2027.
The outlook also accounts for a potential reduction of about $2 billion in backlog after a client changed the scope of a reimbursable project, Chief Financial Officer John Regan said on the earnings call. The company is still evaluating the change, which could be reflected as early as the fourth quarter.
Revenue Rose as Adjusted EBITDA Declined
Third-quarter revenue increased to $3.7 billion from $3.4 billion a year earlier. Adjusted EBITDA fell to $142 million from $161 million, while adjusted earnings per share rose to $0.77 from $0.68. Regan said earnings per share benefited from the retirement of 32 million shares over the preceding 12 months.
Regan cautioned that year-over-year comparisons of GAAP results were not meaningful on a standalone basis because the prior-year quarter included a $653 million revenue reversal related to the Santos court ruling. The latest quarter’s GAAP results included a $73 million gain on the sale of Fluor’s former Mexican joint venture, ICA-Fluor.
Urban Solutions reported $100 million in segment profit and a 4.3% margin, up from 2.6% a year earlier. Results included a $25 million charge on a mining project. Regan said favorable developments on two infrastructure projects largely offset that charge, and Fluor and its partner had reached a preliminary change-order agreement establishing a path to complete the mining project by mid-2027.
Energy Solutions reported $93 million in segment profit, including the ICA-Fluor gain. Excluding that gain, profit was $20 million, or about a 3% margin. Regan said mature projects rolled off faster than recently awarded work entered meaningful execution. Mission Solutions profit rose to $55 million from $34 million, helped by improved award fees across its Department of Energy portfolio and a ramp-up in engineering, procurement and construction work.
New Projects Build Backlog
Chief Executive Officer Jim Breuer said the full notice to proceed on LNG Canada marked the beginning of the next growth cycle in Energy Solutions. The project is now in full execution, he said. During the question-and-answer session, Breuer said the client had announced a startup in the first half of the 2030s, suggesting a five- to six-year period over which Fluor would work through the award.
Urban Solutions booked $2 billion in awards, including two copper projects in Chile. Breuer said Fluor is positioned for a multibillion-dollar copper project in South America where it is already performing early work. The award could arrive in the fourth quarter or the first quarter of 2027, he said.
Fluor also expects to recognize an award in the fourth quarter for the first two buildings at a TeraWulf data center site in Kentucky, subject to final pricing. Breuer described the potential award as a low-single-digit multibillion-dollar contract. A third building is being estimated, and the companies are discussing potential work at other sites, he said.
In power, Fluor is finalizing a contract for a large gas-fueled facility, with customer board approval still needed. Breuer said the company is pursuing both combined-cycle and simple-cycle projects and expects several engineering, procurement and construction contracts next year.
Breuer said Fluor’s two-year prospect pipeline includes 25 megaprojects averaging $4.5 billion each. For the majority, Fluor is performing front-end work or is in sole-source discussions; project approval and financing are often the main hurdles, he said.
2026 Guidance and 2027 Outlook
Fluor maintained its 2026 adjusted EBITDA guidance of $500 million to $525 million and projected adjusted earnings of $2.70 to $2.80 per share. Regan said the outlook implies fourth-quarter adjusted EBITDA of roughly $150 million to $175 million and adjusted earnings of about $0.85 to $0.95 per share.
For 2027, management expects adjusted EBITDA to grow at a low-double-digit percentage rate from 2026. That outlook reflects a gradual ramp-up of recent large awards, fewer major energy-project closeouts and the loss of approximately $45 million in year-to-date 2026 EBIT following the ICA-Fluor sale. Spending on Project of the Future and the company’s enterprise-resource-planning replacement is excluded from the year-over-year EBITDA growth target.
Regan said large projects generally take about two years to approach peak earnings, with peak activity for recent megaprojects beginning in 2028. Breuer similarly expects utilization to improve in 2027, with a larger step up in 2028.
The potential $2 billion backlog reduction is project-specific and reflects a scope change rather than a cancellation, Regan said. He confirmed that its expected impact was included in the preliminary 2027 outlook.
Cash Flow and Share Repurchases
Fluor ended the quarter with $3.1 billion in cash and equivalents and generated $186 million in quarterly operating cash flow. Its year-to-date GAAP operating cash usage of $21 million included a $357 million tax payment associated with the 2025 NuScale conversion. The company projected adjusted operating cash flow of $430 million to $460 million for the full year.
Fluor spent $300 million on share repurchases during the quarter and remains on pace for $1.4 billion in repurchases in 2026, Regan said. For 2027, the company plans to continue buybacks anchored around half of expected annual free cash flow.
About Fluor (NYSE:FLR)
Fluor Corporation is a global engineering, procurement, construction and project-management company serving government and commercial clients. The company provides design and construction services, project development, procurement, maintenance, operations support and consulting for complex infrastructure and industrial projects.
Fluor’s activities span energy, chemicals and advanced technologies, infrastructure, mining and metals, life sciences, and government and national-security programs.
