Oct 29, 2026 earnings call — Record backlog and strong quarterly revenue
Record remaining performance obligations of $18.57 billion and revenue of $5.54 billion in the quarter.
Revenue $5.5B (est $5.2B) · EPS $9.60 (est $8.37) · Next-quarter revenue outlook $20.6B–$21.0B
Key quotes
"Most of the RPO growth was organic, reinforcing the depth of demand across multiple end markets."
"EMCOR delivered another quarter of exceptional growth, margin performance, operating cash flow, and capital allocation."
"our board of directors has authorized an additional $500 million for the repurchase of our common stock."
Analyst Q&A 9
data center RPO growth and margins/cash
Q (Adam Thalhimer · Thompson Davis): He asked how data center RPOs should grow and whether gasoline or diesel costs hit margins in Q3. He also asked about expected operating cash flow in Q4/full year.
A: Management said they expect continued growth in data center work across markets and that they focus on large, long-term customers rather than speculative builds. Fuel cost headwinds were marginal because they pass along much of the increase, and full-year operating cash flow is expected around $1.5 billion-$1.7 billion.
"We see great opportunities across the country in all the markets we serve in the data center market." — Tony Guzzi (CEO·CHAIR)
where growth is happening and prefab plans
Q (Brent Thielman · Oppenheimer): He asked whether the data center growth is still in core markets or expanding into new areas, and what their plans are for prefab/modular fabrication.
A: Management said about 75% of the data center growth is in core markets, though they are expanding (notably in Texas and nearby rural areas). They are expanding fabrication capacity for piping modules, racks, and HVAC units to serve themselves, some hyperscalers, and external customers, but not building entire buildings to ship.
"We are building piping modules, piping racks, HVAC units, things like that." — Tony Guzzi (CEO·CHAIR)
working capital and mechanical margins
Q (Justin Hauke · Baird): He asked if the higher contract liabilities (advanced billings) are sustainable and how a slowdown in growth would reverse working capital. He also asked about the mechanical margin impact and timing to normalize.
A: Management said the rise in contract liabilities tracks backlog growth, and if growth slows the unbilled and AR balances would liquidate into cash as seen historically. They expect mechanical margins to stay near current levels for about the next 12 months, with a rolling average around 12%-12.5%.
"If growth were to slow, you are going to see that start to liquidate, and you are going to see that turn into cash flow." — Jason Nalbandian (CFO)
fab capacity and SG&A leverage
Q (Brian Brophy · Stifel): He asked why they are moving more into fab-only capacity now and how they think about the incremental fixed costs. He also asked how much more SG&A leverage remains.
A: Management said the fab expansion is customer-driven and tied to geographically advantaged leased facilities; they can absorb fixed costs and will exit less productive sites if needed. CapEx remains small (about 1% or less of revenue), and SG&A leverage comes from larger project mix and variable field incentive compensation.
"I think even if we made some larger investments in that space, CapEx for us is still going to be 1% or less of revenue." — Jason Nalbandian (CFO)
high-tech manufacturing and non-res demand
Q (Avi Jaroslawicz · UBS): He asked about growth prospects in high-tech manufacturing (semiconductors) and how broader non-residential spending would affect their business.
A: Management said they are excited about specific semiconductor sites; initial awards come in lumps and later as smaller packages, and they will balance that work against data center opportunities. They noted strong RPO growth outside data centers: Healthcare RPO is up 31% year-over-year. Water and wastewater up 38% year-over-year.
"Healthcare RPO is up 31% year-over-year. Water and wastewater up 38% year-over-year." — Tony Guzzi (CEO·CHAIR)
political risk and cloud vs AI data centers
Q (Tim Mulrooney · William Blair): He asked whether political moratorium talk has delayed projects and what the current mix is between cloud and AI data centers and how that may change.
A: Management said near-term builds are not affected by the rhetoric and they expect much of the political noise to subside after the election. Today they estimate roughly 65%-70% cloud and 30% AI, and they expect that mix to move closer to 50/50 over time as AI projects grow, especially in mechanical work.
"I would say today we're probably 65%-70% cloud and 30% AI." — Tony Guzzi (CEO·CHAIR)
sustainability of electrical margins and other indicators
Q (Manish Somaiya · Cantor): He asked if electrical margins around 13% are sustainable and what other measures beyond backlog/RPOs show true opportunity.
A: Management said margins move in bands; electrical is around 12%-13% (maybe 12.5%-13%) and mechanical around 12%-12.5%, and you should look at multi-quarter averages. They said RPO/backlog is rigorous and useful, but to gauge potential also consider end-market growth where EMCOR tends to outgrow non-residential markets by several hundred basis points.
"For electrical, that's somewhere between 12% and 13%, maybe skewing up to 12.5%-13%." — Jason Nalbandian (CFO)
allocating resources to semiconductor fabs
Q (Sangita Jain · KeyBanc): She asked how they will allocate resources to the semicon build cycle now, given strong data center demand and where they have capability.
A: Management said they will participate where they have capability, notably broad fire life safety work, with more limited electrical and mechanical exposure in select states like Arizona and upstate New York. They will pursue carve-outs or selected scopes and expect to know success by this time next year.
"We will participate. Where we have real capability is broadly, we have real capability with fire life safety." — Tony Guzzi (CEO·CHAIR)
2027 visibility, staffing, Virginia exposure
Q (Adam Bubes · Goldman Sachs): He asked about visibility for 2027 growth, ability to grow headcount to meet backlog, and thoughts on Virginia/Loudoun County data center pauses.
A: Management said they only take jobs they believe they can staff and make manpower plans when estimating work; they avoid giving specific 2027 guidance. They remain bullish on Virginia and expect Loudoun awards to resume by mid next year, and they view pauses as mostly limited or thoughtful adjustments rather than broad market stops.
"We wouldn't have taken the job if we didn't think we could put the resources from field supervision through craft labor on those jobs." — Tony Guzzi (CEO·CHAIR)