Jacobs is entering 2026 with a record-level backlog, largely due to data center and water projects, according to its fiscal fourth quarter earnings call on Thursday.
Wins in the data center sector are still accelerating, said CEO Bob Pragada during the call. Initially, Jacobs’ scope in the sector had been limited to white space, or the primary area inside these facilities where equipment and network gear sit.
Now, Pragada said more of Jacobs' work stretches into gray space too, which includes supporting infrastructure, such as power and cooling. The Dallas-based contractor’s partnership with Nvidia is driving much of that expanded scope, Pragada said.
“We’re seeing interest now in data centers start in the Middle East and in Europe, in addition to the U.S. The U.S. continues to be the strongest of the three,” said Pragada during the call. “In the last quarter, our pipeline in the data center space has gone up 5x.”
Beyond digital infrastructure, the company highlighted strong growth across other advanced facility sectors. Semiconductor activity is picking up again, with Jacobs’ U.S. pipeline up about 20% after a slower period, said Pragada.
“In the semiconductor world, we’re seeing more growth there after some flatness over the course of the last year,” said Pragada during the call. “It’s really centered around high-bandwidth memory for the American client in the U.S.”
Life science projects also delivered a strong fourth quarter, with the U.S. pipeline up 50% according to Jacobs. That mirrored strength in water-related activity as well. Jacobs expects high single-digit growth in the sector heading into 2026.
“Water sector continues to be a strong sector for us globally, that’s up 50%,” said Pragada. “So, overall, the pipeline is looking really strong as we go into fiscal year 2026.”
Transportation activity also continued to strengthen globally. Jacobs won a $166 million contract in August on the $5.5 billion Interborough Express project in New York City, a 14-mile light rail line connecting Brooklyn and Queens.
“[Sectors] that would drive the high end of the range would be life sciences and data centers, clearly. That’s a matter of those sectors moving at pace. That wouldn’t have to be accelerated, just need to move at pace,” said Pragada. “We’re seeing semiconductor fabrication facilities start to move. And so if that were to accelerate, that would definitely be a tailwind.”
Q4 results
Jacobs reported $122.25 million in profit for its fiscal fourth quarter year, around a 62% drop compared to $325.44 million last year. Revenue for the quarter jumped to $3.15 billion, about a 6.4% gain from $2.96 billion a year ago.
Backlog climbed to $23.06 billion, about a 5.5% gain from $21.85 billion in fiscal fourth quarter 2024, according to the earnings report.
“Backlog ends at another record,” wrote Andrew Wittmann, senior research analyst with Baird, in a research note. He added strength across the life science, data center, water, energy, power and transportation sectors will support strong activity next year. Though Wittmann noted weaker free cash flow, he wrote “nothing overly surprising” regarding the report.
