Heavy civil contractor Tutor Perini said 2026 and 2027 would be “blowout” years due to the ramping up of megaprojects across its portfolio, even if the company didn’t book any more work.
The Los Angeles-based company, which is working on portions of massive infrastructure jobs including New York’s $16 billion Hudson Tunnel project and portions of California’s embattled $231 billion high-speed rail project, said it is also considering how it might gain more exposure to data centers. But it noted it would be cautious in its approach to the high-flying sector while staying focused on its core business.
“We are actually doing some data center work on the specialty side and we are exploring ways to expand that currently,” Gary Smalley, president and CEO, said on a call to discuss first quarter earnings. “We want to make sure that we don't give up the core market because we know one day that — who knows how long down the road that will be, whether it's five years or 10 years down the road — that the data center work at some point in time probably won't be there, at least not as strong as it is now.”
The firm said it was currently pursuing numerous additional large-scale projects as well, including:
- The $7 billion Penn Station Transformation project in New York City.
- The $1.4 billion I-535 Latnik Bridge Project in Minnesota, for which a contractor is expected to be announced in June.
- An additional, multi-billion dollar segment of the California High-Speed Rail Project, bidding later this year.
- The approximately $1 billion I-69 ORX Section 2 project over the Ohio River connecting Indiana and Kentucky, also bidding later this year.
- The approximately $12 billion Sepulveda Transit Corridor Program in Southern California with bidding starting in 2027 for the first of multiple contracts.
- An additional $4 billion in opportunities in the Indo-Pacific region, including military infrastructure improvements at Naval Base Guam.
Yet, even without those opportunities, the firm said its trajectory this year and next would be remarkable.
“If we didn’t book any more work, ‘27 is going to be a blowout year, as is ‘26,” Smalley said.
In contrast with the firm’s bright outlook, however, Smalley started the call on a somber note, taking a moment of silence for six crew members who died when the cargo vessel Mariana capsized in April during Super Typhoon Sinlaku near Saipan. Two of the crew were Tutor Perini employees.
“It’s an unimaginable loss for all of us,” Smalley said.
Smalley also commented on a nearly $175 million judgment against the firm in a dispute over the W and Element hotels in Philadelphia. Tutor Perini won the job in 2015 and the hotel opened in 2021, but its developer sued the firm over concrete issues and delays.
“We strongly disagree with the ruling and firmly believe it does not reflect the merits of the case,” Smalley said. He said the firm intended to appeal the decision, a process that could last another two years or more.
By the numbers
Tutor Perini reported $1.4 billion in revenue for the quarter, up 11% from a year earlier. Backlog came in at $19.8 billion, driven by approximately $670 million in new awards and contract adjustments during the quarter. That was up slightly from $19.4 billion in backlog a year ago, but down sequentially from $20.6 billion at the end of 2025.
The largest additions to backlog included:
- $186 million of additional funding for the Eagle Mountain Casino Phase 2 Expansion project in Porterville, California.
- $97 million of additional funding for a new healthcare project that entered the construction phase.
- Approximately $66 million for two mass-transit projects.
The firm reported net income of $25.7 million, down 8% from $28 million a year ago, a dip it attributed to share-based compensation expenses.
