Fluor posted lower first-quarter revenue and new project awards for 2026, though company executives said strong demand across energy, infrastructure and artificial intelligence-related markets is expected to drive growth later this year.
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The contractor reported that new awards declined significantly during the quarter, while revenue also slipped compared to the same period in 2025. Company leaders said the slowdown was largely tied to project timing rather than weakening market demand.
“We still feel very confident that 2026 awards are going to be higher than 2025,” said Fluor CEO Jim Breuer during the company’s earnings call. “That is on the back of the quality of our prospects that we have in front of us, many of which we’re working on right now.”
The Texas-based contractor said it currently has front-end engineering and planning work underway on more than $60 billion in potential projects, with an additional $40 billion in opportunities under review over the next three years. Executives expect many of those projects to move into backlog later in 2026.
According to Breuer, Fluor’s overall project pipeline has expanded by roughly 50% over the past year.
Company executives pointed to increasing opportunities in sectors such as critical minerals, liquefied natural gas, life sciences, nuclear energy, refining and power generation.
“This expansion reflects growing demand across the critical minerals, life science, LNG, nuclear, refining and power markets,” said Breuer. “This is why we’re optimistic about the future and confident in our ability to grow the company.”
Fluor also continues pursuing opportunities tied to the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure, particularly data centers and the power systems needed to support them. The contractor recently signed a limited notice to proceed for a large-scale data center campus project in Kentucky that will have access to 480 megawatts of power.
However, Breuer noted that direct data center construction projects remain challenging because of contract structures and risk allocation concerns.
“Contract and commercial terms at the data center market remain challenging, especially regarding risk allocation,” said Breuer. “We’re staying disciplined and selective, and we’re working to shape deals on a contract-by-contract basis, to ensure opportunities meet our return expectations.”
Instead, Fluor sees greater long-term potential in the power generation sector as electricity demand increases alongside AI development.
“We believe that the greatest opportunity for growth, profitable growth, associated with the build up around data centers and AI is actually in the power sector,” said Breuer. “It just fits better our expertise, our strong engineering, our strong global supply chain.”
Executives also addressed geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, saying the company continues monitoring regional conditions while maintaining ongoing operations.
“Our activities in the Middle East have continued without interruption, despite the conflict,” said Breuer. “We continue to serve our projects in the region and mitigate supply chain constraints.”
Fluor reported first-quarter profit of $160 million, a major improvement from a $241 million loss during the same period a year earlier. Revenue declined about 8% year over year, falling from $3.98 billion to $3.66 billion.
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The company’s backlog also dropped to $25.73 billion from $28.72 billion last year, while new awards totaled $2.69 billion, down 54% from the prior-year quarter. Fluor said reimbursable work represented 82% of its total backlog.
Andrew Wittmann described the quarter as underwhelming in a research note following the earnings report.
“Messy earnings results well shy of expectations,” wrote Wittmann. “Net, investors want clean results and strong awards; the report missed the former and was okay on the latter.”
Originally reported by Sebastian Obando, Senior Reporter in Construction Dive.
