THE WOODLANDS, Texas, May 5, 2026, 11:14 (CDT)
- Sterling Infrastructure bumped up its 2026 targets for revenue and adjusted profit following a strong first-quarter performance that topped expectations.
- STRL jumped roughly 47% by late Tuesday morning, putting the stock among the top-performing U.S. infrastructure names for the session.
- The company’s E-Infrastructure backlog is now packed with data centers, chip plants, and other mission-critical projects.
Sterling Infrastructure Inc. jumped close to 47% late Tuesday morning, lifted by a raised full-year forecast after booming data-center and semiconductor demand sent first-quarter revenue soaring 92%. Shares changed hands near $777, having earlier spiked to more than $792.
Sterling’s story is shifting: investors are looking past its legacy as a roads-and-foundations player and starting to see it as part of the AI supply chain. According to a filing, the company’s E-Infrastructure segment — focused on site prep and mission-critical electrical work for facilities where uptime is essential — accounted for 72% of revenue in the first quarter.
Data centers drove the numbers. Sterling pointed to mission-critical work—data centers, manufacturing, semiconductor plants—accounting for upwards of 90% of the E-Infrastructure backlog at the end of the quarter. Right now, the company’s building out two data-center campuses, handling both site prep and electrical.
Revenue for the quarter hit $825.7 million, a jump from last year’s $430.9 million for the same period ended March 31. Net income attributable to common shareholders climbed as well: $96.0 million, or $3.09 a share diluted, compared with $39.5 million, or $1.28 per share.
Adjusted EPS landed at $3.59, a 120% surge. Adjusted EBITDA climbed as well, reaching $166.6 million—more than double, stripped of interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization, plus a few other items.
Sterling bumped up its 2026 revenue outlook, now seeing $3.70 billion to $3.80 billion, and raised its adjusted diluted EPS target to a range of $18.40 to $19.05. CEO Joe Cutillo cited “strong momentum across the business,” a larger backlog, and improved line of sight into future awards. PR Newswire
During the call, Cutillo pointed to the data center market as “the primary growth driver” once again, adding that demand looks set to stick around. He mentioned big customers are pulling the company more quickly into Texas, the Pacific Northwest, and the Midwest. Investing.com
CEC’s electrical and mechanical unit, picked up in September 2025, is making its presence felt in the numbers. According to the filing, CEC generated $156.1 million in first-quarter revenue. The company also reported CEC’s addition of $592 million to backlog, bumping combined backlog up to $1.88 billion. Combined backlog covers both signed contracts and unsigned awards not yet finalized.
As of March 31, backlog reached $3.80 billion, climbing from $3.01 billion at the close of 2025. The combined backlog also jumped, totaling $5.15 billion versus $3.31 billion previously. Book-to-burn landed at 3.5 times—new awards divided by revenue, for those tracking the metric.
The read-through lifted peers as well: shares of Primoris Services jumped roughly 8.6%, while Everus Construction Group climbed 7.7%. Investors scanned the sector for companies linked to data-center construction and electrical infrastructure. According to Investor’s Business Daily, Sterling, Primoris, and Everus are in focus as data-center builders with earnings catalysts expected this week.
Sterling isn’t without its hurdles. The company’s filing flagged issues like rising costs, labor shortages, weather, customer concentration, project estimation mistakes, and the challenge of integrating acquisitions. Building Solutions margin dropped to 6.5%, down from 13.4%, as homebuyer affordability continued to squeeze residential demand.
Labor looks tight for now. “More opportunities than we have capacity to get to” is how Cutillo described it to analysts at CEC. He said, “if I had 2,000 more electricians,” they’d be busy within a quarter. Investing.com
