AECOM Shares Fall 30% in Six Months on $337 Million Project Charge

โดย Zacks Investment Research·

Summary · why it matters

AECOM shares have dropped 30.1% over the past six months, underperforming the Zacks Engineering - R and D Services industry's 2.7% gain, the broader Zacks Construction sector's 4% drop and the S&P 500 Index's 16% rise over the same period. The decline reflects a $337 million pre-tax charge recorded in the third quarter of fiscal 2026 tied to a delayed Construction Management project, where weaker-than-expected subcontractor productivity raised completion costs and pushed substantial completion into the second quarter of fiscal 2027. For the first nine months of fiscal 2026, operating cash flow fell to $169.2 million from $625.5 million a year earlier, and the company now expects full-year free cash flow of approximately $300 million, with higher expected debt balances and lower cash levels projected to increase fiscal 2027 net interest expense by $30-$35 million. Fiscal 2026 earnings estimates have moved down to $4.48 per share over the past 60 days, implying a year-over-year decline of 14.8%, while fiscal 2027 estimates declined to $5.99 over the past 30 days, pointing to growth of 33.7%. AECOM's backlog reached a record $27.8 billion in the fiscal third quarter, up 13%, supported by record quarterly wins of $4.2 billion and a 1.6x book-to-burn ratio, and the company has returned more than $3.5 billion to shareholders since September 2020.