Aecom shares fell 5.5% after the engineering firm reported a surprise fiscal third-quarter loss of $0.50 per share, missing analyst expectations for a $1.51 per share profit. The loss stemmed from a $337 million pre-tax charge tied to higher projected costs on a construction management contract signed in 2019, which management said would not be accepted under current risk policies. Revenue of $3.6 billion, though 80% above Wall Street's $2 billion estimate, declined 14% year over year, and free cash flow dropped 79% to $55 million. The company still expects to generate $300 million in free cash flow for the full year, but the stock trades at a price-to-free cash flow ratio of 32 times based on that target.
Aecom Technology CorporationSurprise quarterly loss and charge on old contract miss expectations, despite revenue beat.
