An article from Builders tout more than just data centers in latest earnings reports
The AI buildout continued to dominate construction’s focus, but publicly traded companies also seemed to keep diversification and other infrastructure sectors mind.
Published Aug. 14, 2026
Joe Bousquin Senior Editor
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Meta's data center in DeKalb, Ill. Courtesy of Meta
Balfour Beatty CEO Philip Hoare summed up construction’s news of the moment succinctly.
“You can’t pick up anything these days and not read about data centers,” Hoare said during the firm’s first-half 2026 earnings call Wednesday.
Indeed, on the latest round of earnings calls from public builders, data center builds were the main topic of conversation. That makes sense, since data center construction has so dominated the sector that it is masking a broader weakness among contractors, especially smaller ones.
It makes sense then that large builders are enjoying most of this highly concentrated boom; firms with more than $100 million in annual revenue, for example, reported 12.1 months of backlog in July, compared to seven months for contractors with less than $30 million in revenue.
That includes public contractors. But these builders also seem to be keeping the cardinal rule of business in mind: stay diversified.
In addition to data centers, publicly-traded firms emphasized they are maintaining a focus on other sectors, too, including transportation, aviation, energy and infrastructure megaprojects.
Read below for insights from public contractors’ latest earnings reports.
- Skanska reports record $7B order intake for Q2 By Zachary Phillips • July 17, 2026
CFO Pontus Winqvist remained measured in the face of a robust backlog as well as economic hurdles, telling Construction Dive, “you can’t build a trend on one quarter.” Read the full article ➔
- Granite targets rail, roads and data centers amid growing backlog By Joe Bousquin • July 31, 2026
A more than threefold increase in data center backlog helped the company raise overall revenue guidance, but debt restructuring resulted in a loss, according to the firm's Q2 earnings report. Read the full article ➔
- Jacobs’ data center pipeline triples as backlog hits $28.9B By Keith Loria • Aug. 6, 2026
The Dallas-based contractor said customers are accelerating data center and semiconductor work during its fiscal third-quarter earnings call Tuesday. Read the full article ➔
- Tutor Perini rides megaprojects to record revenue, higher profits in Q2 By Joe Bousquin • Aug. 7, 2026
The heavy civil contractor said it sees $200 billion in bidding opportunities, but will be selective to pursue the most profitable jobs. Read the full article ➔
- WSP capitalizes on surging US power work By Keith Loria • Aug. 10, 2026
Power now accounts for as much as 40% of the company’s revenue, CEO Alexandre L’Heureux said during a second-quarter earnings call. Read the full article ➔
- Fluor targets energy over data centers By Keith Loria • Aug. 10, 2026
Electricity projects better fit Fluor’s project profile than the data centers they power, CEO Jim Breuer said during the firm’s second-quarter earnings call. Read the full article ➔
- AECOM touts data center pipeline amid fiscal Q3 loss By Sebastian Obando • Aug. 11, 2026
A $337 million charge dragged on revenue and profitability in the quarter despite record backlog, the firm reported. Read the full article ➔
- Balfour Beatty bullish on aviation, data centers in US By Matthew Thibault • Aug. 13, 2026
U.S. construction, a recent thorn in the side of the London-based builder, returned to profitability in first-half 2026 earnings. Read the full article ➔
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Filed Under: Corporate News