WSP Global Q2 Earnings Call Highlights

WSP Global TSE: WSP reported stronger second-quarter momentum, citing accelerated organic growth, a record backlog and expanded profitability as demand remained strong across power and energy, data centers, critical minerals, defense, nuclear energy and water infrastructure. Net revenue increased approximately 23% year over year in the second quarter, including 5% organic net revenue growth, with every reportable segment contributing, according to President and CEO Alexandre L'Heureux. Revenue rose about 20% from a year earlier. Adjusted EBITDA increased 29% to CAD 815 million, exceeding the company’s quarterly outlook range of CAD 770 million to CAD 810 million. Adjusted EBITDA margin expanded 90 basis points to 19.1%, which Chief Financial Officer Alain Michaud said was WSP’s highest second-quarter margin on record. Adjusted net earnings reached CAD 389 million, or CAD 2.88 per share, up 23% year over year. The margin improvement reflected both productivity gains and lower rightsizing costs compared with the prior-year quarter, Michaud said. WSP ended the quarter with backlog of approximately CAD 20.1 billion, up 23% over the prior 12 months and representing 11.6 months of revenue. Organic backlog growth was 5.7%, its strongest pace since 2022, L'Heureux said. The company said its top 20 opportunities represent more than CAD 4 billion of potential revenue. Management highlighted long-duration investment themes including AI-enabled digital infrastructure, power generation and transmission, data centers, critical minerals, defense and nuclear energy. In the United States, WSP’s sub-backlog reached CAD 10 billion on a net-revenue basis, up about 9% from the first quarter. About 86% of that amount is in framework agreements, which management described as pre-approved contract vehicles that can convert task orders to revenue once clients authorize funding. The leading indicators are all pointing in the right direction, Michaud said during the question-and-answer session, noting that the underlying U.S. business, including TRC’s organic contribution, delivered roughly 6% growth in the first half. Canada posted 5.1% organic growth and 14.2% organic backlog growth over the past 12 months. L'Heureux cited demand in defense, mining, energy and nuclear work. The company’s energy sub-sector in Canada delivered 70% year-over-year growth, while nuclear-related revenue tripled from the prior-year period. In the Americas, power and energy activity continued to expand. Net revenue and hard backlog from WSP’s top 40 global power clients in the U.S. increased 15% and 20%, respectively, year over year. The company said it now serves the top 60 U.S. investor-owned utilities. Other U.S. growth areas included: Data-center revenue, which rose more than 20% in the first half of 2026, while the related sales pipeline increased about 30% year over year. Advanced manufacturing, where backlog rose 29% year over year and revenue increased more than 20%. Water infrastructure, where business g...