North American Construction Group Ltd. NOA secured a five-year heavy equipment services contract through its wholly owned subsidiary, ML Northern Services Ltd. The award covers mobile fuel services for a major Canadian oil sands customer’s fleet of ultra-class and other large mining equipment across multiple mine sites. The contract is scheduled to begin on Sept. 30, 2026, with full operational capacity expected in the fourth quarter of 2026.
NOA Adds $135M to Contractual Backlog Through Long-Term Award
The contract marks the largest award in ML Northern’s history and NACG’s biggest heavy equipment services contract focused on fuel services. Running through July 5, 2031, the agreement is expected to add about $135 million to the company’s contractual backlog and strengthen its recurring revenue profile with a major oil sands customer.
The work will be supported by a mix of existing fleet and about $5 million of growth capital for 25 on-highway units and other support equipment. The award also converts a previously identified opportunity from NOA’s active tender and bid pipeline into long-duration contracted work. With additional heavy equipment services opportunities identified across the Fort McMurray region, the contract supports the company’s organic growth strategy in the Canadian oil sands market.
Strong Backlog Adds Visibility to NOA’s Growth Prospects
This heavy civil construction and mining services provider is expanding its opportunity base across mining and infrastructure markets in North America and Australia. In the first quarter of 2026, contractual backlog stood at $3.9 billion, up 21% year over year and 28.5% sequentially, with $1.5 billion of estimated annual revenues already secured for 2026. The global bid pipeline totaled about $14.5 billion, including $4.6 billion in the active tender and procurement phase.
Australia remains NOA’s primary growth engine, supported by exposure to coal, gold, iron ore, lithium, copper and mining-related infrastructure. The acquisition of Iron Mine Contracting strengthens the company’s position in Western Australia and advances its plan to establish a nationwide Tier 1 contractor platform. In North America, NOA is pursuing large infrastructure and mining-related opportunities, while higher production activity in the Canadian oil sands is increasing the need for efficient fleet support.
NOA’s Price Performance
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Shares of North American Construction have declined 11.9% in the past six months, underperforming the Zacks Oil and Gas-Mechanical and Equipment industry, the broader Zacks Oils-Energy sector and the S&P 500 index. The company faces near-term pressure from seasonal weakness in the oil sands, while higher financing costs tied to its Australian expansion add another concern.
NOA Stock’s Zacks Rank & Key Picks
North American Construction currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).
Here are some better-ranked stocks from the same sector.
Cenovus Energy CVE currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Cenovus Energy delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 50.8%, on average. The stock has surged 60% in the past six months. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Cenovus Energy’s 2026 sales and EPS indicates growth of 5.8% and 96.1%, respectively, from a year ago.
Imperial Oil IMO presently flaunts a Zacks Rank of 1. It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 1.8%, on average. Shares of Imperial Oil have hiked 31.1% in the past six months.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Imperial Oil’s 2026 sales and EPS indicates growth of 27% and 69.2%, respectively, from the prior-year levels.
ARKO Petroleum Corp. APC currently sports a Zacks Rank of 1. It delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 42.9%, on average. ARKO Petroleum stock has gained 9.5% in the past six months.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ARKO Petroleum’s 2026 sales and EPS implies an increase of 2.4% and 41.5%, respectively, from a year ago.
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North American Construction Group Ltd. (NOA): Free Stock Analysis Report
ARKO Petroleum Corp. (APC): Free Stock Analysis Report
Imperial Oil Limited (IMO): Free Stock Analysis Report
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).