Jacobs Solutions, Inc. J is slated to report second-quarter fiscal 2026 results on May 5, after market close.
In the last reported quarter, the company’s adjusted earnings and gross revenues topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.7%% and 3.5%, respectively. On a year-over-year basis, both metrics grew 15% and 12.3%, respectively.
Jacobs’ earnings beat the consensus mark in each of the last four quarters, the average surprise being 2.7%.
How Are Estimates Placed for Jacobs Stock?
For the fiscal second quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings per share has remained unchanged at $1.64 over the past 60 days. The estimated figure indicates 14.7% year-over-year growth from $1.43 per share.
The consensus mark for gross revenues is pegged at $3.25 billion, indicating an increase of 11.6% from the year-ago figure of $2.91 billion.
Jacobs Solutions Inc. Price and EPS Surprise
Jacobs Solutions Inc. price-eps-surprise | Jacobs Solutions Inc. Quote
Factors to Note Ahead of Jacobs' Q2 Results
Revenues
Jacobs’ revenues in the fiscal second quarter are expected to have increased year over year because of durable secular demand drivers, including transportation modernization, water resilience, data centers and semiconductor manufacturing. This growth is likely to have been reflected in increased contributions from the company’s Infrastructure & Advanced Facilities segment (which accounted for 89.4% of gross revenues in the first quarter of fiscal 2026). Moreover, robust demand trends across digital consulting, AI advisory, national security, healthcare resilience and energy transition work are expected to have supported the PA Consulting segment’s uptrend (which contributed 10.7% in fiscal first-quarter gross revenues) during the fiscal second quarter.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues from the Infrastructure & Advanced Facilities and PA Consulting segments is pegged at $2.8 billion and $338 million, indicating year-over-year growth from $2.6 billion and $308 million, respectively.
Owing to the favorable market fundamentals alongside Jacobs’ focus on its multi-year growth strategy and expansion efforts across the national border is expected to have boosted backlog growth in the fiscal second quarter. The consensus mark for backlog during the quarter is pinned at $26.19 billion, up 18.2% year over year.
Although ongoing geopolitical tensions and elevated inflation are likely to have been threatening top-line growth, the favorable demand trends and efficient execution by J are expected to have been encouraging.
Earnings
The bottom line of Jacobs is likely to have grown in the fiscal second quarter because of its multi-year growth strategy, “Challenge Accepted”, which focuses on delivering scalable, full-lifecycle infrastructure, advanced manufacturing and sustainability solutions. The company aims at driving long-term profitable growth by concentrating on complex client challenges. Moreover, Jacobs’ efforts to streamline operations and improve cost structure are likely to have aided its margins in the fiscal second quarter.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for operating profit of the Infrastructure & Advanced Facilities and PA Consulting segments is pegged at $237 million and $76 million, implying year-over-year growth of 16.6% and 13.4%, respectively.
What the Zacks Model Says for Jacobs
Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for Jacobs this time around. A combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. Unfortunately, this is not the case here.
J’s Earnings ESP: Jacobs has an Earnings ESP of -0.76%. You can uncover the best stocks before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
J’s Zacks Rank: The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank of 3.
Stocks With the Favorable Combination
Here are some stocks from the Zacks Construction sector, which, per our model, have the right combination of elements to deliver an earnings beat this time around.
VSE Corporation VSEC currently has an Earnings ESP of +6.66% and a Zacks Rank of 3. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
VSE’s earnings beat estimates in each of the last four quarters, the average surprise being 33%. Its earnings for the first quarter of 2026 are expected to grow 19.2%.
Dycom Industries, Inc. DY currently has an Earnings ESP of +0.55% and a Zacks Rank of 3.
With the average surprise of 17.1%, Dycom’s earnings beat estimates in each of the trailing four quarters. Dycom’s earnings for the first quarter of fiscal 2027 are expected to grow 30.6% compared with the prior year.
Worthington Enterprises, Inc. WOR currently has an Earnings ESP of +3.85% and a Zacks Rank of 3.
With the average surprise of 6.4%, Worthington’s earnings beat estimates in two of the last four quarters and missed on the remaining two occasions. Worthington’s earnings for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026 are expected to inch down 1.9%.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).