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Demand for AI infrastructure is showing no signs of slowing down and continued to drive growth Jacobs in its second fiscal quarterexecutives said during the company’s earnings call on Tuesday.
The Dallas-based company ended its fiscal first half with what CEO Bob Pragada called “significant momentum.” He pointed to sustained demand in data centers, semiconductors, water, power and energy as the main drivers for the expansion of the backlog.
“We see a very strong track record to build on this success in the second half of the year,” Pragada said on the call. “The investment cycle is still in the early stages.”
Much of that growth is coming from AI-driven infrastructure, particularly data centers, Pragada said on the call. The company’s data center business grew more than 100% year-on-year in the quarter, largely due to hyperscale investments in construction and advisory services, it added.
“AI is absolutely driving our business,” Pragada said. “We’re seriously at an inflection point and it’s accelerating our whole business.”
Data centers currently account for 3% to 4% of Jacobs’ business, Pragada said. He added that the entire AI infrastructure ecosystem represents about 10% of his portfolio. That part of Jacobs’ business is growing more than 40 percent, he said.
“You’re talking about a significant part of our business that’s growing at a very fast pace,” Pragada said. “Everything centered around building the AI infrastructure.”
This data center construction is also creating opportunities elsewhere, according to the company.
“We are seeing increasing demand for semiconductors, water and power and energy as technology and infrastructure go hand in hand,” Pragada said. “This is bolstering overall revenue growth.”
These support projects, along with the data center facility, are essential in building the AI infrastructure and continue to be in high demand, Pragada said.
“We are tracking very well heading into the second half of the fiscal year with a strong second-quarter performance that allows us to raise our full-year outlook for the second quarter in a row,” Pragada said. “We’re seeing momentum in our growth rate, margin and booking trajectory, all of which give us confidence in our outlook.”
Q2 for the numbers
Jacobs suffered a loss of $45.88 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2026, compared with a profit of $5.61 million in the same period last year. The company attributed the loss to the completion of its acquisition the remaining interest of PA Consulting. Revenue for the quarter was $3.69 billion, up 27% from $2.91 billion a year ago.
Money backlog rose to $26.97 billion, up 21.7 percent from $22.16 billion a year earlier, according to the earnings report.
“The results beat expectations on both revenue and margins,” Baird senior research analyst Andrew Wittmann wrote in a research note. “Ultimately, its advanced buildings and infrastructure companies benefit from strong demand, much of which is found along the AI value chain with rapid growth from a very small previous base.”
