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The project portfolio at Fluor is growing, but many of these wins have yet to officially hit the books.
In fact, new awards fell sharply and revenue fell, according to the company’s first quarter earnings call on friday Executives on the call said the drop in bookings reflects weather rather than demand.
“We remain very confident that 2026 awards will be higher than 2025,” Fluor CEO Jim Breuer said on the call. “That’s because of the quality of our prospects in front of us, many of which we’re working on right now.”
The Irving, Texas-based contractor reported front-end engineering and planning work on more than $60 billion in potential projects, with another $40 billion in prospects under evaluation over the next three years. Many of these projects are already in the early stages, which Fluor should turn into late this year.
Overall, Fluor’s pipeline has grown 50% over the past year, Breuer said.
Jim Breuer
Courtesy of Fluor
“This expansion reflects growing demand in the critical minerals, life sciences, LNG, nuclear, refining and energy markets,” Breuer said. “That’s why we’re optimistic about the future and confident in our ability to grow the company.”
Fluor will continue to target opportunities around the Construction of artificial intelligence infrastructuresincluding the data centers and power systems that support the facilities, Breuer said. For example, the company recently signed a limited notice to proceed on a large scale data center campus in Kentucky with access to 480 megawatts of power.
But Breuer added that direct data center construction remains a stretch difficult market.
“Contact and commercial terms in the data center market remain a challenge, especially in terms of risk allocation,” said Breuer. “We remain disciplined and selective, and are working to shape deals on a contract-by-contract basis to ensure opportunities meet our return expectations.”
Instead, Breuer sees more potential in adjacent sectors, especially power generation. He said the demand for such projects is increasing due to AI-driven electricity needs.
“We think the biggest opportunity for growth, profitable growth, associated with the build-up around data centers and artificial intelligence is really in the power sector,” Breuer said. “It fits better with our expertise, our strong engineering, our strong global supply chain.”
Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East have introduced some uncertainty about the schedule and execution of Fluor’s project in the region. Breuer said the company continues to monitor the situation closely and is looking for potential rebuilding and energy-related opportunities once conditions settle.
“Our activities in the Middle East have continued without interruption, despite the conflict,” Breuer said. “We continue to service our projects in the region and mitigate supply chain constraints.”
Q1 for the numbers
Fluor posted a profit of $160 million in the first quarter of 2026, compared with a loss of $241 million a year earlier. Revenue fell roughly 8% year over year from $3.98 billion to $3.66 billion, according to the report.
The backlog fell to $25.73 billion, down 10% from $28.72 billion a year ago. New awards reached $2.69 billion, down 54% from $5.81 billion in the year-ago period. According to Fluor, reimbursable work represented 82% of the total work backlog.
The report posted “incrementally negative” results, according to Andrew Wittmann, senior research analyst at Baird, a Milwaukee-based financial services firm.
“Disorderly earnings come in well short of expectations,” Wittman wrote in a research note. “Net, investors want clean results and solid awards – the report missed the former and was fine with the latter.”
