Ameresco Q2 Earnings Call Highlights

Key Points

• Ameresco reported strong Q2 growth, with revenue up 9% year over year to $515 million, adjusted EBITDA up 12% to $62.8 million, and non-GAAP EPS of $0.20. The company raised its 2026 non-GAAP EPS outlook to $1.15–$1.35 while reaffirming broader full-year guidance.
• New project awards reached a record $1.8 billion, driven by $1.2 billion in data center-related power infrastructure. Awarded backlog climbed 65% to $4.4 billion, while total project backlog rose 32% to $6.7 billion.
• Ameresco’s data center pipeline includes five awarded projects representing more than 1 gigawatt of power generation, but meaningful revenue is not expected until 2028–2030. The company also expanded its operating energy asset base to 822 MW and maintained leverage below its covenant at 3.2 times.

Ameresco NYSE: AMRC reported second-quarter 2026 revenue of $515 million, up 9% from a year earlier, while highlighting a record $1.8 billion in new project awards led by data center-related power infrastructure projects.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer George Sakellaris described the quarter as “transformational,” citing $1.2 billion of data center awards and $600 million of awards across the company’s other markets. The company also completed its Neogenyx joint venture with HASI, brought major battery storage and solar projects online, and reorganized around two market pillars: Power Infrastructure and Buildings & Public Infrastructure.

Record Backlog Led by Data Center Awards

Ameresco said awarded project backlog rose 65% year over year to a record $4.4 billion, contributing to a 32% increase in total project backlog to $6.7 billion. Chief Financial Officer Mark Chiplock said the company expects to convert that backlog over the next three to four years, although timing will depend on commercial, permitting, procurement, financing and execution milestones.

The company added three data center projects to awarded backlog during the quarter, bringing the total to five projects, excluding the Lemoore Data Center in its energy assets portfolio. The projects expanded Ameresco’s data center footprint into Texas and Arizona and collectively represent more than 1 gigawatt of power generation, according to Co-President Nicole Bulgarino.

The company’s proposed solutions include reciprocating engines, gas turbines, fuel cells, battery energy storage systems and integrated microgrids. Bulgarino said Ameresco is concentrating on on-site power solutions and working with developers, operators, hyperscalers, capital providers and other participants in the data center ecosystem.

During the question-and-answer session, Sakellaris said the projects currently included in awards represent only part of the potential scope. He said the current awards could grow to roughly $2 billion as development progresses and additional phases are defined. The company is also evaluating at least as many additional data center opportunities as the five currently in awarded backlog, he said.

Ameresco said data center awards generally could move from the awarded category into contracted backlog within six to 24 months. Sakellaris said the company does not expect a major revenue contribution from the data center projects until 2028 through 2030, though there could be a smaller impact in 2027. Once contracted, large and complex projects may require up to three years of implementation, particularly where a data center campus is developed in multiple phases.

Chief Investment Officer Josh Baribeau said revenue from the data center work is expected to be recognized under the company’s normal engineering, procurement and construction, or EPC, revenue model rather than through asset sales. Sakellaris said margins on the projects are expected to be similar to Ameresco’s federal EPC work, in the high teens.

Financial Results and Operating Portfolio

Project revenue increased 6% to $381 million in the quarter, supported by federal and North American activity as well as the company’s European joint venture. Energy asset revenue rose 21% to $76 million, while operations and maintenance revenue increased 29%.

Ameresco placed an additional 32 megawatts into operation during the quarter. Its operating energy asset base reached 822 MW, with another 513 MW in development for construction. Those figures reflect Ameresco’s 70% ownership interest in the Neogenyx joint venture.

The company said it now provides operations and maintenance services for more than 2.5 gigawatts of third-party solar and battery storage assets. Long-term operations and maintenance backlog exceeded $1.5 billion.

• Gross margin was 17.7%, improving both sequentially and from a year earlier.
• Net income attributable to common shareholders was $9.7 million, or $0.18 per diluted share.
• Non-GAAP earnings per share were $0.20.
• Adjusted EBITDA increased 12% to $62.8 million.

Chiplock said earnings per share reflected higher depreciation and interest expense related to growth in the energy asset portfolio, as well as a lower tax benefit and the non-controlling interest effect of the Neogenyx transaction.

Capital Position and Guidance

Ameresco ended the quarter with $138 million in unrestricted cash and $385 million of total corporate debt. Corporate leverage was 3.2 times, below its 3.5-times covenant, Chiplock said.

The company secured $471 million of new financing commitments during the quarter, including $400 million associated with Neogenyx. Sakellaris said the partnership with HASI has provided capital flexibility and has also generated additional development and potential project acquisition opportunities.

Ameresco said it may consider another capital vehicle similar to Neogenyx to support large data center opportunities if the right partner and economics emerge, but it did not announce a specific transaction.

The company reaffirmed its full-year 2026 guidance across its metrics and raised its non-GAAP earnings-per-share outlook to a range of $1.15 to $1.35. Chiplock said the increase reflects an expected tax benefit rate of 25% to 40%, supported by a planned second-half transition to a new accounting policy for transferable tax credits. Under the new approach, Ameresco expects to recognize investment tax credit benefits in the period in which they are generated rather than spreading the benefit across the life of related assets. Prior-period results will be recast once the policy is adopted.

For the second half, Ameresco expects its typical seasonal pattern, with activity weighted somewhat more heavily toward the fourth quarter. The company said continued project execution, backlog conversion, cash conversion efforts and cost management will support its outlook.

About Ameresco (NYSE:AMRC)

Ameresco, Inc is a leading independent provider of comprehensive energy efficiency and renewable energy solutions for businesses and governments across North America, Europe and other select markets. Its integrated services portfolio includes energy efficiency retrofits, infrastructure upgrades, distributed generation systems and facility-scale renewable projects. Leveraging performance-based contracting models, Ameresco designs, finances, installs and maintains energy improvements intended to reduce operational costs, mitigate environmental impact and enhance resiliency for its clients.

Founded in 2000 and headquartered in Framingham, Massachusetts, Ameresco has completed thousands of projects spanning solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, landfill gas‐to‐energy, energy storage and microgrid installations.

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