Ameresco Q3 Earnings Call Highlights

Key Points

• Revenue rose 10% to $580 million in Q3 2026, with net income of $31.9 million and non-GAAP earnings of $0.88 per share. Results included a significant tax benefit and changes to accounting and non-GAAP presentation; under the prior presentation, adjusted EBITDA would have been $78 million and non-GAAP earnings $0.60 per share.
• Backlog grew sharply: Ameresco secured $875 million in new awards and converted $737 million to contracted backlog. Awarded backlog topped $4.5 billion, while combined awarded and contracted backlog reached nearly $7.2 billion.
• Data centers and on-site generation are emerging opportunities, including five data center projects in awarded backlog that the company expects could convert within 12–18 months. Ameresco is also developing Army nuclear projects, which remain in early stages and require permitting, design and lease negotiations.

Ameresco NYSE: AMRC reported a 10% increase in third-quarter revenue as growth across its projects, energy assets and operations and maintenance businesses helped offset a changing accounting presentation. The energy services company also reported one of its strongest quarters for new project awards and contract conversions.

Revenue rose to $580 million in the third quarter of 2026, while net income attributable to common shareholders was $31.9 million, or $0.59 per diluted share. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) were $92 million, and non-GAAP earnings were $0.88 per share.

Chief Investment Officer Josh Baribeau said the quarter’s earnings included a large tax benefit related to a change in how Ameresco accounts for transferable investment tax credits. The company also changed its non-GAAP methodology to include 100% of the operating results of its consolidated joint ventures.

Backlog Growth and Contract Conversions

Ameresco recorded $875 million in new project awards, one of its strongest quarters on record, Co-President Nicole Bulgarino said. Awarded backlog exceeded $4.5 billion, up more than 70% from a year earlier.

The company converted $737 million of awards into contracted backlog during the quarter. Total awarded and contracted backlog reached nearly $7.2 billion, up almost 40% from a year earlier, Bulgarino said.

Federal, commercial and industrial, and European projects accounted for approximately $675 million, or more than 75%, of new awards. Bulgarino said federal conversions included infrastructure projects for the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Coast Guard and an Army site.

Chairman and CEO George Sakellaris said some projects moved from award to contract more quickly than in the past, particularly in Europe and among commercial and industrial customers. He attributed the acceleration in part to customers’ need for reliable power.

Data Centers and Nuclear Projects

Ameresco added approximately $200 million to awarded backlog from an expansion of a data center project. Bulgarino said the increase reflected a more developed design and additional generation capacity to match the customer’s anticipated load.

The company has five data center projects in awarded backlog. Asked about conversion timing, Bulgarino said 12 to 18 months was “on target” for the five projects, while noting that each has a different development path. Permitting, finalizing customer contracts and securing equipment are the main milestones.

Bulgarino said permitting was close on a few projects, especially a federal site. The projects are planned as behind-the-meter, islanded energy plants, although they could potentially connect to the grid later. Baribeau said the opportunity set was weighted more heavily toward Arizona than Texas and included roughly 10 projects, five of which were in awarded backlog.

Ameresco is also developing on-site nuclear generation projects with the Army and has signed its first engineering, procurement and construction contract for balance-of-plant work on a separate microreactor project. Bulgarino said the microreactor technology partner would assume the nuclear-related risk on that separate project.

The Army projects are early in development and still require permitting, design work and lease negotiations, Bulgarino said. She described a phased approach that could include battery storage and fuel cells before later nuclear phases.

Margins, Accounting and Outlook

Project revenue rose 9% to $446 million, while energy asset revenue increased 21% to $75 million. Operations and maintenance revenue grew 20% to $37 million, and its backlog exceeded $1.5 billion. Gross margin expanded to 18.7%, which Baribeau attributed to favorable business mix and execution.

Baribeau cautioned investors not to assume that the operations and maintenance business’s recent EBITDA margin in the mid-20% range would be consistent going forward. Bulgarino said the quarter also benefited from margin gains as projects were completed.

Ameresco changed the assumed useful life of its energy assets to 30 years from 20 years, reducing depreciation expense beginning in the third quarter. Baribeau said an increase in depreciation from the company’s adoption of tax-based accounting for transferable investment tax credits largely offset that reduction during the quarter.

The company adopted hypothetical liquidation at book value accounting for its Neogenyx joint venture. Baribeau said the change did not affect the venture’s underlying economics, cash flows or operations. Ameresco continues to own 70% of Neogenyx and 51% of its Sunel joint venture.

Without the revised non-GAAP presentation of joint venture results, third-quarter non-GAAP earnings would have been $0.60 per share and adjusted EBITDA would have been $78 million, Baribeau said.

Ameresco updated its full-year guidance and provided fourth-quarter guidance. Baribeau said the updates reflected the accounting and non-GAAP presentation changes, not a change in the company’s operational outlook. Full-year adjusted EBITDA and non-GAAP earnings guidance otherwise would have been unchanged, he said.

About Ameresco (NYSE:AMRC)

Ameresco, Inc NYSE: AMRC is an energy solutions and renewable energy company that develops, designs, constructs, and operates energy efficiency and infrastructure projects. Its services help public- and private-sector organizations reduce energy consumption, improve facility performance, and transition to lower-carbon energy sources.

The company's offerings include energy-as-a-service programs, energy audits and efficiency upgrades, solar power systems, battery energy storage, microgrids, distributed energy resources, LED lighting, heating and cooling systems, and renewable natural gas projects.

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