WSP Global TSE: WSP used its fourth-quarter and full-year fiscal 2025 earnings call to highlight what management described as strong execution against its strategic plan, including organic growth, margin expansion, and record cash generation. Executives also spent a significant portion of the discussion addressing investor concerns about artificial intelligence (AI) and how the company expects the technology to affect its business model.
2025 performance: organic growth, margin expansion, and record free cash flow
President and CEO Alexandre L’Heureux said 2025 marked the end of “a year of strong execution,” noting the company’s three-year strategic plan—Pioneering Change for Empowered Growth—and the completion of strategic acquisitions, including Ricardo and TRC. He said fourth-quarter organic net revenue growth was 5.9% when excluding the impact of lower emergency response services volume in the U.S. versus the prior year and revisions to significant Canadian projects in 2024.
Chief Financial Officer Alain Michaud reported that for the full year, revenue increased 13% to CAD 18 billion and net revenue increased 15% to CAD 14 billion, compared with 2024. He said backlog reached a record CAD 17 billion, up 10% over the last 12 months.
On profitability, Michaud said adjusted EBITDA in Q4 was CAD 694 million, up about 9% year-over-year, and adjusted EBITDA margin in the quarter was 18.9% versus 18.7% in Q4 2024. For the full year, adjusted EBITDA totaled CAD 2.5 billion, up 17%, with adjusted EBITDA margin of 18.3%, which management said represents about 40 basis points of improvement from 2024.
Michaud added that the company absorbed rightsizing and restructuring costs in 2025 that reduced margins by about 40 basis points, implying underlying margin expansion of roughly 80 basis points before those costs.
Cash flow was a key focus. L’Heureux and Michaud both pointed to a record CAD 1.7 billion in free cash flow for 2025, with Michaud stating free cash flow represented 180% of net earnings attributable to shareholders. Days sales outstanding (DSO) ended the year at a record low 63 days.
TRC and Power Engineers: building scale in power and energy
L’Heureux said WSP had deployed approximately CAD 7 billion over the last 15 months into the power and energy sector through the acquisitions of TRC and Power Engineers. He described TRC as a “premier U.S. power and energy brand” with about 8,000 professionals and said the combination expands WSP’s offering across the value chain, including advisory, digital, and program management capabilities.
Michaud said net debt to adjusted EBITDA was 0.9x at year-end 2025, reflecting cash raised through a common share issuance to fund part of the TRC acquisition. Following the closing of TRC earlier in the week, he said the company’s pro forma net debt to adjusted EBITDA was approximately 2.3x.
The company also discussed portfolio actions. Michaud said WSP disposed of certain non-core businesses over the last 12 months, including an underground storage business in the U.S. and a rail business in Germany, and discontinued operations in various areas in Asia and EMEA. These activities represented about 1% of 2025 net revenue.
2026 outlook: growth, margin improvement, and free cash flow conversion targets
For 2026, Michaud provided guidance that includes contributions from recent acquisitions, notably TRC and Ricardo. He said WSP expects:
- Net revenue of $16 billion to $17 billion, representing total net revenue growth of over 18% at the midpoint
- Adjusted EBITDA of $3.0 billion to $3.18 billion
- Organic net revenue growth of 4% to 7%
- At the midpoint of the EBITDA range, about 40 basis points of margin improvement in 2026
Michaud said the net revenue outlook reflects about $150 million of impact from recent disposals and the annualization of 2025 disposals and discontinued operations. Regionally, he said WSP expects Canada and the Americas to deliver mid- to high-single-digit organic growth, EMEA mid-single-digit organic growth, and APAC stable net revenue versus 2025.
For the first quarter of 2026, he guided to net revenue of CAD 3.575 billion to CAD 3.775 billion and adjusted EBITDA of CAD 590 million to CAD 630 million. He noted fewer billable days in Q1 are expected to reduce organic growth by about 1.5%, with offsets expected in Q2 and Q4.
On free cash flow and leverage, Michaud told analysts the company is still targeting “far beyond” 100% free cash flow conversion and said the firm expects to end 2026 with leverage around 1.6x to 1.7x, supported in part by ERP-driven working capital improvements. He added that Power Engineers was onboarded to the ERP platform on January 1, 2026, and that about 80% of WSP’s EBITDA is now on the new platform, with additional regions to be onboarded in 2026.
On margin guidance, management cited acquisition mix. Michaud said Ricardo carries a lower margin profile and is expected to be a 15 to 20 basis point drag on 2026 margin, while TRC is also at a slightly lower margin than WSP at close, creating potential upside as integration progresses.
AI strategy: “augment,” not replace, and deepen client work
L’Heureux addressed what he described as market speculation about AI displacing professional services firms, arguing that WSP’s work is tied to the physical world and safety-critical accountability. He said WSP is proactively embracing AI as a productivity enhancer and value driver for clients, but framed it as an enabler rather than a substitute for engineering judgment, regulatory compliance, stakeholder engagement, and professional liability.
He also said more than 60% of WSP’s work is fixed price, and argued clients are increasingly looking for solutions and outcomes rather than lower prices. Management said technology has historically improved productivity, but that clients are now often asking for more analysis and more scenarios, not fewer deliverables.
Chief Technology Officer Chadi Habib provided an update on WSP’s partnership with Microsoft launched about a year ago. Habib said WSP had three objectives in that alliance, including deploying AI tools for frontline staff, supporting Microsoft’s data center objectives as a client, and co-creating products with “client zeros.” He said two solutions are now in production with four clients and that WSP is targeting a general availability release in March.
Habib also said WSP is pursuing an ecosystem approach to partnerships, citing work with startups such as UrbanLogiq and Fathom, as well as targeted partnerships with Google in transportation and with Schneider in property and buildings. He emphasized protecting WSP’s intellectual property and domain expertise as “non-negotiable.”
In Q&A, management also discussed AI’s potential impact on M&A evaluation, with L’Heureux saying digital capabilities are now assessed more closely during due diligence. He cited TRC as an example, stating TRC has roughly $150 million (U.S.) in digital offerings within its business, and said WSP sees opportunities to expand those capabilities across its global network.
About WSP Global TSE: WSP
WSP Global Inc provides engineering and design services to clients in the Transportation & Infrastructure, Property and Buildings, Environment, Power and Energy, Resources, and Industry sectors. It also offers strategic advisory services. The firm operates through four reportable segments namely, Canada, Americas ( US and Latin America), EMEIA (Europe, Middle East, India and Africa), and APAC (Asia Pacific, comprising Australia, New Zealand and Asia).
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