Preliminary brief— based on press release only. Full analysis including management tone and Q&A will be added when the transcript is available.

J · Q4 2025 Earnings

Jacobs Solutions

Reported November 20, 2025

30-second summary

Jacobs closed FY25 with Q4 revenue of $3.15B (+6.6% YoY) and adjusted EPS of $1.75, putting full-year EPS at $6.12 — $0.02 above the high end of the range guided at Q3. Backlog reached a record $23.1B (TTM book-to-bill 1.1x), and the company issued FY26 guidance for the first time: adjusted net revenue growth of 6–10%, EPS of $6.90–$7.30 (midpoint +16% YoY), and adjusted EBITDA margin of 14.4–14.7% (implying +50–80 bps of expansion off the FY25 13.9% print). The forward setup is the cleanest it has been in two years; the one wrinkle is FCF margin guided at 7.0–8.0%, essentially flat with the FY25 7.0% print despite the EPS step-up.

Headline numbers

EPS

Q4 FY2025

$1.75

Revenue

Q4 FY2025

$3.15B

+6.6% YoY

Gross margin

Q4 FY2025

24.3%

Free cash flow

Q4 FY2025

$0.35B

Operating margin

Q4 FY2025

14.5%

Key financials

Q4 FY2025

Metric	Q4 FY2025	YoY	Q3 FY2025	QoQ
Revenue	$3.15B	+6.6%	$3.03B	+4.0%
EPS	$1.75	—	$1.62	+8.0%
Gross margin	24.3%	—	25.0%	-70bps
Operating margin	14.5%	—	7.7%	+680bps
Free cash flow	$0.35B	—	$0.27B	+30.6%

Guidance

Company issues full FY2026 outlook showing mid-single-digit revenue growth (6–10% YoY) and double-digit EPS growth (12.7–19.3% YoY) with margin expansion, following strong FY2025 outperformance on EPS and EBITDA margin.

Guidance is issued for the full year only, refreshed each quarter. Prior and new below are the same FY updated this quarter.

Actuals vs prior guidance

Metric	Period	Prior guide	Actual	Δ	Result
Adjusted EBITDA Margin	FY 2025	approximately 13.9%	14.4%	+50 bps above prior guide	Met

New guidance

Metric	Period	Guide	YoY
Revenue	FY 2026	$9.216B to $9.57B	+6% to +10% YoY
Adjusted EPS	FY 2026	$6.90 to $7.30	+12.7% to +19.3% YoY
Adjusted EBITDA Margin	FY 2026	14.4% to 14.7%	—
Free Cash Flow Margin	FY 2026	7.0% to 8.0%	—

Changes to prior guidance

Metric	Period	Prior guide	New guide	Δ	Result
Adjusted EPS	FY 2025	$6.00 to $6.10	$6.12	+$0.02 to +$0.12 above prior guide range	Raised

Segment KPIs

Q4 FY2025

Segment	Q4 FY2025	YoY
Infrastructure & Advanced Facilities	$2.84B	+6.2%
PA Consulting	$0.32B	+10.0%

Other KPIs

Q4 FY2025

Segment	Q4 FY2025
Backlog	$23.1 billion
Book-to-Bill Ratio (TTM)	1.1x
Adjusted EBITDA	$324 million
Adjusted EBITDA Margin	14.4%
Adjusted Operating Margin	14.5%
Free Cash Flow Margin	15.8%
Capital Returns (Repurchases & Dividends)	$1.1 billion FY2025

Management tone

Q1 customer execution → Q2 backlog build → Q3 data center inflection → Q4 quantified FY26 framework.

Management's posture this quarter is the natural completion of the Q3 arc: where Q3 committed only qualitatively to "FY26 ahead of FY25 with continued margin improvement," the Q4 print delivers a fully numbered range that ratifies the prior verbal promise. The shift from qualitative forward language to specific EPS and margin bands at the high end of what Q3 commentary implied tells you backlog visibility held through the quarter.

The PA Consulting framing has cooled one click from Q3's "inflection." PA grew 10% in Q4 versus 15.4% in Q3, and the FY26 commentary now leans on "synergistic expansion with PA Consulting" — language that points more to cross-sell economics than to standalone consulting acceleration. The quarter does not undercut the PA thesis, but the inflection arc is now better described as sustained double-digit rather than accelerating.

Most importantly, the Q4 release pulls "record backlog" forward as the lead phrase rather than the supporting evidence. With $23.1B booked and a 14.4–14.7% EBITDA margin guide, the FY26 outlook is structurally built on contracted work rather than market assumptions — exactly the posture Q3 signaled was coming.

Recurring themes management leaned on this quarter:

Water as integrated system beyond municipal silosPrivatization and listing of government-owned water infrastructure acceleratingProactive sustainability practices improving asset value rather than merely meeting complianceWater productivity gains through high-yield forestry and agricultural efficiencyListed equity opportunities underappreciated relative to private equity in water infrastructurePhysical water risk mitigation driving customer investment patterns

Risks management surfaced:

Combined sewer overflows and water quality degradation in aging municipal systemsClimate-related uncertainty affecting water availability and growing seasonsTransition costs and investment barriers for customers moving from traditional to efficient water solutionsCapital investment requirements for water infrastructure overwhelming government budgetsUncertainty in realizing long-term benefits of integrated watershed management approaches

Answers to last quarter's watch list

Q4 backlog growth and book-to-bill — Backlog reached a record $23.1B, up from $22.7B in Q3, with TTM book-to-bill at 1.1x (down from 1.2x in Q3). Absolute backlog hit a new high and book-to-bill stayed above 1.0x, so the FY26 confidence narrative remains intact, though the modest book-to-bill compression is worth watching.

Resolved positively

Q4 adjusted EBITDA margin vs Q3's 14.1% — Q4 quarterly margin came in at 14.4%, accelerating vs Q3's 14.1%. FY25 full-year adjusted EBITDA margin landed at 13.9%, in line with the ~13.9% guide. Quarterly margin trajectory improved into year-end even as the full year met (rather than beat) the FY guide.

Resolved positively

Data center engagement count and integrated-solutions disclosure — The Q4 press release does not refresh the 150+ engagement count cited at Q3, nor does it quantify a data center revenue contribution. The provided transcript was not the Jacobs earnings call (it was an unrelated climate-week panel), so any color management may have offered on the actual call is not captured here.

Continue monitoring

PA Consulting growth sustainability — PA grew 10% in Q4, decelerating from 15.4% in Q3. Still double-digit but the "inflection" framing has cooled; FY26 commentary leans more on PA synergies than standalone acceleration.

Continue monitoring

Specific FY26 guidance range — Delivered: adjusted net revenue growth 6–10%, adjusted EPS $6.90–$7.30 (midpoint $7.10, +16% YoY), EBITDA margin 14.4–14.7%. The numbers ratify the Q3 verbal promise of "ahead of FY25 with continued margin improvement.".

Resolved positively

IIJA spend conversion commentary — Not addressed in the press release; the provided transcript was an unrelated NY Climate Week panel rather than the Jacobs earnings call, so call-based color is not captured here.

Continue monitoring

What to watch into next quarter

Whether Q1 FY26 FCF margin tracks toward the upper end of the 7.0–8.0% range, or whether the flat-to-modest FCF guide reflects sustained working-capital absorption from data center / infrastructure project mix.

PA Consulting Q1 growth rate: if it lands below 10%, the "synergistic expansion" framing is doing real work to mask deceleration; sustained double-digits validates the FY26 EPS bridge.

Book-to-bill trajectory — TTM compressed from 1.2x to 1.1x this quarter; another step down toward 1.0x would erode the backlog-driven FY26 confidence even with absolute backlog at record.

Disclosure of a refreshed data center engagement count and any quantified revenue contribution — the Q3 disclosure of 150+ engagements set an expectation that the metric will be tracked forward.

Where in the $6.90–$7.30 FY26 EPS range management implicitly anchors at Q1 — first-quarter cadence commentary will reveal whether the midpoint is conservative (consistent with the FY25 pattern of two raises) or already realistic.

Adjusted EBITDA margin path: the FY26 guide of 14.4–14.7% implies +50–80 bps of expansion off the FY25 13.9% print — a Q1 print materially above the FY26 midpoint would suggest the guide will be raised mid-year, consistent with the FY25 cadence.

Sources

Jacobs Solutions Q4 FY2025 Earnings Release, SEC filing — https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/52988/000162828025053313/jfy2025q4earningsrelease.htm

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