Comfort Systems EPS rises to $13.91 as revenue and backlog expand
Key Facts
Comfort Systems USA reported diluted earnings per share of $13.91 in the third quarter of 2026, up from $8.25 in the corresponding period of 2025, as revenue and profit increased. The company said in its earnings release that quarterly net income reached $489.0 million, alongside continued strong demand cited by management. Revenue reached $3.77 billion, compared with about $2.45 billion in the third quarter of the previous year, marking a year-on-year expansion in its business. Earnings per share and revenue exceeded pre-announcement expectations reported by Investing.com of $12.81 per share and $3.39 billion in revenue. On a sequential basis, the company had reported revenue of $3.27 billion in the second quarter of 2026, according to that period's earnings release. Second-quarter diluted earnings per share were $12.53, also putting the third-quarter result above the previous period's level. The reported improvement thus covered both revenue and earnings per share, compared with both the corresponding quarter of the previous year and the preceding quarter of the current year.
The strong results extended to cash generated from operations, with the company reporting operating cash flow of $1.01 billion in the third quarter of 2026. That compares with $553.3 million in the corresponding quarter of 2025, reflecting an increase in operating cash alongside year-on-year growth in profit and revenue. On a sequential basis, operating cash flow was below the current year's second-quarter level of $1.14 billion, according to the company's release for that period. Backlog stood at $17.81 billion at the quarter's end on September 30, 2026, according to the latest earnings release. Backlog had totaled $14.06 billion at the previous quarter's end on June 30, 2026, marking an increase in the work included in that balance between the two period-end dates. Same-store backlog reached $17.39 billion at the end of September, a measure the company disclosed alongside total backlog. The period's results thus combined an increase in backlog from the end of June with higher operating cash flow than in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
Chief Executive Brian Lane attributed the performance to continued strong demand and the quality of execution by the company's teams, according to the earnings release, citing "continued strong demand." Comfort Systems provides heating, ventilation, air conditioning and electrical contracting services, as identified by the company in its leadership transition announcement. The sectors it serves include commercial, industrial and institutional activities, placing its contracting services across multiple sectors. As background to the changing business mix, Investing.com reported in its summary of the previous quarter's earnings call that technology-related work accounted for 58% of revenue in the first half of 2026. That work accounted for 40% in the corresponding period of 2025, according to the same summary, showing an increase in its share of the company's first-half revenue year on year.
Alongside the earnings announcement, the board approved a quarterly cash dividend of $1.00 per share, according to the dividend release issued on October 22, 2026. The company said the new dividend was $0.10 per share higher than the previous payout, adding an increase in quarterly payments to shareholders to its financial performance announcement. It scheduled the webcast and call to discuss the results and financial position for Friday, October 23, 2026, according to the earnings release. The cash dividend is payable to shareholders of record at the close of business on November 12, 2026, under the terms announced by the board. Payment is scheduled for November 23, 2026, according to the company's dividend release.