Comfort Systems Posts Record $17.81 Billion Backlog, Targets Organic Growth in 2027
Key Facts
Comfort Systems USA said on October 22 that its backlog reached a record $17.81 billion as of September 30, 2026, compared with $14.06 billion on June 30 and $9.38 billion a year earlier. The company said in its earnings release that sustained demand contributed to a $3.8 billion quarter-over-quarter increase in backlog during the third quarter. The record came as the company’s revenue, earnings and cash flow accelerated, according to its published quarterly results. Chief Executive Brian Lane said the company continues to see "strong demand" and is positioned for organic growth through year-end and during 2027. Management did not specify a revenue growth rate or a same-store growth forecast.
On a same-store basis, backlog rose to $17.39 billion on September 30, from $9.38 billion on the same date in 2025, according to the company’s release. This measure separates growth at existing locations from the effects of changes in the store base, while reported backlog totaled $17.81 billion. Backlog stood at $11.94 billion at the end of 2025, up 99.3% from the end of 2024, according to the company’s annual report. The company said the 2025 annual increase included growth of $5.59 billion, or 93.2%, on a same-store basis. Backlog represents contracted or committed revenue, but the company said most of it is expected to be reflected in operating results over the following six to twelve months and that it does not guarantee realized revenue or profit.
Third-quarter revenue was $3.77 billion, compared with $2.45 billion in the same quarter of 2025, and Comfort Systems said revenue increased 50% year over year. Net income rose to $489.0 million, or $13.91 per diluted share, compared with $291.6 million and $8.25 per share a year earlier. For the nine months ended September 30, the company reported revenue of $9.90 billion, compared with $6.46 billion in the same period of 2025. Net income for the nine months was $1.30 billion, compared with $691.8 million in the same period a year earlier. Cash flow from operations was also $1.01 billion in the third quarter, compared with $553.3 million in the year-earlier quarter, according to the release.
In its annual report, the company linked strong demand particularly to customers in the technology and manufacturing sectors, saying the increase in technology was especially evident among data centers. After the results were announced, the company’s shares fell 6.2% in after-hours trading on October 22, according to an Investing.com report attributed to Reuters. The report noted that the company provided no forward guidance as it announced a change in the chief financial officer role. EL7 data showed FIX closed at $1,160.86 on October 23, then at $1,244.19 on October 26 and $1,288.61 on October 27. The close rose to $1,345.77 on October 28 before ending the October 29 session at $1,326.23.
Lane said Comfort Systems expects to maintain high levels of profitability and steady cash flow, alongside organic growth, through the end of 2026 and during 2027. The company had announced that Chief Financial Officer Bill George would retire after filing the annual report for the year ended December 31, 2026, and that Julie Schief would succeed him. In the U.S. economy, real gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 3.4% in the advance estimate for the third quarter, following 2.2% growth in the second quarter, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. The bureau set November 25, 2026, as the release date for the second estimate of third-quarter GDP. Comfort Systems had set October 23 for its investor call to discuss third-quarter results, according to an investor relations statement.