Key Highlights

  • Revenue grew 65% to USD 202 million, including USD 24 million organic growth.
  • Adjusted EBITDA was USD 9 million, with a Margin of 4.2% against 17.5%.
  • Net loss was USD 11 million, against Net Income of USD 10 million last year.
  • Backlog increased 26% year over year to USD 815.5 million.

Cardinal Infrastructure Group (NASDAQ:CDNL) reported third-quarter 2026 Revenue of USD 202 million, against an estimate of USD 234.80 million, up 65% from the year-earlier quarter. Loss per share was USD 0.21, against an estimate of Earnings of USD 0.52. Revenue rose USD 80 million, of which USD 24 million was organic growth.

Chief executive Jeremy Spivey said profitability was well below management's expectations. Adjusted EBITDA was USD 9 million, against USD 21 million a year earlier, and the adjusted EBITDA margin was 4.2%, against 17.5%.

Margin Drivers and Nine-Month Results

Gross profit was USD 11 million, a gross margin of 5.4% against 15.9% last year. Management cited project estimate revisions, residential pricing pressure, lower initial bid margins on certain commercial and industrial work, and higher fuel and transportation costs. The net loss was USD 11 million, compared with net income of USD 10 million in the third quarter of 2025.

For the first nine months, revenue rose 92%, from USD 286 million to USD 596 million. Gross margin was 11.5% against 15.4%, and adjusted EBITDA was USD 63 million against USD 56 million, with the adjusted EBITDA margin at 10.6% against 17.9%.

The quarter included the 2026 Acquisition of ALGC. The filing reports a USD 2.9 million effect on net income, or USD 0.14 per diluted share, for the quarter tied to Backlog valuation inputs, and USD 5.6 million, or USD 0.33 per diluted share, for the nine months.

Backlog, Operating Changes and Credit Facility

Backlog stood at USD 815.5 million, up 26% year over year. The chief financial officer said USD 640 million of that was signed and USD 175 million was under letters of intent with issued contracts pending execution. Remaining performance obligations were USD 618.3 million at September 30, 2026, against USD 516.8 million at December 31, 2025.

Management announced operating changes. The chief operating officer is taking a more direct role in setting consistent operating standards across the platform, covering project selection, estimating, project reviews and accountability, and the company is engaging an experienced independent third-party adviser to support the changes and assess its estimating and project review processes.

On September 10, 2026, the company entered a second amendment to its credit agreement with Truist Bank as administrative agent, which established a delayed draw term Loan Facility of up to USD 250.0 million. The filing states that the company believes its sources of Liquidity are sufficient for the next twelve months, with funding needs centered on completing projects and operating expenses, including credit facility interest.

A Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement was adopted on September 21, 2026 by the president of Cardinal Civil Contracting in the Carolinas, covering the sale of up to 1,222,800 shares of Class A common stock until December 31, 2027.

Items Disclosed for Further Reference

The call gave a bridge from revenue growth to margin: project estimate revisions recorded in the third quarter, pricing pressure in residential work and fuel and transportation costs are the named drivers of the lower gross margin. Backlog composition, signed versus letters of intent, is disclosed separately.

The filing's backlog valuation uses assumed profit margins of 26.7% for residential, 27.6% for multifamily, 27.2% for commercial and 28.3% for industrial backlog, an 18-month realization period and a 17.0% discount rate.