Granite Construction turned in a messy-looking quarter that the company, and its raised guidance, insists is actually strong. Revenue jumped 29% to about $1.5 billion in the second quarter, and the backlog hit a record. The headline $278 million net loss came from weather and quarry write-downs, not the core building business.
Backlog is the real number
Granite’s Committed and Awarded Projects backlog rose $250 million in the quarter to $7.4 billion, a record for the heavy-civil contractor. Adjusted net income actually improved year over year, to $101 million from $86 million, and adjusted EBITDA climbed 22% to $186 million. On the strength of the order book, management lifted 2026 revenue guidance to a range of $5.3 to $5.5 billion and pushed its 2027 organic growth outlook above 10%.
Where the GAAP loss came from
Severe weather in the Southeast knocked out production days and dragged materials-segment margins down 800 basis points, hurt further by quarry development costs. Those are the kind of one-time and seasonal hits that show up in the reported number but don’t tell you much about demand. Investors who read past the loss saw a contractor with more work than it can pour.
What’s filling the order book
Data centers and public infrastructure are doing the heavy lifting. Granite paves and grades the sites that hyperscale campuses and new interstates need, the same category of work driving projects like the I-490 Tollway interchange near O’Hare. When a civil contractor this size is raising guidance on backlog, it’s a signal the heavy-civil market still has room to run, weather quarters notwithstanding.