Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.12 EPS

Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) posted its earnings results on Thursday. The construction company reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.12, reports. Willdan Group had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 24.51%. The business had revenue of $214.53 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $107.77 million.

Here are the key takeaways from Willdan Group’s conference call:

• Willdan reported 18% growth in third-quarter net revenue to $112 million and 22% growth in adjusted EBITDA to $28.3 million, with the adjusted EBITDA margin expanding to 25.2%. Record nine-month results led the company to raise its 2026 targets to $435 million–$445 million in net revenue and $109 million–$111 million in adjusted EBITDA.
• The company closed its acquisition of Mantis Innovation, which is expected to contribute about $75 million in net revenue in 2026 and expand Willdan’s commercial and industrial energy-management business. Management said the acquisition broadens the client base and creates opportunities to cross-sell services.
• Willdan introduced preliminary 2027 targets of $1 billion in contract revenue, more than $500 million in net revenue, and over $140 million in adjusted EBITDA, citing continued demand and expected growth across its customer segments.
• Third-quarter GAAP net income fell to $11.9 million from $13.7 million, and diluted EPS declined to $0.76 from $0.90. A higher effective tax rate and increased stock compensation and amortization weighed on results; adjusted EPS was essentially flat year over year.
• After financing the Mantis acquisition, Willdan reported pro forma net leverage of about 2.3 times adjusted EBITDA, up from 0.2 times at quarter-end. Management plans to prioritize debt reduction and expects leverage below 2.0 times by the third quarter of 2027.

Willdan Group Trading Down 6.5%

Shares of Willdan Group stock opened at $66.22 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.46 and a beta of 1.28. Willdan Group has a 12-month low of $61.51 and a 12-month high of $137.00. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $85.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Willdan Group news, Director Thomas Brisbin sold 58,757 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.14, for a total transaction of $5,178,841.98. Following the transaction, the director owned 96,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,521,992.18. This trade represents a 37.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold 67,101 shares of company stock valued at $5,871,388 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Yorkville Ives assumed coverage on shares of Willdan Group in a report on Monday, October 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $100.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Willdan Group in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Willdan Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Zacks Research upgraded Willdan Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Willdan Group in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $118.33.

Willdan Group News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Willdan Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Willdan raised its FY 2026 adjusted EPS guidance to $5.15–$5.25, above the $4.87 consensus estimate. Earnings call transcript
• Positive Sentiment: Q3 contract revenue rose 17.9% to $214.5 million, net revenue increased 18.1% to $112.2 million, and adjusted EBITDA climbed 22.4% to $28.3 million. Adjusted EPS of $1.20 topped analyst expectations. Third-quarter results
• Positive Sentiment: Willdan was selected as one of 26 providers for the New York Power Authority’s Energy Services Program, with work available under ten-year contracts as projects are assigned. It also announced engineering work for 643 MW of energy infrastructure projects. NYPA selection Energy infrastructure projects
• Neutral Sentiment: The company’s revenue guidance of $435–$445 million was reported against a $746.5 million consensus estimate, a sizable apparent shortfall. The figures may not be directly comparable, so investors may seek clarification on the revenue measure used. Earnings call transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Despite growth in adjusted EBITDA, net income fell 13.6%, GAAP diluted EPS declined 15.6% to $0.76, and adjusted diluted EPS edged down 0.8% year over year. The weaker bottom-line comparisons may have weighed on investor sentiment. Third-quarter results

About Willdan Group

Willdan Group, Inc (NASDAQ:WLDN) is a professional services company that provides technical, consulting and infrastructure solutions to utilities, government agencies and commercial clients. The company operates primarily in the United States, with a strong presence in California and other markets where energy, infrastructure and public-sector modernization services are in demand.

Through its energy-focused operations, Willdan designs and implements energy-efficiency, demand-response, electrification and distributed-energy programs.