KBR, Inc. 2026 Q3 Earnings Call

Please go ahead. Thank you, and good morning.

Welcome to KBR's third quarter 2026 earnings call. Joining me today are Stuart Bradie, President and CEO, and Shad Evans, Executive Vice President and CFO. Stuart and Shad will cover highlights from the quarter, and then we'll open the line for your questions. Today's earnings presentation is available on the investor relations section of our website at kbr.com. As outlined on slide 2, today's discussion includes forward-looking statements and certain non-GAAP financial measures. Additional information, including reconciliations to the nearest GAAP measure, can be found in the presentation appendix. With that, I'll turn the call over to Stuart.

Thank you, Rachael, and good morning, everyone. I will pick up on slide 4. As you know, we start every earnings call with a Zero Harm moment because looking after our people is fundamental to who we are. Over this past year in particular, that commitment has been tested as our teams have taken on the enormous task of creating two independent companies, while, of course, continuing to deliver for our customers around the world and for our shareholders. We saw this firsthand this quarter with a successful cut-over of key systems, including the transition of Trinzic's payroll systems, a major milestone. It's a great example of what can be accomplished when talented people come together with a common purpose.

What gives me great confidence is that the same culture that defines KBR today will endure in both KBR and Trinzic going forward, and that is a commitment to our people, our customers, our shareholders, and doing the right thing. I want to thank everyone across both organizations for their hard work, their teamwork, and unwavering focus as we move closer to separation. With that, let's move to slide 5. Today, there are four key messages from the quarter. First, strong execution drove profitable growth and reinforced our confidence in the full-year outlook. Second, Sustainable Technology Solutions continues to deliver stellar growth both year-over-year and sequentially, supported by strong bookings momentum and broad-based demand. Third, Mission Technology Solutions performed well through the expected NASA headwinds with strong margins and excellent cash conversion.

Finally, the separation continues to advance with key leadership, governance, and regulatory milestones in place ahead of the expected January 4 separation date. Moving to slide 6 on Sustainable Tech. Sustainable Tech delivered another strong quarter, driven by structural demand shifts across energy security, food security, and critical infrastructure. Book-to-bill was 1.3x for the quarter, marking another period of strong bookings and bringing trailing 12 months book-to-bill to 1.3x as well. Backlog increased to another record at $5.8 billion, and that is up more than 50% from a year ago. Excluding the Brown & Root Joint Venture, BRJV, year-to-date book-to-bill was 1.5x, supporting our continued revenue growth outlook. BRJV bookings were softer as operators deferred maintenance and shutdowns in response to market conditions. We expect those deferrals to continue into Q4, with activity expected to recover in 2027 as critical maintenance needs are addressed.

The strong bookings secured over the last 12 months are now translating into accelerating growth and revenue increasing 13% sequentially as projects continue to ramp across the portfolio. This keeps us on track for a mid-teens full-year revenue growth outlook. The Middle East remains a key growth driver, with project activity demonstrating resilience amid regional conflict. New PMC awards with ADNOC in Abu Dhabi and an expanded role on Aramco's Marjan offshore field reinforce our position with strategic customers and our participation in critical energy investment. In technology, SABIC in Saudi Arabia selected our Purifier technology for a new 3,500 metric ton per day facility, our second large-scale ammonia award this year following the Pampa award in Argentina. Together with ammonia revamp wins in Europe, these awards demonstrate continued investment in food security and supply resilience.

We also secured another PureSAF award this quarter for Kazakhstan's first sustainable aviation fuel project, reflecting continued demand for technologies that advance decarbonization. In critical infrastructure, we secured a central program management role at Diriyah Gate, one of Saudi Arabia's largest gigaprojects, and a major program engineering and integration award in Texas. Both extend our role in delivering complex critical infrastructure. Altogether, our record backlog and strong pipeline gives us increasing visibility into growth in Q4 and onwards into 2027. Moving to slide 7. Turning to Mission Tech, the business continues to perform as expected. Michael has stepped seamlessly into the role, and the team delivered another solid quarter, including strong margins that Shad will discuss shortly. During the quarter, we secured important work supporting PATRIOT air and missile defense and mission-critical radio frequency engineering, extending longstanding customer relationships across high-priority national security missions.

Recently, Firefly was selected as one of four directed energy systems for a Pentagon counter-drone pilot focused on homeland defense. This follows its selection to protect launches at Cape Canaveral and further demonstrates the relevance of our technology in addressing critical and emerging customer needs. Both international businesses in the U.K. and Australia also performed well, with strong execution and healthy pipelines entering Q4 and 2027. In the U.S., procurement timelines continue to extend, weighing on book-to-bill, which was 0.8x, excluding the NASA insourcing de-booking. Importantly, customers aren't walking away. Funding generally remains in place and priorities are intact, but projects are moving a little bit more slowly. On NASA, insourcing continued during the quarter, consistent with what we discussed earlier this year.

As the program ramps down, we removed the remaining out-of-year revenue from the backlog to align the expected workload, bringing reported book-to-bill to 0.6x in the quarter. The anticipated 2026 revenue impact was already reflected in our guidance, so our full-year outlook remains unchanged. Awards under protest remained largely unchanged during the quarter, and that includes the National Science Foundation Antarctica Support Contract, which we secured through re-award following the GAO protest process. We are working with the customer on transition, although the award is not yet reflected in backlog. Finally, we ended the quarter with $9.9 billion of submitted proposals awaiting customer decisions, and together with the wins under protest, that represents $20.5 billion of opportunity outside backlog. Approximately 80% of which is new business, underscoring the depth of growth opportunities across the portfolio. Overall, the business is performing well.

The pipeline remains robust, and recent wins reinforce Mission Tech's strong competitive position as we prepare to launch Trinzic. On to slide 8, an update on the spin. My last slide today, I will finish with a brief update on the separation progress. We continue to make excellent progress and have now completed many of the key milestones required to launch KBR and Trinzic as independent companies. The leadership teams are fully in place, and the boards have largely been established on both sides. We expect to announce the KBR and Trinzic boards in the coming weeks, and we are very pleased with the caliber of directors who will help guide the respective companies from day one. We also made important progress on the regulatory front.

The Form 10 is now public, as you are aware, giving investors the first detailed look at Trinzic as a standalone company, and we have resolved the SEC's comments to date. The PLR continues to progress, and we expect formal notification regarding the spin's tax-free treatment soon. As I mentioned earlier, the successful cut-over of key systems was another important step towards operational readiness. The organizations are increasingly operating as standalone businesses ahead of separation, including financial reporting, providing additional time to validate processes and ensure a smooth transition. While I was not directly a part of the rating agency meetings, the feedback has been very positive. Preparations for the Trinzic debt offering continue to move forward, and we currently expect to launch in mid-November. We have seen strong interest from the market, particularly given the quality of the business and the current environment.

In 2 weeks, we will be hosting Investor Days for KBR and Trinzic. Michael, our teams, and I look forward to sharing more about each company's strategy, their opportunities, and financial outlook. For those interested in joining us, registration remains available through our investor relations website. While there is still work to be completed, the key building blocks are now in place, and we remain firmly on track for separation. With that, I will hand over to Shad.

Thanks, Stuart. I will pick up on slide 10 with our consolidated third-quarter results. The headline is another quarter of profitable growth with strong execution driving higher revenue, Adjusted EBITDA, and Adjusted EPS. Revenue was approximately $2.03 billion, up $97 million, or 5% from the prior year. Growth in Sustainable Technology Solutions more than offset the expected NASA headwinds in Mission Technology Solutions, which I will cover more in detail on the next slide. Adjusted EBITDA increased $28 million to $268 million, and Adjusted EBITDA margins expanded 80 basis points to 13.2%. The improvement reflects strong execution across both businesses, including EBITDA contributions from unconsolidated joint ventures, favorable portfolio mix, and lower corporate costs. Adjusted EPS was $1.12, up $0.10 or 10% from the prior year, driven by stronger operating performance, lower below-the-line expenses, and a lower share count from repurchase activity over the last 12 months.