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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesCompare heavy civil construction stocks by business mix, backlog quality, segment margins, cash conversion, financing needs and project risks—not by backlog size alone. Backlog is a company-defined measure of contracted or awarded work; it is not a direct forecast of near-term revenue, profit or cash. These measures help you assess operating businesses, but deciding which stock is attractively priced also requires current valuation and market data.
First, decide whether the companies are comparable
“Construction” can describe businesses with different revenue sources and capital needs. Tutor Perini reports Civil, Building and Specialty Contractors. Granite combines civil contracting with construction materials production. Quanta provides infrastructure services across multiple markets. Those differences can make consolidated growth and margins misleading when compared as if each company did the same work.
Start by identifying each company’s business segments, then compare like segments where disclosures allow. Note whether revenue comes primarily from civil projects, broader contracting, materials, or infrastructure services. A change in business mix can affect reported growth and margins even when underlying project execution has not changed.
How to compare backlog quality and timing
Backlog is useful only when you understand what a company counts. For each issuer, check its definition, award threshold, treatment of low bids and unsigned work, funding assumptions, cancellation and change-order exposure, end-market mix, project duration, and expected margin trend. Company-reported totals are not automatically comparable.
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Fiscal 2025 disclosures illustrate the differences:
| Company | Reported backlog and basis | Timing or inclusion detail |
|---|---|---|
| Tutor Perini | $20.56 billion total backlog at December 31, 2025; $10.15 billion was in Civil. | About $6 billion, or 29%, of year-end backlog was expected to become 2026 revenue. Civil projects typically convert over three to five years. The company counts a project after award or written definitive notice when major uncertainties, such as adequate funding, are not outstanding. |
| Sterling Infrastructure | $3.01 billion backlog at December 31, 2025, versus $1.69 billion at December 31, 2024. | Approximately $300.7 million of unsigned low-bid awards was excluded until formal customer execution. |
These are company-reported figures, not sector averages or predictions of profit. Tutor Perini’s stated definition and Sterling’s exclusion of unsigned low bids show why an apparent difference in backlog may partly reflect different counting rules. Backlog can also take years to turn into revenue, and revenue recognition does not establish when cash will be collected. Tutor Perini disclosed that its year-end backlog was higher while expected margins were lower, another reason to look beyond the headline total.
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Compare margins by segment, period and work type
Use several years of operating-margin history for comparable segments and contract types. For each figure, record the period, numerator and denominator, and whether it is consolidated or segment-level. Keep GAAP results separate from adjusted measures rather than blending them into one trend.
Do not assume a higher headline margin means better execution. A company with a larger share of higher-margin services may report a better consolidated margin because of mix. Quanta specifically notes that revenue mix affects margins because some industries and services offer higher-margin opportunities. The available disclosures do not establish a universal “good” operating-margin threshold for this sector.
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Test whether earnings turn into cash
Compare operating cash flow with net income over multiple years, then examine what is driving the gap. Project businesses can show uneven cash generation as work advances, customers are billed, retainage is released and receivables are collected.
- Review changes in working capital, contract assets and contract liabilities.
- Check receivables, retainage and collection trends.
- Relate cash-flow timing to project phase and contract structure.
- Distinguish revenue expected from backlog from cash actually collected.
A long-duration backlog can convert slowly and unevenly. Tutor Perini says its Civil projects typically take three to five years to convert to revenue; that schedule does not establish the timing of cash collection. Backlog growth alone is not evidence of strong cash conversion.
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Assess debt, liquidity and capital requirements
Compare net debt, available liquidity, debt maturities, interest costs, capital expenditures and acquisition spending. Also review any disclosed bonding or surety constraints, which can affect a contractor’s capacity to pursue and execute work.
Capital intensity varies with business model. Granite’s fiscal 2025 filing anticipated 2026 capital expenditures of approximately $140 million to $160 million, including about $50 million for strategic materials investments. That is a company-specific plan illustrating the additional investment a materials operation may require; it is not a sector norm. Compare capital spending with the assets and businesses it supports rather than treating the figure as a simple measure of contractor efficiency.
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Map customer, contract and project risks
Identify which customers and end markets drive each company’s work: public budgets, private customers, utilities, energy, transportation or other infrastructure. Then assess project concentration and the contract terms that determine who bears cost and schedule risk.
- Funding and demand: Check customer financial condition, capital-spending plans, access to capital, public-budget exposure and potential deferrals or cancellations.
- Execution: Review exposure to labor and materials costs, equipment availability, delays, weather, permitting and claims.
- Contract economics: Identify fixed-price and unit-price work, change-order provisions and the extent to which cost increases can be passed through.
- Concentration: Look for reliance on a small number of customers, projects or end markets.
Quanta identifies customer financial condition and capital spending, access to capital, regulation, material and equipment costs, economic and political conditions, and project deferrals or cancellations as sources of demand variability. These are useful prompts, not a substitute for checking each issuer’s own customer mix and contract disclosures.
Separate business quality from stock valuation
Operating comparisons can help distinguish a company’s mix, backlog maturity, margins, cash generation, financing capacity and project exposure. They do not establish which stock is cheaper or more attractive. That judgment needs dated share prices, valuation multiples, estimates and comparable multi-year financial calculations using matched definitions. Update the analysis against each company’s latest filings; the figures above come from fiscal 2025 disclosures and should not be treated as current beyond their stated dates.
Tutor Perini, Sterling, Granite and Quanta are illustrative examples of different reporting and business profiles, not an exhaustive list of investable companies or a stock ranking.
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