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MasTec’s second-quarter 2026 results show a stronger business, but they do not yet show that all of that growth is translating into cash. Revenue, earnings and backlog rose sharply year over year; for the quarter, operating cash flow was $21 million and free cash flow was negative $59 million. Meanwhile, accounts receivable and contract assets were higher at June 30 than at year-end. That contrast warrants scrutiny, but the balance-sheet increase alone is not evidence of overdue or uncollectible debt.

What MasTec reported for Q2 2026

In its July 30, 2026 release, MasTec reported revenue of $4.374 billion for the quarter, up 23.4% from Q2 2025. GAAP net income rose 61.7% to $146 million, while adjusted EBITDA increased 39.8% to $384 million. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 8.8%, up 100 basis points year over year. These figures describe stronger reported operating performance, not cash collected from customers. MasTec’s Q2 2026 results.

Backlog also grew: MasTec reported $21.391 billion of 18-month backlog at June 30, 2026, up 30.0% from a year earlier, $16.452 billion. Backlog is estimated future work, not cash, recognized revenue or a guarantee that every project will proceed or produce the expected economics.

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Did the growth turn into cash?

Not fully in the quarter, based on the cash-flow measures in the release. Q2 cash from operating activities was $21 million, while free cash flow was negative $59 million. Those are different measures: operating cash flow reflects cash generated by operations, while free cash flow subtracts capital expenditures under the company’s presentation. The release also reports $120.322 million of operating cash flow for the six months ended June 30, 2026; that six-month figure should not be substituted for the quarter’s $21 million.

Profit and adjusted EBITDA are accrual-based performance measures, not a direct readout of customer cash receipts. A contractor can recognize revenue as it performs work while billing or collecting later, and it can invest in equipment or other assets that weigh on free cash flow. The figures therefore raise a cash-conversion question; on their own, they do not establish a collection failure.

What the receivables and contract-asset balances mean

MasTec’s June 30, 2026 Form 10-Q reports net accounts receivable of $1.744 billion and contract assets of $2.484 billion, compared with $1.540 billion and $2.002 billion, respectively, at December 31, 2025. The categories are related to project work but represent different stages of billing and collection.

Rank #2
Balance at June 30, 2026 Amount What it represents
Contract billings, before allowance $1,760.9 million Performance obligations billed but not collected
Allowance $16.8 million Allowance against contract billings
Net accounts receivable $1,744.1 million Contract billings after the allowance
Retainage $590.2 million A component of contract assets
Unbilled receivables $1,894.2 million Estimated value of work on performance obligations recognized over time but not yet billed
Contract assets $2,484.4 million Retainage plus unbilled receivables

The filing attributes the increase in contract assets primarily to ordinary project activity in Clean Energy and Infrastructure and Pipeline Infrastructure, including greater project volume and billing timing, as well as a first-quarter acquisition in Clean Energy and Infrastructure. That explanation is not proof that every balance will be collected promptly; nor does the increase by itself establish delinquency. The filing does not provide a customer-by-customer aging schedule or establish when each unbilled amount will be billed and collected. MasTec’s Q2 2026 Form 10-Q.

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Receivables sold under financing arrangements

During the six months ended June 30, 2026, MasTec sold approximately $333 million of receivables under financing arrangements, compared with $236 million in the same period of 2025. It continued to manage collections on transferred receivables. At June 30, $161 million of sold receivables remained outstanding and was excluded from balance-sheet accounts receivable. The sold amount is not the same as cash collected from customers in the ordinary course, so it matters when interpreting reported receivables and cash-flow presentation.

Growth was broad, but segment results differed

Each of MasTec’s four reportable segments grew revenue year over year in Q2 2026. Margin direction was not uniform: Communications’ EBITDA margin fell even as its revenue rose. The release does not provide segment-by-segment cash flow, so segment EBITDA cannot establish which business converted earnings into cash most effectively.

Segment Q2 2026 revenue Year-over-year revenue change EBITDA margin, Q2 2026 vs. Q2 2025
Clean Energy and Infrastructure $1,622.1 million +43.4% 7.9% vs. 7.4%
Power Delivery $1,245.8 million +19.2% 9.1% vs. 8.7%
Pipeline Infrastructure $642.8 million +19.1% 18.4% vs. 11.5%
Communications $888.9 million +6.2% 8.2% vs. 9.9%

The mix matters: strong company-wide growth does not mean every segment expanded at the same pace or improved margins. Clean Energy and Infrastructure had the fastest reported revenue growth; Communications had the slowest and was the only segment listed with a lower EBITDA margin than a year earlier.

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What backlog and guidance do—and do not—say

At June 30, MasTec’s 18-month backlog was $21.391 billion, compared with $20.328 billion at March 31, 2026. The company highlighted particularly strong year-over-year backlog growth in Clean Energy and Infrastructure. Backlog supports visibility into prospective work, but it cannot answer whether billing, collection timing, project costs or cash generation will meet expectations.

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As of its July 30, 2026 release, management’s full-year 2026 guidance was revenue of $18.2 billion, adjusted EBITDA of $1.6 billion and adjusted diluted EPS of $9.30. These are company forecasts, not realized results. CEO José R. Mas characterized the quarter as strong in revenue growth, margin expansion and backlog development; that is management’s assessment, not independent confirmation of future cash conversion.

MasTec also said it had closed on the acquisition of The Superior Group the week before the release. The company described Superior as a North American full-service electrical contractor with approximately 3,000 team members and work in data centers, healthcare, entertainment and industrial markets. The acquisition is relevant to growth and year-over-year comparability, and MasTec’s filing separately identifies an acquisition as one contributor to the contract-asset increase.

How to judge the cash-conversion question

The useful test is not whether one balance increased, but whether operating cash generation catches up with earnings and project activity over time. For subsequent reports, readers can compare cash from operations and free cash flow across consistent periods, watch the movement in receivables and contract assets, and assess the company’s explanations for billing timing, acquisitions and capital investment. A sustained rise in contract assets without corresponding billing or cash generation would merit closer attention, but the figures available here do not establish that pattern or predict when the balances will convert to cash.

MasTec’s Quarterly Results page links to company releases and filings. For the underlying figures, the Q2 2026 earnings release and the Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2026 are the relevant primary documents.

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