Fluor backlog hits $34.3B on gas and data center wins

Fluor booked $10.9 billion of new awards in the third quarter, executives said on the contractor's Nov. 6 earnings call. The company is also tracking 25 prospective megaprojects averaging $4.5 billion apiece.

Backlog at the Irving, Texas-based company rose 21% from a year earlier to $34.3 billion, its highest level this decade, according to Fluor's third-quarter report. New awards included $7.5 billion for LNG Canada Phase 2. If all 25 prospects were approved and awarded at the average size, they would represent roughly $112 billion of potential work.

For allocators underwriting power and compute, Fluor's backlog is a timetable for when gas-fired generation, copper and data center work moves into construction spending. CFO John Regan said recent megaproject awards begin contributing to earnings next year, with peak activity starting in 2028.

Most of the 25 prospects are jobs where Fluor already performs front-end work or is in sole-source discussions, CEO Jim Breuer said. The mix spans gas-fired power, copper, data center work, life sciences and advanced manufacturing. "They're more negotiated deals," he said, adding that the biggest hurdle is "whether the project gets approved by the clients' board and it overcomes its financial hurdles."

Construction Dive reported that TeraWulf picked Fluor earlier this month to build three data center buildings in Hawesville, Kentucky, and that early site work has begun. The award covers three buildings at the $4 billion Justified campus, as Private Infrastructure Daily previously reported.

Fluor earned $158 million in the quarter, compared with a $697 million loss a year earlier, on revenue of $3.72 billion, up 10% from $3.37 billion, according to the report.

Breuer said Fluor is finalizing an EPC contract for the first of what could be several gas-fired power facilities.