New York, Feb 20, 2026, 05:42 (EST) — Premarket
- Stock jumped roughly 6% in premarket trading after results hit late Thursday and the company raised its dividend.
- Profit and cash flow surged, pushing the year-end backlog close to $12 billion.
- Focus swings to management’s call later Friday, as investors hunt for clues on 2026 demand.
Shares of Comfort Systems USA Inc climbed 6.3% to $1,460 ahead of the bell Friday, lifted by a sharp gain in fourth-quarter profit and an increase to its quarterly dividend. The stock wrapped up Thursday’s session at $1,373.52, a 4.1% advance.
This move is significant because Comfort Systems has turned into a crowded trade for investors looking to tap into U.S. data-center construction fueled by AI spending. The key question: will bookings continue to outpace completed work? The Street was bracing for $6.73 a share on $2.33 billion in revenue. UBS’s Joshua Chan flagged that the backlog for the quarter might need to land between $10.5 billion and $10.7 billion, implying a book-to-bill ratio of about 1.5 times. Book-to-bill tracks new orders against revenue, while backlog refers to projects awarded but not yet finished.
Comfort Systems reported net income surged to $330.8 million, or $9.37 per diluted share, in the quarter ended Dec. 31, up from $145.9 million, or $4.09 per diluted share, the previous year. Revenue came in at $2.65 billion, rising from $1.87 billion. The company’s backlog at year-end hit $11.94 billion—“Backlog is just under $12 billion,” Chief Executive Brian Lane said.
The company reported operating cash flow at $468.5 million for the quarter, up sharply from $210.5 million a year ago.
Comfort Systems reported net income of $1.02 billion, or $28.88 per diluted share, for full-year 2025. That’s up sharply from $522.4 million, or $14.60 a share, the year before. Revenue climbed to $9.10 billion from $7.03 billion. Operating cash flow landed at $1.19 billion.
Lane pointed to “persistent demand and strong pipelines,” and said the company is “optimistic about our prospects for 2026.”
The board also bumped up its quarterly dividend by 10 cents to 70 cents per share. Shareholders on record as of March 6 will get paid March 17.
The run-up doesn’t give much margin for error ahead of Friday’s call. Any suggestion from management of softer bookings or more challenging project economics could bite. Comfort Systems points out the usual contracting risks, too: mispricing fixed-price contracts, labor or material cost swings, and the real chance that backlog faces delays or outright cancellations.
