AECOM

Thank you for standing by. My name is JL and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the ACOM third quarter 2025 earnings conference call. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speakers remarks, there will be a question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question during this time, simply press star followed by the number one on your telephone keypad. If you would like to withdraw your question, press star one again. I'm now like to turn the conference over to Will Gabrielski, senior vice president, finance and investment relations. You may begin.

Thank you, operator. I would like to direct your attention to the safe harbor statement on page one of today's presentation. Today's discussion contains forward looking statements about future business and financial expectations. Actual results may differ significantly from those projected in today's forward looking statements due to various risks and uncertainties, including the risks described in our periodic reports filed with the SEC, except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update our forward looking statements. We use certain non-GAAP financial measures in our presentation. The appropriate GAAP reconciliations are incorporated into our materials, which are posted to our website. Growth rates are presented on a year over year basis unless otherwise noted. Any reference to segment margins or segment adjusted operating margins will reflect the performance for the Americas and international segments. When discussing revenue and revenue growth, we will refer to net service revenue or NSR, which is defined as revenue excluding pass-through revenue. NSR growth rates are presented on a constant currency basis unless otherwise noted. Today's remarks will focus on continuing operations. On today's call, Troy Rudd, our chief executive officer, will review our key accomplishments, our strategy, and our outlook for the business. Laura Poloni, our president, will discuss key operational successes and priorities. And Garth Kapur, our chief financial and operations officer will review our financial performance and outlook in greater detail. We will conclude with a question and answer session. With that, I will turn the call over to Troy.

Thank you, Will, and thank you all for joining us today. Our third quarter financial results surpassed our expectations. This performance stems from the dedication of our professionals, unmatched technical expertise, high returning organic growth investments, trusted client relationships, and strong market trends. We set new records for NSR, margins, EBITDA, EPS, backlog, and pipeline. As a result, we are confident in raising our annual financial guidance for the third consecutive time this year. According to the details of our results, organic NSR growth accelerated to 6%, led by 8% growth in the Americas, our highest margin segment. Growth increased in most of our large international markets as well. Importantly, we delivered a .1% segment-adjusted operating margin, which is a new record for the organization. This performance reflects three key elements of our strategy. First, we've demonstrated consistently that through our returns-based capital allocation policy, investments in organic growth initiatives have the highest returns. This includes not only standing up and accelerating the growth of our program management and advisory businesses, but also the record level of business development investment we make quarter after quarter. Second, we continue to make organic investments in our technical capabilities to drive the highest level of productivity and quality in our industry. This investment also includes the development of advanced technical solutions that drive greater client value, which allows for us to excel in the marketplace and add to our record backlog position. Third, we build trusted client relationships and offer the broadest and deepest capability set in the industry, which gives us an advantage on our pursuits. Looking ahead, we have line of sight to several drivers of continued margin expansion as we continue to make critical investments that are consistent with our long-term margin objectives. Our third quarter adjusted EBITDA and EPS increased by 10% and 16%, and on our -to-date basis are up 9% and 20%. Cash flow was also ahead of our expectations in the quarter, and on a -to-date basis, we convert earnings to cash flow at an industry-leading rate and -to-date, our free cash flow increased by 27%. We have also returned nearly $240 million to shareholders this year. Importantly, we have an unprecedented level of visibility for continued growth. Backlog increased both sequentially and year over year to a new all-time high, and we delivered a 19th consecutive quarter with a -to-burn ratio in excess of one. Two factors drive the strength. First, we continue to win work at an all-time high rate. This includes another quarter where we won more than 50% of the value we bid. Embedded within this result is a more than 80% success rate on our largest pursuits where our competitive advantage is greatest and where our focus on winning what matters is evident. Second, the multi-decade secular megatrends that are driving our markets are accelerating. This includes global investments in infrastructure, sustainability and resilience, and energy. As the number one ranked transportation, water, environment and facilities firm in the world by ENR, we are ideally suited to benefit. These megatrends are apparent in our pipeline, which also achieved a new all-time high for the fifth consecutive quarter. Within the pipeline, growth remains fastest in the earliest stages, which indicates several years of continued strong market conditions as our clients plan for a future of higher spending. For example, in the UK, the government recently released its tenure infrastructure strategy, committing to invest 725 billion pounds, including substantial investments in transportation, water and energy. Our leading positions on key frameworks position us to ideally benefit. In the Middle East, where we maintain a market leading position, we've successfully navigated a reprioritization of investment dollars to emerging areas to support the World Expo and World Cup infrastructure in Saudi Arabia. Our revenue growth also picked up this quarter and our contracted backlog was up by double digits. We are also experiencing strong growth in the UAE, another key market in the region for us. In Australia and Asia, long-term demand drivers are firmly in place. However, near-term budgetary constraints have led us to a pause in larger transportation awards, which has weighed on the near-term revenue trends. The water market is strong, but these projects tend to be longer in duration and therefore less impactful to near-term revenue as compared to the large civil projects that we completed during the last cycle. Finally, in the US, market environment continues to be one of the best in the world. Only 36% of IIJA funding targeted to our markets has been spent, which provides for continued growth opportunities as evident in our pipeline. Furthermore, state and local budgets remain robust. With state DOT budgets forecasted to achieve another record high in 2026, our state and local clients continue to prioritize infrastructure spending to maximize available federal matching funds. The passage of the Big Beautiful Bill only enhances this opportunity. The US federal government is prioritizing investment in critical infrastructure to attract investment and secure a leadership position in growth industries such as AI. To that end, the bill includes tax incentives, such as bonus depreciation, that attract investment to onshore manufacturing, expand data center capacity, and build energy infrastructure necessary to meet unprecedented demand growth. This bill also allocates $150 billion of mandatory defense spending. The DOD is our largest single client and activity is gaining momentum. It also includes substantial funding for aviation and the Coast Guard, both markets where we have a leading presence. Across the business, we've built a track record of delivering on and exceeding our financial and strategic commitments. As a result of our outperformance this year, we are raising our fiscal 2025 financial guidance for the third consecutive quarter. At the new midpoints, we expect full year adjusted EBITDA and EPS to increase by 10% and 16%. And we remain confident in delivering further growth and value for shareholders long into the future. With that, I'll turn the call over to Laura.