Comfort Systems USA, Inc.

and welcome everyone to the Q1 2021 Comfort Systems USA Earnings Conference Call. My name is Matt, and I will be your operator today. During the presentation, your lines will remain on listen only. If you require assistance at any time, please press star zero on your telephone, and the coordinator will be happy to assist you. I'd like to advise all parties, this conference is being recorded. And with that, I'd like to hand over to Julie Shafe, Chief Accounting Officer. Julie, please go ahead.

Thanks, Matt. Good morning. Welcome to Comfort Systems USA's first quarter earnings call. Our comments this morning as well as our press releases contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Act of 1995. What we will say today is based on the current plans and expectations of Comfort Systems USA. Those plans and expectations include risks and uncertainties that might cause actual future activities and results of our operations to be materially different from those set forth in our comments. You can read a detailed listing and commentary concerning our specific risk factors in our most recent Form 10-K and Form 10-Q, as well as in our press release covering these earnings. A slide presentation has been provided as a companion to our remarks. The presentation is posted on the investor relations section of the company's website found at ComfortSystemsUSA.com. Joining me on the call today are Brian Lane, President and Chief Executive Officer, Trent McKenna, Chief Operating Officer, and Bill George, Chief Financial Officer. Brian will open our remarks.

Okay, thanks, Julie. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us on the call today. We are pleased to report a strong start to 2021. Earnings improved substantially with earnings per share of 73 cents compared to 48 cents in the pandemic-impacted first quarter of last year. This quarter, we achieved unprecedented first quarter cash generation thanks to strong execution, as well as the receipt of large advance payments for certain orders in projects. Our backlog has also strengthened sequentially, and we see good trends in underlying activity levels, especially in our industrial, technology, and modular markets. Overall, we are optimistic about our prospects for the next several quarters. I will discuss our business and outlook in more detail in a few minutes, but first, let me turn this call over to Bill to review our financial performance.