Comfort Systems USA third-quarter net income rises to $489.0 million on revenue growth

Comfort Systems USA, Inc. (FIX) said Thursday that third-quarter net income rose to $489.0 million, or $13.91 per diluted share, from $291.6 million, or $8.25 per diluted share, a year earlier.

The Houston-based contractor reported the results in a press release attached to an 8-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Revenue for the quarter ended September 30 was $3.77 billion, compared with $2.45 billion in the same quarter of 2025. Operating cash flow reached $1.01 billion, up from $553.3 million a year earlier.

Here's how the company did:

• Net income: $489.0 million, or $13.91 per diluted share, vs. $291.6 million, or $8.25 per diluted share, a year earlier
• Revenue: $3.77 billion vs. $2.45 billion a year earlier
• Operating cash flow: $1.01 billion vs. $553.3 million a year earlier
• Adjusted EBITDA: $667.9 million, or 17.7% of revenue, vs. $413.9 million, or 16.9%, a year earlier
• Gross profit margin: 24.8%, unchanged from a year earlier

Backlog stood at $17.81 billion at September 30, up from $14.06 billion at June 30 and $9.38 billion a year earlier.

On a same-store basis, backlog rose from $9.38 billion at September 30, 2025, to $17.39 billion at September 30, 2026.

CEO Brian Lane said, "Strong ongoing demand and consistent excellence by our teams resulted in extraordinary results across every metric this quarter."

Lane pointed to sequential backlog growth of $3.8 billion in the quarter and a year-over-year increase exceeding $8.0 billion. He said, "Relentless demand, together with our competence and reputation, produced sequential backlog growth of $3.8 billion."

Lane added that the company believes it is well positioned to grow organically through year end and in 2027, and to maintain high levels of profitability and solid ongoing cash flow.

For the first nine months of 2026, net income was $1.30 billion, or $36.94 per diluted share, compared with $691.8 million, or $19.52 per diluted share, a year earlier.

Revenue for the nine-month period was $9.90 billion, up from $6.46 billion, and operating cash flow was $2.54 billion, compared with $717.8 million.

Gross profit was $934.5 million, or 24.8% of revenue, the same margin as a year earlier. Selling, general and administrative expenses were $314.2 million, or 8.3% of revenue, against $229.6 million, or 9.4%, a year earlier.

Operating income was $624.6 million, or 16.6% of revenue, up from $378.9 million, or 15.5%.

Adjusted EBITDA, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, adjusted for items such as gains on asset sales, reached $667.9 million. That was 17.7% of revenue, up from $413.9 million, or 16.9%, a year earlier.

Cash and cash equivalents were $2.16 billion at the end of the quarter, up from $981.9 million a year earlier. Long-term debt was $43.8 million, down from $139.1 million, according to the balance sheet.

Purchases of property and equipment were $210.6 million in the quarter, compared with $35.3 million a year earlier. Free cash flow, which the company defines as operating cash flow less capital expenditures plus proceeds from asset sales, was $805.6 million, up from $519.0 million.

Shares used to compute diluted income per share were 35.2 million, against 35.4 million a year earlier.

The release contained no numerical guidance for future periods. The company will host a webcast and conference call on Friday, Oct. 23, at 10 a.m. Central Time to discuss the results.

Dividend increase to $1.00 per share

The company also said its board declared a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, a 10-cent increase from its most recent dividend. A separate press release attached to the filing reported the declaration.

The dividend is payable Nov. 23, 2026, to stockholders of record at the close of business on Nov. 12, 2026.

Dividends per share were $0.90 in the third quarter, compared with $0.50 a year earlier, according to the results table in the filing.