Construction company MasTec (NYSE: MTZ) beat quarterly earnings expectations and raised full-year guidance. Investors are pleased by the news, sending MasTec shares up 8.5% as of 11:30 a.m. ET.
Improving profitability
MasTec is a construction and engineering company focused on large infrastructure projects. The company earned $1.63 per share in the third quarter on revenue of $3.3 billion, compared to Wall Street's $1.23 per share on sales of $3.4 billion estimate. Revenue was flat year over year, but declines in overhead and interest expense and depreciation helped to boost profitability.
The company ended the quarter with a backlog of $13.9 billion in future business, up $1.4 billion from a year ago.
"I am pleased with our margin expansion that exceeded our guidance and which drove excellent bottom-line performance," CEO Jose Mas said. "Once again, our record backlog and bookings in multiple segments illustrate the strength of our diversified business model and provide good visibility to the work that will drive MasTec's performance in 2025 and beyond."
The company expects fourth-quarter earnings of $1.29 per share, ahead of Wall Street's $0.94 per share estimate. For the full year, MasTec expects to earn $3.75 per share, $0.71 per share better than expected.
Is MasTec stock a buy?
MasTec's focus is on large-scale government, communications, and energy projects. There should be a lot of demand up ahead, but it remains to be seen how fast that demand turns into dollars. In the meantime, MasTec is controlling what it can by keeping a close eye on expenses.
MasTec is an interesting company with great potential, but the stock is up nearly 80% year to date despite weak revenue growth. Therefore, there's no reason for investors to rush and buy into this rally.
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Lou Whiteman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends MasTec. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
