Bowman Accelerates Growth, Agrees to $43-a-Share Buyout
Gross backlog reached $658.7 million as natural-resources work became the largest category.
Bowman Consulting Group (BWMN), the engineering-services firm, accelerated second-quarter gross contract revenue growth to 19.7% from 12.0% in the first quarter.
The results came as Bowman agreed to be acquired by Bernhard Capital Partners for $43.00 a share in cash. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026 or the first quarter of 2027, and Bowman canceled its scheduled earnings call.
Gross contract revenue rose to $146.1 million from a year earlier and increased 15.5% sequentially. Net income fell to $2.5 million from $6.0 million, while diluted earnings declined to $0.14 a share from $0.34. Adjusted diluted earnings increased to $0.62 a share from $0.55 and rebounded from $0.14 in the first quarter.
Net service billing rose 19.4% to $129.0 million, with organic growth accelerating to 12.7% from 6.0% in the first quarter. Natural Resources led that expansion with 65.6% organic net-revenue growth and increased its share of organic net revenue to 16.2%. Building Infrastructure grew 1.9%, reducing its share to 43.0%.
Adjusted EBITDA rose 19.2% to $24.1 million and increased 43.4% from the first quarter. Its margin widened sequentially to 18.7% from 14.7%, matching the year-earlier level. The GAAP net margin narrowed to 1.7% from 4.9% as operating income declined to $8.1 million.
Operating cash flow swung to a use of $7.9 million from $4.3 million provided a year earlier, and first-half capital spending increased to $9.4 million from $1.1 million as Bowman invested in geospatial equipment and AI-compute infrastructure. Revolving-credit borrowings climbed to $136.2 million from $95.4 million at year-end, and reducing leverage has become a second-half priority.
Bowman continues to expect 2026 net revenue of $520 million to $540 million and an adjusted EBITDA margin of 17.2% to 17.7%, ranges raised in May and reaffirmed with the quarter. Share repurchases slowed to $3.0 million from $9.2 million in the first quarter as the pending acquisition set the company’s next corporate milestone.