Astec Cuts 2026 Adjusted EBITDA Outlook Again

The Tip Desk · November 11, 2026 · 4 min read

The equipment maker booked a $12.2 million net loss attributable to controlling interest and lowered full-year adjusted EBITDA to $140 million–$150 million.

Astec Industries (ASTE), a manufacturer of asphalt, concrete and aggregate-processing equipment, reported a net loss attributable to controlling interest of $12.2 million, or $(0.53) a share, for the third quarter ended September 30, 2026, after a $10.5 million profit, or $0.45 a share, in the second quarter.

Net sales were $352.4 million, up 0.7% from a year earlier, after a 23.6% year-over-year increase in the second quarter. Chief Executive Officer Jaco van der Merwe said third-quarter results were less than expected as macroeconomic uncertainty caused a pause in orders earlier in the year by select asphalt plant customers, and that inflationary headwinds affected sales, mix, absorption and margins.

GAAP operating margin compressed to (0.9)% from 5.0% in the second quarter. Adjusted operating margin was 3.4%. EBITDA fell to $11.4 million and adjusted EBITDA to $18.9 million, from $35.6 million and $42.6 million in the second quarter. Adjusted net loss was $0.3 million, or $(0.01) a share.

Infrastructure Solutions, which designs and manufactures asphalt and concrete plants, thermal systems and related equipment, posted net sales of $189.0 million, down 2.2% after an 11.6% year-over-year increase in the second quarter. The company said the decline was primarily driven by net unfavorable volume and mix, partially offset by favorable pricing. Segment operating adjusted EBITDA was $15.3 million, with an 8.1% margin, down 36.0% and 430 basis points from the year-earlier third quarter, largely due to inflation on materials, labor and overhead.

Materials Solutions, which designs and manufactures hard and soft rock processing equipment, reported net sales of $163.4 million, up 4.1% after a 43.0% year-over-year increase in the second quarter. The company attributed the increase primarily to favorable pricing coupled with net favorable volume and mix. Segment operating adjusted EBITDA was $13.9 million, with an 8.5% margin, down 9.7% and 130 basis points from the year-earlier third quarter, primarily due to inflation on materials, labor and overhead and higher selling, general and administrative expenses, partially offset by the net sales impact of favorable pricing and unfavorable volume and mix.

Backlog grew to $670.5 million, up 49.2% from a year earlier, after 57.9% year-over-year growth in the second quarter. Infrastructure Solutions backlog was $381.5 million, up 47.0% after 12.7% year-over-year growth in the second quarter. Materials Solutions backlog was $289.0 million, up 52.1% after 150.6% year-over-year growth in the second quarter.

Van der Merwe said that despite the temporary pause and delayed renewal of the U.S. federal highway bill, underlying demand rebounded in the third quarter as evidenced by the 49.2% growth in backlog.

Infrastructure Solutions implied orders increased sequentially by $77.6 million, or 38.0%, to $281.9 million, with a book-to-bill ratio of 149%. Materials Solutions implied orders decreased sequentially by $115.8 million, or 45.3%, to $139.9 million, with a book-to-bill ratio of 86%.

Chief Financial Officer Brian Harris said the company is revising full-year 2026 adjusted EBITDA guidance from the previous range of $160 million to $175 million to $140 million to $150 million. That followed a prior cut from $170 million to $190 million after the second quarter.

Harris said positive cash flow and disciplined capital allocation yielded an adjusted EBITDA to net debt ratio of 2.3x, within the company’s target range of 1.5x to 2.5x.

Quarterly operating cash flow was $17.4 million and free cash flow was $10.7 million. Year-to-date operating cash flow was $70.2 million and free cash flow was $48.0 million. Total liquidity was $267.2 million, consisting of $63.2 million of cash and cash equivalents available for operating purposes and $204.0 million available under the revolving credit facility. Capital expenditures were $6.7 million and the dividend was $0.13 a share.