Cardinal Infrastructure Group Inc. Reports Third Quarter 2026 Results
Cardinal Infrastructure Group Inc. (CDNL) filed an SEC Form 8-K — Results of Operations and Financial Condition. Exhibit 99.1 Cardinal Infrastructure Group Inc. Reports Third Quarter 2026 Results Company reports strong revenue growth and outlines actions to strengthen execution and profitability Raleigh, NC – November 12, 2026 – Cardinal Infrastructure Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CDNL) ("Cardinal"
How this was made
The 30-second read
Why it matters
The earnings miss on profitability may trigger short‑term sell pressure, but the buyback could provide a floor and attract dividend‑seeking investors.
Market read
First‑report earnings release with mixed financial signals; actionable for traders evaluating short‑term price direction.
What to watch
Fuel and transportation cost spikes may be temporary; organic growth remains robust.
Q3 2026 revenue rose 65.1% to $201.9 million, but gross margin fell to 5.4% and Adjusted EBITDA margin to 4.2%; FY2026 guidance withdrawn, acquisition postponed, $50 million buyback authorized, CFO resignation announced
Revenue growth was large, but the company reported a Q3 net loss, a sharp fall in gross margin and Adjusted EBITDA margin, project estimate revisions of $13.2 million, withdrawal of full-year 2026 revenue and margin guidance, postponement of the Hughes Brothers acquisition, and a CFO resignation. Nine-month operating cash flow and cash balance improved, but nine-month free cash flow was negative.
Key metrics
shortened, hover for the filing’s print| Metric | Value | q/q | y/y |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenues, Q3 2026GAAP | $201.9M | – | 65.1% |
| Organic revenue growth, Q3 2026non-GAAP | $23.9M | – | – |
| Revenue increase from acquired businesses, Q3 2026other | $55.7M | – | – |
| Cost of revenues, Q3 2026GAAP | $191.1M | – | 85.8% |
| Gross profit, Q3 2026GAAP | $10.80M | – | – |
| Gross margin, Q3 2026GAAP | 5.4% | – | -10.5 percentage points |
| General and administrative expenses, Q3 2026GAAP | $14.7M | – | 187.0% |
| Amortization expense, Q3 2026GAAP | $4.89M | – | – |
| (Loss) income from operations, Q3 2026GAAP | −$8.79M | – | – |
| Interest expense, net, Q3 2026GAAP | $1.73M | – | – |
| Income tax benefit (expense), Q3 2026GAAP | $627 thousand benefit | – | – |
| Net (loss) income, Q3 2026GAAP | −$10.96M | – | – |
| Net (loss) income attributable to Cardinal Infrastructure Group Inc., Q3 2026GAAP | −$4.40M | – | – |
| Basic and diluted (loss) earnings per share, Q3 2026GAAP | $(0.21) | – | – |
| EBITDA, Q3 2026non-GAAP | $2.45M | – | – |
| Adjusted EBITDA, Q3 2026non-GAAP | $8.5M | – | – |
| Adjusted EBITDA margin, Q3 2026non-GAAP | 4.2% | – | -13.3 percentage points |
| Operating cash flow, Q3 2026GAAP | $8.34M | – | – |
| Capital expenditures, Q3 2026GAAP | −$7.60M | – | – |
| Free cash flow, Q3 2026non-GAAP | $739K | – | – |
| Revenues, nine months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | $596.4M | – | 92.2% |
| Organic revenue growth, nine months ended September 30, 2026non-GAAP | $144.1M | – | – |
| Revenue increase from acquired businesses, nine months ended September 30, 2026other | $142M | – | – |
| Cost of revenues, nine months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | $527.5M | – | 100.9% |
| Gross profit, nine months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | $68.88M | – | – |
| Gross margin, nine months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | 11.5% | – | -3.9 percentage points |
| General and administrative expenses, nine months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | $34.1M | – | – |
| Amortization expense, nine months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | $13.28M | – | – |
| Income from operations, nine months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | $21.47M | – | – |
| Interest expense, net, nine months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | $7.45M | – | – |
| Net income, nine months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | $11.7M | – | – |
| Net income attributable to Cardinal Infrastructure Group Inc., nine months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | $3.69M | – | – |
| EBITDA, nine months ended September 30, 2026non-GAAP | $51.70M | – | – |
| Adjusted EBITDA, nine months ended September 30, 2026non-GAAP | $63.4M | – | – |
| Adjusted EBITDA margin, nine months ended September 30, 2026non-GAAP | 10.6% | – | – |
| Net cash provided by operating activities, nine months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | $30.3M | – | – |
| Capital expenditures, nine months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | $41.6M | – | – |
| Free cash flow, nine months ended September 30, 2026non-GAAP | −$11.25M | – | – |
| Total backlog, as of September 30, 2026other | $815.5M | – | 26.2% |
| Cash and cash equivalents, as of September 30, 2026GAAP | $335M | – | – |
| Total debt, as of September 30, 2026non-GAAP | $198.5M | – | – |
| Net (cash) debt, as of September 30, 2026non-GAAP | −$136.5M | – | – |
| Net (cash) debt / Adjusted EBITDA, as of September 30, 2026non-GAAP | -2.2x | – | – |
| Interest coverage, nine months ended September 30, 2026non-GAAP | 8.52x | – | – |
FY2026 outlook
- NoteCompany is withdrawing previously issued full-year 2026 revenue and Adjusted EBITDA margin guidance.
- NoteCompany is not providing a specific revenue or margin outlook.
- NoteCompany currently expects fourth-quarter Adjusted EBITDA to improve from the third quarter; no figure given.
Capital returns
- Board authorized a share repurchase program of up to $50 million of Class A common stock over the next 12 months.
- Filing states repurchases, if any, may be made from time to time based on market conditions, capital requirements and other factors; the program does not obligate the Company to repurchase any particular amount and may be suspended, modified or discontinued at any time.
- No repurchases made in the period are printed in the filing.
- Nine-month 2025 cash flow statement shows member distributions of $(8,600) thousand; none are printed for nine months 2026.
What drove it
- Company states revenue growth included $23.9 million of organic growth, primarily reflecting higher residential project volumes and continued expansion across its geographic footprint, with the remaining $55.7 million attributable to acquired businesses.
- Company states cost of revenues rose 85.8% primarily due to organic and acquisition-related growth and higher fuel and transportation costs.
- Company states project estimate revisions, recorded when costs to complete were revised as additional project information became available, reduced Q3 gross profit by $13.2 million.
- Company states residential pricing pressure and lower initial bid margins on certain commercial and industrial projects also weighed on gross margin.
- Company states Q3 G&A rose $9.6 million, primarily due to $3.2 million non-cash stock-based compensation, $2.3 million of expenses from acquired businesses, $1.8 million of acquisition-related costs, and investments in personnel, systems and infrastructure.
- Company attributes the 13.3-percentage-point Q3 Adjusted EBITDA margin decline to project estimate revisions (about 6.5 points), residential pricing pressure and lower initial bid margins (about 3.6 points), and higher fuel and transportation costs (about 3.5 points), partly offset by about 0.3 points from other factors.
- Company states the Hughes Brothers acquisition was postponed in collaboration with Hughes Brothers, to focus on execution across existing operations and realizing benefits of businesses already acquired.
- Company states Benji Wood, Chief Operating Officer, will take a more direct role in establishing and implementing consistent operating standards across the platform, covering project selection, estimating, project reviews and accountability.
- Company states it will engage an independent third-party advisor to support implementation of operational changes and assess estimating and project review processes.
Concerns
- Q3 gross margin of 5.4% compared with 15.9% a year earlier, and nine-month gross margin of 11.5% compared with 15.4%.
- Q3 net loss of $(10,963) thousand compared with net income of $10,109 thousand a year earlier; net loss attributable to Cardinal of $(4,399) thousand.
- Q3 Adjusted EBITDA margin of 4.2% compared with 17.5%; the company itself described results as not acceptable.
- Full-year 2026 revenue and Adjusted EBITDA margin guidance withdrawn with no replacement outlook.
- Nine-month free cash flow of $(11,251) thousand compared with $(5,389) thousand a year earlier.
- Chief Financial Officer resignation notified November 9, 2026; he remains in role until a successor joins, and a search has been engaged.
- Company's own forward-looking statements list risks including further estimate changes on contracts, fixed-price contract risk, fuel and labor cost volatility, and difficulty sustaining rapid growth.
- Net cash fell from the position printed as of September 30, 2025 to a net cash balance of $136,487 thousand; total debt rose to $198,516 thousand from $119,282 thousand at December 31, 2025.
What to watch
- Fourth-quarter Adjusted EBITDA, which the company says it expects to improve from Q3; no figure is provided.
- Whether gross margin and Adjusted EBITDA margin recover from 5.4% and 4.2% in Q3, and the effect of the new operating standards and third-party advisor review.
- Further project estimate revisions, residential pricing and commercial and industrial bid margins.
- Pace of execution of the $50 million repurchase authorization over the next 12 months.
- Appointment of a successor Chief Financial Officer.
- Status of the postponed Hughes Brothers acquisition.
- Backlog conversion, given backlog of $815.5 million as of September 30, 2026.
Balance sheet and cash flow
- As of September 30, 2026: cash and cash equivalents $335,003 thousand; total debt $198,516 thousand; net cash $136,487 thousand per the company's non-GAAP reconciliation.
- Liquidity: $100.0 million available under the revolving credit facility and $250.0 million available under the delayed draw term loan.
- Total assets $1,019,140 thousand as of September 30, 2026, compared with $394,589 thousand as of December 31, 2025.
- Total liabilities $429,981 thousand as of September 30, 2026, compared with $255,051 thousand as of December 31, 2025.
- Total Cardinal Infrastructure Group Inc. stockholders' equity $261,766 thousand; noncontrolling interests $327,393 thousand; total equity $589,159 thousand as of September 30, 2026.
- Goodwill $133,216 thousand and intangible assets, net $96,963 thousand as of September 30, 2026, compared with $23,511 thousand and $15,514 thousand as of December 31, 2025.
- Contingent consideration liability $12,300 thousand as of September 30, 2026; nil as of December 31, 2025.
- Nine months 2026 cash flow: proceeds from notes payable $113,000 thousand; principal payments on notes payable $(38,394) thousand; proceeds from equity offering, net of underwriting discounts, $319,010 thousand; acquisitions, net of cash acquired, $(133,431) thousand.
- Net change in cash for nine months 2026 was $237,854 thousand, with cash of $97,149 thousand at beginning of period and $335,003 thousand at end of period.
Analysis
Cardinal reported third-quarter 2026 revenue of $201.9 million, up 65.1% from $122.3 million, with the company attributing $23.9 million of the $79.6 million increase to organic growth and $55.7 million to acquired businesses. Growth did not carry through to profit. Gross profit was $10,804 thousand against $19,435 thousand a year earlier, and gross margin fell to 5.4% from 15.9%. The company links the decline to $13.2 million of project estimate revisions, residential pricing pressure, lower initial bid margins on certain commercial and industrial work, and higher fuel and transportation costs. Q3 net loss was $(10,963) thousand, and Adjusted EBITDA was $8.5 million, a 4.2% margin, against $21.4 million and 17.5% a year earlier.
Operating expenses also rose sharply. General and administrative expenses reached $14.7 million, up 187.0%, with the company citing $3.2 million of non-cash stock-based compensation, $2.3 million of acquired-business expenses, $1.8 million of acquisition-related costs and investment in personnel and systems. Amortization expense rose to $4,889 thousand from $2,292 thousand. Q3 loss from operations was $(8,790) thousand compared with income of $12,019 thousand.
For the nine months, revenue was $596.4 million, up 92.2%, with $144.1 million organic and $142.0 million from acquisitions. Nine-month gross margin was 11.5% against 15.4%, and income from operations was $21,469 thousand against $31,674 thousand. Nine-month Adjusted EBITDA was $63.4 million at a 10.6% margin, against $55.7 million and 17.9%. Net income attributable to Cardinal was $3,695 thousand, against $19,738 thousand.
Cash flow and the balance sheet moved in different directions. Nine-month operating cash flow was $30.3 million against $26.3 million, but capital expenditures were $41.6 million, so nine-month free cash flow was $(11,251) thousand. Cash rose to $335.0 million, supported by a $319,010 thousand equity offering and $113,000 thousand of note proceeds, while total debt reached $198,516 thousand. Total assets were $1,019,140 thousand, up from $394,589 thousand at December 31, 2025, largely reflecting acquisitions, with goodwill and intangibles higher. Backlog of $815.5 million was up 26.2%, which the company attributes primarily to the ALGC acquisition.
On guidance and capital allocation, the company withdrew full-year 2026 revenue and Adjusted EBITDA margin guidance and gave no replacement outlook, saying only that it expects fourth-quarter Adjusted EBITDA to improve from Q3. It postponed the proposed Hughes Brothers acquisition and authorized up to $50 million of share repurchases over 12 months, with no repurchases yet printed. The CFO's resignation was also disclosed, effective on successor appointment. The figures that deserve the most attention are the gross margin and Adjusted EBITDA margin collapse, the withdrawal of guidance, and the gap between nine-month operating cash flow and negative free cash flow.
Management, verbatim
Revenue grew 65.1% this quarter to $201.9 million, but our third-quarter Adjusted EBITDA margin fell to 4.2%, well below our expectations.
Jeremy Spivey, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
These results are not acceptable, and they make clear that we need to strengthen how we estimate, manage and execute projects across Cardinal.
Jeremy Spivey, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Our immediate priority is strengthening execution and building the operating discipline and supporting infrastructure necessary to translate growth into more consistent profitability.
Jeremy Spivey, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Not in the filing
stated, not guessed- No segment or geographic revenue breakdown is printed in the filing.
- No full-year 2026 guidance figures remain; the prior outlook was not provided, so no prior guidance comparison is possible.
- Prior-year and prior-quarter figures for total backlog are not printed.
- Prior-year Q3 EPS is ambiguous: the filing prints $(0.21) and $0.22 under the EPS row without clear column placement; prior-year EPS left null.
- Nine-month 2026 and 2025 EPS are not clearly printed; not reported.
- Percentage changes for Q3 Adjusted EBITDA dollar amount, nine-month net income and nine-month G&A are not printed; left null.
- Prior-quarter (Q2 2026) figures are not printed in the filing; prior_quarter fields are null.
- Q3 and nine-month 2026 repurchase activity is not printed.
- Consensus estimates, analyst expectations and share-price reaction are not in the documents.
- Successor CFO name and timing are not printed.
- Purchase price and terms of the postponed Hughes Brothers acquisition are not printed.
- Dividend or distribution information for 2026 is not printed.
Written by an AI language model from the company’s SEC earnings filing (Form 8-K Item 2.02, or Form 6-K for a foreign private issuer). Every figure is checked against the filing text, and a metric the filing does not print, or whose value, prior period and change do not add up, is dropped from the metrics. The model can still misread a table, in the metrics or in the text, so check a number in the filing before you rely on it. Consensus estimates, price targets and share-price reactions are not shown because they are not in the filing. AI-generated research, not investment advice.
Background
Cardinal Infrastructure Group filed a Form 8‑K reporting its third‑quarter 2026 financial results, including revenue growth, margin decline, and a new $50M share repurchase authorization.
Ticker impact
Q3 2026 results show 65.1% revenue growth to $201.9M but Adjusted EBITDA margin fell to 4.2% and a net loss of $11.0M; board authorized a $50M share repurchase program.
likely downward pressure as margin miss outweighs revenue beat, partially offset by buyback support
Investors focus on profitability; the sharp margin decline signals execution issues, while the repurchase may limit downside.
Market effects
Highlights execution risk in the infrastructure services sector despite revenue expansion.
North Carolina‑based operator may influence regional construction and infrastructure stocks.
Limited to niche infrastructure investors; no broad market effect.
Counterpoint
Buyback could signal confidence and may attract value investors despite margin weakness.
Key entities
- CompanyCardinal Infrastructure Group Inc.
NASDAQ‑listed infrastructure services provider reporting Q3 2026 results.
- ExecutiveJeremy Spivey
Chairman and CEO of Cardinal Infrastructure Group.
