Jacobs Stock a Buy as Strong Growth Meets Execution & Debt Risks?

Jacobs Solutions’ quarter delivered faster organic growth, record backlog, and wider margins, but the investment case remains mixed due to higher debt and project execution and cash-flow adjustments tied to its PA Consulting transaction. Jacobs ended fiscal third quarter 2026 with backlog of $28.9 billion, up 27.3% year over year. The quarterly gross revenue book-to-bill ratio was 1.5, with a trailing 12-month ratio of 1.4. Net revenues and gross profit embedded in backlog rose 11% and 14%. Management says the backlog can support fiscal 2027 growth at least in line with its long-term average. Adjusted EBITDA increased 16.7% to $366.8 million and margin widened 109 basis points to 15.2%. Jacobs raised fiscal 2026 guidance to adjusted earnings of $7.20-$7.30 per share and adjusted net revenue growth of 9.5-10%. Long-term debt rose to $3.58 billion at June 26, 2026.