Balfour Beatty (BBY.L) shares surged to an all-time record on Wednesday after the construction giant raised both its profit and cash guidance for the full year.
The FTSE 250 company, which carries a market capitalisation of more than £4 billion, reported a strong performance across its key divisions in the first half of 2026.
Total revenues climbed 8% to £5.56 billion for the half-year period ending June 26, compared with the same period a year earlier.
The company attributed that growth to rising demand in its US buildings segment and its UK power transmission division, both of which delivered strong results.
Balfour Beatty’s US construction arm also returned to profit during the period, buoyed in part by a pipeline of data centre projects driving activity.
The group lifted its earnings guidance to low double-digit growth, having previously guided toward a high single-digit percentage rise.
Balfour Beatty also confirmed it is on track to achieve average net cash of between £1.5 billion and £1.7 billion this year, up from a prior guidance range of £1.3 billion to £1.5 billion.
Group chief executive Philip Hoare said: “Balfour Beatty enters the second half with real momentum.”
Hoare added: “Our strong first-half performance reflects the quality of our business, the discipline of our execution and, above all, the exceptional contribution of our people in delivering for our customers.”
He further noted: “Supported by a £23 billion order book, attractive growth markets and strong operational momentum, Balfour Beatty is well positioned to deliver these programmes safely, efficiently and at scale.”
Market analyst Adam Vettese of Etoro described the results as precisely what investors are currently seeking in uncertain markets.
Vettese said: “This is exactly the kind of de-risked, high visibility business the market wants right now.”
He noted that upcoming UK energy and defence programmes could add further weight to the already substantial order book going forward.
Vettese added: “With major UK energy and defence programmes still to flow into the order book, and a healthy pipeline of US work, Balfour is well placed to keep compounding.”
He concluded: “The progressive dividend and ongoing buybacks only sweeten the deal.”
