Parsons (NYSE:PSN) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.11 EPS

Parsons (NYSE:PSN) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.11, FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Here are the key takeaways from Parsons’ conference call:

• Record profitability and cash flow: Third-quarter adjusted EBITDA rose 6% to $168 million, margin expanded 40 basis points to a record 10.2%, and operating cash flow reached $269 million, well above expectations.
• Strong bookings and backlog support growth: Contract awards increased 14% year over year to $1.8 billion, producing a 1.1x book-to-bill ratio, while total backlog reached a record $9.4 billion and funded backlog rose to $6.8 billion, or 73% of total backlog.
• Federal Solutions momentum is building: Federal awards increased 53% year over year, supported by major cyber, missile defense, space, and electronic warfare wins; management expects federal growth to outpace Critical Infrastructure in 2027, although protests are delaying revenue conversion.
• 2026 guidance was narrowed but not raised: Revenue guidance is now $6.25 billion–$6.45 billion and adjusted EBITDA guidance is $510 million–$550 million; operating cash flow guidance remains $430 million–$490 million despite the strong third quarter, reflecting geopolitical uncertainty.
• Execution and leadership risks remain: The company continues to face weather, schedule, contract-modification, and cost risks on its Canadian joint venture, while CFO Matt Ofilos is stepping down and George Ball will serve as interim CFO beginning November 6.

Parsons Stock Performance

NYSE PSN traded down $1.18 on Wednesday, reaching $49.55. The stock had a trading volume of 710,734 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,288,802. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $45.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.44. Parsons has a 1 year low of $36.26 and a 1 year high of $88.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director George Ball bought 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $47.97 per share, with a total value of $959,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 170,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,173,272.51. This trade represents a 13.30% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PSN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Parsons from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Parsons from $79.00 to $66.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. UBS Group cut their price target on Parsons from $67.00 to $58.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Zacks Research upgraded Parsons from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised Parsons from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $48.00 to $57.00 in a report on Friday, August 21st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.00.

Parsons Company Profile

Parsons Corporation (NYSE: PSN) is a technology-driven solutions provider serving government and commercial customers in the defense, intelligence, critical infrastructure and transportation markets. The company develops and integrates solutions for complex security, engineering and infrastructure challenges, combining software, systems engineering, cybersecurity, data analytics and program management capabilities.

Parsons operates through its Federal Solutions and Critical Infrastructure segments.