Cardinal Infrastructure Group Inc. Announces First Quarter 2026 Results and Raises 2026 Outlook

RALEIGH, N.C., May 12, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Cardinal Infrastructure Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CDNL) ("Cardinal" or the "Company"), today announced first quarter 2026 financial results and raised guidance for the full year 2026. 

First Quarter Highlights*: 

• Revenue of $167.5 million; up 105% in total or 64% organically year-over-year
• Net income of $11.5 million; up 73% from first quarter 2025
• Adjusted EBITDA of $26.8 million, up 84% year-over-year
• Backlog as of March 31, 2026 was $854 million, up 60% from the prior year

*See "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below for a discussion of our use of Non-GAAP financial measures in this release and reconciliations to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures.

"Cardinal delivered an exceptional first quarter," said Jeremy Spivey, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "Revenue grew significantly year over year, backlog reached an all-time high and ALGC has made strong contributions from day one. With results ahead of our expectations on a strong start to the year and the solid visibility we have into the year ahead, we are raising our full-year revenue guidance."  

"Our vertical integration model is winning work that broadens our end market mix in a real way, including the data center project we announced, and a series of manufacturing and industrial awards added to backlog this quarter. The bidding environment across our markets remains robust and our M&A pipeline is the most active it has ever been. The runway in front of Cardinal is significant, and we are focused on executing for our customers and our shareholders."

First Quarter Results:
Cardinal reported revenue of $167.5 million for the first quarter 2026, an increase of $86 million, or 105%, compared to $81.8 million in the first quarter of 2025. Growth was driven by 64% organic expansion alongside strong contributions from our 2025 acquisitions and A.L. Grading Contractors (ALGC), which closed mid-February 2026. These results reflect growth in all regions across our footprint, as well as the diversification of our end-market mix, with continued strength in residential alongside expanding contributions from commercial, manufacturing and industrial projects.

Gross profit for the quarter was $24.9 million, or 14.9% gross profit margin, compared to $9.9 million and 12.1% in the prior year. The 280-basis point increase in margins reflects strong cost control, scale benefits across higher revenue volumes and disciplined project execution across our core markets. Adjusted gross profit was $34.2 million, or 20.4% adjusted gross profit margin, an increase of approximately $18 million or 20 basis points year-over-year.

Net income increased 73% to $11.5 million, compared to $6.6 million in 2025. EBITDA was $24.0 million for the quarter, representing an EBITDA Margin of 14.4%, compared to $14.3 million and 17.4% in the prior year.  Adjusted EBITDA for first quarter was $26.8 million, reflecting Adjusted EBITDA margin of 16.0%, compared to $14.6 million and 17.8% in the first quarter of 2025. Adjusted EBITDA margins reflect the increase in gross profit, offset by acquisition-related costs and increased general and administrative expenses related to annual public company costs, including audit and reporting cycle expenses.

Backlog 
Cardinal's total backlog as of March 31, 2026, was $854 million, a 60% increase from $532 million as of March 31, 2025. The expansion reflects strong bid activity and continued project award momentum across each of Cardinal's core markets, along with the addition of ALGC.

Balance Sheet 
As of March 31, 2026, Cardinal had $44.0 million in cash and cash equivalents, compared to $22.8 million in cash and cash equivalents at the end of the prior year. Capital expenditures for the quarter ended March 31, 2026, were $9.3 million, excluding acquisitions, compared to $10.3 million in 2025.

2026 Consolidated Guidance
Cardinal today increased outlook for the full year 2026:

• Revenue in the range of $675 million to $685 million; up from the previous range of $665 million to $678 million
• Adjusted EBITDA margin of 20%+ 

The Company's 2026 guidance reflects management's current expectations for organic growth and project execution across its core markets and includes the expected contribution of ALGC following the close of that acquisition on February 18, 2026. The guidance is based on current economic conditions and assumes no significant changes in the overall economy or other conditions in the Southeastern United States in 2026. The guidance does not include the potential impact of any future acquisitions, significant weather events or other items outside the ordinary course of business. See "Forward-Looking Statements" below.

Conference Call
Cardinal management will discuss results and outlook during its quarterly investor conference call today starting at 10:30 a.m. ET. The call and accompanying slide presentation will be webcast on the "Events & Presentations" section of Cardinal's website. A replay of the webcast will be available at the same location shortly after the conclusion of the presentation. 

About Cardinal 
Cardinal Infrastructure Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CDNL) is one of the Southeast's fastest-growing, full-service infrastructure service providers. The Company delivers integrated civil and site development solutions across high growth markets through a self-performing model supported by skilled labor, specialized fleets and market leading subsidiaries. This model enables efficient, turnkey project execution at scale while maintaining focus on building long-term client relationships. Cardinal's strategy is grounded in operational discipline, market expansion and a commitment to integrity from the ground up. 

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements about the Company's future performance. Statements that are predictive in nature, that depend upon or refer to future events or conditions or that include the words "may," "could," "plan," "project," "budget," "predict," "pursue," "target," "seek," "objective," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "estimate," and other expressions that are predictions of or indicate future events and trends and that do not relate to historical matters identify forward-looking statements. These statements involve risks and uncertainties and Cardinal's actual results could differ materially from the results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The potential risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ from those expressed by the forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, difficulty in sustaining rapid revenue growth, which may place significant demands on Cardinal's administrative, operational and financial resources, fluctuations in Cardinal's revenue and the concentration of Cardinal's business in the Southeastern United States. Cardinal has based these forward-looking statements largely on its current expectations and projections regarding future events and trends that it believes may affect its business, financial condition and results of operations. The outcome of the events described in these forward-looking statements is subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors described in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in Cardinal's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025 (the "Annual Report"), and elsewhere in the Annual Report. Accordingly, you should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Cardinal cannot assure you that the results, events and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements will be achieved or occur, and actual results, events or circumstances could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Although forward-looking statements reflect the good faith beliefs of Cardinal's management at the time they are made, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from anticipated future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Cardinal undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, changed circumstances or otherwise, unless required by law. These cautionary statements qualify all forward-looking statements attributable to Cardinal or persons acting on its behalf.

Non-GAAP Measures
Cardinal present results of operations in a way that it believes will be the most meaningful and useful to investors, analysts, rating agencies and others who use Company financial information to evaluate performance. Some of these financial measures are not prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles ("Non-GAAP") under Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") rules and regulations. For example, in this press release, Cardinal presents Organic Growth, Adjusted Gross Profit, Adjusted Gross Profit Margin, EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, EBITDA Margin and Adjusted EBITDA Margin, all of which are Non-GAAP financial measures as defined " in Cardinal's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025 (the "Annual Report"), and elsewhere in the Annual Report. These Non-GAAP financial measures are presented for supplemental informational purposes only and are not intended to be substitutes for any GAAP financial measures, including net income, and, as calculated, may not be comparable to companies in other industries or within the same industry with similarly titled measures of performance.

In addition, these Non-GAAP measures should not be construed as an inference that our future results will be unaffected by unusual or non-recurring items. Therefore, Non-GAAP financial measures should be considered in addition to, not as a substitute for, or in isolation from, measures prepared in accordance with GAAP. 

Reconciliation to Non-GAAP Measures
The table directly below reconciles Adjusted Gross Profit to Gross Profit, the most directly comparable GAAP measure and shows Gross Profit calculated as revenues less cost of revenues (excluding depreciation and amortization) and depreciation and amortization expense. While Gross Profit is not presented as a separate line item or subtotal in our financial statements, we present Gross Profit in the table below solely to facilitate the reconciliation of Adjusted Gross Profit, a Non-GAAP measure, to the most directly comparable GAAP measure.

We define EBITDA as net income for the period adjusted for interest expense, net income tax expense, depreciation and amortization expense. Adjusted EBITDA further adjusts EBITDA for certain expenses associated with non-routine , including (i) transaction fees and acquisition-related costs incurred in connection with acquisitions and planned acquisitions (ii) non-routine costs associated with legal matters in which the Company is a defendant, (iii) certain consulting and recruiting costs related to acquisitions and public company readiness, (iv) non-routine revenue impact from customer claims, (v) non-routine loss on extinguishment and refinancing costs, (vi) stock-based compensation, (vii) non-routine IPO related travel and compensation, and (viii) other non-routine gains and charges that we do not believe reflect our underlying business performance. We define EBITDA Margin as EBITDA as a percentage of revenue, and Adjusted EBITDA Margin as Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of revenue. The following table provides a reconciliation of net income and net income margin, the most closely comparable GAAP financial measure, to EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, EBITDA Margin and Adjusted EBITDA Margin:

We are not able to provide the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure, or a quantitative reconciliation thereto, for the forward-looking guidance of estimated Adjusted EBITDA Margin without unreasonable effort due to the inherent uncertainty and difficulty in predicting the timing and amount of certain items, including but not limited to amortization of intangible assets and depreciation, which may be significant and difficult to project with a reasonable degree of accuracy, as the allocation of purchase price to intangible assets and property and equipment has not yet been performed. Because these adjustments are inherently variable and uncertain and depend on various factors that are beyond our control, we are also unable to predict their probable significance. The variability of these items could have an unpredictable, and potentially significant, impact on our future GAAP financial results.

We define Organic growth as the difference between total current and prior year sales less the impact of companies acquired and divested in the past twelve months divided by prior year sales. This Non-GAAP measure, as reconciled to GAAP below, is considered relevant to aid analysis and understanding of the Company's results, business trends and outlook measures aside from the material impact of the acquisition-related and other charges and ensures appropriate comparability to operating results of prior periods. The following table provides a reconciliation of the Non-GAAP financial measure, Organic Growth, to the most closely comparable GAAP financial measure, GAAP Revenue Growth:

SOURCE Cardinal Infrastructure Group Inc.