$324B
Road, water and sewer, bridge and heavy engineering construction combined.1234
+73%
Spending in August vs. a year earlier, while total construction fell 1.7%.5
+4.4%
Year-over-year in August, still running on infrastructure law funding.5
Four forces shaping the market.
The 2021 infrastructure law expired September 30. Congress extended highway and transit programs only through December 11, and some funding, including the $5.5 billion-a-year Bridge Formula Program, lapsed entirely. A five-year, $580 billion highway bill has cleared committee in the House but hasn’t passed.67
Hyperscale campuses need large earthwork, drainage, stormwater and underground utility packages, often on raw land with no existing infrastructure. IBISWorld calls it a “repeatable, high-volume revenue stream” for contractors with the equipment and crews to handle it.35
Average engineering and construction deal value rose 63% in the first half of 2026, even as deal count fell. Buyers are focusing on data center, power and infrastructure exposure, and contractors that do their own work with stable field leadership command premium multiples.8
Four segments, one customer base.
State and local governments are the main customers across heavy civil construction, which makes the industry steady through economic cycles but exposed to funding decisions. All four segments are fragmented, with thousands of regional contractors and no dominant national player.13
$191.7B
Revenue; 3.3% a year over the past five years, 1.8% forecast; 6.2% profit margin1
$74.1B
Revenue; 3.4% a year over the past five years, 2.4% forecast, the fastest of the four; 3.9% profit margin2
$41.1B
Revenue; 2.4% a year over the past five years, 1.5% forecast; 6.4% profit margin3
The civil work behind every data center campus.
Before a data center goes vertical, the site has to be graded, drained and connected. On one Virginia campus, that meant 360,000 cubic yards of excavation plus retention ponds and storm drains. Public acquirers are buying contractors that do this work: Sterling Infrastructure bought Stone Ridge Contracting, a data center site developer expected to earn mid-teens EBITDA margins on $180 to $200 million of 2026 revenue.39
Mass excavation, slope stabilization and subgrade improvement for heavy foundations, often on difficult terrain.
Retention ponds, storm drains and erosion control. Even minor drainage failures can damage sensitive equipment.
Water, sewer and conduit connections, often installed by horizontal drilling to avoid disrupting the site.
Notable Q3 2026 transactions.
Paving and road contractors were the most active targets in Q3. Construction Partners and Cardinal Infrastructure each kept buying through the quarter and into October, adding self-perform crews, asphalt plants and new markets. Most deals were too small to disclose terms; the ones that did were priced at modest multiples, such as 5.5x EBITDA for Allied Paving.101113
| Date | Buyer | Target | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Road, paving & materials | ||||
| Sep 21 | Construction Partners | Roads, Inc. of NWF | Undisclosed | Paving contractor, Northwest Florida |
| Sep 17 | Western Pavement Services | Andersen Asphalt | Undisclosed | Asphalt paving |
| Aug 11 | Cardinal Infrastructure Group | Allied Paving Contractors | $120M | 1.2x revenue, 5.5x EBITDA |
| Aug 6 | TRP Infrastructure Services | Alamo Roadway Materials; D.I.J. Construction; Batterson | Undisclosed | Three acquisitions announced the same day |
| Jul 16 | Frontline Road Safety Group | Cat Tracking | Undisclosed | Road safety and pavement services |
| Jul 13 | Construction Partners | Ellsworth Construction | $112M | Paving and site work contractor |
| Site development, foundations & heavy civil | ||||
| Sep 14 | Soletanche Bachy | Bradshaw Construction | Undisclosed | Tunneling contractor; buyer is a global foundations specialist |
| Sep 3 | ESS Companies | Barrows Excavation | Undisclosed | Excavation and site work |
| Sep 2 | Solaris Energy Infrastructure | Omega Foundation Services | $307.7M | Foundation services; buyer supplies power for data centers |
| Aug 24 | Secovia Capital | Ferrovia Services | Undisclosed | Rail services |
| Since quarter end | ||||
| Oct 19 | Construction Partners | S.E. Cline Construction | Undisclosed | Site development and underground utilities, Florida; includes a permitted asphalt plant site |
| Oct 13 | Cardinal Infrastructure Group | Hughes Brothers Construction | $357.5M | Underground utility, earthwork and roadway contractor, Florida; more than $220M revenue; up to $455M with earn-outs |
Selected from the S&P Capital IQ screen and company announcements; not an exhaustive list.101113
Where the multiples sit.
Public heavy construction companies trade at a median of about 12.1x LTM EBITDA. Specialty and materials businesses trade highest, including Badger Infrastructure at 25.5x and Vulcan Materials at 16.5x, while asset-heavy paving deals have been priced far lower: Cardinal paid 5.5x EBITDA for Allied Paving in August, and Construction Partners paid about 5.5x for Lone Star Paving in 2024. In our deal team’s experience, middle-market heavy civil contractors most often sell for 5.5x to 8.0x EBITDA, with self-perform crews, owned materials and private-sector work pushing toward the top of that range.81213
Public heavy construction companies
Median EV / LTM EBITDA across the 15 companies below, as of October 21, 2026.13
Site development & heavy civil
Median EV / LTM EBITDA for the five contractors in that group.13
Private middle market
EBITDA range in our deal team’s experience with middle-market heavy civil contractors.
| Company | Enterprise value ($M) | LTM revenue ($M) | Rev. growth | EBITDA margin | EV / Revenue | EV / EBITDA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Road, highway & materials | ||||||
| Granite Construction (GVA) | 5,375 | 4,967 | 21.8% | 9.8% | 1.1x | 11.1x |
| Construction Partners (ROAD) | 6,510 | 3,478 | 41.9% | 14.6% | 1.9x | 12.8x |
| Knife River (KNF) | 4,643 | 3,307 | 12.1% | 14.9% | 1.4x | 9.4x |
| Vulcan Materials (VMC)Aggregates producer | 38,681 | 8,116 | 6.9% | 28.8% | 4.8x | 16.5x |
| Median | 5,943 | 4,223 | 17.0% | 14.8% | 1.6x | 12.0x |
| Site development & heavy civil | ||||||
| Sterling Infrastructure (STRL)Growth includes acquisitions | 10,774 | 3,438 | 60.8% | 20.8% | 3.1x | 15.1x |
| Cardinal Infrastructure (CDNL)Recent IPO; growth includes acquisitions | 519 | 663 | 89.7% | 14.3% | 0.8x | 5.5x |
| Primoris Services (PRIM) | 4,562 | 7,284 | 5.1% | 4.4% | 0.6x | 14.2x |
| Tutor Perini (TPC) | 3,636 | 5,949 | 24.7% | 5.3% | 0.6x | 11.5x |
| Aecon (ARE) | 2,440 | 4,231 | 21.5% | 3.2% | 0.6x | 18.2x |
| Median | 3,636 | 4,231 | 24.7% | 5.3% | 0.6x | 14.2x |
| Marine & specialty | ||||||
| Orion Group (ORN) | 513 | 896 | 7.0% | 3.7% | 0.6x | 15.6x |
| NWPX Infrastructure (NWPX) | 1,027 | 574 | 15.1% | 14.8% | 1.8x | 12.1x |
| Concrete Pumping Holdings (BBCP) | 897 | 423 | 6.9% | 23.9% | 2.1x | 8.9x |
| Matrix Service (MTRX)Net cash position lowers enterprise value | 71 | 874 | 13.6% | 1.0% | 0.1x | 8.3x |
| Oceaneering International (OII) | 3,952 | 2,914 | 3.0% | 14.1% | 1.4x | 9.6x |
| Badger Infrastructure Solutions (BDGI) | 2,333 | 647 | 17.2% | 14.2% | 3.6x | 25.5x |
| Median | 962 | 760 | 10.3% | 14.2% | 1.6x | 10.8x |
| All companies | 3,636 | 3,307 | 15.1% | 14.2% | 1.4x | 12.1x |
LTM = last twelve months. Canadian companies converted to U.S. dollars. Source: S&P Capital IQ, as of October 21, 2026.13
Buyers are active and paying for crews, equipment and private-sector work. Owners who can show a durable backlog through the funding uncertainty will be in the strongest position.
Buyers will ask how much of your backlog depends on federal programs. Private, state and local work helps offset the uncertainty.
Crews, equipment fleets, plants and quarries are what consolidators are buying. Document them, along with the leaders who run them.
Clean job-cost reporting and a record of bidding discipline give buyers confidence in your earnings, and that supports a higher price.
Most advisors start with a transaction. We start with a conversation. Middle Market Value combines a deep understanding of how companies are valued with years of buy-side and sell-side deal experience, so we can show you the full range of options and help you choose the path that best fits your objectives.
- IBISWorld, Road & Highway Construction in the US (NAICS 23731a), August 2026.
- IBISWorld, Water & Sewer Line Construction in the US (NAICS 23711), September 2026.
- IBISWorld, Heavy Engineering Construction in the US (NAICS 23799), August 2026.
- IBISWorld, Bridge & Elevated Highway Construction in the US (NAICS 23731b), September 2026.
- Associated General Contractors of America, “Construction Spending Climbs in August,” October 1, 2026 (U.S. Census Bureau data).
- Transportation Construction Coalition, “Major Federal Funding Lapses October 1,” September 30, 2026.
- Polyurea Magazine, “IIJA Extended to Dec. 11,” October 3, 2026.
- PwC, “Engineering and Construction: US Deals 2026 Midyear Outlook,” June 2026.
- Sterling Infrastructure, “Sterling Announces Acquisition of Stone Ridge Contracting,” June 9, 2026.
- ENR, “Cardinal’s $358M Florida Deal Expands Heavy Civil Construction Footprint,” October 15, 2026.
- Construction Partners, “Construction Partners, Inc. Completes Florida Acquisition,” October 19, 2026.
- Nasdaq, “Construction Partners to Acquire Asphalt Inc. for $654M in Cash, 3M Shares,” October 2024. Multiple calculated from disclosed cash price and adjusted EBITDA.
- S&P Capital IQ, public company and M&A transaction screens, as of October 21, 2026.
This report is for general information only and is not investment, legal or tax advice. Figures from third-party sources are presented as published and have not been independently verified.