Geo Group (NYSE:GEO) used its fourth-quarter 2025 earnings call to highlight what executives described as the most active year of new business wins in the company’s history, driven largely by stepped-up federal immigration enforcement and related demand for detention, transportation, and electronic monitoring services.
Record contract wins and facility activations
Executive Chairman George Zoley said that since the beginning of 2025, GEO has been awarded new or expanded contracts representing up to approximately $520 million in new incremental annualized revenues, with staggered activation dates that management expects to “primarily normalize by the end of this year.”
In addition, GEO reactivated its 1,940-bed Adelanto ICE Processing Center in California during the third quarter, which Zoley said had been underutilized due to a COVID-related court case. He said the activation of these five facilities represents the largest startup activity in GEO’s history, with a combined annualized revenue value of approximately $400 million and the hiring and training of about 2,000 new employees.
Zoley also said the census across GEO’s active ICE facilities increased from roughly 22,000 in the third quarter to about 24,000 currently, which he called the highest level of ICE populations GEO has ever had.
Transportation growth and state contract wins
Management emphasized growing demand for secure transportation services. Zoley said GEO significantly expanded secure transportation services for both ICE and the U.S. Marshals Service during 2025, valued at about $60 million in incremental annualized revenue. GEO entered into new or amended contracts to expand secure ground transportation at four existing ICE facilities and at three newly activated ICE facilities, while activity also increased under GEO’s ICE air transportation subcontract, he said.
On the U.S. Marshals side, Zoley noted that GEO signed a new five-year contract covering 26 federal judicial districts across 14 states.
At the state level, GEO was awarded two new management-only contracts from the Florida Department of Corrections for the 1,884-bed Graceville facility and the 985-bed Bay facility. Zoley said both are scheduled to transition to GEO management on July 1 and carry combined annualized revenues of approximately $100 million.
Electronic monitoring, ISAP mix shift, and new skip tracing award
GEO discussed trends in its ICE Intensive Supervision Appearance Program (ISAP). Zoley said overall counts under the ICE “F” program declined slightly to about 180,000, which he attributed to reduced use of GEO’s SmartLINK phone app. However, he said more intensive monitoring has risen sharply: GPS ankle monitor participants increased from about 17,000 in early 2025 to more than 42,000 currently, while SmartLINK participants fell to under 135,000.
Zoley added that case management services have also increased, with staff interaction and monitoring for approximately 106,000 individuals. He said that if the mix shift continues, revenues and earnings could increase even if overall program volume remains constant.
GEO also secured a new two-year ISAP 5 contract after a competitive procurement, which includes pricing for 361,000 participants in year one and 465,000 in year two, according to management. In Q&A, Zoley said GEO has made investments to scale devices and case management to reach those levels and beyond if requested by ICE.
Separately, in December 2025, GEO was awarded a two-year ICE skip tracing contract valued at up to $60 million in revenue per year. Management said the award followed a pilot program that generated approximately $10 million in revenue during the fourth quarter of 2025.
Fourth-quarter and full-year financial results
Chief Financial Officer Mark Suchinski reported fourth-quarter 2025 revenue of approximately $708 million and net income attributable to GEO operations of about $32 million, or $0.23 per diluted share. That compared with fourth-quarter 2024 revenue of approximately $608 million and net income attributable to GEO operations of about $15.5 million, or $0.11 per diluted share.
Excluding extraordinary items, GEO reported adjusted net income of approximately $35 million, or $0.25 per diluted share, for the quarter, and adjusted EBITDA of about $126 million, up from about $108 million a year earlier.
Suchinski said owned and leased secure services revenue rose about $70 million, or 23%, year-over-year, driven mainly by activation of three company-owned ICE facilities, partly offset by the sale of the Lawton, Oklahoma facility and the depopulation of the Lee County, New Mexico facility. Managed-only contract revenue increased about $26 million, or 17%, primarily due to the North Florida Detention Facility joint venture and certain transportation revenue reported in that segment.
For the full year 2025, GEO reported revenue of approximately $2.63 billion and net income attributable to GEO operations of about $254 million, or $1.82 per diluted share, versus revenue of $2.42 billion and net income of $32 million, or $0.22 per diluted share, in 2024. Suchinski noted that 2025 included a $232 million pre-tax gain on asset sales tied to the Lawton facility sale ($312 million) and the Hector Garza facility sale ($10 million), as well as a non-cash contingent litigation reserve of approximately $38 million. Excluding those items and other extraordinary items, adjusted net income for 2025 was approximately $120 million, or $0.86 per diluted share. Full-year adjusted EBITDA was approximately $464 million, largely in line with 2024.
2026 guidance, liquidity, capital allocation, and leadership change
For 2026, Suchinski guided to GAAP net income of $0.99 to $1.07 per diluted share on revenue of $2.9 billion to $3.1 billion, and adjusted EBITDA of $490 million to $510 million. First-quarter 2026 guidance called for GAAP net income of $0.17 to $0.19 per diluted share on revenue of $680 million to $690 million, with adjusted EBITDA of $107 million to $112 million. He said first-quarter results would reflect front-loaded payroll taxes, two fewer days in the quarter, and no revenue or earnings assumptions for skip tracing as GEO transitions from the pilot contract to the new two-year contract.
On the balance sheet, GEO ended 2025 with about $70 million in cash and $1.65 billion in total debt. Suchinski said accounts receivable temporarily increased during the fourth quarter in part due to a federal government shutdown in October and November, though the company has since improved its receivables position, bringing net debt to about $1.5 billion in recent weeks. He also cited a recent $100 million expansion of GEO’s revolving credit facility.
Management discussed potential impacts from another Department of Homeland Security funding lapse, noting that services have historically continued during shutdowns, though collections could be delayed. Zoley said GEO continues discussions with ICE about further activations, including roughly 6,000 idle beds at six company-owned facilities that could generate more than $300 million in incremental annualized revenues at full capacity.
GEO also highlighted shareholder returns. Zoley said a share repurchase program initiated in August and expanded to $500 million in November resulted in repurchases of about 5 million shares for roughly $91 million by year-end, leaving about $409 million authorized. In Q&A, management said it would continue to be opportunistic while managing liquidity and other capital priorities, including debt reduction, with Suchinski stating a goal of getting net leverage below three times in 2026.
Finally, Zoley said CEO Dave Donahue will retire at the end of February after more than 11 years with the company. Zoley said he will return to the Chairman and CEO roles under an amended employment agreement effective through April 2, 2029.
About Geo Group (NYSE:GEO)
The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) is a leading provider of correctional, detention and community reentry services to government agencies around the world. As a real estate investment trust, the company specializes in the design, financing, development and operation of secure facilities for adult and juvenile offenders, immigration detainees and individuals requiring mental health treatment or substance abuse programming. GEO’s integrated service model also encompasses electronic monitoring, rehabilitative programming and post-release supervision aimed at reducing recidivism and enhancing public safety.
GEO’s portfolio spans a range of facility types, including medium- and maximum-security correctional institutions, residential reentry centers, mental health treatment units and immigration detention centers.
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