TIC Solutions (NYSE:TIC) outlined a planned CEO transition, integration progress following its combination with NV5, and its 2026 financial outlook during its fourth-quarter 2025 earnings call on March 12, 2026.
Leadership transition and integration focus
Investor Relations Director Andrew Shen opened the call by noting a planned leadership transition: President and Chief Operating Officer Ben Heraud will become chief executive officer effective March 31, 2026, succeeding Tal Pizzey. Pizzey said he will continue to serve on the board and act as an advisor through and following the transition.
Executive Chairman Robbie Franklin later said the transition timing was contemplated from the outset, with the board aiming to provide time for Pizzey to help shape the combined entity and for Heraud—previously CEO of NV5—to deepen familiarity with Acuren’s inspection business. Franklin said the board and team support the path and did not signal a strategic shift tied to the leadership change.
Operational priorities and segment commentary
Heraud said his near-term focus has been sharpening commercial execution across the platform, including account management, cross-segment collaboration, pricing consistency, and utilization. He framed 2026 priorities as accelerating organic growth (including cross-selling), strengthening alignment and culture, and expanding margins through cost management, service mix, and utilization improvement.
As an example of cross-selling, Heraud described “late-stage negotiations” on a multi-year bridge infrastructure engagement combining drone-based LiDAR mapping and modeling, engineering oversight and design review, and rope access and inspection services. He also cited a newly secured U.S. Inspection & Mitigation engagement within the data center vertical for radiographic testing of critical mechanical systems.
On end markets, Heraud highlighted continued strength in consulting engineering activity tied to data centers, infrastructure engineering, building planning and design, and digital twin work. He said data center revenue increased “meaningfully” year-over-year to nearly $70 million in 2025 and that the company has “line of sight to nearly $100 million” supported by backlog and programmatic client engagements. In the Q&A, management clarified that the $100 million data center revenue target is a 2026 line of sight.
In Geospatial, management said results were supported by utility demand, fleet utilization, and a growing analytics and software contribution. Heraud noted a federal funding lapse during the quarter that slowed certain procurement and approvals, affecting the timing of some work, but said there were no material cancellations. He also pointed to the February announcement of GeoAgent, an AI-enabled geospatial platform the company expects to begin rolling out to clients in the coming weeks.
In Inspection & Mitigation, Heraud said lower volumes were concentrated in the Gulf Coast due to LNG construction timing, slower chemical activity, and a few site losses amid elevated competition. He said the company remained disciplined on pricing and is reorganizing I&M into operating regions with clear P&L ownership while streamlining support functions and tightening utilization and cost oversight. Heraud said the company plans to host an Investor Day in May to outline longer-term growth strategy, margin trajectory, and capital allocation, including additional detail on the updated I&M operating framework.
Fourth-quarter and full-year results
Chief Financial Officer Kristin Schultes presented results on a “combined” basis for comparability between legacy Acuren and legacy NV5.
For full-year 2025, Schultes said combined revenue grew 4.4% on a constant currency basis, or 3.6% as reported, to $2.1 billion. Full-year combined adjusted gross profit was $794 million, and adjusted gross margin was 37.6%, up 14 basis points. Full-year combined adjusted EBITDA was approximately $312 million, representing a 14.8% adjusted EBITDA margin.
- Inspection & Mitigation: 2025 revenue of about $1.1 billion, roughly flat year-over-year; adjusted gross margin of 27.8% versus 28.5% the prior year.
- Consulting Engineering: 2025 revenue of $714 million, up roughly 8%; adjusted gross margin of 47.0% versus 45.5% the prior year.
- Geospatial: 2025 revenue of $298 million, up roughly 6%; adjusted gross margin of 51.5% versus 53.6% the prior year.
For the fourth quarter, total revenue was $508 million, reflecting a full quarter of NV5 contribution. On a combined basis, revenue was roughly flat year-over-year as CE and Geo growth was offset by I&M. Adjusted gross profit was $197 million, up 8% from the combined $183 million in the prior-year period, and adjusted gross margin improved to 38.8% from 36.0%.
- I&M: Q4 revenue of $258 million, down 2%; adjusted gross margin of 28.2% versus 26.1% in the prior-year period.
- CE: Q4 revenue of $181 million, up 2%; adjusted gross margin of 46.9% versus 45.4%.
- Geo: Q4 revenue of $70 million, up 2%; adjusted gross margin of 57.2% versus 50.0%.
Schultes said adjusted SG&A was $124 million, or 24.4% of revenue, reflecting NV5’s higher SG&A ratio. Fourth-quarter adjusted EBITDA was $76.4 million, an adjusted EBITDA margin of 15.0%, compared with $40.7 million in the prior-year period.
Balance sheet, synergies, and 2026 outlook
Schultes said operating cash flow for 2025 was $95 million, reflecting only a partial year contribution from NV5. Reported capital expenditures were $34 million, while combined CapEx was $56 million (2.7% of combined revenue). She added that the company improved cash conversion during the year through lower DSO and tighter working capital management.
As of year-end, Schultes said the company had total liquidity of $551 million, including about $440 million in cash and cash equivalents and $111 million of revolver availability, with term loan debt of approximately $1.6 billion. She said TIC Solutions is focused on generating free cash flow to reach a long-term net leverage target below three times. She also referenced a $250 million private placement completed in October involving 20 million shares of common stock and pre-funded warrants to an existing shareholder.
On integration, Schultes said the company moved into the execution phase near the end of the fourth quarter and remains on track to deliver $25 million of cost synergies. She said the company expects roughly half of the annualized savings to be realized during 2026 and to reach full synergy run rate by mid-2027. In Q&A, management said the $25 million savings are expected to be roughly 60% headcount-related and the remainder non-headcount, with weekly milestone tracking.
For 2026, Schultes guided to revenue of $2.15 billion to $2.25 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $330 million to $355 million. She said the midpoint implies about 4% revenue growth over the 2025 combined baseline. The company expects CE and Geo to outpace I&M growth for the full year.
Schultes also noted an $8 million investment related to compensation alignment at NV5: the company reclassified NV5’s short-term incentive program from stock-based compensation to cash compensation, which reduces adjusted EBITDA beginning in 2026. In response to a question about margin guidance versus prior commentary, management said the update reflected that compensation change, while still expecting margin expansion from execution improvements and cost synergies.
For first-quarter 2026, the company implied revenue of $470 million to $485 million and adjusted EBITDA of $55 million to $60 million, noting typical seasonality with the first quarter generally the lightest and performance weighted toward the second and third quarters. Schultes said the company expects 2026 net interest expense of $95 million to $105 million, cash taxes of $20 million to $30 million, and capital expenditures of $60 million to $70 million, with working capital expected to be a modest use of cash as the company grows.
Capital allocation and share repurchase authorization
Franklin said the board authorized a $200 million share repurchase program that the company may use opportunistically based on market conditions. He reiterated a capital allocation framework prioritizing deleveraging, organic reinvestment in high-return areas, and selective tuck-in and larger acquisitions that enhance capabilities, geography, or technical depth.
In response to a question on priorities between buybacks and M&A, Franklin said the company has a “robust tuck-in pipeline” and wants flexibility, adding that repurchasing shares can be attractive at the right levels. Heraud added that the company completed three small tuck-ins during the quarter and 12 for the full year across all three segments.
About TIC Solutions (NYSE:TIC)
TIC Solutions, Inc provides critical asset integrity services in North America. The company offers testing, inspection, certification, and compliance (TICC) services, including various nondestructive testing (NDT) techniques, such as radiography, ultrasonic testing, magnetic particle inspection, penetrant testing, and visual inspection. Its NDT activities include inspection and evaluation of industrial equipment through various technology-enabled methods to ensure asset integrity, prevent costly outages, failures, and accidents, and meet regulatory requirements without damaging the asset or component.
