Tutor Perini Beats, Raises, Stock Falls as Insiders Sell
Tutor Perini delivered its third consecutive earnings beat in Q3 2026 with adjusted EPS of $1.83 (beating consensus by 36.6%), raised full-year guidance to $5.90-$6.10, and reported record quarterly o
Tutor Perini Beats Again, Raises Guidance, Stock Falls
NEW YORK, November 6 —
Three consecutive earnings beats, a guidance raise, and record quarterly cash flow have left Tutor Perini Corporation (TPC) trading almost exactly where its chairman exited nearly $200 million of stock in August, the market's refusal to re-rate after each beat is itself data.
- Q3 adjusted EPS $1.83, a 36.6% beat over the $1.34 Zacks consensus; full-year guidance raised to $5.90-$6.10 from $5.15-$5.45.
- Q3 operating cash flow hit a record $331M; cash exceeds total debt by $707M as of quarter-end.
- Chairman Ronald Tutor sold 2.31M shares on August 31; total 90-day insider sales: $216.82M, purchases: $0.
Cash Confirms the Beat Streak
Tutor Perini, which builds highways, bridges, mass-transit systems, and large-scale hospitality, government, and corrections facilities through its Civil, Building, and Specialty Contractors segments, has strung together three consecutive quarterly beats after badly missing Q4 2025 estimates by 41.3%. Q3 2026 adjusted EPS of $1.83 cleared the $1.34 Zacks consensus by 36.6%, revenue of $1.72B topped the ~$1.62B estimate, and operating cash flow hit a record $331M. CEO Gary Smalley tied the guidance raise to successful risk mitigation and stronger project execution, framing the Q4 2025 stumble as a known, contained problem rather than a structural one.
Three Directors Sold; None Bought
The inconvenient counterpoint: on August 31, Chairman Ronald Tutor filed three Form 4s disclosing the sale of 2.31M shares, 10,000 at $89.86 and 2.3M more at $85.57, for approximately $197.7M. Director Sidney Feltenstein had exited $17.9M at $95.66-$98.18 on August 7, and Director Dale Anne Reiss sold on August 27. Across the 90-day window, insiders sold $216.82M in aggregate and bought nothing. The stock today sits just above the chairman's $85.57 exit price but well below the $92-$98 range at which the other two directors cleared their positions.
| Ticker | Mkt cap | Fwd P/E | 52-wk |
|---|---|---|---|
| TPC | $4.7B | 14.6x | +30.0% |
| PRIM | $3.5B | 12.7x | -52.5% |
| GVA | $5.3B | 14.3x | +22.8% |
| MYRG | $4.1B | 17.1x | +5.6% |
| ORN | $287M | 17.4x | -32.1% |
| AGX | $4.0B | 17.5x | -16.2% |
What Q4 Has to Answer
The $20.4B contract backlog, near a record, with nine mega projects, and CEO Smalley's forecast for double-digit revenue and earnings growth in 2027 support the case for closing the gap between the $88.53 current price and the $116.25 analyst consensus; UBS raised its target to $107 and maintained a Buy. Q4 is the test: whether the company delivers at a pace consistent with the raised full-year range, and whether the material gap between $0.39 GAAP basic EPS and the adjusted figure starts to compress. Run the DCF calculator against the backlog conversion, or pull the full picture at the free Tutor Perini Corporation deep-dive →
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Frequently Asked Questions
Did Tutor Perini beat earnings estimates?
Yes. Tutor Perini reported adjusted Q3 EPS of $1.83, beating the Zacks consensus of $1.34 by 36.6%. This was the company's third consecutive quarterly beat. Revenue of $1.72B also topped the ~$1.62B estimate, and operating cash flow hit a record $331M.
Why did Tutor Perini stock fall after earnings?
Despite the strong beat and guidance raise, the market refused to re-rate the stock. More tellingly, Chairman Ronald Tutor sold 2.31M shares ($197.7M) on August 31, and the stock now trades near that exit price, signaling insider concern about the company's trajectory.
What did Tutor Perini raise guidance to?
Full-year guidance was raised to $5.90-$6.10 from the prior $5.15-$5.45 range. CEO Gary Smalley attributed the raise to successful risk mitigation and stronger project execution, characterizing the Q4 2025 miss as a contained problem rather than a structural issue.
What do insider sales patterns show?
Over a 90-day window, insiders sold $216.82M in aggregate and made no purchases. Chairman Ronald Tutor sold 2.31M shares for ~$197.7M on August 31, while directors Sidney Feltenstein and Dale Anne Reiss also exited positions.
What supports a higher stock valuation?
Tutor Perini holds a $20.4B contract backlog near a record with nine mega projects, and CEO Smalley forecast double-digit revenue and earnings growth in 2027. UBS raised its price target to $107 with a Buy rating, though the consensus target of $116.25 implies significant upside from $88.53.
Tutor Perini just delivered its third consecutive earnings beat, raised its full-year adjusted EPS guidance to $5.90-$6.10, and reported record quarterly operating cash flow — yet the stock fell on the day and now trades near the same price where the company's chairman liquidated nearly $200 million in shares two months ago.