In This Article:
This story was originally published on Construction Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Construction Dive newsletter.
Despite tariffs and other uncertainty stemming from the Trump administration’s policy moves, AECOM CEO Troy Rudd said in a Tuesday earnings call that he is feeling optimistic about the president’s push for deregulation, as well as long-term demand for the Dallas-based firm’s services in the U.S. and globally.
“Given the professional services nature of our work, tariffs are not expected to directly affect our business,” Rudd said. “Over 70% of our workforce is versatile across market sectors and can be deployed to the strongest growth opportunities.”
At the same time, he attributed slightly lower revenue and modest backlog growth to those same policy impacts.
“We experienced isolated delays and deferred decisions on a limited set of projects, which impacted our top-line growth,” Rudd said. “That said, these delays are not uncommon whenever there is a change in administration and the impact to our backlog was minimal.”
Rudd noted that although “changes will be ongoing” at federal agencies for the time being, many projects that were paused due to Trump’s funding freeze have now resumed, and he was bullish about the impact of the president’s moves to slash regulations and the federal workforce.
“Deregulation and permitting reform are tailwinds to our business,” Rudd said. “A declining public sector workforce has been a secular tailwind for our industry and increasingly a demand-driver for advisory and program management services.”
Plus, the construction industry is still benefitting from the Biden-era funding boost. Less than a third of the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funding has been spent, according to Rudd, and both parties are broadly supportive of infrastructure investment.
“Aging infrastructure, growing requirements for sustainability and resilience and the rising energy demand create a favorable backdrop that drives inevitable demand,” Rudd said. “Infrastructure enjoys strong bipartisan support across all of our markets and is an essential element of thriving economies.”
Wins from Q2
In April, AECOM announced it had acquired Allen Gordon, a Scottish water and energy consultancy, in order to boost its U.K. and Ireland presence.
Rudd also highlighted that AECOM will serve as the venue infrastructure partner for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles.
“We are honored to be selected for an unprecedented scope that includes all critical elements of architecture, engineering, planning, program management and construction management,” Rudd said.