Tutor Perini Eyes $200B in Bids, Sees No Need for Data Centers

Tutor Perini has identified $200 billion in bidding opportunities over the next three to four years, and almost none of it involves data centers. The Los Angeles-based heavy civil contractor reported record quarterly revenue on Wednesday, with the bulk of its work anchored in infrastructure and building jobs rather than the sector dominating most construction headlines.

Just 0.2% of the firm's backlog related to data center work as of the end of September. "If you look at the backlog that we have that's data center-related and that is not, it's 0.2% of our backlog as of the end of September," said Gary Smalley, Tutor Perini's president and CEO, during the earnings call. "So very negligible."

Why walk away from the hottest sector?

Smalley framed the decision as arithmetic, not incapacity. A few select additional jobs in the sector may materialize, he said, but the firm will leave the bulk of future data center work on the table.

"Data centers is not going to be a focus for us," Smalley said. "Can we do the work? Sure we can do the work. But, you know, why should we with all the opportunities we have in front of us in the more traditional work?"

The stance lands as the data center sector absorbs a political hit. Dozens of local voter initiatives passed nationally during Tuesday's midterms to rein in data center development. Tutor Perini's diversified backlog insulates it from that backlash in a way specialists are not.

Demand for its traditional civil construction services remained robust, the firm said, "driven by well-funded state, local and federal customers that have numerous large-scale, high-priority infrastructure projects planned over the next several years." The firm also reported commercial interest in new or renovated buildings across healthcare, education, hospitality and gaming.

What did the firm win in Q3?

Tutor Perini added $2.2 billion in core infrastructure and construction awards to its backlog during the quarter:

• $1 billion of additional work on a civil segment project with substantial electrical and mechanical scope
• $577 million in new federal government building awards for subsidiary Perini Management Services
• $145 million in new awards and funding for military facility projects in the Indo-Pacific region for subsidiary Black Construction
• $126 million for various Midwest bridge projects for subsidiary Lunda Construction
• $108 million in additional funding for the Choctaw Casino and Resort-Pocola renovation and expansion in Oklahoma
• $89 million in additional funding for several California mass-transit projects

Smalley also reminded investors that Tutor Perini is working on nine infrastructure megaprojects totaling $16 billion in awarded value. Management did not detail the full list, but the firm holds a role on the $16 billion Hudson Tunnel project and the $3.8 billion Manhattan jail build, both in New York, plus nearly $4.3 billion in contracts on California's high-speed rail project.

What happens with federal funding?

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act's current funding extension expires Dec. 11. Congress must pass another short-term extension or approve the BUILD America 250 Act by that deadline. Observers told Construction Dive a larger bill will likely wait until the new Congress is sworn in next year.

Democrats seized control of both chambers of Congress in the midterms, and Smalley said the results have renewed focus on transportation funding. "What we've heard is that there appears to be some momentum and maybe that momentum will increase based on the results of the midterms for a new transportation bill and additional funding," Smalley said.

By the numbers

• Revenue: $1.72 billion, the highest of any quarter in company history and up 21.5% year over year
• Backlog: $20.4 billion, down 6% from the record $21.6 billion in Q3 2025 but up from $19.9 billion in Q2 2026
• Net income: $20.7 million, more than five times the $3.6 million posted a year earlier

The company attributed the profit jump to better segment margins, higher interest income on larger cash balances, a lower overall tax rate and higher-quality backlog.

Smalley closed with a 2027 outlook that does not depend on Washington. "We are in great shape if there is no more federal funding, but expecting that there will be some more," Smalley said. "There's just too many opportunities and we're so well positioned on too many of them for us not to continue to grow." For contractors weighing a data center pivot, Tutor Perini is betting the traditional pipeline outperforms it.