IES vs Sterling Infrastructure
IES reported revenue of $3.4 billion in fiscal 2025, 1.4 times Sterling Infrastructure's $2.5 billion in fiscal 2025. IES's revenue grew 16.9% in its latest year, and Sterling Infrastructure's grew 17.7%. IES had an operating margin of 11.4%, against 16.3% at Sterling Infrastructure. Free cash flow was $219 million at IES and $363 million at Sterling Infrastructure. Their fiscal years end in different months (September 30 and December 31), so the periods don't line up exactly.
Side by side
| IES | Sterling Infrastructure | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest fiscal year | FY2025, Sep 30, 2025 | FY2025, Dec 31, 2025 |
| Revenue | $3.4B | $2.5B |
| Revenue growth | 16.9% | 17.7% |
| Revenue growth a year, last 5 years | 23.1% | 15.2% |
| Gross margin | 25.5% | 23.0% |
| Operating margin | 11.4% | 16.3% |
| Net margin | 9.1% | 11.7% |
| Free cash flow | $219M | $363M |
| Free cash flow margin | 6.5% | 14.6% |
| Return on capital | 50.5% | 40.8% |
| Net debt to EBITDA | −0.5x | −0.2x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $42M | $74M |
| Change in diluted share count | −1.1% | −0.6% |
| Last close | $216.94 | $360.72 |
| P/E at the last close | 9.6× | 26.0× |
| Insider trades, last 12 months | sold $255.8 million | sold $96.3 million |
| Piotroski F-score | 6 of 9 | 7 of 9 |
Amounts in each company's own currency, US$ unless marked (a foreign company may report in another), each company's latest fiscal year from its 10-K, or 20-F or 40-F for a foreign company. Growth rates compare with the year before; the five-year rate is the average a year. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending; return on capital is after-tax operating income over the money invested in the business; P/E is the last close over the latest earnings per share. Banks are measured differently (return on equity, efficiency ratio), so some rows apply to one company only.
Ten years
Revenue
US$ billions, fiscal years
IESSterling Infrastructure
Operating margin
Percent of revenue
IESSterling Infrastructure
Free cash flow
US$ billions. Cash from operations minus capital expenditure.
IESSterling Infrastructure
Source: the companies' Form 10-K filings, from SEC EDGAR, and the last close. For information only, not investment advice: the figures describe results, not which company is the better investment. The Filing Desk is not affiliated with either company. Full figures on the IES and Sterling Infrastructure pages.