Fluor Corporation FLR has received a letter of intent (LOI) from a leading pharmaceutical maker, marking its second multi-billion-dollar contract win after 2023.

Per the project, Fluor will offer engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) services for the pharmaceutical maker’s mega project in Lebanon, IN. The project underscores a facility that will be manufacturing peptide-based drugs for Type 2 diabetes and weight control, representing the largest ever investment made in an active pharmaceutical ingredient facility.

Per Richard Meserole, president of Fluor’s Advanced Technologies & Life Sciences business, “This monumental project stands as one of the largest life science endeavors ever undertaken in a single initiative and demonstrates Fluor’s EPCM leadership position in the sector.”

The company will be including this reimbursable contract win in the first quarter of 2025.

Fluor’s Refined Business Strategies Bode Well

The company has been focusing on the “Building a Better Future” strategy for more than four years now. Through this strategy, it prioritizes driving growth across portfolios by enhancing markets outside of the traditional oil and gas sector; pursuing contracts with fair and balanced commercial terms that reward value, with a bias toward reimbursable contracts; reinforcing financial discipline and maintaining a solid balance sheet by generating predictable cash flow and earnings; and fostering a high-performance culture with purpose by advancing diversity, equity and inclusion efforts and promoting social progress and sustainability.

This defined strategy has aided FLR’s backlog levels despite softness in certain end markets. Notably, out of the total backlog of $28.5 billion at 2024-end, 80% was reimbursable. Moving into 2025, Fluor is optimistic about the growing demand trends for its services, with the signing of new contracts and renewals of existing ones.

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Shares of this engineering, procurement, construction and maintenance services provider have moved down 24.6% year to date compared with the Zacks Engineering - R and D Services industry’s 15.1% decline. Its strategy of maintaining a diversified business portfolio mix, permitting it to focus on the more stable business markets and capitalize on developing the cyclical markets at suitable times, is expected to bode well in the upcoming period.

FLR’s Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Fluor currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).

Here are some better-ranked stocks from the Construction sector.

Quanex Building Products Corporation NX currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The company delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 115.2%, on average. The stock has lost 30.7% year to date. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Quanex’s fiscal 2025 sales and earnings per share (EPS) implies an increase of 44% and 16.4%, respectively, from a year ago.

EMCOR Group, Inc. EME currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). The company delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 29%, on average. The stock has trended down 21.9% year to date.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for EMCOR’s 2025 sales and EPS implies an increase of 12.8% and 8.6%, respectively, from a year ago.

Gibraltar Industries, Inc. ROCK currently carries a Zacks Rank of 2. The company delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 1.8%, on average. The stock has moved down 8.5% year to date.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Gibraltar’s 2025 sales and EPS implies an increase of 9.8% and 15.5%, respectively, from a year ago.

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Fluor Corporation (FLR) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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