Start here if you're new
what it is
Great Lakes moves sand, soil, and rock so ports stay open and shorelines stop washing away.
how it gets paid
Last year Great Lakes Dredge made $888M in revenue. capital dredging was the main engine at $444M, or 50% of sales.
growth snapshot
Revenue was roughly flat last year at $888M. $632M matters most because this company lives on project timing.
what just happened
Revenue hit $632M and EPS reached $0.90, a huge jump from the prior year.
At a glance
B balance sheet — gets the job done, barely
15/100 earnings predictability — expect surprises
14.3x trailing p/e — the market's not buying it — or you found a deal
7.4% return on capital — nothing to write home about
$0.84 fy2024 eps est
xvary composite: 48/100 — below average
What they do
Great Lakes moves sand, soil, and rock so ports stay open and shorelines stop washing away.
Great Lakes runs about 200 specialized vessels and is the U.S. provider of dredging services. That fleet mobility means it can move equipment when demand shifts, instead of letting expensive ships sit idle. You are paying for scarce hardware that stayed productive enough to produce a 17.4% operating margin.
How they make money
$888M
annual revenue · their business grew +0.0% last year
capital dredging
$444M
coastal protection
$400M
maintenance dredging
$27M
environmental and inland work
$17M
The products that matter
deepening shipping channels
Hopper Dredges
10+ vessels · tied to 70% of revenue
these vessels handle the capital projects that account for 70% of revenue. If you want to understand GLDD, start with fleet utilization and project timing.
70% of revenue
beach renourishment and storm barriers
Coastal Protection Projects
$222M · +5% growth
this business grew 5% last year and sits inside the 95% of backlog tied to capital and coastal work. It matters because it supports revenue visibility when awards keep coming.
backlog-heavy
recurring waterway upkeep
Maintenance Dredging
$44M · -2% growth
maintenance is only 5% of segment mix here. That means you are not buying a steady annuity. You are buying a project book.
smallest segment
Key numbers
$17.00
cash deal price
That is the whole near-term story. Your upside from $16.87 is just $0.13 a share if the sale closes.
17.4%
operating margin
Operating margin → profit after running the business → so what: this fleet can earn real money when utilization is high.
$460M
long-term debt
Debt → money the company owes → so what: it equals 29% of capital, which matters if projects slip.
$632M
latest quarter revenue
That was up 224% vs. prior year, which shows how violently this business can swing when projects hit on time.
Financial health
B
strength
- balance sheet grade B — adequate — nothing special
- risk rank 3 — safer than 50% of stocks
- price stability 30 / 100
- long-term debt $460M (29% of capital)
B — functional but not a standout on the balance sheet.
Total return vs. market
Return history isn't available for GLDD right now.
source: institutional data · return history unavailable
What just happened
beat estimates
Revenue hit $632M and EPS reached $0.90, a huge jump from the prior year.
Revenue rose 224% vs. prior year from the SEC figures, while EPS rose 246%. Gross margin was 23.7%, which says the fleet was busy and jobs were priced well enough to drop money to the bottom line.
$632M
revenue
$0.90
eps
23.7%
gross margin
the number that mattered
$632M matters most because this company lives on project timing, and that revenue figure was nearly 3 times last year's level.
source: company earnings report, 2026
Get this snapshot in your inbox
This page, delivered free — plus weekly updates when the numbers change. plain english, no spam.
weekly updates
earnings alerts
plain english
no spam
What could go wrong
the #1 risk is the Saltchuk acquisition failing to close. If that happens, the market has to price GLDD as a standalone dredging contractor again, not a pending deal.
med
merger break risk
The pending acquisition creates a binary setup. If the deal closes, the stock follows the transaction path. If it breaks, investors go back to valuing a cyclical contractor with a 15 / 100 predictability score.
The whole stock is exposed because the current setup is event-driven.
med
project mix concentration
Capital and coastal protection make up 95% of the $1.0B backlog. That's efficient when awards keep coming. It is less comfortable if public spending slips, project timing moves, or cancellations show up.
Most of the future revenue pipeline is leaning on the same two buckets.
med
execution volatility
A 22.9% gross margin sounds fine until you remember this is an asset-heavy operator with 30+ vessels and a 7.4% return on capital. Delays, utilization swings, or cost overruns do not need much room to hurt you.
The balance sheet is B, not A+, so misses carry more weight.
med
earnings surprise risk
The predictability score is 15 / 100. In human-speak: sharp beats and sharp misses are part of the package, not exceptions.
If you want smooth quarterly numbers, this is the wrong business.
A broken deal, weaker project awards, or poor vessel utilization would hit the same story from three angles: valuation, backlog confidence, and cash conversion.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
deal risk
Saltchuk acquisition close
This is the main event. Until it closes, the stock trades with merger math hanging over every operating update.
calendar
Q3 2025 earnings
Analysts expect $0.31 in EPS and $225.53M in revenue. With a 15 / 100 predictability score, the range of outcomes matters as much as the consensus.
backlog
whether the $1.0B project book grows or stalls
Backlog is your forward revenue reservoir. If capital and coastal awards slow, you will feel it before it shows up in earnings.
profitability
gross margin versus vessel intensity
A 22.9% gross margin is solid enough. The question is whether that margin can hold while the fleet stays busy and debt stays manageable.
Analyst rankings
earnings predictability
15 / 100
in human-speak, analysts do not expect smooth quarterly numbers here.
risk rank
3
that places GLDD around the market midpoint on safety — not a bunker, not a disaster.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutional ownership data for GLDD is being compiled.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
n/a
n/a
$17
current price
n/a
target midpoint · n/a from current
Want the deeper analysis?
The full deep dive: dcf model, scenario analysis, competitive moat breakdown, and quarterly tracking — everything on this page, taken further.
see plans from $5/moThe deep dive