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what it is
Orion builds marine and concrete infrastructure projects, from dredging ports to pouring structural concrete.
how it gets paid
Last year Orion made $852M in revenue. Marine construction was the main engine at $260M, or 30% of sales.
why it's growing
Revenue grew 7.0% last year. The loud part is the revenue jump. The quiet part is that gross margin was only 12.7%.
what just happened
Revenue reached $619M, up 175% vs. prior year, while EPS stayed thin at $0.07.
At a glance
B balance sheet — gets the job done, barely
20/100 earnings predictability — expect surprises
58.0x trailing p/e — you're paying up for this one
2.7% return on capital — nothing to write home about
-$0.05 fy2024 eps est
xvary composite: 46/100 — below average
What they do
Orion builds marine and concrete infrastructure projects, from dredging ports to pouring structural concrete.
You do not get an $86.3 million U.S. Army Corps project by being interchangeable. Orion operates in niche heavy civil work where equipment, safety record, and bid credentials matter. With 1,887 employees and marine plus concrete capabilities, you are buying a contractor that can show up on land and water, which shrinks the bidder list fast.
How they make money
$852M
annual revenue · their business grew +7.0% last year
Marine construction
$260M
Dredging and waterways
$150M
Marine transport and fabrication
$90M
Turnkey concrete construction
$230M
Site prep and rebar placement
$122M
The products that matter
heavy marine and jetty work
Marine Construction
$545M · 64% of revenue
this is the core business: $545M of revenue in 2025, up 4.5% from last year. if marine awards slow, the whole story slows with them.
largest segment
infrastructure and building work
Concrete Construction
$307M · 36% of revenue
concrete brings scale with $307M of revenue and faster 11.2% growth, but it also keeps Orion exposed to a brutally competitive bidding environment.
faster growth
acquisition-led expansion
J.E. McAmis integration
2026 margin target driver
management is using the McAmis deal to push toward a 6.0–6.1% adjusted EBITDA margin in 2026. that is the bet you are underwriting at today’s price.
execution watch
Key numbers
2.7%
return on capital
Return on capital → profit earned on the money tied up in the business → so what: Orion is generating very little profit for every dollar invested.
5.2%
operating margin
Operating margin → money left after running the business → so what: there is not much cushion if a project goes sideways.
$50M
long-term debt
Long-term debt → money owed beyond a year → so what: debt is manageable at 11% of capital, which limits balance-sheet stress.
58.0x
trailing p/e
Trailing P/E → price versus past earnings → so what: you are paying a growth multiple for a business that just posted an estimated annual loss of $0.05 per share.
Financial health
B
strength
- balance sheet grade B — adequate — nothing special
- risk rank 3 — safer than 50% of stocks
- price stability 10 / 100
- long-term debt $50M (11% of capital)
B — functional but not a standout on the balance sheet.
Total return vs. market
Return history isn't available for ORN right now.
source: institutional data · return history unavailable
What just happened
beat estimates
Revenue reached $619M, up 175% vs. prior year, while EPS stayed thin at $0.07.
The loud part is the revenue jump. The quiet part is that gross margin was only 12.7%, which tells you scale arrived faster than profitability.
$619M
revenue
$0.07
eps
12.7%
gross margin
the number that mattered
The number that mattered was $619 million in quarterly revenue, because a 175% jump proves backlog and acquisition volume are real even if margins remain tight.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
the #1 risk is missing the 6.0–6.1% adjusted EBITDA margin target for 2026.
high
margin execution failure
the valuation is doing the heavy lifting here. management is guiding to $54M–$58M of adjusted EBITDA on $900M–$950M of revenue, which works out to roughly 6.0–6.1%. if Orion grows revenue without delivering that step up in profitability, the premium multiple stops making sense fast.
this directly threatens the case for paying 171.2x trailing earnings.
med
project concentration and bid risk
revenue depends on landing and executing large jobs. the recent $86.3M Army Corps award is helpful, but it also shows the model: a few project wins can matter a lot, and competitive pricing never goes away in contracting.
one slow bidding stretch can pressure both utilization and revenue visibility.
med
thin economics leave little room for mistakes
12.7% gross margin and 2.7% return on capital are not disaster numbers, but they are not forgiving either. small execution misses in labor, materials, scheduling, or project mix can have an outsized effect on the bottom line.
when business quality is thin, even modest cost overruns can hit earnings hard.
low
institutional selling pressure
70.25% of the stock is owned by institutions, and recent quarters showed net selling. that is a lot of professional ownership inside a $412M market cap. if those holders keep trimming, liquidity can work against you.
ownership outflows can pressure the stock even if operations merely come in okay.
the combined risk picture is simple: you are paying a premium multiple for a contractor that still needs to prove it can lift margins from a 12.7% gross margin base into a durable 6.0–6.1% adjusted EBITDA margin result.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
the key metric
2026 adjusted EBITDA margin
the guide is $54M–$58M on $900M–$950M of revenue, or roughly 6.0–6.1%. if that number slips, the valuation argument gets much weaker.
next checkpoint
q1 2026 earnings
that is the first real test of whether management can keep the year on pace. for a stock with 20/100 earnings predictability, early signal matters.
backlog trend
large project awards and pipeline commentary
marine revenue already reached $545M. to keep growth going, Orion needs fresh awards behind completed work. listen for backlog and bid-pipeline language on calls.
ownership risk
13F filings for institutional flow
70.25% institutional ownership cuts both ways. if the recent net selling trend reverses, that helps. if it does not, stock pressure can show up before the fundamentals do.
Analyst rankings
earnings predictability
20 / 100
in human-speak, analysts do not see this as a smooth estimate story. expect lumpy quarters and wider forecast error.
balance sheet grade
B
good enough to operate, not good enough to make balance-sheet risk disappear if execution misses.
price stability
10 / 100
this stock has not behaved like a steady compounder. if you own it, you own volatility too.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutional ownership data for ORN is being compiled.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
n/a
n/a
$13
current price
n/a
target midpoint · n/a from current
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