Government Infrastructure Spending And AI Will Shape Future Markets

Key Takeaways

• Rising infrastructure and climate-related investments are driving strong revenue visibility, higher-margin contracts, and record order backlogs.
  
• Shifting to consulting and digital solutions is structurally improving margins, operational efficiency, and long-term earnings growth.
  
• Heavy dependence on government funding, technological disruption risks, operational cost pressures, and macroeconomic headwinds threaten AECOM's revenue stability, margin expansion, and project execution quality.

Catalysts

Provides professional infrastructure consulting services for governments, businesses, and organizations worldwide.

• Accelerating global and U.S. government-backed infrastructure spending, especially in transportation, water, energy, and data centers, provides multi-year revenue visibility and a record backlog that should support top-line growth and backlog-driven earnings expansion.
  
• Intensifying investment and client demand for climate resilience, sustainability, and energy transition projects positions AECOM to win higher-margin advisory and environmental contracts, supporting margin expansion and higher average contract values.
  
• AECOM's continued pivot toward higher-value, less capital-intensive consulting (advisory and program management) is driving record segment margins and is expected to structurally improve net margins and free cash flow as the business mix shifts further over time.
  
• Strategic, ongoing investment in digital solutions and AI is already showing positive margin impact and is projected to materially enhance operational efficiency, boost utilization, and further support earnings growth in the next 2–3 years.
  
• High win rates in major, complex project pursuits and a growing pipeline-particularly in early project stages-indicate sustained demand and market share gains, which should drive above-trend revenue growth and increasing operating leverage.

AECOM Future Earnings and Revenue Growth

Assumptions

• Analysts are assuming AECOM's revenue will grow by 5.5% annually over the next 3 years.
• Analysts assume that profit margins will increase from 4.2% today to 5.1% in 3 years time.
• Analysts expect earnings to reach $957.1 million (and earnings per share of $7.55) by about August 2028, up from $674.7 million today.
• In order for the above numbers to justify the analysts price target, the company would need to trade at a PE ratio of 22.3x on those 2028 earnings, down from 23.3x today. This future PE is lower than the current PE for the US Construction industry at 33.4x.
• Analysts expect the number of shares outstanding to decline by 1.21% per year for the next 3 years.
• To value all of this in today's terms, we will use a discount rate of 8.67%, as per the Simply Wall St company report.

AECOM Future Earnings Per Share Growth

Risks

• AECOM's heavy reliance on government contracts means any shifts in public policy priorities, potential fiscal constraints, or changes in federal/state infrastructure spending could introduce future revenue volatility and project delays, especially if government budgets tighten or political agendas shift after elections, impacting long-term revenue growth and backlog visibility.
  
• The accelerating adoption of AI and digital design technologies throughout the industry could intensify competition as more firms-including new entrants-leverage automation and data analytics to enhance efficiency, potentially eroding AECOM's pricing power and reducing net margins if the company cannot sustain a decisive technological advantage.
  
• Margin expansion has been driven by aggressive investments in high-returning organic growth and business development, but persistent wage inflation, global labor shortages, or increasing operational and compliance costs (especially as AECOM scales its advisory business) could squeeze net margins and increase execution risk over time.
  
• AECOM's strategic expansion into early-stage advisory and program management increases exposure to long-duration, complex projects, and while this could boost revenue, it also raises the risk of cost overruns, legal disputes, or project delays that could undermine earnings quality and compress margins if not managed effectively.
  
• The benefits of robust infrastructure demand may be undermined by macroeconomic risks such as rising interest rates or tightening credit conditions, which could curtail both public and private sector investment in large-scale projects and slow AECOM's revenue growth despite a healthy pipeline and backlog, particularly in international markets where budgetary constraints are already noted.

Valuation

• The analysts have a consensus price target of $131.091 for AECOM based on their expectations of its future earnings growth, profit margins and other risk factors. However, there is a degree of disagreement amongst analysts, with the most bullish reporting a price target of $141.0, and the most bearish reporting a price target of just $109.0.
  
• In order for you to agree with the analyst's consensus, you'd need to believe that by 2028, revenues will be $18.9 billion, earnings will come to $957.1 million, and it would be trading on a PE ratio of 22.3x, assuming you use a discount rate of 8.7%.
  
• Given the current share price of $118.83, the analyst price target of $131.09 is 9.4% higher.
  
• We always encourage you to reach your own conclusions though. So sense check these analyst numbers against your own assumptions and expectations based on your understanding of the business and what you believe is probable.