EMCOR's data-center work hit $2.03 billion of a $5.54 billion quarter as mechanical margin fell to 12.1%

*EMCOR's▼−0.82% — EMCOR, down 0.82 percent today first 10-Q to break revenue and backlog by market sector shows over $2.03 billion of a $5.54 billion quarter in network and communications work, converting at a mechanical margin that fell to 12.1% on cost-plus contracts. This file is the first document to break out the sectors and the segment margin split; The Inference covered the acquisition spree on October 11 in "EMCOR spent $1.6 billion on electricians and issued no press release" (/article/emcor-spent-1-6-billion-on-electricians-and-issued-no-press-release).*

A third of the quarter is one end market

EMCOR's 10-Q, filed this month for the quarter ended September 30, 2026↗, splits record revenue by market sector, and the split is the story ¹. Network and communications work, the hyperscale data-center construction behind the AI buildout, was $1.05 billion in electrical construction, up 68% and 56% of that division, and $985.2 million in mechanical, up 128% ¹. Over $2.03 billion of the $5.54 billion quarter, more than a third, rides on one end market ¹.

Backlog is a record $18.6 billion, and data centers are nearly half of it

Remaining performance obligations hit $18.57 billion, up 47.2% from $12.61 billion, with $14.36 billion, 77%, due inside twelve months ¹. Data-center RPOs more than doubled to $8.74 billion, roughly 47% of the total ¹².

The markup inside it is not

The filing also shows what that work earns. Mechanical Construction revenue grew 43.1% while segment margin fell 80 basis points to 12.1%, because more of it is construction-manager, prime-contractor and cost-plus work, which caps markups; electrical margin rose 200 basis points to 13.3% ¹². The quarter also carried $20.1 million of negative contract-profitability adjustments and a $34.0 million non-cash impairment ¹.

Growth was bought as well as built, and guidance is $20.6 billion to $21 billion

Nine-month revenue growth of 22.9% was 20.8% organic after $809.9 million of upfront consideration for nine acquisitions that added about $717 million of revenue, the same buy-and-build drive the October 11 piece tracked at $1.6 billion of electrician deals ¹³. EMCOR now guides to $20.6–21.0 billion of 2026 revenue and $34.50–35.50 of adjusted EPS; Zacks reports it expects a full-year adjusted operating margin of at least 10% ²³.

The market has already voted

The stock closed at $666.74 on November 11, down 17.2% in a month and 34.6% in six months, on fear that data-center permitting slows after the midterm elections ³⁵. JPMorgan initiated at Neutral on November 10 with a $700 target↗ against a sell-side average of $884.11 ⁴. Insiders sold $39.9 million of stock over twelve months with no purchases ⁵. Whether that fear proves out is exactly what no document in the file yet establishes; the sector table says only that if data-center work pauses, a third of the revenue and half the backlog go with it.