Orin
JNYSE·Engineering & Construction

Jacobs Solutions Inc. J

Market cap $16.7BP/E 49.2× trailingGross margin 22.1%
$141.12
−2.00 (−1.40%)Wed close 16:00 ET
52-wk $105.68 – $168.44
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Orin's take
0.62conviction · moderate
Refreshed 14 Aug · take v6. A new filing or a print queues the next refresh.

Jacobs Solutions remains a hold as the stock has extended its rally to $144.66—above both the 50-day ($130.87) and 200-day ($133.21) moving averages—pricing in an operating recovery that has not yet fully translated into bottom-line results. FY2025 operating income grew 24.7% to $864M on 4.6% revenue growth to $12.0B, yet net income collapsed 64% to $290M (EPS $2.38 vs. $6.32), leaving trailing PE at 50.4x—a 208% premium to the peer median of 16.4x—even as PS at 1.2x trades at a 66% discount, signaling the market questions the earnings power.

The record backlog, raised guidance for a third consecutive quarter, and AI infrastructure exposure are credible tailwinds, but President Hill Patrick's sale of 17,201 shares at $143–145 in August tempers the bullish signal from CEO Pragada's May purchase at $111.09, and smart money scores have deteriorated from +0.041 to -0.0003 over three quarters.

What could go wrong

  • Earnings distortion unresolved. FY2025 net income fell 64% to $290M despite 24.7% operating income growth; if the gap reflects structural rather than one-time items, the 50x PE is unjustified.
  • Valuation stretched on trailing earnings. PE of 50.4x is a 208% premium to the peer median of 16.4x and EV/EBITDA of 22.1x is a 55% premium, leaving little room for execution missteps.
  • Insider selling at highs. President Hill Patrick sold 17,201 shares at $143–145 on Aug 7, 2026, partially offsetting CEO Pragada's purchase at $111.09 in May.
  • Smart money outflow. Smart money score declined from +0.0412 (June 2025) to -0.0003 (March 2026), with the trend turning negative even as fund count rose.

What would change my mind

Adjusted EPS normalization. FY2026 adjusted EPS recovers above $5.50, confirming the net income decline was non-recurringbullish
Further insider disposition. Additional senior executives sell shares at current levels, reinforcing Hill Patrick's August salebearish
Revenue growth deceleration. Quarterly organic revenue growth falls below 4%, undermining the AI-infrastructure-driven growth narrativebearish

Where this comes from: FMP TTM · FMP TTM · peer_relative · insider transactions. Orin's read on J; not advice.

Twelve months actual closes to 2026-09-23 · actual filings

Sept 25Nov 25Jan 26Mar 26May 26Jul 26

50-day average 200-day average · volume below

Largest holders · 13F Q2 2026

Money flow
FilerPositionOf fund
Vanguard Capital Management$972.0M0.0% of fund
State Street$931.3M0.0% of fund
Vanguard Portfolio Management$598.4M0.0% of fund
Invesco$425.2M0.0% of fund
Geode Capital Management$418.5M0.0% of fund
Morgan Stanley$400.3M0.0% of fund

82 filers · quarter ended Q2 2026 · positions, not flows

Insiders, last 24 months: 76 Form 4 filings, net $2.1M. Of the 50 on hand, 4 were open-market purchases and 3 sales— the rest are grants, option exercises and tax withholding.

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Where it trades

vs its own 5y · Industrials
MetricNowOwn medianSector
P/E49.2×21.5×44.5×
EV/EBITDA21.6×17.0×
P/S1.17×1.32×
P/B5.1×2.4×

Its P/E sits 80th percentile of its own last 5 years (+1.18σ from its own mean).

What the price assumes

12.0%

free-cash-flow growth every year for 10 years, discounted at 10%, is what today’s price implies — starting from $0.6B of trailing free cash flow. It is an assumption the market is making, not a forecast Orin is making.

What Wall Street published

38 firms · 2026-09-23
Consensus target

$165

$153$174 · +17% against today's price

How they rate it
  • 24 buy or overweight
  • 14 hold
  • 0 underweight or sell

The analysts’ consensus and their own ratings, not Orin’s. A target is a twelve-month opinion published by the firm that wrote it.

Against the companies it is compared to

median P/E 15.5× of 6 peers
CompanyMarket capP/EEV/EBITDAGrossNetROE
JJacobs Solutions Inc.$17B49.2×21.6×22.1%2.4%10%
CPAYCorpay, Inc.$26B23.7×13.7×73.3%22.7%30%
GDDYGoDaddy Inc.$13B14.2×11.0×63.8%17.8%661%
GENGen Digital Inc.$16B15.1×10.1×78.0%20.7%42%
ITGartner, Inc.$12B16.0×10.3×68.9%12.0%401%
NTNXNutanix, Inc.$19B12.5×48.9×86.8%52.8%-396%
TRMBTrimble Inc.$14B57.3×68.4%-2.8%-2%
TYLTyler Technologies, Inc.$14B43.6×29.7×46.6%13.4%9%

The median is of the 6 peers listed above and nothing else — check it against the column. This company trades 216.5% above it. The peer set is the vendor’s, so a company can appear here that a person would not have chosen.

What it has traded at

P/E by fiscal year
FY14 16.1×FY25 61.9×

What its sector has traded at

Industrials
FY14 173.5×FY26 32.7×

Two scales, drawn separately on purpose: a sector median and one company’s multiple are not the same number and putting them on one axis invites a comparison neither series supports.

Discounted cash flow

not recomputed since
ModelFair valueAgainstComputed
Standard DCF$106$124.75 · −15%2026-06-10
Levered DCF$85$124.75 · −32%2026-06-10

The vendor’s intrinsic-value models. Treat them as a low-growth anchor — for a fast grower the market routinely pays well above a DCF. These were computed against the price in the “against” column, not today’s.

Every estimate on one scale

price $141.12
52-week range$106 – $168
Analyst targets$153 – $174
Standard DCF$106 as of 2026-06-10, when it was $124.75
Levered DCF$85 as of 2026-06-10, when it was $124.75
At own 5y-median P/E (21×)$62
At 5y P/E range (18–61×)$51 – $176
At sector P/E (45×)$128

The vertical rule is the current price. Ranges and point estimates are the backend’s, published as they were calculated; an arrow means the estimate sits beyond this scale, and its number is on the right.