ICF Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Results

About this update from Icf International, Inc.

―Revenues From Commercial, State & Local and International Government Clients Increased 16% in Q4; Up 14% for Full Year to Reach 57% of Annual Revenues― ―Revenues from Commercial Energy Clients Increased 23% in Q4; Up 24% for Full Year― ―Favorable Mix and Effective Cost Management Drove Steady Year-on-Year Margin Performance― ―Guidance Reflects a Return to Revenue and Earnings Growth in 2026― Fourth Quarter Highlights: Full Year Highlights: RESTON, Va. , Feb. 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- ICF (NASDAQ:ICFI), a leading global solutions and technology provider, reported results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2025. Commenting on the results, John Wasson, chair and chief executive officer, said, "Our fourth quarter results were in line with our guidance and capped a year of resilient performance given the challenging federal business environment. Revenues from commercial, state and local and international government clients increased 16% and accounted for 62% of fourth quarter revenues. This performance served to offset a large portion of the year-on-year reduction in federal government revenues, which was amplified by the direct and indirect impacts of the six-week federal government shutdown. "ICF continued to experience robust demand from our commercial energy clients, driving revenue growth in this client category of 23% in the fourth quarter and 24% for the full year. Approximately 80% of our 2025 commercial energy revenues were related to our market-leading programs for utility clients on energy efficiency, flexible load management, electrification and grid optimization. These are critical areas for our utility clients as they address increasing electricity demand and the need for grid resilience and energy affordability. "We succeeded in maintaining full year 2025 margins that were similar to those of 2024, despite the revenue decline. Year-on-year gross margins expanded by more than 60 basis points and Adjusted EBITDA margin on total revenues was 11.1% in 2025 compared to 11.2% in 2024, benefitting from the increased contribution of higher-margin commercial energy revenues and cost management initiatives, while we continued to invest in growth initiatives and emerging technologies including our AI service offerings. Additionally, fixed price and time and materials contracts accounted for approximately 93% of 2025 revenues compared to 89% in 2024, while cost reimbursement contracts declined to 7%. "ICF ended 2025 with a firm backlog, a healthy book-to-bill ratio of 1.19 and a business development pipeline of $8.6 billion, reflecting effective execution on existing contracts and our agility in capturing new business opportunities with capabilities that support our expectations for future growth. Demonstrating our confidence in ICF's outlook, we repurchased approximately 564,000 shares of outstanding common stock in 2025, of which about 220,000 shares were purchased in the fourth quarter." Fourth Quarter 2025 Results Fourth quarter 2025 total revenue was $443.7 million, reflecting the impact of the government shutdown, compared to $496.3 million reported in the fourth quarter of 2024 and $465.4 million in this year's third quarter. Subcontractor and other direct costs were 26.7% of total revenues compared to 25.4% in last year's fourth quarter. Gross margin was 35.7% versus 36.1% in the prior year period. Operating income was $28.6 million compared to $36.5 million last year, and operating margin on total revenue was 6.5%, compared to 7.3%. Net income totaled $17.3 million, or $0.94 per diluted share, compared to net income of $24.6 million, or $1.30 per diluted share reported in the fourth quarter of 2024. The company's effective tax rate was 18.7% in the fourth quarter of 2025, down from 20.9% in the fourth quarter of 2024. Non-GAAP EPS was $1.47, versus $1.87 in the comparable period in 2024. EBITDA was $43.0 million, compared to $50.8 million reported in the year-ago period. Adjusted EBITDA was $46.0 million, and Adjusted EBITDA margin on total revenue was 10.4%, down from 11.3% in the fourth quarter of 2024. Full Year 2025 Results 2025 total revenue was $1.87 billion, down 7.3% from the $2.02 billion reported in the previous year. Subcontractor and other direct costs were 24.2% of total revenues compared to 25.1% in 2024. Gross margin expanded 60 basis points to 37.2%, driven by the favorable business mix due to the growth in our commercial energy business. Full year 2025 net income was $91.6 million, or $4.95 per diluted share, compared to net income of $110.2 million, or $5.82 per share in 2024. The company's effective tax rate was 18.2% in 2025 compared to 20.2% in 2024. Non-GAAP EPS was $6.77 per share, inclusive of a $0.11 unfavorable impact of foreign exchange. This compares to $7.45 per share reported last year. EBITDA totaled $201.0 million, versus $221.1 million reported in 2024. Adjusted EBITDA was $207.2 million, and Adjusted EBITDA margin on total revenues was 11.1%, similar to the 11.2% reported for the prior year. Operating cash flow was $142 million. Backlog and New Business Total backlog was $3.4 billion at the end of the fourth quarter of 2025. Funded backlog was $1.7 billion, or approximately 50% of the total backlog. The total value of contracts awarded in the 2025 fourth quarter was $421.8 million for a quarterly book-to-bill ratio of 0.95 and trailing twelve-month contract awards totaled $2.2 billion for a book-to-bill ratio of 1.19. Commercial Revenue Fourth Quarter 2025 Highlights Commercial revenue was $163.6 million, up 23.3%. Key Commercial Contracts Awarded in the Fourth Quarter of 2025 Notable commercial awards won in the fourth quarter of 2025 included: Energy Other Government Revenue Fourth Quarter 2025 Highlights Revenue from government clients was $280.1 million during the quarter. Key Government Contracts Awarded in the Fourth Quarter 2025 Notable government contract awards won in the fourth quarter of 2025 included: IT Modernization/Digital Transformation Strategic Communications Energy and Environment Health and Social Programs Disaster Management Dividend Declaration On February 26, 2026, ICF declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.14 per share, payable on April 14, 2026, to shareholders of record on March 27, 2026. Summary and Outlook "ICF demonstrated notable resilience in 2025, driving substantial growth in key client categories, while managing through a challenging business environment in our work for federal government agencies. Our 2025 revenues were firmly within the guidance framework we provided one year ago despite the six-week government shutdown, we maintained our margins, and we built the foundation for a return to growth in 2026. This performance underscores ICF's competitive strengths, namely our diversified business model, deep domain expertise and cross-cutting technology offerings that are primarily provided under outcome-based contracts. "We expect our 2026 revenues to range from $1.89 billion to $1.96 billion, representing 3% growth at the midpoint, GAAP EPS to range from $5.95 to $6.25, and Non-GAAP EPS to range from $6.95 to $7.25, or 5% growth at the midpoint. These expectations anticipate another year of double-digit revenue growth from our non-federal government clients, which we estimate will account for more than 60% of our total 2026 revenues, and a return to year-on-year growth in certain parts of our federal government business. Full-year operating cash flow is estimated to range from $135 million to $150 million. "With respect to the cadence of the year, we generally expect sequential improvement in federal revenues from the first quarter through the third quarter of 2026, returning to year-on-year growth by the fourth quarter. Our first-quarter comparisons will be down as we will be comparing against a quarter that included federal government contract work that was cancelled between February and May of last year. For the first quarter of 2026, we expect total revenues of approximately $450 million, GAAP EPS of approximately $1.20, and Non-GAAP EPS of approximately $1.55. "We appreciate the tremendous contributions made by our professional staff, whose commitment to excellent client work was critical to our ability to navigate 2025 and whose dedication to ICF supports our confidence in a return to growth in 2026," Mr. Wasson concluded. About ICF ICF is a leading global solutions and technology provider with approximately 9,000 employees. At ICF, business analysts and policy specialists work together with digital strategists, data scientists and creatives. We combine unmatched industry expertise with cutting-edge engagement capabilities to help organizations solve their most complex challenges. Since 1969, public and private sector clients have worked with ICF to navigate change and shape the future. Learn more at icf.com . Caution Concerning Forward-looking Statements Statements that are not historical facts and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties are "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements may concern our current expectations about our future results, plans, operations and prospects and involve certain risks, including those related to the government contracting industry generally; our particular business, including our dependence on contracts with U.S. federal government agencies; and our ability to acquire and successfully integrate businesses. These and other factors that could cause our actual results to differ from those indicated in forward-looking statements are included in the "Risk Factors" section of our securities filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements included herein are only made as of the date hereof, and we specifically disclaim any obligation to update these statements in the future. Note on Forward-Looking Non-GAAP Measures The company does not reconcile its forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures to the corresponding U.S. GAAP measures, due to the variability and difficulty in making accurate forecasts and projections and because not all of the information necessary for a quantitative reconciliation of these forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures (such as the effect of share-based compensation or the impact of future extraordinary or non-recurring events like acquisitions) is available to the company without unreasonable effort. For the same reasons, the company is unable to estimate the probable significance of the unavailable information. The company provides forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures that it believes will be achievable, but it cannot accurately predict all of the components of the adjusted calculations, and the U.S. GAAP financial measures may be materially different than the non-GAAP financial measures. Investor Contacts: Lynn Morgen, ADVIS IR Y PARTNERS, [email protected] +1.212.750.5800 David Gold, ADVIS IR Y PARTNERS, [email protected]   +1.212.750.5800 Company Information Contact: Lauren Dyke, ICF, [email protected]  +1.571.373.5577             View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/icf-reports-fourth-quarter-and-full-year-2025-results-302698800.html

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