NWPX Infrastructure (NASDAQ:NWPX) executives told investors the company delivered record results in 2025, citing stronger pricing and project mix in its Water Transmission Systems business, improving volumes and sequential margin recovery in Precast, and a year-end backlog increase that management said supports “very strong” momentum entering 2026.
Record 2025 performance and cash generation
President and CEO Scott Montross said 2025 marked “another outstanding year,” highlighted by record safety performance and the highest annual net sales in company history. NWPX reported annual net sales of $526 million, up 6.8% from 2024, and record consolidated gross profit dollars of $103.6 million, up 8.6% year-over-year. Consolidated gross margin was 19.7% versus 19.4% in 2024.
Segment highlights: WTS pricing strength and Precast volume recovery
In Water Transmission Systems (WTS), NWPX posted record 2025 revenue of $350.9 million, up 3.8% year-over-year. Management attributed results to higher selling prices per ton, up 14% year-over-year, driven by improved product mix and broader market dynamics, along with favorable timing on several large projects and “another very strong year of bookings.” Those gains were partially offset by a 9% decline in production volume tied to the mix and timing of projects produced during the year.
Montross called the fourth quarter “exceptionally strong,” noting a 26% improvement in selling price per ton and a consistently healthy bidding environment. WTS gross profit rose to a record $67.1 million, up 7.2% from 2024, and WTS gross margin improved to 19.1% from 18.5%.
In Precast, annual revenue reached a record $175.1 million, up 13.3% year-over-year. Management said an 8% improvement in sales volume reflected continued growth in the non-residential portion of the Park business, with shipments and production up double digits year-over-year, and sustained growth in the residential portion of the Geneva business. Montross said modest rate declines in 2025 continued to limit commercial construction activity, but he characterized the trajectory as improving heading into 2026.
Precast pricing increased 4% year-over-year on realized selling prices, driven by implemented price increases and changes in product mix. Precast gross profit increased 11.3% to $36.5 million, while gross margin was 20.8% versus 21.2% in 2024, primarily due to lower Park production volumes early in 2025 and product mix. Montross emphasized that Precast margins improved sequentially each quarter in 2025, particularly in the non-residential Park business, as higher volume improved absorption.
Backlog and demand indicators
Management said robust fourth-quarter bidding activity increased WTS backlog, including confirmed orders, to $346 million at year-end, up from $301 million at Sept. 30 and above $310 million at year-end 2024. Montross said the company expects the 2026 bidding environment to be relatively consistent with 2025.
Precast ended 2025 with an order book of $57 million, up slightly from $55 million at Sept. 30 but modestly below $61 million at year-end 2024. Montross cited strengthening leading indicators, including a Dodge Momentum Index that was up 50% in December 2025 versus December 2024, with commercial up 45% and institutional up 60%.
Investments, M&A, and capital allocation
Montross outlined targeted organic investments to expand capacity and efficiency and to support the company’s “Product Spread” strategy, which seeks to introduce Precast capabilities across the network and into additional WTS facilities. In 2025, NWPX bid $66.1 million of Product Spread projects and booked $10.7 million, up from $9.1 million in 2024. Management said the effort has helped improve utilization at Precast plants and has gained traction at Geneva, including approximately $2.1 million of Park-related bookings in 2025. Looking ahead, Montross said the goal for 2026 is to book $11.7 million of Product Spread-related projects.
NWPX also announced it completed the acquisition of Boughton’s Precast, a single-site producer in Pueblo, Colorado. Montross said the deal fits the company’s strategy to establish “a beachhead” in markets where it wants to expand. In the Q&A, management described Boughton’s as an approximately $8 million revenue business currently, with “good bones,” and said it expects that, with “relatively limited capital,” it could double the business over the next two to three years. Management also noted the site is about eight to nine acres and is the first property the company owns on the Precast side, which it said is important for future expansion.
Wilkins said the purchase would be booked through the credit line and reflected in the cash flow statement, with the financing on the financing section and the investment shown in investing. Management said integration efforts will focus first on culture and safety, then reporting and systems, with the expectation of integrating Boughton’s into the Geneva platform using the Titan system by about the middle of the second quarter.
On capital allocation, Montross said the company repaid $27.4 million of debt in 2025 and ended the year with $276,000 drawn on its credit facility. NWPX also repurchased about 425,000 shares at an average price of $43.33, totaling $18.4 million.
2026 outlook: higher first-quarter revenue and improving margins
For the first quarter of 2026, management expects higher WTS revenue compared with the first quarter of 2025 on more favorable volume and product mix, despite weather-related seasonality that caused unscheduled downtime across three WTS facilities earlier in the quarter. Even with that downtime, the company expects WTS margins to be higher than a year earlier.
In Precast, management said it expects a stronger year overall, with first-quarter 2026 revenue higher than the first quarter of 2025 and improving margins driven by solid demand, higher production levels with better absorption, and a strengthening order book.
Wilkins provided several 2026 financial estimates discussed on the call, including:
- SG&A expense of $52 million to $54 million
- Depreciation and amortization of approximately $20 million to $22 million
- Interest expense of about $1 million to $2 million
- Capital expenditures of $20 million to $24 million, including about $6 million for investment projects supporting Product Spread and other Precast growth initiatives
- Free cash flow of $40 million to $46 million
Management also discussed demand from data center projects during the Q&A. Montross said the company has seen “significantly more” activity tied to data centers on the Precast side than in WTS, describing about a dozen projects in various stages that represent “several million dollars worth of work,” while noting customer confidentiality and NDAs limit what the company can disclose. He said speed of delivery is a key factor and characterized pricing on the work as favorable.
Leadership changes were also highlighted, including the promotion of Michael Wray to executive vice president overseeing operations and commercial functions across both segments, with Myles Brittain set to retire in April. The company also promoted Eric Stokes to senior vice president and WTS group president, Jesus Tanguis to senior vice president and general manager of Precast, and Justin Fraughton to vice president and general manager of NWPX Geneva.
Montross said NWPX’s near-term priorities include maintaining a safe workplace, focusing on margin over volume, pursuing acquisitions, implementing cost efficiencies, and returning value to shareholders when M&A opportunities are limited.
About NWPX Infrastructure (NASDAQ:NWPX)
Northwest Pipe Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and supply of water-related infrastructure products in North America. It operates in two segments, Engineered Steel Pressure Pipe (SPP) and Precast Infrastructure and Engineered Systems (Precast). The SPP segment offers large-diameter and high-pressure steel pipeline systems for use in water infrastructure applications, which are primarily related to drinking water systems. Its products are also used for hydroelectric power systems, wastewater systems, seismic resiliency, and other applications.
