Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises stock jumped +16.23% in morning trading to $16.90 following the release of its first quarter 2026 financial results, which showed substantial operational improvement.
For the quarter, revenue reached $214.4 million, up 44% from $148.6 million in the first quarter of 2025. The company attributed the top-line gain primarily to an increase in large project volume of more than $60 million, including work on an ongoing project with Base Electron.
Adjusted EBITDA totaled $16.1 million in the quarter, versus $4.0 million a year earlier. Management reiterated its full-year 2026 adjusted EBITDA guidance from its core business in the range of $80.0 million to $100.0 million.
While GAAP earnings per share showed a headline loss of -$0.60, the company and investors focused on the components behind that figure. The reported net loss from continuing operations was $79.6 million, which the company said was driven primarily by $81.8 million in non-cash warrant valuations and other stock-related costs related to increased common stock performance - costs that management characterized as not reflecting operational weakness.
Operational and commercial metrics were strong across the board. Bookings rose to $2.5 billion and backlog expanded to $2.7 billion. The company reported a global pipeline that exceeded $14.0 billion. On the balance sheet, net debt fell to $42.4 million at March 31, 2026.
CEO Kenneth Young commented on customer interest, noting the company is "experiencing strong interest from new AI data center and hyperscaler customers, which plan to utilize our power generation solutions to support the increasing demand for energy." That demand dynamic was highlighted by investors as supportive of BW's strategic positioning in power infrastructure for data centers.
The market backdrop for the move was largely neutral. Major U.S. indexes provided only modest support, with the S&P 500 up +0.15%, the Dow Jones up +0.09%, and the NASDAQ essentially flat, indicating that BW's rally was driven primarily by company-specific news rather than a broad market advance.
Analysts heading into the print were generally constructive. The average 12-month price target for Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises stood at $20.333, with three analysts recommending a buy and an overall consensus rating of Strong Buy.
Investors also honed in on year-over-year improvements in adjusted results. Adjusted EBITDA rose 296% compared with the prior year, and adjusted net income from continuing operations reached $2.2 million versus an adjusted loss a year earlier. Those metrics helped shift sentiment toward a re-rating of the company's core earnings power during the early months of 2026.
Notwithstanding the operational momentum, the company remains subject to prior legal overhangs: the report noted ongoing securities class action litigation that had weighed on sentiment in recent weeks. Investors appear to have taken the view that current operational performance and commercial momentum outweigh those near-term headwinds.
Bottom line: Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises delivered a markedly stronger start to 2026 on the basis of higher project volume and accelerating demand from data-center customers, prompting a notable share-price reaction despite a GAAP loss stemming from non-cash warrant-related charges.