WSP Global is accelerating recruitment as a record project backlog and recent acquisitions put the Montreal-based engineering firm in a stronger position for future growth.
Chief executive Alexandre L’Heureux told analysts during the company’s latest earnings call that he feels significantly more confident about WSP’s position than he did six months ago, as investments made across several sectors in recent years begin to deliver results.
The scale of the company’s expansion is particularly visible in the United States. Five years ago, WSP’s U.S. business employed around 9,000 people. Today, that figure has climbed to approximately 28,000, representing about half of the company’s overall business.
L’Heureux said the company is now beginning to benefit from the capital it has invested in the U.S. market over the past several years.
His comments came as WSP reported net profit attributable to shareholders of $246.1 million for the second quarter, down from $279.4 million during the same period in 2025.
Despite the decline in net profit, RBC analyst Sabahat Khan said the company’s second-quarter performance came in ahead of his expectations.
Record backlog points to strong demand
As of June 26, WSP’s project backlog had reached a record $20.1 billion, marking its strongest pace since 2022.
For engineering and professional services companies, backlog is an important indicator of future revenue potential and reflects the strength of demand for upcoming projects.
WSP has recently secured several significant mandates, including a design contract for a new bus line in the greater Seattle area, additional work linked to a Glencore mining project in Argentina and a contract to design exploratory tunnels deep beneath the Alps for the Lyon-Turin high-speed rail project, which is currently under construction.
The company also sees strong opportunities closer to home. L’Heureux highlighted a 14.2 per cent increase in WSP’s Canadian backlog, describing the pace of growth as something he had not seen for a long time.
AI has yet to deliver a major productivity boost
Although L’Heureux has previously described artificial intelligence as an important tool for engineers, he acknowledged that AI has not yet had a significant impact on productivity levels.
He said AI tools are expected to continue supporting engineers and could eventually help deliver designs more efficiently and at greater speed. However, he stressed that the productivity improvement seen so far has had very little to do with AI.
Thousands of positions open
With demand continuing to build, WSP is also significantly increasing its workforce.
Chief financial officer Alain Michaud said the company currently has approximately 7,000 technical positions available, describing its recruitment operation as running at full capacity.
WSP now employs around 83,000 people globally, compared with 72,600 a year earlier and only about 7,000 five years ago. That dramatic increase reflects a combination of organic expansion and a major acquisition strategy.
In February, WSP completed its acquisition of Connecticut-based TRC Companies, which has approximately 7,000 employees. The transaction helped WSP become the largest engineering firm in the United States by revenue, according to the company.
The group has also strengthened its presence in the power and energy sector, a move L’Heureux described as particularly well timed.
He pointed to the acquisitions of TRC and Ricardo, which WSP acquired in October 2025, saying the company had been fortunate to bring both businesses into its group at the right moment.
Revenue and full-year outlook improve
For the quarter ended June 26, WSP reported net earnings attributable to shareholders of $1.83 per share, compared with $2.14 per share in the same quarter a year earlier.
On an adjusted basis, however, earnings per share increased to $2.88 from $2.35.
Revenue also continued to rise, reaching $5.4 billion during the quarter compared with $4.5 billion a year earlier.
WSP has subsequently raised its full-year expectations for both net revenues and adjusted earnings.
The company now expects net revenues between $16.2 billion and $17 billion, compared with its previous guidance of $16 billion to $17 billion.
Adjusted earnings before deductions are expected to reach between $3.1 billion and $3.18 billion, compared with the previous range of $3 billion to $3.18 billion.
With a record backlog, thousands of open technical positions and continued expansion through acquisitions, WSP is positioning itself to capitalize on sustained demand for engineering and infrastructure services across North America and international markets.
