WSP Global on a hiring spree as project backlog hits record amid acquisitions

WSP Global Inc.’s chief executive says the company is in a better spot today as investments in several sectors in recent years start to pay off. 

“I feel very good about where we’re at now compared to six months ago,” CEO Alexandre L’Heureux told analysts during an earnings call on Thursday. 

Looking back over the past five years, for example, he said the U.S. business had 9,000 employees. Today, the company employs 28,000 U.S.-based people.   

“Sometimes, you need to pause and reflect on what we’ve accomplished in the last 60 months and the amount of capital that we’ve deployed in (the U.S.)… It’s 50 per cent of our business,” L’Heureux said.   

“We are now starting to reap the benefit of what we built over the last few years.”   

L’Heureux’s comments came as the Montreal-based engineering firm reported net profit attributable to shareholders of $246.1 million during the second quarter. That was lower than $279.4 million in the second quarter of 2025.

RBC analyst Sabahat Khan said WSP’s second-quarter results were ahead of his estimates.

WSP Global says that as of June 26, its backlog hit a record $20.1 billion, the strongest pace since 2022. A company’s backlog generally signals strong demand and indicates its prospects of future revenue.

Recent wins have included a design contract for a new bus line in greater Seattle, fresh project mandates for a Glencore mine in Argentina and a deal to design exploratory tunnels deep under the Alps for Europe’s Lyon-Turin high-speed rail line, now under construction.

L’Heureux said there are more projects in the pipeline, including domestically.

“You look at Canada, with the backlog growth of 14.2 per cent, I have not seen that in a long, long time,” he said.

While L’Heureux previously hailed AI as a critical tool for engineers, he told analysts it’s yet to add to productivity levels.

“AI tools are … a tool and they are going to continue to support our engineers to hopefully, at some point, provide more efficient design more rapidly,” he said. 

“But I can tell you that at this point, the uplift in productivity, AI has very little to do with this.”    

Chief financial officer Alain Michaud said the company has been on a hiring spree, with roughly 7,000 technical positions open as its project backlog grows.

“Our recruitment engine is firing on all cylinders right now,” he said.

Its employee count now numbers about 83,000, versus 72,600 a year ago and 7,000 five years ago, when it sat on the cusp of a head-spinning streak of acquisitions and organic growth.

In February, the Montreal-based firm closed its acquisition of Connecticut-based TRC Cos., which counts 7,000 workers, making WSP the largest engineering outfit in the U.S. by revenue, it said. 

The company has been expanding its footprint in power and energy, which L’Heureux said has been “very timely.”

“Sometimes you need a bit of luck and I feel that we’ve been very fortunate to be in a position to welcome those two firms to our group,” he said of TRC and Ricardo, which was acquired in October 2025.

On a per-share basis, WSP’s net earnings attributable to shareholders came in at $1.83 for the quarter ended June 26, lower than the prior-year quarter at $2.14. On an adjusted basis, its profit per share was $2.88, up from $2.35 a year ago.

Its revenue reached $5.4 billion during the period, up year-over-year from $4.5 billion.

The company also raised its outlook for net revenues and adjusted earnings for the year.

It is now expecting its net revenues to be between $16.2 billion and $17 billion, up from the initial $16 billion to $17 billion range. Meanwhile, its adjusted earnings before deductions are expected to be in the range of $3.1 billion and $3.18 billion, up from its previous $3 billion and $3.18 billion range.     

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 6, 2026.

Companies in this story: (TSX: WSP)