Maximus, Inc. MMS reported mixed third-quarter fiscal 2026 results, with earnings beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate but revenues missing the same.
MMS’ adjusted earnings of $2.22 per share surpassed the consensus mark of $2.20 by 0.9% and increased 2.8% year over year.
Maximus, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Maximus, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Maximus, Inc. Quote
Revenues of $1.28 billion missed the consensus mark of $1.32 billion by 3.2% and declined 5.1% year over year. Prior-year revenues benefited from elevated natural disaster support and temporary clinical volume surges. Adjusted EBITDA margin improved to 15% from 14.7%.
MMS’ shares have declined 28.4% over the past year against the industry’s 2.4% growth. The Zacks S&P 500 composite has risen 23.5% over the same time frame.
MMS' Federal Services Revenues Decline
U.S. Federal Services segment revenues declined 5.3% year over year to $721 million. The prior-year period benefited from elevated natural disaster response work and temporary clinical volume surges that did not recur at the same level in the reported quarter.
Segment operating margin improved to 18.6% from 18.1% a year ago. Productivity improvements, technology-enabled efficiencies and stable performance across core program areas aided profitability.
Maximus' U.S. Services Margin Improves
U.S. Services segment revenues were $418.2 million, down 4.9% year over year. Management expects the segment to achieve positive organic year-over-year growth by the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, supported by work for existing customers related to legislative-driven program changes.
The segment's operating income increased 0.5% to $45.2 million. Operating margin expanded to 10.8% from 10.2% in the prior-year quarter, reflecting continued sequential improvement during fiscal 2026.
MMS' Outside the U.S. Segment Remains Soft
Outside the U.S. segment revenues fell 5.2% year over year to $139.8 million. The decline was due to volume variances across several clinical and employment services programs.
Operating income totaled $1.2 million compared with $5.9 million a year earlier. Operating margin contracted to 0.9% from the year-ago quarter’s 4%. Maximus continues to focus on converting pipeline opportunities to support growth and margin improvement in the segment.
Maximus Posts Higher Companywide Margins
Operating income totaled $161.4 million, down 2.6% year over year. However, operating margin improved by 30 basis points to 12.6%, reflecting better profitability despite lower revenues.
Adjusted EBITDA was $192.3 million compared with $198.3 million in the year-ago period. The margin expansion reflected ongoing efficiency initiatives across multiple program areas, including broader deployment of automation and AI-enabled tools. About 75-80% of new bids and rebids now include AI-related requirements or evaluation criteria.
MMS' Pipeline Remains Substantial
Year-to-date signed contract awards totaled $1.25 billion at June 30, 2026, while awarded but unsigned contracts totaled $1.35 billion. The trailing 12-month book-to-bill ratio was 0.5 times.
The sales pipeline stood at $50.4 billion, including $2.86 billion of proposals pending, $2.42 billion of proposals in preparation and $45.1 billion of opportunities being tracked. New work represented about 57% of the pipeline, while U.S. Federal Services accounted for roughly 55%.
Maximus' Cash Flow Reflects Collection Delays
MMS exited the quarter with unrestricted cash and cash equivalents of $57 million and gross debt of $1.65 billion. Its net leverage ratio was 2X, within the company's target range of 2-3X.
Cash used in operating activities totaled $125 million, while free cash flow was an outflow of $137 million. Days sales outstanding reached 98 days due to administrative delays at a major federal customer. Collections accelerated after quarter-end, with $245 million received subsequently.
MMS Cuts Fiscal 2026 Earnings Guidance
Maximus reiterated fiscal 2026 revenue guidance of $5.2-$5.35 billion, with results expected toward the lower end of the range. The midpoint ($5.275 billion) of the guided figure is lower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5.29 billion for the same period.
Adjusted earnings guidance was lowered to $7.90-$8.20 per share from $8.25-$8.55 per share. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the same is pegged at $8.43 per share. A temporary contractual modification with a major federal customer prompted the company to reduce its profitability outlook. Adjusted EBITDA margin guidance was cut to approximately 13.7% from 14.2%, while free cash flow guidance was reduced to $425-$475 million from $450-$500 million.
Currently, Maximus carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Recent Earnings Snapshots
Trane Technologies plc TT reported impressive second-quarter 2026 results. TT’s adjusted earnings of $4.31 per share outpaced the consensus mark by 0.9% and rose 11.1% from the year-ago quarter’s actual. TT’s total revenues of $6.35 billion surpassed the consensus mark by 2.9% and increased 6.4% year over year.
Clean Harbors, Inc. CLH posted better-than-expected second-quarter 2026 results. CLH’s adjusted earnings of $3.22 per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 17.5% and rose 36.4% year over year. Total revenues of $1.74 billion surpassed the consensus estimate by 6.8% and increased 12% from the year-ago quarter.
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