Fuel Tech (FTEK) Q3 2026 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Q3 revenue rose 16% YoY to $8.676M; gross margin fell to 45% from 49%, and net loss was $267K versus net income of $303K.

• Nine-month revenue increased 9% to $21.241M, while operating loss widened to $3.684M from $2.256M and net loss to $2.852M from $1.125M.

• APC backlog was $16.626M at Sept. 30, excluding $3.3M in recently awarded contracts; including those awards, pro forma backlog was ~ $20M.

• Cash and investments totaled $27.8M with no debt; management expected available resources to fund planned operations for 12 months.

Financial highlights

• Q3 operating loss was $523K versus operating income of $4K; Adjusted EBITDA was a loss of $249K versus income of $228K.

• Q3 SG&A rose to $3.657M from $3.207M, including ~$175K in non-recurring CEO-transition costs; R&D was $771K versus $450K.

• Nine-month SG&A was $10.967M versus $9.895M, and R&D was $1.941M versus $1.510M.

• Nine-month Adjusted EBITDA loss was $2.836M versus $1.455M.

Outlook and guidance

• Management expects cash, working capital and anticipated operating cash flows to fund planned operations for the next 12 months.

• Of $16.626M in APC remaining performance obligations, $13.634M is expected to be recognized as revenue over the next 12 months.

• Priorities include deeper core-market penetration, power infrastructure for data centers and AI, water and wastewater treatment, and selective M&A; strategic implementation will take time.

• Management is targeting stable-to-improving margins and SG&A in line with Q3 and the prior year, excluding one-time charges.