It will come as no surprise to regular Construction Dive readers that optimism springs eternal on most public contractors’ earnings calls. 

After all, the once-a-quarter public exchange with Wall Street gives company executives a chance to make a case for why investors should invest in their firm. So a bit of glass-half-full banter is to be expected. 

But when multiple contractors call out surges in the same, specialized sectors, you can be sure there’s more to it than just wishful thinking. 

For the first quarter of 2024, those sectors included data centers, which have begun to boom anew as demand for computing power to drive artificial intelligence applications has shot upward. Also in the forefront were public utilities’ waterworks, which have come under increased pressure from population growth and climate change to continue to serve customers. 

Plus, there was increased M&A activity from Granite and WSP, while Tutor Perini called out a trend toward more owner financing in the infrastructure realm.

Taken together, this roundup puts the spotlight on where the biggest public contractors in the industry saw the most opportunity during 2024’s first quarter.