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Construction Dive’s Feb.

2026-02-18 · 15:54 UTC ·Construction Dive ·5 min read

Brief

The Feb. 18 Construction Dive newsletter is a broad construction-industry roundup centered on earnings, project delivery, and public infrastructure. The most notable corporate item is Fluor’s $1.57 billion fourth-quarter loss, paired with management guidance that 2026 conditions should rebound after a weak end to 2025. On the project side, McCarthy reached the topping-out milestone on UC Davis Health’s $3.7 billion, 14-story tower, signaling continued momentum in large institutional builds, while Smithfield committed $1.3 billion to a more efficient replacement pork-processing and packaged-meats plant in South Dakota. Transportation infrastructure also features prominently: Arizona DOT awarded a $410 million design-build contract for roughly 12 miles of I-10 to a team including Coffman Specialties, Fisher Sand & Gravel, and Stantec, and the Gateway tunnel project secured $30 million in federal funds even as President Trump publicly ruled out federal coverage for cost overruns. The newsletter also notes improving labor-health outcomes, with construction overdose deaths down 28.8% and suicides down 1.7% in 2024.

Why it matters

Construction Dive’s Feb. 18, 2026 newsletter highlights major contractor earnings, large project milestones, and U.S. infrastructure funding moves.

Key details

Fluor reported a $1.57 billion Q4 loss, but CEO Jim Breuer said the muted construction environment seen at the end of 2025 should improve in 2026 as prior uncertainty “is abating.”
McCarthy topped out a $3.7 billion, 14-story UC Davis Health tower in California; the St. Louis-based contractor began work on the project in 2024.
Smithfield Foods plans a $1.3 billion pork processing and packaged meats facility in South Dakota to replace a plant more than 100 years old, with the company citing significant efficiency gains.
Arizona DOT selected Coffman Specialties, Fisher Sand & Gravel Co., and Stantec for a $410 million design-build project covering about 12 miles of I-10, while the Gateway tunnel project received $30 million in federal funds amid a White House warning that no federal money would cover overruns.
Construction worker well-being indicators improved in 2024: overdose deaths fell 28.8% year over year and deaths by suicide declined 1.7%, according to NABTU and CPWR data.

Cleaned source text

title: Feb. 18 - Fluor posts $1.57B Q4 loss | McCarthy tops out $3.7B California tower

author: Construction Dive

content_type: newsletter

publication: divenewsletter.com

published: 2026-02-18T10:54:07-05:00

source_url: gmail://19c7175892779e7c

word_count: 1044

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Feb. 18, 2026 | Today’s news and insights for construction leaders

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Fluor lost $1.57B in Q4, expects 2026 rebound

A muted construction environment at the end of 2025 should begin to turn around this year, said CEO Jim Breuer, as uncertainty from “last year is abating.”

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