CACI International, Inc. (CACI) Earnings & Analysis

Latest quarter

CACI reported first-quarter FY2027 revenue of $2.5 billion, up from $2.3 billion a year earlier. Revenue was −0.92% against the consensus, while adjusted earnings per share of $7.66 exceeded the $6.45 consensus estimate.

The company’s filing attributed revenue growth to acquisitions and organic growth, including new awards and expansion on existing programs. CACI’s technology revenue grew 11.4% and represented 58.6% of sales. Diluted earnings per share, a different measure from adjusted EPS, rose to $5.84 from $5.63.

Gross margin increased to 35.4% from 32.4%, and the filing attributed a lower proportion of direct costs to a shift in revenue mix. Operating margin rose to 10.0% from 9.28%. The filing said higher debt balances increased interest expense and that depreciation and amortization rose because of the timing of intangible assets acquired in fiscal 2026.

Free cash flow was $150.0 million, compared with $154.1 million a year earlier. CACI reported $4.8 billion in new contract awards during the quarter.

Adjusted EPS is the figure the consensus estimates, not the GAAP EPS above.

What management said on the call

On the first-quarter call, CFO Jeffrey MacLauchlan said pro forma leverage ended the quarter at 3.5× and that CACI expected leverage to return to the low threes. CEO John Mengucci said the company views free cash flow per share as its ultimate value-creation metric.

On the earlier fiscal 2026 call, Mengucci said CACI was seeing customer demand across its markets and that customers were increasingly using nontraditional procurement methods to acquire technology. He said CACI’s approach involves investing before customers need a capability and using knowledge from employees embedded with customers to guide those investments.

Asked about fixed-price work, Mengucci said CACI regularly advocates for it where the work suits that structure. He added that cost-plus contracts can be more appropriate when the scope is uncertain or has yet to be defined. He also said some government customers were buying enterprise software licenses directly from providers, potentially reducing CACI’s pass-through revenue; he said that revenue had carried little or no margin.

On space programs, Mengucci said an award for the U.S. Space Force used the combined capabilities of CACI’s existing business and the acquired space-sensing provider ARKA. He said ARKA brought space-system and payload qualifications, while CACI contributed ground-system software and spacecraft integration experience.

When an analyst asked about margin expansion, CFO Jeff McLaughlin said faster-growing areas generally had better margin positions but did not quantify the potential expansion. He said CACI weighs investment against growth with a focus on free cash flow. Asked about the timing of results, McLaughlin said revenue, cash flow and margins tend to be weighted toward the second half, with margin variation reflecting the mix of programs, contracts and customers.

Guidance

CACI raised its FY2027 guidance for adjusted diluted earnings per share to $33.18–$34.08 from its previous outlook. The company identifies adjusted diluted EPS as a non-GAAP measure.