TIC

TIC Solutions (formerly Acuren) is a tech-enabled Testing, Inspection, Certification & Compliance roll-up whose headline FY2025 revenue growth of +45.7% to $1.53B is almost entirely acquisition-driven: the MD&A confirms the August 2025 NV5 acquisition (~$1.7B, $870.9M cash + 73.2M shares) and a messy Successor/Predecessor accounting split, so this is not organic growth and prior-year comparisons are not apples-to-apples. The reported -$87.1M net loss and -$17.1M operating loss look alarming, but they are largely non-cash and deal-related: depreciation & amortization jumped +88.1% to $178M (purchase-accounting intangible amortization) and the term loans carry heavy interest. The real tell is that operating cash flow was a positive $95.0M against just $33.8M of capex — roughly $61M of free cash flow — so the underlying business earns cash even as GAAP shows red ink.

The quality of the franchise is the bull case. Management describes services that are 'often non-discretionary and driven by regulatory requirements, customer risk management policies, and the need to extend the useful life of critical assets' across industrial, infrastructure, and public-sector clients — sticky, recurring, mission-critical demand. With NV5 layered on, the mix is more diversified into engineering, environmental and geospatial. At $8.17 the stock trades at just 1.2x sales, which is undemanding for a business with 29.4% gross margins and durable end markets.