Bird Construction (TSX:BDT) is one of the most compelling growth stories on the TSX right now, and most investors are still sleeping on it.
The company recently posted its strongest backlog in its 105-year history, and the demand tailwinds driving that backlog are not slowing. Defence, data centers, nuclear, LNG (liquified natural gas), and trade infrastructure are all accelerating at the same time.
If you are looking for a Canadian stock with real earnings visibility and a clear path to margin expansion, Bird deserves a serious look.
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Record backlog sets the stage for the TSX stock
Bird ended 2025 with more than $11 billion in combined backlog, a 45% increase over the year prior. Approximately 54% of that backlog is expected to convert into revenue within the next 12 months alone.
According to CEO Teri McKibbon on the company’s Q4 earnings call, the margins embedded in the current backlog are higher than at any point in the last 10 years.
That is a direct result of Bird steering toward collaborative delivery contracts, which carry lower risk and stronger profitability than traditional fixed-price work.
Full-year revenue in 2025 came in at $3.4 billion, roughly flat with 2024 due to timing issues. Several project starts were delayed due to broader economic uncertainty, but they were added to the backlog.
CFO Wayne Gingrich made it clear on the earnings call that the second half of 2026 is expected to see robust growth, with full-year revenue likely to reach double-digit growth and potentially into the low teens.
Valued at a market cap of $2.6 billion, BDT stock has returned nearly 550% over the past decade, including dividend reinvestments. In the last 12 months, the TSX stock has been up 150%, comfortably beating broader market returns.
The bull case for the TSX dividend stock
Defence and data centres are the two sectors that could change the scale of Bird’s business over the next several years.
- On the defence side, Bird is actively tracking more than 200 projects. Canada’s Department of National Defence has outlined a plan for $100 billion in construction spending over the next decade, including $40 billion in northern infrastructure over 20 years. Bird has deep experience in Arctic construction and a growing backlog already exceeding $1.5 billion in defence work alone.
- In data centers, Bird is tracking more than $20 billion in Canadian opportunities. The critical path on any data centre build is the electrical scope, and Bird is the largest electrical employer in the country.
McKibbon said on the earnings call that clients evaluate construction partners based primarily on electrical capacity and schedule certainty.
Management noted that similar construction companies in the United States have seen dramatic performance improvements from data centre work, and Canada is roughly three to four years behind that same development curve.
Bird’s adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization) margin for 2025 came in at 6.5%, up 20 basis points over 2024. The company’s 2027 EBITDA target is 8%.
The balance sheet is in good shape, too, given that adjusted net debt-to-adjusted EBITDA is just 0.82 times. The company has $167 million in cash plus nearly $400 million available on its credit facility. That provides Bird with the flexibility to continue executing on its backlog while pursuing tuck-in acquisitions that add capabilities.
The TSX stock also pays shareholders an annual dividend of $0.84 per share, which translates to a yield of almost 2%. A widening margin base should help the dividend stock raise the payouts over the next 12 months.
