13. Commitments and Contingencies

Claims and Lawsuits

We are subject to certain legal and regulatory claims, including lawsuits arising in the normal course of business. We maintain various insurance coverages to minimize financial risk associated with these claims. We have estimated and provided accruals for probable losses and related legal fees associated with certain litigation in the accompanying consolidated financial statements. While we cannot predict the outcome of these proceedings, in management’s opinion and based on reports of counsel, any liability arising from these matters individually and in the

aggregate will not have a material effect on our operating results, cash flows or financial condition, after giving effect to provisions already recorded.

In 2023, we recorded a pre-tax gain of $6.8 million from legal developments and settlements that primarily relate to disputes with customers regarding the outcome of completed projects as well as an obligation to perform subcontract work under two executed letters of intent for subsequent projects that we believed were not enforceable. The pre-tax gain of $6.8 million was recorded as an increase in gross profit of $6.6 million, a reduction in SG&A of $0.7 million, an increase in interest income of $1.3 million and an increase in the change in fair value of contingent earn-out obligations expense of $1.8 million in our Consolidated Statement of Operations.

As of December 31, 2025, we recorded an accrual for unresolved matters, which is not material to our financial statements, based on our analysis of likely outcomes related to the respective matters; however, it is possible that the ultimate outcome and associated costs will deviate from our estimates and that, in the event of an unexpectedly adverse outcome, we may experience additional costs and expenses in future periods.

Surety

Many customers, particularly in connection with new construction, require us to post performance and payment bonds issued by a financial institution known as a surety. If we fail to perform under the terms of a contract or to pay subcontractors and vendors who provided goods or services under a contract, the customer may demand that the surety make payments or provide services under the bond. We must reimburse the surety for any expenses or outlays it incurs.

Current market conditions for surety markets and bonding capacity are adequate, with acceptable terms and conditions. Historically, approximately 10% to 20% of our business has required bonds. While we currently have strong surety relationships to support our bonding needs, future market conditions or changes in the sureties’ assessments of our operating and financial risk could cause the sureties to decline to issue bonds for our work. If that were to occur, the alternatives include doing more business that does not require bonds, posting other forms of collateral for project performance, such as letters of credit or cash, and seeking bonding capacity from other sureties. We would likely also encounter concerns from customers, suppliers and other market participants as to our creditworthiness. While we believe our general operating and financial characteristics would enable us to ultimately respond effectively to an interruption in the availability of bonding capacity, such an interruption would likely cause our revenue and profits to decline in the near term.

Self-Insurance

We are substantially self-insured for workers’ compensation, employer’s liability, auto liability, general liability, and other ancillary coverages, due to the relatively high per-incident deductibles and retained losses that we absorb under our insurance arrangements for these risks. We primarily manage and maintain our insured risks through our wholly owned captive insurance company. Loss estimates associated with the larger and longer-developing risks, such as workers’ compensation, auto liability and general liability, are reviewed and estimated by a third-party actuary quarterly and we accrue for these exposures based on that analysis. We generally retain the first $500,000 per occurrence for losses under our individual lines, and within our captive insurance company we absorb a larger portion of the first large loss in any given policy year, with reinsurance providing additional risk transfer for subsequent large losses, if any. Although we maintain some multi-year agreements for key reinsured risks, we renew most of our insurance policies each year, and therefore deductibles, reinsurance amounts and levels of coverage may change in future periods. For additional information regarding our insurance and the risks associated with insurance coverage, see “Item 1A—Risks Factors.”

Historical Timeline

Fiscal YearFiled
2025Feb 19, 2026Showing above
2024Feb 20, 2025
2023Feb 22, 2024
2022Feb 22, 2023
2021Feb 23, 2022
2020Feb 25, 2021
2019Feb 26, 2020
2018Feb 21, 2019
2017Feb 22, 2018
2016Feb 23, 2017
2015Feb 23, 2016

About Commitments Disclosures

Commitments and contingencies disclosures catalog a company's off-balance-sheet obligations and legal exposures — purchase commitments, guarantee arrangements, pending litigation, and regulatory proceedings. These items represent potential future cash outflows that may not appear as liabilities on the balance sheet until they become probable and estimable.

Key signals: litigation reserves and disclosed loss ranges quantify management's estimate of legal exposure, but unquantified "reasonably possible" losses often represent the larger risk. Watch for changes in language around pending cases — shifts from "remote" to "reasonably possible" or increases in estimated loss ranges signal deteriorating outcomes. Unconditional purchase obligations and take-or-pay contracts create fixed cost structures that reduce operational flexibility. Guarantee arrangements for subsidiaries or joint ventures can create cascading obligations. Compare the total commitment schedule against projected free cash flow to assess whether the company can meet its obligations without additional financing.