ICF International, Inc. Revenue Disclosure
NOTE 9 - REVENUE RECOGNITION
Disaggregation of Revenue
The Company disaggregates revenue from clients into categories that depict how the nature, amount, and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows are affected by economic and business factors. Those categories are: client markets, client type, and contract mix.
Client markets provide insight into the breadth of the Company’s expertise. In classifying revenue by client markets, the Company attributes revenue from a client to the market that the Company believes is the client’s primary market. The Company also classifies revenue by the type of client for which it does business, which is an indicator of the diversity of its client base. The Company attributes revenue generated as a subcontractor to the market or type of the ultimate client. For the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023, the Company’s largest client was the Department of Health and Human Services with $415.5 million, $503.9 million, and $509.5 million of revenue, respectively. There was no other client with revenue greater than 5% of total revenue for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023. Disaggregation by contract mix provides insight in terms of the degree of performance risk that the Company has assumed. Fixed-price contracts are considered to provide the highest amount of performance risk as the Company is required to deliver a scope of work or level of effort for a negotiated fixed price. Time-and-materials contracts require the Company to provide skilled employees for negotiated fixed hourly rates. Since the Company is not required to deliver a scope of work, but merely skilled employees, it considers these contracts to be less risky than a fixed-price agreement. Cost-based contracts are considered to provide the lowest amount of performance risk since the Company is generally reimbursed for all contract costs incurred in performance of contract deliverables with only the amount of incentive or award fees (if applicable) dependent on the achievement of negotiated performance requirements.
The Company’s revenue by client market, client type, and contract mix are summarized below.
|
Year ended December 31, |
|
|||||||||
|
2025 |
|
|
2024 |
|
|
2023 |
|
|||
Client Markets: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
Energy, environment, infrastructure, and disaster recovery |
$ |
979,137 |
|
|
$ |
934,399 |
|
|
$ |
805,942 |
|
Health and social programs |
|
620,731 |
|
|
|
765,139 |
|
|
|
814,789 |
|
Security and other civilian & commercial |
|
272,983 |
|
|
|
320,249 |
|
|
|
342,507 |
|
Total |
$ |
1,872,851 |
|
|
$ |
2,019,787 |
|
|
$ |
1,963,238 |
|
|
Year ended December 31, |
|
|||||||||
|
2025 |
|
|
2024 |
|
|
2023 |
|
|||
Client Type: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
U.S. federal government |
$ |
809,073 |
|
|
$ |
1,088,607 |
|
|
$ |
1,084,047 |
|
U.S. state and local government |
|
322,956 |
|
|
|
316,017 |
|
|
|
309,516 |
|
International government |
|
119,131 |
|
|
|
110,680 |
|
|
|
103,446 |
|
Total Government |
|
1,251,160 |
|
|
|
1,515,304 |
|
|
|
1,497,009 |
|
Commercial |
|
621,691 |
|
|
|
504,483 |
|
|
|
466,229 |
|
Total |
$ |
1,872,851 |
|
|
$ |
2,019,787 |
|
|
$ |
1,963,238 |
|
|
Year ended December 31, |
|
|||||||||
|
2025 |
|
|
2024 |
|
|
2023 |
|
|||
Contract Mix: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
Time-and-materials |
$ |
802,013 |
|
|
$ |
855,533 |
|
|
$ |
811,911 |
|
Fixed-price |
|
932,659 |
|
|
|
932,353 |
|
|
|
886,200 |
|
Cost-based |
|
138,179 |
|
|
|
231,901 |
|
|
|
265,127 |
|
Total |
$ |
1,872,851 |
|
|
$ |
2,019,787 |
|
|
$ |
1,963,238 |
|
Contract Assets and Liabilities:
Contract assets consist of unbilled receivables on contracts where revenue recognized exceeds the amount billed. Contract liabilities result from advance payments received on a contract or from billings in excess of revenue recognized on contracts.
The following table summarizes the contract balances as of December 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024:
|
December 31, 2025 |
|
|
December 31, 2024 |
|
|
Change |
|
|||
Contract assets |
$ |
186,684 |
|
|
$ |
188,941 |
|
|
$ |
(2,257 |
) |
Contract liabilities (1) |
|
(46,487 |
) |
|
|
(24,580 |
) |
|
|
(21,907 |
) |
Net contract assets (liabilities) |
$ |
140,197 |
|
|
$ |
164,361 |
|
|
$ |
(24,164 |
) |
The net contract assets (liabilities) as of December 31, 2025 decreased by $24.2 million as compared to December 31, 2024, primarily due to the timing difference between the performance of services and billings to and payments from customers. There were no material changes to contract balances due to impairments or credit losses during the period. During the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, the Company recognized $20.6 million and $17.6 million in revenue related to the contract liabilities balance at December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
Changes in Estimates on Contracts:
For the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023, the aggregate net changes in estimates on contracts accounted under the percentage-of-completion method reflected increases of $14.8 million, $12.7 million, and $7.9 million, respectively, to “Operating income” on the Company’s consolidated statements of comprehensive income. The impact of the changes on the Company’s diluted earnings per share was $0.65, $0.54, and $0.36, respectively. The Company used its effective tax rates of 18.2%, 20.2%, and 14.4%, respectively, to calculate the impact on net income.
Revenue Adjustments from Previously Satisfied Performance Obligations:
For the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, the Company recognized $4.8 million, and $1.6 million, respectively, of revenue from previously satisfied performance obligations. For the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company reduced revenue by $1.4 million from previously satisfied performance obligations. The adjustments were primarily due to changes in the transaction prices and final performance determination of certain awards.
Unfulfilled Performance Obligations:
The Company had $0.7 billion in UPO as of December 31, 2025, of which approximately 66% relates to its contracts with U.S. federal government. During the year ended December 31, 2025, pursuant to the executive orders issued by the Administration or actions by the Department of Government Efficiency, the Company received notices for termination-for-convenience. The termination notices were received primarily in the first and second quarters of the 2025 fiscal year.
The Company expects to recognize the remaining UPO as revenue of approximately 74% by December 31, , 91% by December 31, , and the remaining thereafter.
About Revenue Disclosures
Revenue disclosures under ASC 606 explain how a company identifies performance obligations, allocates transaction prices, and determines when revenue is recognized. This section is essential for understanding whether reported revenue reflects genuine economic activity or aggressive accounting choices. Analysts examine the mix of point-in-time versus over-time recognition, which directly affects revenue timing and comparability.
Key signals: rising contract liabilities (deferred revenue) suggest strong future revenue visibility, while declining contract assets may indicate slowing project milestones. Watch for variable consideration estimates — rebates, returns, and performance bonuses that require management judgment. Significant changes in disaggregated revenue by geography or product line can reveal shifting business mix before it appears in headline numbers. Compare revenue growth against contract liability growth to assess sustainability, and scrutinize any changes in the timing of recognition that coincide with earnings pressure.