For construction contractors, a robust project pipeline is the cornerstone of sustained growth. Stockholm-based Skanska has seen its project pipeline strengthen significantly over the past three months.

In the second quarter, Skanska reported orders of SEK 68 billion (approximately USD 7 billion), up 20% from the same period in 2025. CEO Anders Danielsson stated during Friday's earnings call that this marks a record high for the company's order intake. The U.S. market contributed SEK 39.5 billion in new orders.

"This quarter was exceptionally strong, but we often say that you can't determine a trend based on just one quarter," CFO and Executive Vice President Pontus Winqvist told Construction Dive after the earnings call. "Overall, I believe the current market environment is favorable," he added. "Of course, there may be some fluctuations between quarters."

The market segments that previously supported the company's performance remain strong. Data centers—which Winqvist says account for about 10% of Skanska's backlog—and civil infrastructure construction continue to provide ample momentum for the company's U.S. operations.

Meanwhile, Winqvist said the company is largely unconcerned about headwinds such as rising material prices and resistance to data center construction.

Material Prices and Bans

After cost increases in the first quarter driven by higher oil prices due to the Iran war,building material costs eased in June. However, ongoing geopolitical conflicts have begun to push costs up again in July.

Winqvist told Construction Dive that Skanska is closely monitoring price developments, just as it treats other factors in project bid risk management. "What matters to us is to avoid, when preparing bids, exposing ourselves to areas that could be sharply affected by the Middle East crisis, such as fuel prices."

As high data center demand helps builders fill their project portfolios, public opposition has ultimately translated into political action. New York State became the first state toban new data center construction permits, with Governor Kathy Hochul imposing a one-year moratorium on large-scale projects via executive order.

Winqvist said Skanska is monitoring the situation, but he is not concerned about the impact of the decision—or other states potentially following suit—on the company's business. "Yes, we are watching it, but we don't develop data centers; we provide construction services for others," he added, noting that moratoriums or bans affect clients more than builders themselves in terms of planning and permitting.

For now, he said, any concerns are offset by continued strong demand. "In the potential project pipeline we currently see, there are still a large number of data center projects moving forward," Winqvist said. "Whether we or other companies ultimately win these projects remains to be seen, but the pipeline remains strong."

Key Figures

Skanska reported operating profit of SEK 2.1 billion for the second quarter of 2026, up approximately 17% year-over-year. Construction operations continued to lead the company's performance, with the segment contributing SEK 1.8 billion in operating profit.

The company's total backlog reached SEK 297.5 billion, up approximately 11% year-over-year. This equates to about 21 months of construction work, a level Danielsson described as "exceptionally high," two months higher than in March.

"I think the quality of the backlog is high. We have successfully positioned ourselves in areas where the market is strong and favorable," Danielsson said during Friday's call. "This applies to almost all regions."

One of the major achievements of the second quarter that Danielsson highlighted was the company's appointment as the master developer for New York City's$8 billion Pennsylvania Station redevelopment project. Skanska announced at the time that it had included approximately$70 millionfrom the project in its second-quarter order intake.