BrightView (NYSE:BV) reported third-quarter 2026 revenue growth led by its land maintenance business, while elevated fuel costs and a non-routine self-insurance adjustment weighed on profitability.
Total revenue increased 1.3% year over year to $718 million. Land maintenance revenue rose 2.3%, marking the company’s second consecutive quarter of growth, while modest development revenue growth was partially offset by lower snow revenue.
Land maintenance momentum builds
BrightView said its land contract book of business grew 4% from the second quarter of 2025, representing a 100-basis-point improvement from the prior quarter. Contract revenue increased 3% in the third quarter, while ancillary revenue rose about 2%.
The company reported its fifth consecutive quarter of positive net new business following an expansion of its sales organization beginning in the second half of 2025. BrightView had added 200 net new sellers as of the end of the third quarter compared with the end of 2024. Its first cohort of new sellers reached the one-year mark during the quarter, and new contract sales were up about 20% year to date from the comparable period last year.
Asplund said branches with customer retention above 95% are growing by more than 10% on a trailing 12-month basis, while branches with retention between 85% and 95% are growing about 6%. Branches with retention below 75%, meanwhile, are shrinking by roughly 10% on average.
Overall frontline employee turnover declined by about seven percentage points from a year earlier, while customer retention improved about 250 basis points. BrightView reported customer retention of 84.6% for the quarter and said more than half of its branches are now above 85% retention, compared with 40% in 2024.
The company reiterated its full-year land revenue outlook for growth of 2% to 3%. During the question-and-answer session, Asplund said BrightView expects land revenue growth of 3% to 6% in the fourth quarter, with the result partly dependent on ancillary work. He said the company expects momentum in its contract book to continue into 2027.
Fuel costs and insurance adjustment pressure EBITDA
Chief Financial Officer Brett Urban said BrightView’s reported adjusted EBITDA was $96 million, or a 13.3% margin, during the third quarter. Elevated fuel costs created a $4 million headwind, even after the company’s mitigation efforts, while a self-insurance adjustment reduced results by $16 million.
Excluding the fuel headwind and self-insurance adjustment, Urban said adjusted EBITDA would have been $116 million, representing a 16.2% margin. That would have equaled a $3 million year-over-year increase and 20 basis points of margin expansion, according to the company.
Fuel prices averaged about $1 per gallon higher than in the third quarter of 2025. BrightView said it reduced fuel consumption by 10% despite revenue growth by using route-based technology, reducing idle time and continuing to refresh its fleet with more fuel-efficient vehicles. Fuel hedging and technology directing drivers to lower-cost fueling locations also helped offset costs. Collectively, those measures reduced the quarterly fuel impact by approximately $2 million.
Management said it did not impose short-term fuel surcharges on existing contracts, choosing instead to prioritize customer relationships. Asplund said major contract renewal periods generally occur from October through December in southern markets and in March and April in northern markets.
Company addresses older insurance claims
The $16 million self-insurance adjustment related to general liability, workers’ compensation, automobile and health insurance costs. Urban said much of the charge reflected adverse development on claims from 2023 and earlier years that had remained unresolved and increased in cost over time.
BrightView said the development raised the total cost of those claims by approximately 20%. The company has closed more than 85% of its 2023-and-prior claims and closed 50% more claims year to date in 2026 than in the prior year.
Urban characterized the adjustment as non-routine and said management does not expect it to recur. The company also cited a 25% reduction in claims since 2023, which it attributed to safety investments, employee wellness programs, fleet upgrades and vehicle camera technology.
Guidance and financial flexibility
BrightView updated its 2026 outlook for total revenue of $2.75 billion to $2.78 billion, representing 3.5% growth at the midpoint from 2025. The company maintained its land revenue growth assumption of 2% to 3% and said its development outlook reflects growth similar to that reported in the third quarter.
The company revised its adjusted EBITDA and adjusted free cash flow outlook to account for persistent fuel costs in the second half and the self-insurance adjustment. Adjusted free cash flow is now expected to be $70 million to $80 million. Urban said adjusted EBITDA would have been approximately $365 million to $370 million under the company’s previous outlook when excluding the higher fuel costs and insurance adjustment.
During the quarter, BrightView extended its revolving credit facility, accounts receivable facility and term loan. The actions extended debt maturities and added $100 million of capacity for future liquidity needs, Urban said.
About BrightView (NYSE:BV)
BrightView Inc (NYSE:BV) is a leading commercial landscaping services company in the United States, offering a comprehensive suite of outdoor asset management solutions. The company’s core business activities include landscape maintenance, development and enhancement services tailored to a wide array of clients such as corporate campuses, healthcare facilities, multi-family residential properties, retail centers and municipalities.
BrightView’s service portfolio covers routine grounds maintenance, landscape construction and design-build, irrigation system installation and management, tree care, seasonal color programs and snow and ice management.
