Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Stock Price, News & Analysis

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation (NASDAQ: GLDD) is a construction-sector company focused on dredging services and related marine infrastructure work. The company is described in its public disclosures as the largest provider of dredging services in the United States, complemented by a long history of executing significant international projects. Great Lakes operates within the site preparation and marine construction space, supporting navigation channels, coastal areas, ports, and other waterborne infrastructure.

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Great Lakes has been in operation for over 135 years, according to its company descriptions in recent news releases. Over this long history, the company states that it has never failed to complete a marine project, highlighting an extensive track record in complex marine environments. Its work is generally performed in coastal waterways and deep-water ports, and its project portfolio includes coastal restoration, coastal protection, ports and harbors, international projects, and inland dredging.

Core business and operations

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock generates its business by providing dredging and related marine construction services. Dredging, as described in company and industry materials, involves enhancing or preserving the navigability of waterways or protecting shorelines through the removal or replenishment of soil, sand, or rock. Great Lakes applies these capabilities across a range of project types, including capital projects for port deepening and navigation improvements, coastal protection and beach renourishment, and maintenance of existing channels and waterways.

The company reports that it owns and operates the largest and most diverse fleet in the U.S. dredging industry, comprised of approximately 200 specialized vessels. This fleet includes hopper dredges and other equipment used to execute projects along U.S. coasts, ports, channels, and coastal developments. Recent company communications also note the delivery of new Jones Act-compliant hopper dredges, such as the Amelia Island and its sister ship the Galveston Island, which are intended to support beach renourishment, coastal protection, channel deepening, and maintenance dredging along U.S. coastlines.

Project portfolio and examples

Great Lakes’ project portfolio, as described in its disclosures and news releases, spans several key categories:

• Coastal restoration and protection – Projects that involve beach renourishment and shoreline reinforcement, such as renourishment work along the Florida and Delaware coasts.
• Ports and harbors – Capital and maintenance dredging to deepen or maintain navigation channels serving major ports and harbor systems.
• Inland and river navigation – Dredging to return navigation channels to authorized depths on river systems and inland waterways.
• International and large-scale marine projects – The company notes a long history of performing significant international projects in addition to its U.S. work.

Recent awards described in company news include maintenance and coastal protection projects such as work on the Mississippi River from Baton Rouge to the Gulf, regional harbor dredging in the South Atlantic, maintenance dredging in Baltimore Harbor and channels, and beach renourishment and coastal protection projects in Florida, New York, Arkansas/Oklahoma, and Delaware. These examples illustrate how the company’s dredging services support navigation, environmental restoration, and coastal resilience.

Offshore energy and subsea infrastructure

In its public communications, Great Lakes states that it is fully engaged in expanding its core business into the offshore energy industry. In 2021, the company formed an Offshore Energy sector, which it describes as a strategic growth area. This business focuses on subsea rock installation and related services that support offshore wind and other subsea infrastructure.

The company highlights the Acadia, described as the first U.S.-flagged, Jones Act-compliant subsea rock installation vessel. According to recent news, the Acadia is designed to serve projects in both domestic and international markets focused on safeguarding critical subsea infrastructure, including subsea cables for power transmission, telecommunications cables, oil and gas pipelines, and offshore wind developments. Great Lakes reports that the Acadia is expected to work on projects such as Equinor’s Empire Wind I and Orsted’s Sunrise Wind, and that it is pursuing opportunities across offshore wind, pipeline protection, and cable protection markets.

Great Lakes has also entered into a collaboration agreement to provide dredging services in connection with a potential offshore mineral lease project led by Odyssey Marine Exploration. In that context, the company is described as bringing extensive experience in large-scale dredging operations, navigation channel maintenance, and beneficial reuse projects along the U.S. East Coast, including work throughout the Chesapeake Bay region and the maintenance of more than 300 miles of navigation channels.

Fleet, engineering capabilities, and safety culture

The company emphasizes its combination of specialized vessels, engineering expertise, and safety culture. Great Lakes employs civil, ocean, and mechanical engineering staff in its estimating, production, and project management functions. It also notes a disciplined training program for engineers that is intended to ensure experience-based performance as personnel advance through company operations.

Safety is described as a core value. Great Lakes highlights its Incident-and Injury-Free® (IIF®) safety management program, which it states is integrated into all aspects of the company’s culture. According to company descriptions, this commitment to an IIF culture promotes a work environment where employee safety is paramount.

In addition to navigation and infrastructure benefits, the company notes that its projects have removed tens of millions of cubic yards of material while supporting beneficial reuse for ecosystem restoration. An example cited in its news materials is the Paul S. Sarbanes Ecosystem Restoration Project at Poplar Island, where dredged material is used in ecosystem restoration efforts.

Capital structure and credit facilities

Great Lakes is a publicly traded corporation listed on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol GLDD. The company periodically files reports and current reports on Form 8-K with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including earnings releases and disclosures regarding material definitive agreements.

In a recent Form 8-K, the company reported entering into an Amendment No. 3 to its Second Amended and Restated Revolving Credit and Security Agreement. This amended credit agreement provides for a senior secured revolving credit facility with an aggregate principal amount of up to $430 million, an increase from the prior facility. The company disclosed that borrowings under this amended facility are used, among other purposes, to prepay indebtedness under a second lien credit facility, finance permitted acquisitions, support ongoing working capital, and fund other general corporate purposes. The obligations under the amended credit agreement are secured by substantially all of the assets of the credit parties, including a first-priority lien on substantially all U.S.-flagged and located vessels and a lien on domestic accounts receivable and other assets, subject to permitted liens.

Through its SEC filings and earnings releases, Great Lakes also discusses its use of non-GAAP measures such as Adjusted EBITDA to evaluate operating trends. The company explains that Adjusted EBITDA is used by management and stakeholders to assess performance, while emphasizing that it is a supplemental measure and not a substitute for GAAP metrics.

Business scale and market role

Within the U.S. dredging and marine construction industry, Great Lakes positions itself as the largest provider of dredging services in the United States, supported by what it describes as the largest and most diverse fleet in the U.S. dredging industry. Its long operating history, extensive fleet, and combination of domestic and international project experience place it among the most established participants in this specialized segment of the construction sector.

The company’s backlog disclosures in its earnings releases indicate a substantial pipeline of dredging and offshore energy work, including capital projects, coastal protection, and offshore energy contracts. While specific backlog amounts and financial figures change over time, these disclosures underscore the ongoing demand for dredging and marine infrastructure services and the role Great Lakes plays in executing such projects.

Regulatory and customer environment

Great Lakes frequently references its work with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the “Corps”) in its news releases. Many of its dredging and coastal protection projects are described as federally funded, or funded through combinations of federal, state, and local sources. The company notes that its operations and project awards can be influenced by federal budget processes and appropriations, and it discusses these factors in the context of market updates and risk disclosures.

In addition to Corps-related work, the company’s offshore energy activities involve collaboration with energy companies and participation in projects related to offshore wind and subsea infrastructure. Great Lakes also notes that its amended credit agreement includes an impact loan option with a sublimit for capital investments related to renewable energy and clean transportation projects, subject to specified criteria and impact loan principles.

Summary

According to its public disclosures, Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation is a long-established, Houston-based marine construction company whose primary business is dredging and related services in the United States, supported by international project experience. It operates a large and diverse fleet of specialized vessels, employs engineering and project management staff to execute complex marine projects, and emphasizes safety through its Incident-and Injury-Free® program. The company is expanding into offshore energy and subsea infrastructure through its Offshore Energy sector and the development of specialized vessels such as the Acadia. As a NASDAQ-listed company, Great Lakes provides regular financial and operational updates through SEC filings and news releases, offering investors and other stakeholders insight into its operations, backlog, and capital structure.