Great Lakes vs. Orion Group: Which Marine Builder is a Better Buy?

Sraddha Singha June 25, 2025

ORN GLDD

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Key Takeaways

GLDD's Q1 2025 backlog hit $1B, with 95% tied to capital and coastal protection projects.
ORN's backlog rose 11% to $839.7M, but its Marine segment accounts for just over 70% of that total.
GLDD earnings estimates rose 39.1% for 2025, while ORN's 2026 EPS growth is projected at 153.1%.

The firms engaging in public infrastructure are benefiting from a favorable market backdrop of robust public infrastructural demand in the United States, driven by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) backed initiatives. Catalyzing this tailwind, the executive order signed under Trump’s administration in March 2025, to strengthen U.S. shipbuilding and maritime industrial capacity alongside promoting coastal and port security, is proving incremental for marine builders like Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation (GLDD - Free Report) and Orion Group Holdings, Inc. (ORN - Free Report) .

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock is a U.S. dredging service provider across sectors including ports, waterways, coastal protection, land reclamation and offshore wind. Orion Group is a specialty construction firm that is focused on marine and concrete infrastructure.

Let’s dive deep and closely compare the fundamentals of the two stocks to determine which one is a better investment now.

The Case for Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Stock

This Texas-based dredging company, with a market cap of about $825.3 million, seems to be mainly gaining from large-scale capital and coastal protection projects compared with mainstream maintenance dredging. The company harbors specific skill requirements that set it apart from its competitors in the market to bag such opportunities. Notably, the new build program, coupled with the favorable market backdrop of robust public infrastructure spending, is catalyzing the uptrend. As of March 31, 2025, its substantial dredging backlog was $1 billion compared with $879.4 million as of last year’s first quarter, with capital and coastal protection projects accounting for 95% of the dredging backlog.

The type of projects Great Lakes Dredge & Dock engages in are mainly government-funded, which reduces payment failure risks, and are larger in scale with longer duration, thus ensuring efficient asset utilization. Such a positive trait elevates the company's revenue visibility, given its ability to capitalize on the market opportunities and realize substantial benefits. Moreover, these large-scale and long-term projects enhance the firm’s ability to expand its margins and foster further growth. In the first quarter of 2025, its adjusted EBITDA margin and gross margin expanded year over year by 230 basis points (bps) to 24.7% and 570 bps to 28.6%, respectively.

With the new build program reaching its deadline by the end of 2025 or the beginning of 2026, GLDD seems optimistic about the progress so far across renewing and modernizing its fleet, aimed mainly to secure projects concerning coastal restoration and shoreline protection. As of March 31, 2025, it had invested more than $500 million in this program, and in 2025, GLDD expects to spend between approximately $140 million and $160 million.

However, amid all the tailwinds, the company’s growth is being somewhat threatened by the increasing expense structure, mainly because of elevated incentive compensation and employee benefit expenses. Also, the market for maintenance dredging is currently on the softer side for GLDD, as during the first quarter of 2025, it witnessed a 52% year-over-year decline in maintenance revenues due to a tumble in revenues earned on projects in Florida, Louisiana and Texas.

The Case for Orion Group Stock

This Texas-based marine and civil engineering company, with a market cap of about $350.5 million, is also benefiting from robust public infrastructure demand. It shares optimism since the signing of Trump’s executive order for restoring the country’s maritime power. ORN believes that the grant programs for capital improvements, commercial shipyards alongside vessel repair facilities and dry docks, as part of this order, are in favor of its business growth in the upcoming period.

As of March 31, 2025, Orion Group’s total backlog grew year over year by 11% to $839.7 million, with the Marine segment contributing 72.3% to the backlog. As of April 2025, the company had secured nearly $350 million in new contract wins, $161 million in the Marine segment and $188 million in the Concrete segment. Moreover, on June 19, 2025, the company announced winning another $100 million worth of new contracts across its Marine and Concrete segments.

Backed by the federal policy initiatives, especially across defense, shipbuilding, infrastructure, and the reshoring of manufacturing, the near and long-term prospects of the company seem elevated. Being able to capture the opportunities and capitalize on them is proving incremental for its revenue visibility and margin growth. Notably, in the first quarter of 2025, its adjusted EBITDA margin was 4.3%, up year over year by 180 bps on the back of its resilient operating model and increased contract gains for large marine construction and new concrete projects.

Although the company aims to tackle the tariff-related uncertainties thanks to its current strategies and business position, the increased expense structure is posing threats to its bottom line. During the first quarter of 2025, its selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses grew 18.7% year over year to $22.5 million, mainly due to higher incentive compensation, alongside elevated legal, IT and operating lease expenses.

Stock Performance & Valuation

As witnessed from the chart below, in the past month, Great Lakes Dredge & Dock's share price performance stands above Orion Group’s. Besides, both stocks are riding quite above the Zacks Building Products - Heavy Construction industry, and the broader Zacks Construction sector's performance during the same time frame.