Jacobs Solutions Plummets 9.6%: What's Behind the Sudden Downturn?

Summary
• Jacobs Solutions (J) slumps to $131.17, down 9.6% from its $150.5 open
• Q4 revenue hits $3.2B, up 6.6% YoY, but GAAP net earnings fall 55.4%
• Record $23.1B backlog and $6.90–$7.30 FY26 EPS guidance fail to offset losses

Jacobs Solutions’ stock has plunged to a 52-week low of $130.84 amid mixed earnings results. While the company reported robust revenue growth and a record backlog, GAAP earnings collapsed due to prior-year mark-to-market gains. The engineering & construction sector mirrors the selloff, with AECOM (ACM) down 4.17%. Traders are now parsing technical indicators and options activity to gauge the next move.

GAAP Earnings Disappointment Overshadows Revenue Growth
Jacobs Solutions’ Q4 GAAP net earnings plummeted 55.4% to $138 million, dragged down by prior-year gains from its former Amentum stake. While adjusted EPS rose 27.7% to $1.75 and revenue grew 6.6% to $3.2 billion, the GAAP decline triggered a sharp selloff. The market’s focus shifted to the company’s $1.24 billion cash balance and $2.24 billion in long-term debt, raising concerns about leverage. Despite a record $23.1 billion backlog and 16% FY26 EPS growth guidance, the stock’s intraday low of $130.84 suggests short-term bearish sentiment has taken hold.

Engineering & Construction Sector Sinks with AECOM's 4.17% Drop
The Engineering & Construction sector mirrored J’s decline, with AECOM (ACM) down 4.17% as of 16:54 ET. Both stocks face pressure from macroeconomic uncertainty and sector-specific challenges, including project delays and inflationary costs. Jacobs’ 9.6% drop outpaces AECOM’s selloff, reflecting its weaker GAAP performance and higher debt load relative to peers.

Bearish Options and ETFs to Watch Amid Volatility
• 200-day MA: 136.38 (below current price)
• RSI: 20.11 (oversold)
• MACD: -1.39 (bearish divergence)
• Bollinger Bands: Price at 131.17, below lower band of 147.51

J’s technicals signal a short-term bearish trend, with key support at 125.81–126.88 (200D range) and resistance at 154.36–154.75 (30D range). The RSI’s oversold reading and MACD’s negative divergence suggest further downside risk. Options activity highlights two contracts:

• J20251219P125 (Put):
- Strike: $125, Expiry: 2025-12-19
- IV: 29.77% (moderate), Leverage: 68.93%, Delta: -0.2669, Theta: -0.0182, Gamma: 0.0294, Turnover: 1,000
- IV: Reflects market volatility; Leverage: High potential for price swings; Delta: Moderate sensitivity to price moves; Theta: Low time decay; Gamma: Strong sensitivity to price changes
- This put option offers 69% leverage and 29.77% IV, ideal for a 5% downside scenario. A 5% drop to $124.11 would yield a payoff of $0.89 per contract.

• J20251219C135 (Call):
- Strike: $135, Expiry: 2025-12-19
- IV: 32.72% (moderate), Leverage: 39.09%, Delta: 0.4024, Theta: -0.1354, Gamma: 0.0315, Turnover: 28,670
- IV: Reflects market volatility; Leverage: Moderate upside potential; Delta: Strong sensitivity to price moves; Theta: High time decay; Gamma: Strong sensitivity to price changes
- This call option balances leverage (39.09%) and IV (32.72%), with high gamma (0.0315) for responsiveness to price swings. A 5% rebound to $137.73 would yield a $2.73 payoff.

Hook: Aggressive bears may consider J20251219P125 for a 5% downside play, while cautious bulls might test J20251219C135 on a rebound above $135.

Backtest Jacobs Solutions Stock Performance
It turns out that, from 1 Jan 2022 through 20 Nov 2025, ticker J has not experienced any trading day on which the intraday low was at least 10 % below the prior-day close. Because the event list contained zero dates, the event-backtest engine could not compute post-event statistics and returned an error (“min() arg is an empty sequence”).How would you like to proceed?1. Relax the plunge threshold (e.g., −8 %, −7 %, or −5 %) and rerun the scan and back-test. 2. Extend the historical window further back (before 2022) to capture more extreme moves. 3. Switch to a different trigger definition (e.g., daily close down ≥ 10 % instead of intraday low). 4. Abort this analysis.Let me know which option you prefer (or provide a specific threshold / date range), and I’ll run the updated analysis for you.

Break Below $126.88 to Confirm Bearish Case
Jacobs Solutions’ technicals and options activity suggest a high probability of continued weakness, with the 200-day MA at 136.38 acting as a critical support level. A break below 126.88 (200D range) would validate a long-term bearish trend. Investors should monitor AECOM’s performance as a sector barometer and watch for a rebound above 154.36 (30D support) to signal a potential reversal. For now, the bearish case remains intact, with J20251219P125 offering a high-leverage bet on further declines.