The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO) shares are trading higher after the company reported better-than-expected first-quarter results and raised its fiscal year 2026 guidance.

Earnings Snapshot

The company reported revenue of $705.2 million, which beat the consensus of $688.9 million.

Revenue increased 17% year over year, supported by contract awards secured in 2025.

These 2025 wins are expected to generate up to $520 million in incremental annual revenue. It marked the largest single-year contract expansion in the secure services segment's history.

New and reactivated ICE detention facilities primarily drove growth. It added roughly 6,000 beds across four sites and increasing total ICE capacity to about 26,000 beds.

The immigration detention centers management company also noted that detention operations continued without disruption during a partial DHS shutdown, supported by essential service status and long-term federal funding.

Adjusted EBITDA rose 32% year over year (Y/Y) to $131.4 million. Adjusted EPS of 29 cents came above the consensus of 20 cents.

At the end of the quarter, net debt totaled approximately $1.53 billion and around $80 million in cash and cash equivalents.

In the quarter, the company repurchased about 3.6 million shares for roughly $50 million. Cumulatively, it has bought back approximately 8.5 million shares for $141 million under its $500 million authorization.

As of March 31, 2026, the company has about $359 million remaining under the buyback program.

Outlook

The GEO Group raised its FY2026 guidance, lifting EPS to $1.15–$1.25 from $0.99–$1.07 (vs. $1.12 consensus). It slightly narrowed sales guidance to $2.95–$3.10 billion (vs. the street view of $2.963 billion) from $2.90 billion-$3.10 billion.

For the second quarter, the company expects EPS of $0.25–$0.29 (vs. $0.26 consensus) and revenue of $715–$725 million (vs. $723.8 million expected).

GEO Price Action: GEO Group shares were up 25.11% at $22.97 at the time of publication on Wednesday, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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