Welcome to the Fall 2025 edition of The ESOP Builder — an internal publication for JE Dunn employees. Our goal remains to keep everyone up to date with the latest on the Employee Stock Ownership Plan and how the program directly impacts you as an employee owner at JE Dunn.
This edition of The ESOP Builder shines a light on JE Dunn Project Solutions, a team that does big work through small projects, and gives a deeper look into Bethany Ropa’s first few months as CFO. A complete set of all ESOP information can be found on Connect. If you have any questions about the ESOP, contact Anne Wright.
We are always looking for ways to improve The ESOP Builder. Please send feedback and story ideas to Ben Hobbs.
October is Employee Ownership Month! We kicked off Employee Ownership Month at HQ in Kansas City with a coffee bar and pastries on Oct. 1, and we’ll be wrapping up the month with a celebration in our brand-new amenity space on Oct. 29. I hope to see many of you there!
We kicked off the annual valuation process with our ESOP trustee and valuation firms on Sept. 22 and our advisors have been hard at work over the past month. As a reminder, TI-Trust serves as our ESOP trustee, and they engage Stout to complete the annual valuation for JE Dunn Construction Group shares that are held by the ESOP trust. The valuation process will be completed in early January 2026, and the share price will be communicated shortly thereafter.
This is shaping up to be another very strong year, following in the footsteps of last year, when we hit record-high revenue and margins. Construction revenue is currently forecasted to be $8.0 billion, compared to 2024 construction revenue of $7.4 billion. Operating income as a percentage of construction revenue is currently forecasted at 3.2%, compared to 2.4% in 2024. Earnings before tax as a percentage of construction revenue (return on revenue) are currently forecasted at 3.9%, compared to 3.3% in 2024.
The Board of Directors approved two dividends in 2024: $1.69 per share in June and $2.28 per share in September.
Employee owners at JE Dunn participate in the company’s strong performance in multiple ways, including annual bonus, profit participation, ESOP dividends, and stock price appreciation.
Thank you for your hard work and dedication to our JE Dunn team. We have just 10 weeks left in 2025 — let’s finish out the year strong!
The graphic below outlines impressive growth in employee ownership at JE Dunn over the last 10 years:
There’s this ownership culture here, where everyone’s driven and motivated to not just grow the business, but grow the business in a sustainable, thoughtful, and profitable way. It’s not just one piece of the company — it’s the whole company.
91% of ESOP workers feel they can live comfortably in retirement compared to only 49% of non-ESOP retirees.
Employees at ESOP companies tend to earn higher wages and have greater savings than their peers in non-ESOP companies.
There are over 6,500 ESOP companies in the United States, covering around 14.9 million participants.
