By comparison, last year’s top 30 reported total sales for 2023 of $19.8 billion.

In addition to the top four, The Habbegger Corp., AC Pro, Gustave A. Larson Co, Sid Harvey Industries, Hercules Industries Inc., and Auer Steel & Heating Supply Co. were among the companies that also made the Top 30 list both this year and last.

Total Home Supply and Ingle Supply Co., which were not on the 2024 list, made this list this year.

TOP 30 (HVACR SALES)

Sales Optimism

The majority of respondents to this year’s questionnaire reported that 2024 sales had increased over 2023; only four companies reported that revenues were the same, and only three reported decreased sales.

This year is looking even better, in the estimation of survey respondents: Nearly all said they expect sales to increase in 2025, with only one executive forecasting flat sales and none anticipating a decrease.

“I am very optimistic about the next couple of years,” said one company president and CEO, who asked to be quoted anonymously. “Despite the current uncertainty about the tariffs, the fundamentals are in place to generate robust construction activity in our markets.”

“We are excited to live and work in the HVACR industry at a time where there are so many opportunities for changes that help improve how we serve the people in our markets,” said Sid Harvey, president of Sid Harvey Industries, based in Garden City, New York.

Industry Headwinds

Notwithstanding the sales optimism, respondents almost uniformly cited the changeover to A2L refrigerants and A2L equipment, and the tariffs on imported goods imposed by the Trump administration, as the factors that will most impact HVACR distribution this year, and as major headaches.

“Tariffs, tariffs, tariffs. The current on-again, off-again approach is making planning difficult at best,” said Mike Luongo, a managing member at Total Home Supply, based in Pine Brook, New Jersey. “We are trying our best to bring in inventory to stay ahead. Hopefully, consumers will not become too discouraged and stop buying.”

“Factors that are most likely to impact HVACR distribution this year are tariffs and what resultant price increases flow through the value chain, the refrigerant transition, and resulting ability of the supply chain to keep up, and other economic uncertainty,” said the marketing manager at a mid-sized company, who also asked to be anonymous.

“The largest factor by far will be the A2L transition,” said Christopher Hendricks, president and CEO of Duncan Supply Co. Inc. in Indianapolis, Indiana. “Our inventory has exploded due to stocking all (the) HFC equipment that we could find, while also making sure we had all new A2L equipment on hand when customers are ready to change.”

The tariffs, Hendricks added, are making distributors’ jobs more complex.

“The tariffs are difficult to navigate because most manufacturers are passing along a ‘surcharge,’ not a price increase. As a distributor, it’s extremely hard to pass along a surcharge, but we can pass a price increase,” he said. “The other issue becomes when you stock 30,000-plus SKUs (stock-keeping units) and you have to pick and choose which items get what kind of surcharges; it’s truly a mess.”

The state of the economy, consumer sentiment, government regulations — including possible revisions to the American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act, the legislation behind the refrigerant transition — and industry consolidation were also on the minds of distribution professionals who responded to the survey.

“There is a crazy amount of PE (private equity) money out there, and changes are almost weekly,” said James Anley, president of Charles D. Jones Co., which is based in Denver, Colorado.

“The other large factor that we are seeing is PE/corporations buying (distribution companies) and changing culture,” said Hendricks. “We are seeing folks leave their distributors, and customers are following the guys who take care of them. I don’t think this is as large of an impact as the A2L transition, but it is an impact.”

“Consolidation of both distribution and from our customer base is something that we watch closely in our market,” said the marketing director quoted above.

Some Expansion

Many respondents said their company did not significantly change product offerings last year.

“We kept our business the same and focused on our core offering,” said Anley.

A few, however, reported bringing on new products or opening new locations in 2024.

“We have begun increasing our offerings in hydronics and water heaters. Water heaters are selling as we hoped. Hydronic equipment is slowly gaining steam,” said Luongo, at Total Home Supply.

“We have diversified our business geographically as well as vertically over the past two years,” said Patrick Newland, vice president of business development at Hercules Industries, also located in Denver. “This diversification has given us the ability to grow in a slowing market.”