The 2026 AHR Expo was held February 2–4 in Las Vegas, drawing more than 53,000 HVAC professionals to the Las Vegas Convention Center. Our primary takeaway? Wear comfortable shoes – we logged over 15,000 steps per day navigating three expansive exhibit halls. Beyond footwear strategy, a few notable industry observations worth highlighting: 2026 HVAC Outlook...Read More
The Year of The Horse is here! Middle market dealmakers had little to celebrate in Q4 ’25 as macroeconomic uncertainty continued to dampen M&A activity. The Year of The Horse has arrived, bringing renewed optimism for economic growth and increasing consumer confidence. U.S. consumer sentiment weakened in the Dec-Jan period as concerns about higher foods...Read More
The last quarter of 2025 for M&A for manufacturing and industrial businesses continues to build momentum. As one business owner said, “the dust is starting to settle, but there is still a lot up in the air.” Overall, tariffs continue to dampen the M&A activity but there seems to be marginally more clarity going forward. ...Read More
As we move through the first quarter of 2026, M&A activity across the HVAC industry reflects a market that is stabilizing, though still highly segmented. Manufacturing, distribution, and services are each navigating distinct operating environments, with business owners weighing near-term uncertainty against longer-term structural tailwinds. Click here to download report If you have any questions...Read More
In Q4 2025, the consumer sector operated in a mixed environment, marked by resilient demand in essential and lifestyle-driven categories alongside ongoing margin and cost pressures. Performance varied across subsectors, with strength concentrated in businesses benefiting from non-discretionary demand, premium pricing and positioning, and continued e-commerce adoption. Elevated input and logistics costs persisted, prompting a...Read More
We are pleased to introduce the latest edition of our Specialized Services Quarterly Update, featuring a comprehensive look at current conditions across the sector. This report includes a Specialized Services market overview, a focused spotlight on Industrial Services, and investor perspectives on navigating a changing market environment. In addition, we highlight recent Specialized Services M&A...Read More
The HARDI HVAC distribution base and broader HARDI member community gathered last week in Las Vegas for the 2025 Annual Conference, an event that once again underscored both the scale and momentum of the HVACR industry. HARDI welcomed more than 2,000 attendees to this year’s conference, including 180 distributor companies and over 600 total member...Read More
CMG’s Terence Hannafin and Geoff Bradley spent two solid days at M&A East speaking with private equity investors, lenders, and fellow dealmakers from across the lower middle market. One thing was clear: momentum is returning. Deals are moving again, confidence is improving, and 2026 is setting up to be an active year for M&A. Key...Read More
The third quarter of 2025 brought a mixed landscape for M&A across the HVAC industry. As always, the sector’s performance is nuanced, reflecting the varied dynamics of the three primary segments we track – manufacturing, wholesale distribution, and HVAC/R services. In manufacturing, continued tariff uncertainty remains the dominant headwind. Both buyers and sellers have been...Read More
The third quarter of 2025 for M&A for manufacturing and industrial businesses continues to be challenging, but there are still opportunities for well run platform companies. Overall, tariffs continue to dampen the M&A activity in the manufacturing sector as there has yet to be sufficient clarity to pull both sellers and buyers off the sidelines....Read More
