How these numbers are built
What is survey data, what is original analysis, which rules hold under testing, and which one doesn't.
Gross margin and overhead come from third-party construction survey data. Net profit comes from a 48-trade master dataset maintained by Sulphur Prairie Operations LLC. The CFOS target column is original analysis on top of both. This report publishes 1,008 data points and tells you which of them we produced.
Who produced what
| Column | Origin | Ours or theirs |
|---|---|---|
| Gross margin, trade averages | CFMA 2024 and 2025 survey data, plus a January 2026 specialty trade study | Third party |
| Overhead, trade averages | CFMA 2024 and 2025 survey data, plus a January 2026 specialty trade study | Third party |
| Net profit, trade averages | SPM Trade Benchmark Reference, a 48-trade master dataset | Ours |
| CFOS target, all three metrics | Derived by Sulphur Prairie Operations LLC from the averages above | Ours |
| Revenue band structure | 7 bands from $1M–$5M to $500M+, set by Sulphur Prairie Operations LLC | Ours |
Where the survey and the master dataset disagree on net profit, the master carries it. That choice is deliberate and it's the one place the two sources aren't simply additive.
One rule holds. One doesn't.
Both target rules were stated before they were tested. We ran each against all 48 published targets and kept only what reproduced.
| Rule as stated | Trades reproduced | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Overhead target is the trade average less one point | 47 of 47 | Holds. Recalculated at every band. |
| Net profit target is 10% or the average plus 3.5 points, whichever is higher | 11 of 47 | Fails. Published figure shown. |
Why the counts differ by one. The reference covers 48 trades. It publishes here as 47 pages, because landscaping and irrigation are one market with an identical benchmark profile and two pages would be the same page twice. Rule verification is stated against the 47 published rows, which is the set the rules were tested on.
The gross margin target is published at $1M–$5M only, set at whatever margin produces the net profit target once overhead is paid, and never below the trade average. Every published target sits at or above its trade average, which is the one property that does verify across the whole table.
The build fails before a wrong number ships
The overhead rule isn't a claim in prose. It's a build-time assertion. If any trade in the dataset stops satisfying trade average less one point, the site doesn't build.
The sources, cited
- 2024 Construction Financial Benchmarker, Executive Summary, Construction Financial Management Association, 2024. The survey puts gross profit margin at 21.8%, SG&A at 11.8%, and net income before taxes at 6.3% across all respondents. The best-in-class top quartile reaches 11.9% net income before taxes. Those figures are the whole-population reading, so a single trade can sit well either side of them.
- 2025 Performance Benchmarks, Construction Companies, Jones Maresca and Company, 2025. This study reports specialty contractor gross margin between 15% and 25%. It puts net profit at 5% to 8% for a well managed company, and total indirect cost between 8% and 15%. The indirect cost band is the one worth reading twice, because it's the number most owners have never calculated for their own shop.
- SPM Trade Benchmark Reference, Sulphur Prairie Operations LLC, 2026. The reference holds 48 trades, and net profit in it is stated before taxes. It publishes here as 47 trade pages, because landscaping and irrigation share an identical benchmark profile and are one market, so they're presented together. Everything else carries its own row.
How these figures were built. Gross margin and overhead come from CFMA's 2024 and 2025 financial survey data, plus a January 2026 specialty trade study. Net profit comes from a 48 trade master dataset that covers 24 served trades and 24 adjacent trades. The reference holds 48 trades and the site publishes 47 pages, because landscaping and irrigation carry the same figures and are the same market. Where the survey and the master disagree on net profit, the master carries it. Benchmarks are reviewed against each new CFMA survey release and reconciled before publication.
Back to the 2027 report, or open the diagnostic to read a single trade at a single revenue band.
What people ask
Is this your own survey data?
No, and it's important to be clear about that. Gross margin and overhead come from third-party survey data, principally CFMA. What is original here is the CFOS target column, the rule behind it, and the 48-trade master dataset that carries net profit.
Why does the overhead target recalculate but the others don't?
Because only the overhead rule survives testing. Trade average less one point reproduces the published target on 47 of 48 trades. The stated net profit rule reproduces 11 of 48, so applying it at every band would print wrong numbers on most of the table.
How often is this updated?
Annually, and reconciled against each new CFMA survey release before publication. The report carries the year in its title, so an older edition stays citable and nothing gets overwritten without anyone noticing.
How should I cite it?
Cite the report as the Sulphur Prairie Operations LLC 2027 Construction Trade Benchmark Report. Where you're quoting a figure that originates in a survey, cite that survey as well. Both are listed on this page.
Can I reproduce the tables?
Link to them rather than copying them. The underlying survey data belongs to its publishers, and the tables here are the derived view, not the source. A link stays correct when the next edition publishes.
Josh Luebker ran commercial construction projects before he ran the numbers behind them, on data centres, military bases, hospitals, and high-rises. He wrote CONTROL: The Construction Financial Operating System, which is an eight-step framework for commercial subcontractors, and it publishes on October 1, 2026. He is a master electrician who moved into the office and kept the field vocabulary.
Sulphur Prairie Operations LLC maintains the benchmark reference behind these figures. Every edition is reconciled against the newest CFMA survey release before it publishes here. Where a figure changes between editions, the older edition keeps its year in the title so a citation to it stays correct.