Elevator
Elevator sits 3rd of 7 in mechanical and life safety on net profit, and carries leaner overhead than the 48-trade average. Here is every figure, across all 7 revenue bands.
Elevator by revenue band
| Metric | $1M–$5M | $5M–$10M | $10M–$25M | $25M–$50M | $50M–$100M | $100M–$500M | $500M+ | CFOS target |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overhead | 18% | 17% | 16% | 15% | 13% | 12% | 10% | 17% |
| Gross margin | 27% | 28% | 29% | 30% | 32% | 33% | 35% | 29% |
| Net profit | 9% | 11% | 13% | 15% | 19% | 21% | 25% | 12% |
- 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.
5 problems specific to elevator
The controller and machine are set, the entrances are eight weeks out, and there's nothing on the pay application because a car with four of five components doesn't run. Six weeks of architect and GC review sit on top of your lead time, not inside it, and the factory doesn't cut a rail until the stamped layout comes back. Your final billing hangs on an A17.1 acceptance test you can't schedule and can't pass alone, and a failure caused by the fire alarm contractor still costs you the re-inspection. The stainless cab and #4 entrances got priced on bid day and bought half a year later, and the lump sum contract has no escalation language in it.
Each one below points at the item, the unit, the clock, or the party that makes it a elevator problem, and it says which step fixes it.
Elevator against the other 47 trades
| Metric | Elevator | Mechanical and life safety average | All 48 average | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overhead | 18% | 16.1% | 15.1% | 45th of 48 |
| Gross margin | 27% | 24.6% | 22.1% | 1st of 48 |
| Net profit | 9% | 8.4% | 7% | 2nd of 48 |
Elevator sheds 8 points of overhead between $1M–$5M and $500M+, against 6.3 for mechanical and life safety as a group. Inside that group, Mechanical keeps the most at 9% and Fire protection runs the leanest overhead at 15%. Elevator is neither, which is the usual position and the one with the most room in it.
Other mechanical and life safety trades
What owners ask
What overhead should an elevator contractor run?
Elevator shares its overhead figure with 2 other trades at this revenue, which is what the published data resolves to. It runs 18% at $1M–$5M and 10% at $500M+, as a percentage of revenue. That sits 1.9 points above the mechanical and life safety average of 16.1%. The CFOS target at $1M–$5M is 17%. The CFOS target is one point leaner than your trade's average at your revenue.
What gross margin should an elevator contractor run?
Elevator shares its gross margin figure with 1 other trade at this revenue, which is what the published data resolves to. It runs 27% at $1M–$5M and 35% at $500M+, as a percentage of revenue. That sits 2.4 points above the mechanical and life safety average of 24.6%. The CFOS target at $1M–$5M is 29%. The CFOS target is published at $1M to $5M. It's set at whatever gross margin produces the net profit target once overhead is paid, and never below your trade's own average.
What net profit should an elevator contractor run?
Elevator shares its net profit figure with 5 other trades at this revenue, which is what the published data resolves to. It runs 9% at $1M–$5M and 25% at $500M+, before taxes, as a percentage of revenue. That sits 0.6 points above the mechanical and life safety average of 8.4%. The CFOS target at $1M–$5M is 12%. The CFOS target is published at $1M to $5M.
Does elevator get more profitable as it grows?
Overhead is the number that moves. Elevator sheds 8 points between $1M–$5M and $500M+, which is steeper than the 6.3 points mechanical and life safety sheds as a group. Net profit is already above the 48-trade average, so the room is in holding it while revenue climbs.
Where does elevator sit against the other trades?
Elevator is 3rd of 7 in mechanical and life safety on net profit. Mechanical keeps the most at 9%. Fire protection runs the leanest overhead at 15%. Gross margin ranks 45th of 48 and overhead ranks 2nd.
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.