Security systems
Security systems sits 6th of 6 in electrical and technology on net profit, and it carries heavier overhead than the 48-trade average. Here is every figure, across all 7 revenue bands.
Security systems by revenue band
| Metric | $1M–$5M | $5M–$10M | $10M–$25M | $25M–$50M | $50M–$100M | $100M–$500M | $500M+ | CFOS target |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overhead | 16% | 15% | 14% | 13% | 12% | 11% | 10% | 15% |
| Gross margin | 22% | 24% | 25% | 26% | 28% | 29% | 31% | 25% |
| Net profit | 6% | 9% | 11% | 13% | 16% | 18% | 21% | 10% |
- 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, each publishing a row of its own across all 7 revenue bands, and net profit in it is stated before taxes.
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 every one of them publishes a row of its own. 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.
Which bands are measured. The first 3 bands sit inside the range the published surveys report, and across all 48 trades gross margin there averages 22.1% against the 21.8% CFMA publishes for all respondents. The 4 bands above $10M–$25M carry the same curve further out, where the all trade average reaches 30.3%. Those 4 have not been reconciled against the licensed CFMA Benchmarker, so every export labels them as modeled and this page says so before you use them.
5 problems specific to security systems
Everything is hung and terminated, and none of it runs until the owner's IT group cuts the VLAN. You roll a crew for forty doors, nine have no power transfer, and you leave. Gear bought in month six to beat lead times burns a year of manufacturer coverage before the owner ever accepts the building. You wire five figures for VMS and access licenses at PO, and the GC rejects them on stored material because there's nothing on a pallet to photograph.
Each one below points at the item, the unit, the clock, or the party that makes it a security systems problem, and it says which step fixes it.
Security systems against the other 47 trades
| Metric | Security systems | Electrical and technology average | All 48 average | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overhead | 16% | 15.5% | 15.1% | 32nd of 48 |
| Gross margin | 22% | 22.8% | 22.1% | 20th of 48 |
| Net profit | 6% | 7.3% | 7% | 38th of 48 |
Security systems sheds 6 points of overhead between $1M–$5M and $500M+, against 6 for electrical and technology as a group. Inside that group, Electrical keeps the most at 9%, and Fiber, Solar and Telecom all run 15% overhead, the leanest. Security systems is neither, which is the usual position and the one with the most room in it.
Other electrical and technology trades
What owners ask
What overhead should a security systems contractor run?
Security systems shares its overhead figure with 12 other trades at this revenue, which is what the published data resolves to. It runs 16% at $1M–$5M and 10% at $500M+, as a percentage of revenue. That sits 0.5 points above the electrical and technology average of 15.5%. The CFOS target at $1M–$5M is 15%. The CFOS target is one point leaner than your trade's average at your revenue.
What gross margin should a security systems contractor run?
Security systems shares its gross margin figure with 12 other trades at this revenue, which is what the published data resolves to. It runs 22% at $1M–$5M and 31% at $500M+, as a percentage of revenue. That sits 0.8 points below the electrical and technology average of 22.8%. The CFOS target at $1M–$5M is 25%. 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 a security systems contractor run?
Security systems shares its net profit figure with 3 other trades at this revenue, which is what the published data resolves to. It runs 6% at $1M–$5M and 21% at $500M+, before taxes, as a percentage of revenue. That sits 1.3 points below the electrical and technology average of 7.3%. The CFOS target at $1M–$5M is 10%. The CFOS target is published at $1M to $5M.
Does security systems get more profitable as it grows?
Overhead is the number that moves. Security systems sheds 6 points between $1M–$5M and $500M+, which is in line with the 6 points electrical and technology sheds as a group. Net profit starts 1 points under the 48-trade average, so the room is in the overhead line before it's anywhere else.
Where does security systems sit against the other trades?
Security systems is 6th of 6 in electrical and technology on net profit. Electrical keeps the most at 9%. Fiber, Solar and Telecom run the leanest overhead at 15%. Gross margin ranks 20th of 48 and overhead ranks 32nd.
Josh Luebker ran commercial construction projects before he ran the numbers behind them, on data centers, military bases, hospitals, and high-rises. He wrote CONTROL: The Construction Financial Operating System, which is an 8 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.