February’s most popular stories

Two months down. Here’s a look at our five most-read stories from February:

Champions Group strikes $2.5 billion Blackstone deal. “The deal marks the first major platform-level residential HVAC transaction since May 2025, [and] values Champions Group at approximately $2.5 billion, based on an annualized EBITDA figure of roughly $140 million at a multiple of around 18.5x.” (Full story)

Carrier residential sales fall 38%, unit volume ‘over’ 40%. “‘Between 2020 and 2024, our industry averaged 9.7 million units [shipped],’ CEO David Gitlin noted, based on both AHRI and internal data. ‘[In 2025], we estimate our industry delivered about 7.5 million units.’” (Full story)

Lennox posts 32% drop in residential unit volume. “Lennox attributed the trend to continued distributor destocking, softness in new construction, and broader macroeconomic uncertainty, which it says has led to an increase in deferred system replacements.” (Full story)

Ferguson Ventures bets on HVAC, plumbing technology. “While Ferguson is known as an HVAC and plumbing distributor, it’s also quietly in another business: Venture capital. In 2018, the company launched Ferguson Ventures, an in-house investment arm to back technology startups serving builders and HVAC and plumbing contractors.” (Full story)

U.S. housing trend pressures replacement demand. “U.S. homeowners are staying in their houses for the longest time in at least 25 years — an average of 8.6 years, versus 4.2 years in early 2000, according to new data — largely due to low mortgage rates, which has weighed on the replacement market.” (Full story)