Comfort Systems USA

Comfort Systems USA, Inc. is an American company that provides mechanical and electrical contracting services, primarily HVAC, plumbing, piping and controls, off-site construction, monitoring and fire protection, and installation and servicing of electrical systems.[1]

The company is registered in Delaware and headquartered in Houston, Texas. It has 47 operating units with 178 locations in 136 cities in the United States.[1] It is ranked 520th on the Fortune 500.[2] In 2024, the company was ranked 6th by Engineering News-Record on its list of the top 600 specialty contractors.[3] It is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol FIX.

In 2024, 56.7% of revenue was from installation services in newly constructed facilities and 43.3% was from renovation, expansion, maintenance, repair and replacement services in existing buildings.[1]

History

In June 1997, 12 companies were merged into the newly-formed Comfort Systems USA, which then became a public company via an initial public offering.[4][5]

In February 2002, after a decline in business after the September 11 attacks and facing $205 million in debt due the following year, the company sold 19 subsidiaries to Emcor for $164 million in cash and the assumption of $22 million of debt.[6][7]

In 2017, a federal lawsuit (Maddison v. Comfort Systems USA (Syracuse), Inc.) was filed alleging that the company failed to pay workers on public works projects the prevailing wages and overtime required by law. The suit asserted willful violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act, as well as related state-law claims, and sought relief on a collective and class basis.[8]

In February 2026, a former employee filed a class action lawsuit against the company. In the suit, the plaintiffs allege that Comfort System’s 401(k) plan carried unnecessary risk and provided low returns.[9]

Anti-union efforts

In July 2025, workers at the company's Montgomery, Alabama facility voted to remove Steamfitters Local 52 union after a nearly two-year effort. An employee, Brandon Davis, filed a decertification application with the NLRB in March 2023. Officials with the union responded with charges of unfair labor practices against the company's management. This included an allegation that Davis was acting as an agent of the management. NLBR ended up dropping the and settling the charges before a scheduled hearing, essentially ending the company's withdrawal of union recognition.[17]

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