Carrier says its residential HVAC operation is starting to improve after a weak opening to the year. This year, more homeowners have chosen to replace their older equipment rather than paying for repeated repairs, which was a big issue last year.
If the pattern holds, it may point to the heating and cooling market beginning to move past a prolonged slump.
What happened?
Carrier reported that its second quarter showed a 3% increase in organic sales, Air Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration News reported.
Carrier recorded $6.4 billion in sales for the quarter. Light commercial sales rose 10%, while light commercial orders jumped roughly 30%. Its Climate Solutions Americas segment was up 9% — a big improvement in its residential sales after a 12% year-over-year decline it reported last quarter,
It was reported that last year's slump was largely a problem with distributor inventory corrections and unusually high repair-over-replace activity. Now the market is coming back to its normal "replacement business" pattern, CEO Dave Gitlin said.
Why does it matter?
If you're in HVAC contracting, distribution, or manufacturing, this is a signal that the market is stabilizing. This is important if you're planning inventory, hiring, or developing business.
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For homeowners or investors, this means steadier equipment costs and more replacement demand are driving the market.
For anyone watching AI and data center infrastructure trends, this expansion points to how much cooling demand hyperscalers are generating, ACHR News reported.
There are also tariff-related costs to consider. The company said it expects full-year residential price increases of 4%, while it still works to protect its market share.
"We're fundamentally a replacement business, and there's only so long a customer can repair over replace," Gitlin said. "Fundamentally, it feels to us like we're getting back to basics, and it's a replacement market."
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