Episode 95: Data Center Boom Reshapes the ENR Top 400

The ENR Top 400 Contractors report is in for 2025, and the numbers tell a story of a construction industry being reshaped by AI infrastructure spend. Total contractor revenue rose 11.8% to $671.4 billion, but the gains are highly concentrated — telecom/data center revenue jumped 86.4% in a single year and crossed $100 billion, while one-third of firms actually saw new contracts decline. For developers, GCs, and capital partners working outside the hyperscaler ecosystem, the report surfaces real execution and labor risk worth understanding. Key Takeaways: ENR Top 400 total revenue hit $671.4 billion in 2025, up 11.8% year over year, with domestic projects accounting for $638.2 billion of that total. Telecom/data center revenue surged 86.4% between 2024 and 2025, crossing $100 billion and growing from 4.5% of Top 400 revenue in 2021 to 15.1% in 2025. Total new contracts reached $760.1 billion (up 22.4%), but median new contracts fell 18.5% — roughly one-third of firms reported a decrease in new contracts. Concentration is accelerating: the top 10 firms now hold 23.3% of Top 400 revenue (up from 21.2%), and the top 100 account for 73.4% (up from 70.8%) — the first increase after a decade of share compression. 42% of contractors with more than $100 million in annual revenue are under contract on data center projects, per ABC's Backlog Indicator — smaller firms are largely excluded. Construction materials prices rose 7% year over year as of April, with the Associated Builders and Contractors attributing significant price pressure to the Iran War; the AGC warned that materials and energy costs are outpacing bid prices. Power sector revenue rose 14.2%; water supply and hazardous waste rose 21%; manufacturing fell 28.5% and oil and gas fell 4.8%. The data center boom is distorting the broader construction labor market — firms not building data centers are still losing skilled workers to them. For developers and investors evaluating project feasibility, the preconstruction cycle is getting longer, cost guidance is harder to lock, and GC capacity in non-hyperscaler sectors is tighter than backlog numbers alone suggest. Watch for which firms are disciplined about growth rate versus which are stretching headcount to capture demand — that gap is where execution risk lives over the next 18 to 36 months. Subscribe to Built Different for daily updates on Modular construction reality.