Industry up 6 percent in June, per Blair/PCO M&A Specialists index

The William Blair/PCO M&A Specialists Pest Index is a proprietary compilation of the monthly sales for 158 different U.S. pest control companies across 36 states. For June, the index increased 6 percent year-over-year, showing a strong deceleration from the 14 percent growth observed in May. 

June’s results are below the long-term average index growth rate of 11 percent. The total pest index reading of 6 percent is the lowest reading observed since February 2021.

“This result will likely not come as a surprise to investors, given the slowdown in organic growth observed at Rollins (9.8 percent in the first quarter, 8.1 percent in the second quarter) and Rentokil’s North American Pest business (4.9 percent in the first quarter, 4.8 percent for the first half),” William Blair Equity Researcher Tim Mulrooney said in the news release. “Specifically, Rollins said that account activity trailed off in the second half of June due to cooler weather, and Rentokil disclosed ‘lower industrywide lead flow from residential and termite customers.’”

Dan Gordon, CPA, who is Pest Management Professional’s financial columnist as well as a partner in PCO Bookkeepers & M&A Specialists, added, “While the growth number is significantly lower than in prior months, I think we need to give it another couple of months to determine whether this is a trend or an anomaly.”

The June results by segment include:

• The Residential Pest Index increased 7 percent year-over-year.
• The Commercial Pest Index increased 13 percent year-over-year.
• The Termite Index increased 2 percent year-over-year.
• The Bed Bug Index increased 7 percent year-over-year.
• The Mosquito Index decreased 17 percent year-over-year.

View the full report and the archive of past reports at SellMyPCOBusiness.com.

About the William Blair/PCO M&A Specialists Pest Index

The William Blair/PCO M&A Specialists Pest Index tracks the monthly performance of 158 privately held pest control companies across 36 states with combined annual 2022 revenue of $538 million. The purpose of the report is to track the monthly performance of several different U.S. pest markets, including residential, commercial and termite. It does not include residential door-to-door companies.