Watsco Buys The Granite Group, Adding 82 Northeast Branches

Watsco agreed on September 14 to buy The Granite Group, a Concord, New Hampshire distributor of plumbing and HVAC products with about $500 million in annual sales and 82 branches across seven Northeast states. Financial terms were not disclosed.

For a contractor picking up a condensing unit in Manchester or Burlington or Portland, this is the counter you already use changing hands. Watsco said Granite will keep operating as an independent business under its existing management, with Bill Condron staying on as chief executive. Same names answer the phone. Pricing tiers and net-30 terms get tested over the first year of any integration, and Watsco's recent history points one way: when it closed on Jackson Supply in June, that distributor kept its name, its vendor relationships and its go-to-market approach.

Granite is not a small operation. Founded in 1971 and now third-generation family-led, it serves roughly 11,000 customers and stocks about 29,000 SKUs from more than 450 vendors. Watsco said the business has compounded sales at 10% a year since 2010 on a mix of bolt-on deals and more than 30 new store openings.

Why a plumbing distributor fits the Watsco playbook

The part of this deal that reaches beyond New England is plumbing.

Watsco has acquired 73 businesses since 1989, and the overwhelming majority of them sold HVAC and refrigeration. Granite's plumbing side is a real departure for a company that describes itself as the largest distributor in the North American HVAC/R market, and Watsco said it sees plumbing as a fragmented market with room to keep buying, the exact phrasing it has used successfully about HVAC distribution for three decades.

"The Granite Group is one of the most respected, entrepreneurial businesses in our industry," said Albert H. Nahmad, Watsco's chairman and chief executive, who also credited what he called the company's extraordinary people-first culture.

Condron said Watsco "was the logical choice for The Granite Group in that we remain independent while gaining access to Watsco's scale, capital, and the most advanced technology platforms."

E-commerce accounted for 37% of Watsco's sales over the 12 months ended June 30, about $2.7 billion, and grew 13% in the first half of 2026. More than 70,000 contractors and technicians now deal with the company digitally in some form. Granite customers who still call a counterman to check stock on a boiler circulator should expect an app pitch at some point.

Watsco's own second quarter was uneven. Revenue rose 2% to $2.1 billion, but gross margin slipped to 27.5% from 29.3% a year earlier and diluted earnings per share fell 12% to $4.00. Watsco spent 2025 crediting A2L pricing for a record gross margin, which its full-year release put at 28.0%, up 120 basis points, and 2026 has been the give-back, as the pricing bump from the R-410A phase-down worked its way through inventory and the comparisons got hard.

Distribution keeps getting less local. Jackson Supply added 25 Sunbelt locations and roughly $230 million in 2025 revenue in June, across Texas, Louisiana, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Arizona. Granite adds another 82 doors and a product category. For an owner running four trucks, the practical question is not who owns the building but whether the branch manager who has been fronting you a rooftop unit on a Friday afternoon still has the authority to do it.

No closing date was given. Watsco's third-quarter report in late October is the next place to look for one, and for whether the margin pressure that showed up in the second quarter kept going.

Sources

Watsco, Inc. (2026). "Watsco to Acquire The Granite Group, Distributor of Plumbing and HVAC Products; Revenues of $500 Million Throughout the Northeast." Watsco investor relations

phcppros. (2026). "Watsco to Acquire The Granite Group." phcppros

Watsco, Inc. (2026). "Watsco Second Quarter Results Reflect Further Industry Stabilization, Strong E-Commerce Sales Growth and Continued Operating Efficiency." watsco.com

Distribution Strategy Group. (2026). "Watsco Completes Jackson Supply Acquisition, Expanding Presence Across Sunbelt Markets." Distribution Strategy Group

Watsco, Inc. (2026). "Watsco Reports Record Full-Year Gross Margin." SEC EDGAR