AIA/Deltek ABI Reports Moderation in the Slowdown in Business Conditions at Architecture Firms in February

Architecture firm billings showed signs of stabilization in February after months of decline, with an AIA/Deltek Architecture Billings Index® (ABI) score of 49.4—up from 43.8 in January, indicating a slight majority of firms reported declining billings.

Inquiries rebounded after a January dip, and while newly signed design contracts continued to decline, the rate of decline slowed significantly. These trends suggest potential stabilization, though global economic uncertainty could disrupt progress. Regionally, billings remained flat in the South for the second month but declined elsewhere, with the Northeast particularly affected by winter storms. Across specializations, billings continued to decline, although institutional firms' billings remained nearly flat.

AIA introduced a new quarterly ABI question asking firm leaders to predict how their firm's gross billings/billable work will compare between the current and next quarter. Nearly half (48 percent) of firm leaders expect billings to remain steady in Q2 2026 compared to Q1. About 31 percent anticipate a 5 percent or greater increase, while 21 percent foresee a 5 percent or greater decrease.

“While the ABI data shows some positive trends, the broader economy continues to struggle, with unemployment increasing in February,” said AIA Chief Economist, Richard Branch. “However, architectural services employment remained steady in January at 204,600, up nearly 2,000 positions from a year ago.”

Key ABI highlights for February include:
•    Regional averages: South (50.0); West (47.2); Midwest (46.3); Northeast (41.9)
•    Sector index breakdown: multifamily residential (48.2); institutional (49.2); commercial/industrial (45.7); mixed practice (firms that do not have at least half of their billings in any one other category) (41.8)
•    Project inquiries index: 52.3
•    Design contracts index: 48.0

The regional and sector categories are calculated as three-month moving averages and may not always average out to the national score.

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