Cumulative revenue rose 7.4% to $158.7 billion, driven by telecoms and energy — but architectural firms declined.
The 2026 ranking of the top 500 design agencies established by Engineering News-Record recorded an increase of 7.4% in total sales to $158.7 billion. Domestic income rose from 8.1 per cent to 136.3 billion, from 3.2 per cent to 22.4 billion. Of the 475 agencies reporting two consecutive years, 83.2% report an increase, and the top ten account for 32.2% of the total.
The engine is identifiable: the telecommunications market, supported by data centers, jumped 31.3% between 2024 and 2025, and nearly 87% over two years; energy follows at 14.6%. On the other hand, oil and gas continued to fall (-18.6%) and manufacturing fell by 17%. Jacobs took first place in the rankings, with its data centers growing by 62.2% and its project book by 500 % — a "real engine of growth," according to its CEO Bob Pragada.
The reverse is clear for the architectural profession: the median income of agencies declaring architects dropped by 13.9% to $58.7 million, while the median income for all categories increased from 6.4% to $103.2 million. The AIA forecast panel also describes an economy marked by "uncertainty and imbalance", a significant share of recent growth due to AI expenditures alone.
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