---
title: Federal Insights - FY25 First-Time Federal Contractors | FedConsult
description: FedConsult analyzes 10,419 companies that won their first federal award in FY2025, including agencies, NAICS, competition, set-asides, OTAs and more.
---

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FEDCONSULT — FEDERAL INSIGHTS

# 10,419 companies won *their very first* federal award in FY2025.

A data-driven look at the companies that entered the federal marketplace in FY2025—who bought from them, what they sold, how they won, and where new vendors found a path into federal contracting. Built from 40,205 transaction records covering FY2025 (Oct 2024–Sep 2025).

**10,419**first-time contractors

**$9.10B**total obligated

**40,205**award transactions

**$24,979**median company FY25 total\*

MONTHLY TREND

## New entrants ramp hard into year-end

Both the number of first-timers and dollars awarded to them climb through FY25, then spike in September—the classic year-end obligation rush, with new vendors participating.

Oct

Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Monthly obligated dollars; September reached approximately $2.86B.

AWARDING DEPARTMENTS

## Where the doors are opening

DoD dominates dollars and is also the biggest entry point by headcount. Civilian agencies often open more doors per dollar spent.

### Obligated dollars by department

Top departments, FY25

Defense$5.42B

Veterans Affairs$919M

Homeland Security$540M

Interior$446M

State$344M

HHS$237M

NASA$235M

### Unique first-timers by department

Distinct companies

Defense4,037

Agriculture1,073

GSA960

Interior867

Veterans Affairs844

State843

Homeland Security661

INSIDE DOD

## Which components are buying

Army leads by dollars; DLA stands out for transaction volume and frequent small purchases.

| Component | Businesses | Transactions | Obligated |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Army | 1,385 | 2,794 | $3.145B |
| Navy | 1,009 | 2,979 | $1.270B |
| Air Force | 1,065 | 2,066 | $507.8M |
| DLA | 611 | 8,024 | $196.7M |
| OSD | 29 | 64 | $66.5M |
| Defense Health Agency | 76 | 157 | $58.1M |
| DARPA | 55 | 127 | $52.3M |

NAICS

## What first-time contractors are getting paid to do

Construction and heavy manufacturing lead by dollars; R&D, engineering and IT create broader entry by company count.

### Top industries by obligated dollars

Selected top NAICS

| 236220 — Commercial & Institutional Building Construction | $1.345B |
| --- | --- |
| 237990 — Other Heavy & Civil Engineering Construction | $1.013B |
| 332993 — Ammunition Manufacturing | $866.9M |
| 336611 — Ship Building & Repairing | $549.2M |
| 541715 — Physical/Engineering/Life Sciences R&D | $353.2M |
| 325920 — Explosives Manufacturing | $328.4M |
| 541330 — Engineering Services | $266.0M |
| 541512 — Computer Systems Design | $251.9M |

### Top industries by first-time businesses

Where new entrants cluster

| 541715 — R&D | 576 |
| --- | --- |
| 115310 — Support Activities for Forestry | 501 |
| 541330 — Engineering Services | 382 |
| 541519 — Other Computer Related Services | 351 |
| 236220 — Commercial Building Construction | 267 |
| 721110 — Hotels & Motels | 253 |
| 238220 — Plumbing/HVAC Contractors | 224 |
| 541990 — Other Professional/Technical Services | 211 |

BUSINESS SIZE

## Small business wins on headcount, not dollars

Small businesses represented roughly three-quarters of first-time awardees, but less than half the obligated dollars.

### Small Business

$4.23B

7,847 businesses · 32,675 transactions

### Other Than Small

$4.42B

2,663 businesses · 7,253 transactions

### Not specified

$448M

126 businesses · 277 transactions

CONTRACT VEHICLES

## Schedules, OTAs and SBIR/STTR

Three distinct pathways for new entrants: schedule orders, flexible OTs and early-stage innovation awards.

### Multiple Award Schedule

$32.6M

705 businesses · 5,074 orders

### Other Transactions

$446.8M

125 businesses · 274 transactions

### SBIR / STTR

$78.1M

237 businesses · 330 awards

**OTA source note:** $113.1M shown under Interior is ARPA-H biotech funding coded under Interior's Departmental Offices in this data. Source-check this attribution before citing it externally.

OTA DEEP DIVE

## What the OTA dollars are funding

Defense R&D dominates, but health/ARPA-H, hardware, software/cloud and space are meaningful entry routes.

### OTA dollars by PSC category

| National Defense R&D — military | $195.0M |
| --- | --- |
| Health / ARPA-H R&D | $108.6M |
| National Defense R&D — related | $44.3M |
| Hardware / Equipment | $36.9M |
| IT / Software & Cloud | $36.3M |
| Space R&D | $13.5M |
| General Science & Technology R&D | $12.1M |

### Selected programs identified

From award descriptions

**DARPA Quantum Benchmarking Initiative** — 10 first-time quantum firms.

**ARPA-H biotech portfolio** — 10 early-stage biotech/gene-therapy firms.

**Frontier AI model prototypes** — first-time awards to frontier AI providers.

**Domestic titanium production** — $42.5M to IperionX Critical Minerals.

**Counter-UAS / soldier hardware** — Army/SOCOM prototype awards.

HOW THEY WON

## Competition and set-asides

Simplified acquisition procedures are a major pathway into the market; roughly a quarter of transactions used a small-business set-aside.

### Extent competed

Competed under SAP: 17,084Full & Open: 10,088Not competed under SAP: 5,285F&O after exclusion: 3,375Not competed: 2,144

### Set-aside type

No set-aside: 21,916Total SB set-aside: 9,308Not specified: 7,395SDVOSB set-aside: 5448(a) sole source: 488WOSB: 186

WHO THEY ARE

## Company profile of the new entrant class

Socioeconomic categories overlap; one company can appear in more than one category.

### Certifications / status

SDB 4,325Minority-owned 2,064WOSB 1,555Veteran-owned 1,380SDVOSB 1,0458(a) 236HUBZone 100

### Entity structure

| Corporate, not tax exempt | 5,428 |
| --- | --- |
| Partnership | 1,925 |
| Sole proprietorship | 1,776 |
| Other | 619 |

### Top HQ states

California1,053

Texas721

Virginia691

Florida653

Maryland405

STANDOUTS

## The biggest first-year wins

A small group of large awards in defense manufacturing, shipbuilding, construction, healthcare and services account for a disproportionate share of first-year dollars.

| Contractor | Department | Principal NAICS | FY25 obligated |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| MSM Group North America | Defense | Ammunition Manufacturing | $635.2M |
| Northstar Maritime Dismantlement Services | Defense | Ship Building & Repairing | $533.7M |
| Kiewit US Contractors | Defense | Heavy/Civil Engineering | $403.9M |
| Repkon USA - Defense | Defense | Explosives Manufacturing | $326.4M |
| Soldierpoint Digital Health | Veterans Affairs | Electronic Computer Manufacturing | $231.2M |
| Tomer | Defense | Ammunition Manufacturing | $210.5M |
| Salus Worldwide Solutions | Homeland Security | Chartered Air Transportation | $186.0M |
| TMSAB | Defense | Waste Collection | $169.3M |
| Safe America Media | Homeland Security | Marketing Consulting | $142.8M |
| Nova Space Solutions | NASA | Facilities Support Services | $129.8M |

TURN INSIGHT INTO STRATEGY

## What does the federal market look like for your business?

FedConsult turns federal procurement data into actionable market intelligence—helping companies understand target agencies, competitors, acquisition patterns, contract vehicles and where opportunities are emerging.

[Explore Market Intelligence](https://fedconsult.com/federal-market-intelligence-competitive-insights-pipeline-creation)

FedConsult — Data → Decisions → DirectionSource: FY25 first-timer transaction export · 40,205 records · 10,419 unique UEIs · \*median approximate/illustrative

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