Financial research concept

Security Monitoring Installation Revenue

measures revenue from the sale and installation of security systems under outright-sale transactions.

By Lee BaileyPublished Sep 26, 2026

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Research date: Sep 26, 2026Use the dated article and cited sources for the definition, examples, and stated limitations.
Operating-model context: 17 connected conceptsPart of the reviewed Security Monitoring Subscription Economics; issuer definitions remain distinct where disclosed.
Company examples: 1 reviewed companyRelationships reflect supported examples, not a normalized cross-company KPI ranking.

The 2025 increase was driven by sales-model mix
Customer-owned and company-owned transactions have different accounting
Installation revenue is not the entire upfront economics
Part of the Security Monitoring Subscription Economics
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Security monitoring installation revenue measures revenue recognized when a customer buys a security system outright and ADT sells and installs the equipment.

ADT reported $416.1 million of installation revenue in 2025, up from $258.8 million in 2024.

The 2025 increase was driven by sales-model mix

ADT said installation revenue increased by approximately $157 million, primarily because a larger mix of professionally installed systems used the outright-sales model.

That makes installation revenue sensitive not only to customer demand, but also to whether the system is sold to the customer or retained by ADT.

Customer-owned and company-owned transactions have different accounting

In an outright-sale transaction, the system sale and installation are generally recognized when the relevant performance obligation is satisfied.

In company-owned transactions, ADT retains the system and capitalizes the equipment and installation cost as a subscriber system asset. Certain upfront initiation fees are deferred and recognized over the customer relationship.

Installation revenue is not the entire upfront economics

ADT also recognized $358.4 million of deferred subscriber acquisition revenue amortization in 2025.

Both amounts appear within security installation, product, and other revenue, but they represent different transaction models and revenue-recognition timing.

Primary source: ADT 2025 Form 10-K.

Part of the Security Monitoring Subscription Economics

Connects monitoring subscriber scale and retention with recurring revenue, subscriber-acquisition investment, company-owned system economics, and the deferred and contracted revenue created by long-duration monitoring relationships.

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Where this concept fits

Installation, deferred fees, and contracted future service revenueCurrent relationship
Outright-sale installation revenue is recognized differently from company-owned upfront fees, while deferred subscriber acquisition revenue and remaining performance obligations show how existing customer contracts feed later revenue recognition.
Deferred Subscriber Acquisition Revenue Deferred Acquisition Revenue AmortizationInstallation RevenueCurrent conceptMonitoring Remaining Performance Obligations
Subscriber base, recurring revenue, retention, and payback
Subscriber count supplies the installed base, RMR and recognized recurring revenue describe monetization, attrition measures recurring revenue lost, and payback connects the upfront acquisition investment to the revenue stream that recovers it.
End-of-Period RMR Gross Customer Revenue Attrition Monitoring and Related Services Revenue Recurring Monthly Revenue Revenue Payback Period Monitoring Subscriber Count
Subscriber acquisition and company-owned system investment
Dealer account purchases and contract additions acquire customer relationships, while subscriber system assets and deferred acquisition costs capitalize different parts of the investment required to create and support monitoring subscribers.
Customer Contract Additions Dealer-Generated Account Purchases Deferred Acquisition Cost Amortization Deferred Subscriber Acquisition Costs Subscriber System Asset Depreciation Subscriber System Asset Expenditures Subscriber System Assets

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These companies are examples of how the concept is reported or discussed in public filings. Definitions can differ by issuer; these links open company research rather than a normalized metric comparison.

ADTOpen operating-model research →17 of 17 reviewed concepts in Security Monitoring Subscription EconomicsInstallation, deferred fees, and contracted future service revenue4 of 4 bridge concepts supportedContinue through this bridge:Deferred Acquisition Revenue Amortization Deferred Subscriber Acquisition Revenue Monitoring Remaining Performance Obligations

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Compare installation sales mix

Compare outright-sale installation revenue with company-owned systems and deferred upfront-fee economics.

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