Bloomberg Government’s BGOV200 Finds Steep Increase in Contracting Competition as Spending Falls

11^th Annual Analysis of Top Federal Government Contractors Finds First Decrease in Six Years
 WASHINGTON, DC  — Today Bloomberg Government issued the eleventh annual edition of its BGOV200 report, ranking the top 200 federal contractors based on fiscal year 2021 data for unclassified, prime contracts awarded across all U.S. federal government agencies. Bloomberg Government’s analysis finds that fiscal 2021 marks the first time in six years that a decrease in government contract spending has occurred, a total contracting dollar decrease of $37 billion. To download a copy of the BGOV200, visit http://onb-gov.com/tNu450JVTQM.

“This year’s BGOV200 finds a decline in government contracting spending that aligns with ongoing consolidation of government suppliers, with fewer, bigger contracts going to larger companies,” said Kerry Lenahan, General Manager and Head of Government Contracting Solutions, Bloomberg Government. “In this environment of increased competition, Bloomberg Government makes it easier for customers to understand the competitive landscape as well as overall market trends and identify the best partners to help their business grow. Our core mission is to help government contractors build more robust pipelines, make smarter strategic decisions, and execute business plans.”

Federal spending reached $649 billion in fiscal year 2021. While this is an overall decrease of $37 billion from fiscal year 2020’s $687 billion, it’s still more than fiscal 2019. The decline aligns with ongoing consolidation of the federal industrial base, trends in contract size, as well as continuing resolutions. Fiscal 2021 was the first fiscal year spending decrease after five straight years of spending growth since fiscal 2017. Much of the spending for fiscal 2021 was to combat Covid-19, which boosted fiscal 2021 obligations and pushed some companies into the BGOV200 for the first time.

The 11th annual BGOV200 report is the culmination of extensive data cleansing and analysis of areas such as company hierarchy, contract title, and agency assignments. Data integrity makes this the premier source for government contract practitioners trying to make sense of shifts in the competitive landscape. The data is accessible anytime to BGOV subscribers.

Among the report’s key findings:

• The share of total government obligations won by the top 200 contractors was 64.4 percent, about the same as in fiscal 2020
• 104 companies improved their rankings, up from 98 in fiscal 2020, while 77 companies lost ground in the rankings, down from 92 the previous year
• The rankings of 14 companies, including five of the top 10, remain unchanged
• There were 5 new-entrant companies into the BGOV200, a decrease from 45 new entrants in 2020 spurred by the focus on combating Covid-19.

The money spent by the federal government on contractors in fiscal 2021 primarily came from the $1.6 trillion in discretionary funding enacted for fiscal 2020 including $714 billion for defense and $914 billion for nondefense. However, the $2.3 trillion Covid-19-related stimulus package signed into law in March 2020 provided a boost well beyond forecasts that had already predicted a historic peak.

Looking forward to next year, Bloomberg Government forecasts fiscal 2022 will be another year where federal contract spending dips by $33-$51 billion. Spending declines at the departments of Health and Human Services, Agriculture, and Homeland Security are likely to be key contributors to the downward movement. Contract data point to the tapering of spending on the pandemic crisis is a central factor to this forecast.