UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

FORM 10-K

For the Fiscal Year Ended October 31, 2003

                      OR          TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES

Commission File Number 1-8929

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (415) 733-4000

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.  Yes X  No  

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.       

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an accelerated filer (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).  Yes X  No  

As of April 30, 2003 (the last business day of registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter), non-affiliates of the registrant beneficially owned shares of the registrant’s common stock with an aggregate market value of $541,504,655, computed by reference to the price at which the common stock was last sold.

As of December 31, 2003, there were 48,530,777 shares of the registrant’s common stock outstanding.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the Proxy Statement to be used by the Company in connection with its 2004 Annual Meeting of Stockholders are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Form 10-K.

ABM Industries Incorporated

PART I

ITEM 1. BUSINESS

       ABM Industries Incorporated (“ABM”) is one of the largest facility services contractors listed on the New York Stock Exchange. With annual revenues in excess of $2.2 billion and more than 64,000 employees, ABM and its subsidiaries (the “Company”) provide janitorial, parking, engineering, security, lighting and mechanical services for thousands of commercial, industrial, institutional and retail facilities in hundreds of cities in the United States and British Columbia, Canada.

      The Company also provided elevator services until August 15, 2003, on which date substantially all of the operating assets of Amtech Elevator Services, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of ABM (“Amtech Elevator”), were sold to Otis Elevator Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation (“Otis Elevator”). See “Discontinued Operation” contained in Item 7.

      ABM was reincorporated in Delaware on March 19, 1985, as the successor to a business founded in California in 1909. The corporate headquarters of the Company is located at 160 Pacific Avenue, Suite 222, San Francisco, California 94111, and the Company’s telephone number at that location is (415) 733-4000. The Company’s Website is www.abm.com. Through a link on the Investor Relations section of the Company’s Website, the following filings are made available as soon as reasonably practicable after they are electronically filed with or furnished to the SEC: (1) Annual Reports on Form 10-K, (2) Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, (3) Current Reports on Form 8-K and any amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as well as (4) the Section 16 filings by ABM’s directors and executive officers. All such filings are available free of charge. In addition, ABM makes available on its Website certain materials related to its corporate governance.

Industry Information

      The Company conducts business through a number of subsidiaries, which are grouped into seven segments based on the nature of the business operations. The operating subsidiaries within each segment generally report to the same senior management. Referred to collectively as the “ABM Family of Services,” at October 31, 2003 the seven segments were:

         • Janitorial

     The Company also provided elevator services until August 15, 2003 when it sold substantially all of the operating assets of its Elevator segment. See “Discontinued Operation” contained in Item 7.

      The business activities of the Company by industry segment, as they existed at October 31, 2003, are more fully described below.

      • Janitorial. The Company performs janitorial services through a number of the Company’s subsidiaries, primarily operating under the names “ABM Janitorial Services,” “American Building Maintenance” and “ABM Lakeside Building Maintenance.” The Company provides a wide range of basic janitorial services for a variety of facilities, including commercial office buildings, industrial plants, financial institutions, retail stores, shopping centers, warehouses, airport terminals, health and educational facilities, stadiums and arenas, and government buildings. Services provided include floor cleaning and finishing, window washing, furniture polishing, carpet cleaning and dusting, as well as other building cleaning services. The Company’s Janitorial subsidiaries maintain 111 offices in 42 states, the District of Columbia and one Canadian province, and operate under thousands of individually negotiated building maintenance contracts, nearly all of which are obtained by competitive bidding. The Company’s Janitorial contracts are either fixed-price agreements or they contain clauses under which the customer agrees to reimburse the full amount of wages, payroll taxes, insurance charges and other expenses plus a profit percentage. Generally, profit margins on maintenance contracts tend to be inversely proportional to the size of the contract. The majority of Janitorial contracts are for one-year periods, but are subject to termination by either party after 30 to 90 days’ written notice and contain automatic renewal clauses.

      • Parking. The Company provides parking services through a number of subsidiaries, primarily operating under the names “Ampco System Parking” “Ampco System Airport Parking” and “Ampco Express Airport Parking.” The Company’s Parking

3

      • Engineering. The Company provides engineering services through a number of subsidiaries, primarily operating under the name “ABM Engineering Services.” The Company provides facilities with on-site engineers to operate, maintain and repair electrical, energy management, mechanical and plumbing systems utilizing in part computerized maintenance management systems. These services are designed to maintain equipment at optimal efficiency for customers such as high-rise office buildings, schools, computer centers, shopping malls, manufacturing facilities, museums and universities. The Company’s Engineering subsidiaries operate in 23 states through 13 branch and regional offices, five of which are in California and one each in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania and Texas. The majority of Engineering contracts contain clauses under which the customer agrees to reimburse the full amount of wages, payroll taxes, insurance charges and other expenses plus a profit percentage. Additionally, the majority of Engineering contracts are for one-year periods, but are subject to termination by either party after 30 to 90 days’ written notice. ABM Engineering Services Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary has maintained ISO 9002 Certification for the past five years, the only national engineering services provider of on-site operating engineers to earn this prestigious designation. ISO is a quality standard comprised of a rigorous set of guidelines and good business practices against which companies are evaluated through a comprehensive independent audit process.

      • Security. The Company provides security services through a number of subsidiaries, primarily operating under the names “American Commercial Security Services,” “ACSS” and “ABM Security Services.” The Company provides security guards; electronic monitoring of fire, life safety systems and access control devices; and security consulting services to a wide range of businesses. The Company’s Security subsidiaries maintain 25 offices and operates in the major metropolitan areas of Phoenix, Arizona; Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco and Santa Clara, California; Chicago, Illinois; New Orleans, Louisiana; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Portland, Oregon; Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin and San Antonio, Texas; Seattle, Washington; New York City, New York; and Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The sales under the majority of Security contracts are based on actual hours of service at contractually specified rates. Additionally, the majority of Security contracts are for one-year periods, but are subject to termination by either party after 30 to 90 days’ written notice and contain automatic renewal clauses.

      • Lighting. The Company provides lighting services through a number of subsidiaries, primarily operating under the name “Amtech Lighting Services.” The Company provides relamping, fixture cleaning, and periodic lighting maintenance service to a variety of commercial, industrial and retail facilities. The Company’s Lighting subsidiaries also repair and maintain electrical outdoor signage, and provide electrical service and repairs. The Company’s Lighting subsidiaries operate 27 offices, eight of which are located in California, four in Texas, two in North Carolina, and one office in each of the following states: Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota,

4

      • Mechanical. The Company provides mechanical services through a number of subsidiaries, primarily operating under the names “CommAir Mechanical Services” and “CommAir Preferred Mechanical Services.” The Company installs, maintains and repairs heating, ventilation and air conditioning and refrigeration equipment, performs chemical water treatment and provides energy conservation services for commercial, industrial and institutional facilities. The Company’s Mechanical subsidiaries maintain nine offices, eight of which are located in California and one in Phoenix, Arizona. Mechanical contracts are either fixed-price agreements or time and materials based where the customer is billed according to actual hours of service and materials used at contractually specified prices. The majority of such contracts are for one-year periods, but are subject to termination by either party after 30 to 90 days’ written notice. Contracts for projects, however, typically cannot be cancelled.

      • Facility Services. The Company provides facility services through a number of subsidiaries, primarily operating under the name “ABM Facility Services.” The Company provides customers with streamlined, centralized control and coordination of multiple facility service needs. This process is consistent with the greater competitive demands on corporate organizations to become more efficient in the business market today. By leveraging the core competencies of the Company’s other service offerings, the Company attempts to reduce overhead (such as redundant personnel) for its customers by providing multiple services under a single contract, with one contact and one invoice. Its National Service Call Center provides centralized dispatching, emergency services, accounting and related reports to financial institutions, high-tech companies and other customers regardless of industry or size. Facility Services is headquartered in San Francisco, where it also maintains its National Service Call Center.

      Additional information relating to the Company’s industry segments appears in Note 13 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

Trademarks

      The Company believes that it owns or is licensed to use all corporate names, tradenames, trademarks, service marks, copyrights, patents and trade secrets which are material to the Company’s operations.

Competition

      The Company believes that each aspect of its business is highly competitive, and that such competition is based primarily on price and quality of service. The Company provides nearly all its services under contracts originally obtained through competitive bidding. The low cost of entry to the facilities services business has led to strongly competitive markets made up of large numbers of mostly regional and local owner-operated companies, located in major cities throughout the United States and in British Columbia, Canada (with particularly intense competition in its janitorial business in the Southeast and South Central regions of the United States). The Company also competes with the operating divisions of a few large, diversified facility service and manufacturing companies on a national basis. Indirectly, the Company competes with building owners and tenants that perform internally one or more of the services provided by the Company. These building owners and tenants might have a competitive advantage when the Company’s services are subject to sales tax and internal operations are not. Furthermore, competitors may have lower costs because privately-owned companies operating in a limited geographic area may have significantly lower labor and overhead costs. These strong competitive pressures could inhibit the Company’s success in bidding for profitable business and its ability to increase prices even as costs rise, thereby reducing margins.

Sales and Marketing

      The Company’s sales and marketing efforts are conducted by its corporate, subsidiary, region, branch and district offices. Sales, marketing, management and operations personnel in each of these offices participate directly in selling and servicing customers. The broad geographic scope of these offices enables

5

      The Company has a broad customer base, including, but not limited to, commercial office buildings, industrial plants, financial institutions, retail stores, shopping centers, warehouses, airports, health and educational facilities, stadiums and arenas, government buildings, apartment complexes, and theme parks. No customer accounted for more than 5% of its revenues during the fiscal year ended October 31, 2003.

Employees

      The Company employs over 64,000 persons, of whom the vast majority are service employees who perform janitorial, parking, engineering, security, lighting and mechanical services. Approximately 28,000 of these employees are covered under collective bargaining agreements at the local level. There are about 3,700 employees with executive, managerial, supervisory, administrative, professional, sales, marketing or clerical responsibilities, or other office assignments.

Environmental Matters

      The nature of the Company’s operations, primarily services, would not ordinarily involve it in environmental contamination. However, the Company’s operations are subject to various federal, state and/or local laws regulating the discharge of materials into the environment or otherwise relating to the protection of the environment, such as discharge into soil, water and air, and the generation, handling, storage, transportation and disposal of waste and hazardous substances. These laws generally have the effect of increasing costs and potential liabilities associated with the conduct of the Company’s operations, although historically they have not had a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial position, results of operations, or cash flows.

      The Company is currently involved in two proceedings relating to environmental matters: one involving alleged potential soil contamination at a former Company facility in Arizona and one involving alleged potential soil and groundwater contamination at a Company facility in Florida. While it is difficult to predict the ultimate outcome of these matters, based on information currently available, management believes that neither of these matters, individually or in the aggregate, are reasonably likely to have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial position, results of operations, or cash flows. As any liability related to these claims is neither probable nor estimable, no accruals have been made related to these matters.

      Three other environmental proceedings were settled during fiscal year 2003 for approximately $0.6 million.

6

Executive Officers of the Registrant

      The executive officers of ABM are as follows:

7

ITEM 2. PROPERTIES

       The Company has corporate, subsidiary, regional, branch or district offices in over 220 locations throughout the United States and in British Columbia, Canada. Fourteen of these facilities are owned by the Company. At October 31, 2003, the real estate owned by the Company had an aggregate net book value of $3.4 million and was located in: Phoenix, Arizona; Fresno, California; Jacksonville and Tampa, Florida; Portland, Oregon; Arlington, Houston and San Antonio, Texas; and Kennewick, Seattle, Spokane and Tacoma, Washington.

      Rental payments under long and short-term lease agreements amounted to $96.9 million for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2003. Of this amount, $64.2 million in rental expense was attributable to public parking lots and garages leased and operated by Parking. The remaining expense was for the rental or lease of office space, computers, operating equipment and motor vehicles.

ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

       In September 1999, a former employee filed a gender discrimination lawsuit against ABM in the state of Washington. On May 19, 2003, a Washington state court jury for the Spokane County Superior Court, in the case named Forbes v. ABM, awarded $4.0 million in damages, and the court later awarded costs of $0.7 million to the former employee. In addition, the court may award the plaintiff up to $0.8 million to mitigate the federal tax impact of the plaintiff’s award (the Washington Supreme Court is currently deciding whether amounts to mitigate federal tax consequences may be awarded in wrongful termination cases). ABM will appeal the jury’s verdict to the State Court of Appeals as well as the award of costs on the grounds that it was denied a fair trial. There can be no assurance that ABM will prevail in this matter. ABM, however, believes that the award against ABM was excessive and that the verdict was inconsistent with the law and the evidence. Because ABM believes that the judgment will be reversed upon appeal, ABM has not recorded any liability in its financial statements associated with the judgment. However, as of October 31, 2003, ABM has incurred and recorded legal fees of $0.1 million associated with the appeal. These fees, which include the cost of a new trial, are expected to total approximately $0.4 million.

      The Company and some of its subsidiaries have been named defendants in certain other litigation arising in the ordinary course of business. In the opinion of management, based on advice of legal counsel, such matters should have no material effect on the Company’s financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

       Not applicable.

8

PART II

       ABM’s common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The following table sets forth the high and low intra-day prices of ABM’s common stock on the New York Stock Exchange and quarterly cash dividends declared on common shares for the periods indicated:

      At December 31, 2003, there were 4,199 registered holders of ABM’s common stock, in addition to stockholders in street name. To the Company’s knowledge, there are no current factors that are likely to materially limit the Company’s ability to pay comparable dividends for the foreseeable future.

9

ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

     The following selected financial data is derived from the Company’s consolidated financial statements for each of the years in the five-year period ended October 31, 2003. It should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto, as well as the “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” which are included elsewhere in this report.