Market data

What businesses actually sell for, by sector. Enter your earnings to see the value range each industry implies.

Price your earnings

Live
$
$

SDE multiple ranges by industry

25 sectors · indicative planning ranges
IndustryLowTypicalHigh RangeMedian marginValue at your SDE

Multiple ranges, visualised

Bottom to top of band
Advertisement

How to read these multiples

Each range is expressed as a multiple of Seller's Discretionary Earnings — net profit plus the owner's salary, perks, interest, depreciation and genuine one-time costs. These are indicative planning ranges compiled from published business brokerage and lower-middle-market transaction data. They tell you roughly where a sector trades. They do not tell you what a specific business is worth.

The spread between the bottom and top of a band is usually 50–80%. That gap is not random — it is almost entirely explained by how transferable the business is.

Why some sectors trade higher

The sectors at the top of this table — SaaS, insurance agencies, pest control, property management, laundromats — share a structural property: revenue that recurs without being re-sold every month. A pest control route and a software subscription are the same asset in different clothing. The buyer is purchasing a predictable stream, not a sales effort.

The sectors at the bottom — restaurants, gyms, retail storefronts, convenience stores — combine thin margins, heavy fixed costs, high customer churn and significant capital reinvestment. Their earnings are real, but they are fragile, and buyers price that fragility.

What moves a business to the top of its band

  • Contracted revenue. Multi-year agreements with documented renewal rates are the single strongest multiple driver.
  • Customer diversification. No single client above roughly 10% of revenue. Concentration above 25% frequently costs a full turn of multiple.
  • A management team. If the business runs without the owner present daily, it is an asset. If it does not, the buyer is purchasing a job.
  • Clean, verifiable books. Add-backs that cannot be traced to a tax return get removed during diligence, and the price falls with them.
  • Documented growth. Three years of verifiable upward trend, not one good year.
  • Real barriers. Licences, exclusive territories, proprietary process, long-tenured staff.

What pulls a business to the bottom

  • Revenue declining, or a single exceptional year inflating the average
  • The owner is the primary salesperson or the primary technician
  • Concentration in one customer, one contract or one referral source
  • Deferred maintenance, ageing equipment, or a lease with under three years remaining
  • Financials that do not reconcile to tax returns
  • Key staff without employment agreements in a tight labour market

SDE versus EBITDA multiples

These are SDE multiples. EBITDA multiples for the same business look higher — typically 1.3× to 1.6× the SDE multiple — because EBITDA subtracts a market-rate manager salary that SDE adds back. A business at 3× SDE might be quoted at 4.5× EBITDA and be exactly the same price. When comparing any two quoted multiples, confirm the basis first.

Where does this data come from?
These are indicative ranges compiled from published business brokerage reporting and lower-middle-market transaction surveys. They are a planning starting point, not a database of specific comparable sales, and they vary by region, deal size and market conditions.
Do multiples increase with business size?
Yes, substantially. A business with $200K of SDE trades well below one with $2M of EBITDA in the same sector, because larger businesses have management depth, better financial reporting and access to a wider buyer pool. Assume the lower end of each band for very small businesses.
Does location affect the multiple?
Yes. Businesses in large metropolitan markets generally command higher multiples than those in rural markets, driven by buyer competition and population stability.
My broker quoted a higher multiple. Who is right?
Possibly both. A broker's figure may reflect a specific comparable sale, a different earnings basis, or a business genuinely at the top of its band. Ask which basis they used and which comparables support it.

More: Dashboard · Deal Analyzer · Valuation · Financing & DSCR · Scenarios · Offer Optimizer · Deal Memo · All calculators

Indicative planning ranges, not appraisals. For educational purposes only and not financial, tax, or legal advice.