Deal Comps by Industry
Why It Matters
Before you pick an industry, it helps to see what deals in it actually look like: how much acquisition lending happens, the median loan behind a typical deal, how often those loans go bad, and the multiple the trade prices at. The band is carried for all 102 trades with a guide; the three lending figures need the loan file to resolve the trade at its own code, which it does for 34 of them. A trade with a band and no comp below is one the file cannot see separately, not one that does not trade. A multiple marked nearest class is read off a published class whose own scope does not name that trade, so it is our judgement about which class the trade most resembles rather than the publisher's classification of it. Each row links to its guide, and Underwrite a Deal runs your own numbers against the band.
The Comps
36 of 36
| Multiple | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full-Service Restaurants | 1,971 | $427,600 | $1.34B | 6.7% | 1.34x to 2.53x SDE |
| Limited-Service Restaurants | 1,568 | $370,000 | $992M | 5.6% | 1.34x to 2.53x SDE |
| Beer, Wine, and Liquor Retailers | 1,301 | $685,000 | $1.33B | 2.0% | 2.2x to 4x SDE |
| Gasoline Stations with Convenience Stores | 1,063 | $1,412,300 | $1.93B | 0.4% | 1.32x to 2.77x SDE |
| General Automotive Repair | 798 | $592,850 | $648M | 5.0% | 1.7x to 3.26x SDE |
| Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning Contractors | 707 | $735,000 | $805M | 5.1% | 2x to 3.3x SDE |
| Insurance Agencies and Brokerages | 648 | $760,500 | $691M | 3.5% | Not cited |
| Child Care Services | 595 | $783,000 | $727M | 1.3% | 1.9x to 4x SDE |
| Landscaping Services | 588 | $500,000 | $498M | 4.5% | 1.7x to 3x SDE |
| Home Health Care Services | 492 | $705,550 | $488M | 2.5% | 2.22x to 3.63x SDE |
| Offices of Certified Public Accountants | 458 | $500,000 | $347M | Too few | Not cited |
| Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers | 408 | $303,750 | $220M | 12.2% | 1.72x to 3x SDE |
| Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars | 387 | $350,000 | $217M | 7.8% | 1.5x to 2.55x SDE |
| Pharmacies and Drug Retailers | 352 | $1,187,500 | $518M | 3.7% | 1.69x to 3.75x SDE |
| Offices of Dentists | 345 | $740,800 | $340M | 0.0% | Not cited |
| Assisted Living Facilities for the Elderly | 340 | $1,063,700 | $518M | Too few | Not cited |
| Janitorial Services | 312 | $400,000 | $192M | Too few | 1.57x to 2.66x SDE |
| Electrical Contractors and Other Wiring Installation Contractors | 300 | $801,250 | $397M | Too few | 1.96x to 3.15x SDE |
| Beauty Salons | 297 | $270,000 | $148M | 2.7% | 1.25x to 2.34x SDE |
| Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services | 288 | $473,000 | $213M | Too few | 2.02x to 3.74x SDE |
| Car Washes | 280 | $1,231,900 | $496M | 0.9% | 3.2x to 6.7x SDE |
| Funeral Homes and Funeral Services | 243 | $1,270,800 | $389M | Too few | 3.06x to 5.06x SDE |
| Lessors of Miniwarehouses and Self-Storage Units | 238 | $1,107,500 | $333M | Too few | Not cited |
| Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners | 218 | $499,250 | $175M | Too few | 2.72x to 4.5x SDE |
| Drycleaning and Laundry Services (except Coin-Operated) | 215 | $422,000 | $138M | 7.3% | 1.42x to 2.55x SDE |
| Automotive Body, Paint, and Interior Repair and Maintenance | 213 | $655,000 | $216M | Too few | 1.7x to 3.26x SDE |
| Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities | 175 | $501,000 | $204M | Too few | 2.22x to 3.63x SDE |
| Roofing Contractors | 147 | $957,000 | $206M | Too few | 1.81x to 3.13x SDE |
| Florists | 139 | $216,000 | $58.5M | Too few | 1.37x to 2.48x SDE |
| Veterinary Services | 138 | $802,300 | $140M | Too few | 2.3x to 2.9x SDE |
| Painting and Wall Covering Contractors | 126 | $431,350 | $92.0M | Too few | 1.81x to 3.13x SDE |
| Sign Manufacturing | 124 | $575,000 | $108M | Too few | 1.95x to 2.94x SDE |
| Offices of Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapists, and Audiologists | 119 | $355,000 | $82.1M | Too few | 1.46x to 2.94x SDE |
| Exterminating and Pest Control Services | 72 | $402,500 | $42.7M | Too few | 1.69x to 3x SDE |
| Used Household and Office Goods Moving | 57 | $759,400 | $64.8M | Too few | 1.8x to 3.11x SDE |
| Offices of Optometrists | 48 | $456,300 | $31.4M | Too few | 2x to 3x SDE |
The Published Bands
102 of 102
| What Moves It | Source | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accounting & Tax Practices | 1.61x-2.66x SDE, 0.92x-1.17x revenue (sold) | Mixed | 2025 marketplace averages ran near 1.1x revenue and 2.3x reported earnings; advisory-heavy firms price at the top of the band and heavy owner dependence discounts it. Bookkeeping books price more reliably on earnings. | BizBuySell, accounting and tax practice sold-listing benchmarks (2021-2025) |
| Adult Day Care | 2.22x to 3.63x SDE (nearest published class) | SDE | Census times the per-diem is the revenue math, and each state sets its own Medicaid day rate (New Jersey's published minimum for adult medical day care is $94.66 for fiscal 2026). Payer mix durability, the medical-versus-social license model, census against capacity, and the van fleet set the position. | BizBuySell home health care benchmarks (2021-2025 sold listings, nearest class) |
| Appliance Repair | 1.75x to 3.13x SDE (service class sold quartiles) | SDE | Warranty-network dispatch share, first-visit completion, and a parts room matched to the brands served set the position in the band. | BizBuySell service-business benchmarks (2021-2025 sold quartiles); no series names appliance repair |
| Assisted Living & Residential Care | 2.42x to 5.87x SDE (sold quartiles) | SDE | Real estate usually trades with the business here, which is what lifts the sold class's upper quartile to 5.87x; stabilized occupancy above 90%, private-pay share, average rate, and license transfer set the position, and an institutional community is priced on a cap rate against net operating income instead. | BizBuySell, assisted living and nursing home sold-listing benchmarks (2021-2025) |
| ATM Routes | 0.92x to 2.22x SDE (sold quartiles) | SDE | The two curves that matter move against each other: withdrawals fall a few percent a year while the average withdrawal climbs, so revenue per machine drops while the cash each machine must hold does not. Placement contracts are short and terminable, so concentration in one chain is concentration in one signature. Interchange is set by the network and is the line to stress and not project. | BizBuySell route benchmarks (sold listings, 2021 to 2025 quartiles; the class names ATM routes) |
| Auto Body & Collision | 1.70x to 3.26x SDE (sold quartiles) | SDE | Insurer standing and revenue mix are the levers: DRP scorecards, OEM certifications, and in-house ADAS calibration move a shop up, while owner-dependent single locations without direct-repair relationships sit at the bottom. | BizBuySell, auto service and repair sold-listing benchmarks (2021-2025) |
| Auto Glass | 1.70x to 3.26x SDE (sold quartiles) | SDE | Insurance-panel participation and in-house ADAS calibration carry the premium; single-carrier concentration discounts it. | BizBuySell, auto service and repair sold-listing benchmarks (2021-2025) |
| Auto Repair | 1.70x to 3.26x SDE (sold quartiles) | SDE | Revenue size sorts this band: the publisher puts shops over $1.3 million of revenue at 3.25x or better and those under $500k nearer 1.7x or less. Full-time owner involvement pulls a shop toward the bottom, and technician retention is the capacity question behind every multiple. | BizBuySell auto repair and service benchmarks (2021-2025 sold listings) |
| Bakeries | 1.61x to 2.84x SDE (sold quartiles) | SDE | BizBuySell says a bakery selling over $900k a year may command close to 2.7x, and one under $300k below 1.5x; wholesale concentration, recipe documentation, and the 4am bench set the position. | BizBuySell bakery benchmarks (sold listings, 2021-2025) |
| Barbershops | 1.25x to 2.34x SDE (sold quartiles) | SDE | Prices on the salon band with median sold-shop cash flow of $70,225 for 2021 to 2025 and a record $92,000 in 2025, so scale is the first question; membership share, barber tenure, and chair utilization lift the position, unreconciled cash lowers it. | BizBuySell hair salon and barbershop benchmarks (2021-2025 sold listings) |
| Bed & Breakfasts | 4.74x avg owner's earnings, property-inclusive | SDE | The 4.74x average includes the property's shelter and the owners' labor, so the appraisal anchors real pricing; after a market innkeeper's wage the cash flow often cannot carry acquisition debt. | Bed and breakfast valuation benchmarks (BizBuySell, sold listings, 2021 to 2025) |
| Breweries | 2.06x to 4.32x SDE (sold quartiles) | SDE | Where the beer is sold moves the price more than how much is made. A brewery pouring most of its volume in its own taproom earns retail margin and answers to nobody but its landlord; one selling through wholesalers earns a fraction of it and carries distribution agreements that state franchise law can make very hard to end. Read the taproom share first, then the keg float, then the excise rate the buyer will actually pay. | BizBuySell brewery benchmarks (sold listings, 2021 to 2025 quartiles) |
| Car Washes | 3.2x to 6.7x SDE (sold quartiles) | SDE | Revenue size and the dirt sort this band. The publisher says a wash over $1 million of sales may sell for 6x or higher and one under $300k around 3 to 3.5 times, and washes that own their real estate trade higher than those that lease. Verified membership revenue is what consolidators pay up for. | BizBuySell car wash benchmarks (2021-2025 sold listings) |
| Carpet Cleaning | 1.57x to 2.66x SDE (cleaning class sold quartiles) | SDE | Repeat-customer rate and standing commercial accounts move the price; owner-on-the-truck books with purchased-lead volume sit at the floor. | BizBuySell cleaning and janitorial benchmarks (2021-2025 sold quartiles, sector blend) |
| Childcare Centers | 1.9x to 4x SDE (sold quartiles) | SDE | The publisher's sold quartiles run 1.9x to 4x SDE around a 2.7x median, and revenue size moves a center along that band. Sustained enrollment at or above 85% of desired capacity is the federal cost model's standard, where 80% is a loss and not a healthy line, and licensed capacity (space and ratio rules) caps the upside above it. | BizBuySell day care and child care benchmarks (sold listings, 2021 to 2025 quartiles) |
| Coffee Shops & Cafes | 1.5x to 2.55x SDE (sold quartiles) | SDE | BizBuySell's 2025 sold-shop average slipped about 5% to roughly 2.2x; lease term, manager-run floors, and revenue past the morning daypart lift the position, owner-poured shifts and short leases lower it. | BizBuySell coffee shop and cafe benchmarks (2021-2025 sold listings) |
| Commercial Cleaning | 1.57x to 2.66x SDE (cleaning class sold quartiles) | SDE | Advisers quote EBITDA near 3.4x to 4.1x, a basis the cited sold data does not print; multi-year commercial contracts with escalators price toward the top, and concentration in a few customers compresses the multiple or ties part of the price to retention. | BizBuySell cleaning and janitorial benchmarks (2021-2025 sold listings) |
| Concrete | 1.72x to 2.98x SDE (sold quartiles) | SDE | Working capital and a thin market set this band. Half the receipts arrive as a subcontract paid on a general contractor's cycle, materials run about a third, and retainage sits behind the draw, so the company funds a large material order weeks before it is paid for it. The comparable market is lumpy: median sale price swung by more than a factor of two across five years and the median sold listing took 251 days. Form inventory is collateral that depreciates by use and not by year. | BizBuySell, concrete sold-listing benchmarks (2021-2025) |
| Convenience Stores & Gas Stations | 1.32x to 2.77x SDE (sold quartiles, gas stations excluded) | SDE | Revenue size sorts this band, which leaves gas station listings out: the publisher says a store selling over $1.1 million a year may fetch 2.8x or better, and one under $400k closer to 1.3x. Inside sales, foodservice and the lease decide where a store lands; a fueled site adds the supply contract and the tanks. | BizBuySell convenience store benchmarks (2021-2025 sold listings) |
| Courier & Local Delivery | 0.92x to 2.22x SDE (sold quartiles, route class) | SDE | How the drivers are engaged is the largest swing in the price, because a reclassification moves the whole labor line. Cost per stop rebuilt from settlement statements, with charge-backs added back, is the only like-for-like comparison between two routes. | BizBuySell route benchmarks (2021-2025 sold listings, class bracket) |
| Dental Practices | 0.51x to 0.86x revenue (sold quartiles) | Mixed | Consolidator deals price on adjusted EBITDA instead, in tiers that reward scale; provider concentration is the leading deal-killer, and in most states only a licensed dentist can own the practice. | BizBuySell dental practice benchmarks (2021-2025 sold listings) |
| Dog Grooming | 1.4x to 2.5x SDE (sold quartiles) | SDE | Rebooking rate and a stable groomer team are the levers: staff-run shops with a full, rebooked schedule trade toward the top, while owner-groomer shops whose book leaves with the owner sit at the bottom. | BizBuySell pet grooming benchmarks (2021-2025 sold listings) |
| Driving Schools | 1.56x to 2.94x SDE (sold-schools class) | SDE | The publisher puts low owner involvement at or above the upper quartile and full-time owner involvement at or below the lower one, so transferable authorizations and district driver's-ed contracts argue for the top. The dual-control fleet gives an asset floor the other lesson trades lack. | Sold-schools valuation benchmarks (BizBuySell class data, 2021-2025) |
| Dry Cleaners | 1.42x to 2.55x SDE (sold quartiles) | SDE | BizBuySell says a dry cleaner selling $600k a year may sell for 2.6x earnings or better, and one near the low $200k range closer to 1.4x; the perc window, environmental history, and route share set where a plant lands. | BizBuySell dry cleaner benchmarks (2021-2025 sold listings) |
| Drywall and Insulation | 1.81x to 3.13x SDE (sold quartiles) | SDE | Labor and the absence of collateral set this band. Payroll is a quarter of receipts, the highest labor share on its shelf, materials about thirty percent, and gross depreciable assets about fourteen percent, so a lender is on cash flow and personal guarantees. Nearly half the revenue is billed through pay applications behind retainage. And the trade is bought rarely and at size, forty-eight change-of-ownership approvals at a median near nine hundred thousand dollars, so comparable evidence for an appraiser is scarce. | BizBuySell, building and construction sold-listing benchmarks (2021-2025) |
| Dump Truck & Aggregate Hauling | 2.29x to 3.56x SDE (sold quartiles, trucking blend) | SDE | Public work brings prevailing wage on qualifying hauls, so a seller's driver cost is not the buyer's on the same jobs. Seasonal weight embargoes cut legal payload for up to eight weeks a year in Minnesota, and in California broker-sourced revenue pays on a statutory clock, not on invoice terms. | BizBuySell trucking benchmarks (2021-2025 sold listings, class blend) |
| E-Commerce Brands | 2.63x to 3.99x SDE (sold quartiles) | SDE | Advisers quote FBA-dependent businesses at 2.5x to 4x and Shopify-led DTC brands at 3x to 4.5x, with repeat-purchase niches at the top; channel concentration is priced explicitly, and buyers underwrite 30% to 40% below peak-aggregator-era multiples. | BizBuySell websites and ecommerce benchmarks (2021-2025 sold listings) |
| Electrical Contracting | 1.96x to 3.15x SDE (sold quartiles) | SDE | Small owner-operated shops trade below the broad-market band and $5M-plus-revenue companies above it; 40%-plus recurring service, testing, and compliance work reportedly adds one to two turns. | BizBuySell, electrical and mechanical contractor sold-listing benchmarks (2021-2025) |
| Electrical Supply Houses | 2.00x to 3.44x SDE (sold quartiles) | SDE | Rebate income and dead stock set this band. A supply house earns a thin gross on a very large flow and earns again months later from a buying group, so the earnings a seller quotes depend on when the rebate is counted and on which shelves are still worth their cost. The line card is the asset and it is not owned: manufacturers grant authorizations to a person and a territory, and a change of ownership is the natural moment to review one. Against that sits a demand base spread across repair, maintenance and new construction. | BizBuySell wholesale and distribution benchmarks (sold listings, 2021 to 2025 quartiles) |
| Excavation | 1.82x to 3.27x SDE (sold quartiles) | SDE | Iron and public work set this band. Gross depreciable assets run about a third of receipts and capital expenditure, machinery rental and fuel are each the highest on its shelf, so there is real collateral behind the price and real cost behind the margin. A fifth of receipts is government work, which makes bonding part of the credit and not a detail, and a surety underwrites the new owners as new indemnitors. Above that sits a license question with two different answers in two states and a monetary limit in one of them that is rewritten off the buyer's own balance sheet. | BizBuySell, heavy construction sold-listing benchmarks (2021-2025) |
| Fence Contractors | 1.81x to 3.13x SDE (sold quartiles) | SDE | Valuation roundups report EBITDA at 3.27x to 4.36x and revenue at 0.38x to 0.81x; the residential-versus-commercial mix, multi-year contract backlog, service and warranty share, and how bids handle material cost swings decide where a company lands. | BizBuySell, building and construction sold-listing benchmarks (2021-2025) |
| Finish Carpentry | 1.81x to 3.13x SDE (sold quartiles) | SDE | Owner visibility and a fixed shop set this band. It takes less work in from other contractors than anything else on its shelf, so more of the book is billed to an owner on the shop's own terms, and ninety-four percent of the construction work is privately owned. The shop half carries equipment and an address, which is unusual among trades made of crews and trucks. The ninety percent rule that decides whether a cabinet is a fixture or materials decides the tax role, and two states make the license itself the timing risk on a change of ownership. | BizBuySell, building and construction sold-listing benchmarks (2021-2025) |
| Fire Protection & Life Safety | 1.95x to 3.29x SDE (security class sold quartiles) | SDE | The multiple tracks recurring revenue: advisers quote project-heavy owner-operated shops at 3x to 5x SDE, regional companies with a recurring inspection and monitoring base at 5x to 8x EBITDA, platforms at 8x to 12x-plus; crossing ~40% recurring inspection/monitoring is the pivot, and the qualifier is a person the buyer must replace, since the license does not transfer. | BizBuySell, security sold-listing benchmarks (2021-2025) |
| Flooring | 1.81x to 3.13x SDE (sold quartiles) | SDE | Fragmentation and the tax line set this band. Three quarters of establishments are under five employees, capital expenditure is under one percent of receipts and there is almost no equipment, so entry is cheap and differentiation is thin. A third of receipts arrives as a subcontract, much of it builder work bid annually at thin base margin where the profit is the upgrade above the allowance, which the revenue line hides. The contractor-or-retailer tax question sits underneath all of it and cannot be cured with loan proceeds. | BizBuySell, building and construction sold-listing benchmarks (2021-2025) |
| Flower Shops | 1.37x to 2.48x SDE (sold quartiles) | SDE | BizBuySell says a shop selling over $800k a year may sell above 2.4x and one under $330k below 1.4x; median owner earnings near $106,000 put most single shops below acquisition scale, and the wire mix and contract book set the position. | BizBuySell flower shop benchmarks (2021-2025 sold listings) |
| Food Distribution | 2.00x to 3.44x SDE (sold quartiles) | SDE | Route economics set this band. The cost of a stop barely moves with what comes off the truck, so drop size rather than revenue decides whether a route earns, and growth by small accounts can leave a house busier and poorer. Perishable inventory is discounted hard by lenders, because food out of temperature is worth nothing rather than less, and the federal transport rule turns the cold chain into written duties and records. Customer credit is the third driver, since independent restaurants fail quickly and quietly. | BizBuySell wholesale and distribution benchmarks (sold listings, 2021 to 2025 quartiles) |
| Franchise Resales (Main Street) | 2.0x to 3.1x SDE by deal size | SDE | A resale is read against the general Main Street bands: the IBBA's Q4 2025 averages run 2.0x SDE under $500K, 3.0x from $500K to $1M, and 3.1x from $1M to $2M. Margins after royalties, remaining agreement term, and territory quality set position; the brand shows up in buyer depth and financeability more than in the multiple. | IBBA / M&A Source Market Pulse, Q4 2025 highlights |
| Funeral Homes | 3.06x to 5.06x SDE (sold quartiles, often with property) | SDE | Revenue size sorts this band: the publisher says a home near $1.5 million of revenue may sell near 5x, while a mortuary near $500k may trade closer to 3x. The call-volume trend, local cremation mix, preneed trust funding status, and owned real estate decide where a home lands. | BizBuySell funeral home benchmarks (sold listings, 2021 to 2025) |
| Garage Door Services | 1.81x to 3.13x SDE (construction class sold quartiles) | SDE | Advisers quote single-truck shops at 2x to 3x SDE, multi-truck operators at 3x to 4.5x SDE and mid-market at 4x to 6.5x EBITDA, which the cited sold data does not evidence; the service-versus-install mix (recurring, higher-margin service is the premium), route density, and commercial share set the position amid an active PE roll-up. | BizBuySell, building and construction sold-listing benchmarks (2021-2025) |
| Glass and Glazing | 1.81x to 3.13x SDE (sold quartiles) | SDE | Material price and somebody else's payment cycle set this band. Materials are forty percent of receipts, the highest on its shelf, so glass price and lead time hit margin directly and the count at closing matters. Half the receipts arrive as a subcontract, which puts the payment clause in the top contracts ahead of the customer list, and in states where a pay-if-paid term is enforceable it compounds with retainage. Fifteen percent government work adds bonding to a trade whose median business is under seven employees. | BizBuySell, building and construction sold-listing benchmarks (2021-2025) |
| Gun Stores | 1.62x to 3.08x SDE (sold quartiles) | SDE | The regulated record and the license timeline price this trade, not the shelf. The approval never transfers, the bound book normally goes to the buyer, and after termination the seller has thirty days to sell inventory to a licensee or move it to its own responsible persons. A deal whose three dates are not arranged around each other pays for stock twice or does without it. | BizBuySell retail benchmarks (2021-2025 sold listings, class level; no firearms class is published) |
| Gyms & Fitness Studios | 1.72x to 3x SDE (sold quartiles) | SDE | The publisher's sold gyms run 1.72x to 3.00x SDE in their middle half and its sold dance and fitness studios 1.33x to 2.51x, with franchise units commonly above; monthly churn under roughly 4% is premium territory and over 8% is a red flag, and deferred-revenue liabilities belong in the price. | BizBuySell gym and fitness center benchmarks (2021-2025 sold listings) |
| Hair Salons | 1.25x to 2.34x SDE (sold quartiles) | SDE | BizBuySell says a salon selling over $500k a year may sell near the 2.34x end or higher, and a shop selling $165k closer to 1.25x; the commission model, stylist tenure, shop-owned records, and the cut-color-retail mix set the position. | BizBuySell hair salon and barbershop benchmarks (2021-2025 sold listings) |
| Handyman Services | 1.75x to 3.13x SDE (service class sold quartiles) | SDE | PM-contract share and W-2 crews move a book toward the top of the band, and one-off residential mixes price at the bottom of it. | BizBuySell service business benchmarks (2021-2025 sold listings, sector level) |
| Hardware Stores | 2.02x to 3.86x SDE (sold quartiles) | SDE | Margin here is earned twice, once at the register and once from the buying group months later, and the rebate half does not always survive a change of ownership. Shrink and staff turnover both bite harder than their size suggests against a net under five percent. Ask which basis every margin figure uses before comparing two stores. | BizBuySell building material and hardware benchmarks (sold listings, 2021 to 2025 quartiles) |
| Home Care (Non-Medical) | 2.22x to 3.63x SDE (sold quartiles) | SDE | Sold quartiles center on a 3.0x median and a 3.01x average, with single-market agencies reported around 3x to 5x EBITDA; private-pay-heavy books with durable hours price at the top, Medicaid-heavy books lower, and caregiver turnover below 50% earns a premium. | BizBuySell home health care benchmarks (2021-2025 sold listings) |
| Hotels (limited and select service) | 11.6x going-in EBITDA, 8% cap (REIT buys) | EBITDA | A listed select-service REIT's own filing prices its 24 purchases from January 2023 to June 2026 at 11.6x going-in EBITDA and an 8% going-in cap rate. RevPAR against the comp set and the property's age set the position, and the flag's fees plus the transfer PIP price the brand's half. | Apple Hospitality REIT, acquisition and disposition summary (2023-2026) |
| HVAC | 2x to 3.3x SDE (sold quartiles) | SDE | Service-agreement share is the big lever: advisers credit 40%-plus recurring revenue with 0.5x to 1.0x over install-dependent peers. Sub-$1M-SDE companies cluster near the high 2s. | BizBuySell HVAC benchmarks (sold listings, 2021 to 2025 quartiles) |
| Industrial Supply Distributors | 2.00x to 3.44x SDE (sold quartiles) | SDE | Line count rather than revenue sets this band. Consumables ship in many small lines that cost the same to pick and pack whether they earn four dollars or four hundred, so two houses with identical sales can earn very different money and growth by small accounts can shrink the profit. Vendor-managed bins are the offsetting strength, since reordering stops being a decision, but they put inventory on premises the buyer does not control. The customers are plants rather than builders, which makes the receivable safer than the trade average. | BizBuySell wholesale and distribution benchmarks (sold listings, 2021 to 2025 quartiles) |
| Insurance Agencies | 1.52x revenue, sold-listing avg | Revenue | Personal-lines books run 1.5x to 2.0x revenue and commercial books 2.0x to 3.0x, with employee benefits above both; client retention is the dominant variable, and an asset purchase needs a fresh appointment from every carrier while a stock purchase leaves them in place. | BizBuySell insurance agency benchmarks (2021-2025 sold listings) |
| Janitorial Supply Distributors | 2.00x to 3.44x SDE (sold quartiles) | SDE | Placement sets this band. A dispenser on a customer's wall sells that customer's chemical for years, because switching means changing hardware, so revenue behind placed equipment is worth more than the same revenue sold loose. Against it sits capital the business has already spent that hangs on somebody else's wall and cannot easily be recovered. There is a regulatory position too: a house selling registered disinfectant under its own brand is an agent of the registrant and shares the liability for that product. | BizBuySell wholesale and distribution benchmarks (sold listings, 2021 to 2025 quartiles) |
| Junk Removal & Hauling | 2.14x to 3.88x SDE (sold quartiles) | SDE | The publisher's waste class mixes truck fleets holding landfill and transfer contracts with smaller junk removal businesses, and puts sales over $1.5M a year approaching 4x earnings and those under $400k closer to 2x. Recurring commercial and subscription revenue, route density, disposal pricing, and fleet condition decide the position. | BizBuySell waste management and recycling benchmarks (2021-2025 sold listings) |
| Kitchen Equipment Dealers | 2.00x to 3.44x SDE (sold quartiles) | SDE | The backlog and the deposit set this band. Equipment is project work quoted months ahead at thin margin while smallwares, parts and service carry the repeat margin, so a year built on one large opening is not the same business as a year built on four hundred orders. Customer deposits sit on the balance sheet as somebody else's money, which means a price read off the bank balance is read off the wrong number. The factory service authorization is the durable asset, and it is granted to a shop with trained technicians, not to a company name. | BizBuySell wholesale and distribution benchmarks (sold listings, 2021 to 2025 quartiles) |
| Landscaping | 1.7x to 3x SDE (sold quartiles) | SDE | Commercial-contract maintenance operators sit at the top of the band, simple residential route work at the bottom; recurring contracts and route density drive the spread. | BizBuySell landscaping and yard service benchmarks (sold listings, 2021 to 2025 quartiles) |
| Laundromats | 2.72x to 4.5x SDE (sold quartiles) | SDE | Revenue size sorts this band: the publisher says a store over $350k of revenue may command more than 4x, while one under $150k trades closer to 2.7x. | BizBuySell laundromat and coin laundry benchmarks (2021-2025 sold listings) |
| Limousine & Black Car | 1.72x to 2.87x SDE (sold quartiles) | SDE | Corporate contract work prices above retail booking, and affiliate farm-out work belongs to another operator who can move it in a phone call. Insurance steps hard with seat count, and empty miles between jobs decide the margin gap between two operators on the same rate card. | BizBuySell limousine and passenger transport benchmarks (sold listings, 2021-2025) |
| Liquor Stores | 2.2x to 4x SDE (sold quartiles) | SDE | Revenue size sorts this band: the publisher says a store over $1.75 million of revenue may command close to 4x, while one under $700k may trade closer to 2x. Whether a quoted price includes the license is the next question, and inventory is bought separately at verified cost, so decompose every asking price. | BizBuySell liquor store benchmarks (2021-2025 sold listings) |
| Locksmith Services | 1.56x to 2.68x SDE (sold quartiles) | SDE | Commercial contract count is the conversation: multi-year access-control and master-key accounts add real money at sale, and pure lockout books price as wages. | BizBuySell locksmith benchmarks (sold listings, 2021 to 2025) |
| Machine Shops | 2.32x to 4.23x SDE (sold quartiles) | SDE | Two thirds of revenue is committed before the job runs, so the quote book and the material cost behind it decide the margin. Customer concentration is the second swing: a shop with one aerospace customer at half of revenue prices as a contract rather than as a business. Spindle hours by machine separate a capacity problem capital can fix from a demand problem it cannot. | BizBuySell machining and tooling benchmarks (sold listings, 2021 to 2025 quartiles) |
| Managed Service Providers | 2.20x to 3.87x SDE (sold quartiles) | SDE | Recurring-revenue mix is the largest lever at a given size, since a shop billing mostly hourly project work prices as an IT contractor. Advisory roundups quote 4x to 5x EBITDA for small MSPs; read that as the sell side's figure, on a different earnings base from the 2.93x SDE sold median. | BizBuySell, IT and software services sold-listing benchmarks (2021-2025) |
| Marinas | 1.6x to 5.4x SDE (sold quartiles) | SDE | Half of sold marina and fishing businesses sold between 1.60x and 5.41x earnings around a $600,000 median sale, and the class mixes full-service marinas with charters and bait shops; bottomland tenure, dredging, and slip occupancy decide where a marina sits. | BizBuySell marina and fishing benchmarks (sold listings, 2021 to 2025 quartiles) |
| Martial Arts Studios | 2x to 3x SDE (nearest published classes) | SDE | Retention, auto-billed recurring share, contract terms, and franchise-versus-independent status set the position; no published series measures revenue per student, and owner-instructor centrality is the transfer risk. | BizBuySell, gym and fitness sold-listing benchmarks (2021-2025) |
| Med Spas | 3x to 6x EBITDA (under ~$4M revenue) | EBITDA | Advisers quote mid-sized groups at 5x to 8x EBITDA and regional platforms at 7x to 12x, and credit memberships with steadier revenue; injector retention plus state ownership-structure compliance decide what actually transfers. | Med spa M&A review by an advisory firm, on the association's site (2026) |
| Mobile Home Parks | 5.5% to 6.5% cap rate (lender borrowing base) | EBITDA | A listed owner's lenders now value its unencumbered communities at a 6.0% capitalization rate, cut from 6.5%, and lend up to 60% of that value; lot rent versus market, usable-pad occupancy, utilities, and the park-owned-home share sort a park against that line. | UMH Properties, 8-K on the borrowing-base capitalization rate (2026) |
| Motels (independent) | 5.95x avg earnings (sold motels) | SDE | Sold motels average 5.95x earnings on a $100,000 median and a $450,000 median sale, against 3.55x for hotels; corridor durability, condition, and the nightly-weekly-contract mix set the position, with cash-history credibility its own finding. | BizBuySell, hotel and motel sold-listing benchmarks (2021-2025) |
| Moving Companies | 1.8x to 3.11x SDE (sold quartiles, moving and shipping) | SDE | 2025 marketplace averages ran near the top of the band with revenue multiples around 0.7x; labor stability, claims history, and the referral-versus-purchased-leads mix separate otherwise similar movers. | BizBuySell moving and shipping benchmarks (2021-2025 sold listings) |
| Music Schools | 1.56x to 2.94x SDE (sold-schools class) | SDE | The publisher puts low owner involvement at or above the class's upper quartile, where monthly-billed rosters with multi-teacher benches belong; the instructor split and employment model, who owns scheduling and the family relationship, and peak-hour room utilization decide the read. | Sold-schools valuation benchmarks (BizBuySell class data, 2021-2025) |
| Non-Emergency Medical Transport | 1.72x to 2.87x SDE (sold quartiles, passenger blend) | SDE | Recurring trips fill the schedule in advance and concentrate the risk in a handful of facilities. Whether the state runs a broker model decides whether the business has one customer with a bid cycle or many, and the enrollment restarts on a change of ownership, which is working capital the buyer funds. | BizBuySell limousine and passenger transport benchmarks (2021-2025 sold listings, class blend) |
| Optometry Practices | 2x to 3x SDE (trade press) | SDE | The market is bimodal: single-OD practices trade on SDE (broker observations 2.5x to 4.5x sub-$500k) while multi-OD groups price on EBITDA at 6x to 8.5x; medical eye care share, optical capture, and payer mix decide the position, and some states restrict who can own. | Review of Optometric Business, what a practice is worth (July 2024) |
| Painting Contractors | 1.81x to 3.13x SDE (sold quartiles) | SDE | Valuation roundups report EBITDA at 1.82x to 3.81x and revenue at 0.37x to 0.55x; the commercial-versus-residential mix, recurring contract backlog, and how much of sales and estimating runs through the owner decide where a company lands. | BizBuySell, building and construction sold-listing benchmarks (2021-2025) |
| Paving & Asphalt | 1.81x to 3.13x SDE (construction class sold quartiles) | SDE | Size moves the construction class: the cited page reads a business with $3 million of revenue above 3x earnings and one under $1 million nearer 1.8x. Advisers quote higher EBITDA tiers for recurring-maintenance books, with no transaction evidence behind them; recurring sealcoating share, materials pass-through, fleet, bonding, and season set the position. | BizBuySell, building and construction sold-listing benchmarks (2021-2025) |
| Pawn Shops | 1.62x to 3.08x SDE (sold quartiles) | SDE | The redemption rate decides which of two businesses is being bought: high and it is a lender with a revolving book, low and it is a secondhand store fed by forfeitures. The service charge is capped by the state and shops often charge under the ceiling, so there is real headroom in some books. Advance rates drifting upward show up later as unsellable inventory. | BizBuySell retail benchmarks (2021-2025 sold listings, class level; the lending class sits a full turn lower at the upper quartile) |
| Pest Control | 1.69x to 3x SDE (sold quartiles) | SDE | Advisers quote small-transaction EBITDA near 3.3x to 4.1x, a basis the cited sold data does not print; recurring-contract share (Rollins reports about 75% of its business as recurring) and route density drive pricing, and platform-scale consolidation deals trade far above these ranges. | BizBuySell pest control benchmarks (2021-2025 sold listings) |
| Pet Boarding & Daycare | 2.02x to 3.74x SDE (sold quartiles) | SDE | 2025 marketplace benchmarks ran above 4x on small revenue bases, and brokers quote $2,000 to $6,000 per kennel run; occupancy against capacity, the incident record, daycare recurrence, and owned real estate with zoning in hand decide where a facility lands. | BizBuySell dog daycare and boarding benchmarks (2021-2025 sold listings) |
| Pharmacies | 1.69x to 3.75x SDE (sold quartiles) | SDE | The trade body's own deal calculator applies 3 to 3.5 times to EBITDA plus half the owner's salary; payer mix and per-script margin trend do the sorting, script-file sales price differently from whole stores, and inventory rides on top of either. | BizBuySell pharmacy benchmarks (2021-2025 sold listings) |
| Physical Therapy Practices | 1.46x to 2.94x SDE (medical practice, sold) | SDE | The market is bimodal: owner-operated clinics trade on SDE (broker observations 3x to 5x sub-$500k) while multi-clinic groups price on EBITDA at 5.5x to 8x on $1M to $3M; payer mix, associate-therapist leverage, and referral concentration decide the position. | Medical practice valuation benchmarks, sold listings (BizBuySell, 2021-2025) |
| Pipe and Fitting Supply Houses | 2.00x to 3.44x SDE (sold quartiles) | SDE | Fill rate and the cost of holding it set this band. Contractors choose on whether the part is there, so service level is the competitive variable and every point of it is inventory that is not turning. The trade's characteristic problem is dead stock, project residue and superseded fittings sitting at cost until somebody writes them off, which means the earnings rest on a judgement nobody has audited. Receivables are the other half: trade credit to builders, usually unsecured, where liens and bond claims are the statutory remedies and both take time. | BizBuySell wholesale and distribution benchmarks (sold listings, 2021 to 2025 quartiles) |
| Plumbing | 1.66x to 3.15x SDE (sold quartiles) | SDE | Half the plumbing businesses sold from 2021 to 2025 traded between about 1.7x and 3.2x earnings, and size sets the spread: over $2M of sales may clear 3x, under $600k may trade below 2x. Recurring service agreements, master-license transferability, and commercial diversification move a company up the band. | BizBuySell, plumbing sold-listing benchmarks (2021-2025) |
| Pool Service Routes | 10x to 12x monthly recurring billing, up to about 14x | Mixed | Routes price on monthly service billing alone, since repairs, filter cleanings and seasonal treatments carry no multiple, and the brokerage's FAQ names density with affluent clientele as what lifts a route toward 14x. Retention through the handoff, autopay share, and stops per day set position in the band, and a 90-day replace-or-refund guarantee protects the accounts you are paying for. | National Pool Route Sales, route pricing FAQ (page updated April 2026) |
| Pressure Washing | 1.57x to 2.66x SDE (cleaning class sold quartiles) | SDE | Recurring commercial share is the lever: trade buyer guides place contract-led books above this band, and one-off residential books sit at its floor. | BizBuySell cleaning and janitorial benchmarks (2021-2025 sold listings) |
| Property Management | 2.7x avg earnings, sold listings | Mixed | Management-fee revenue multiples run 1x to 2.5x; auto-renewing contracts with 60-to-90-day termination notice support premiums, month-to-month books are discounted, and single-owner concentration above roughly 15% to 20% draws earnouts. | BizBuySell property management benchmarks (2021-2025 sold listings) |
| Restaurants | 1.34x to 2.53x SDE (sold quartiles) | SDE | Revenue size sorts this band: the publisher says a restaurant over $1 million of revenue may command around 2.5x, while one under $500k may trade below 1.5x. Lease economics and documented earnings do the rest, and industry guidance holds combined prime cost under roughly 60% to 65%. | BizBuySell restaurant benchmarks (2021-2025 sold listings) |
| Restoration | 1.81x to 3.13x SDE (sold quartiles) | SDE | Advisers quote diversified quality operators at roughly 4x to 7x EBITDA and preferred or exclusive carrier-program status at 7x and above; the mitigation share of revenue and insurer program standing do the sorting. | BizBuySell building and construction benchmarks (2021-2025 sold listings, sector level) |
| Roofing | 1.81x to 3.13x SDE (sold quartiles) | SDE | Advisers quote sub-$3M-revenue companies at roughly 3x to 5x EBITDA with contracted commercial books above; advisers also discount storm and insurance-claim revenue to 0.5x to 0.7x of the base-revenue multiple, the category's defining adjustment. | BizBuySell building and construction benchmarks (2021-2025 sold listings, sector level) |
| RV Parks & Campgrounds | 3.07x avg earnings (sold parks) | SDE | Sold parks average 3.07x earnings on a $53,116 median and a $155,000 median sale; full-hookup share, season length, and three years of records set the position. | BizBuySell, travel and campground sold-listing benchmarks (2021-2025) |
| SaaS (Founder-Run) | 2.38x to 4x SDE (sold quartiles) | SDE | Sales volume sets this band: the publisher reads 4x as the top of the middle range, approached by products over $1M of sales, while those under $200k trade just above 2x. Churn differences of a few points translate into multiple-turn gaps, and ARR-based pricing belongs to growing, team-run companies, not founder-run products. | BizBuySell, software and SaaS sold-listing benchmarks (2021-2025) |
| School Bus & Shuttle Contracting | 1.72x to 2.87x SDE (sold quartiles, passenger blend) | SDE | The district contract is the asset: years remaining, renewal terms, and whether it may be assigned decide most of the price. Drivers are the capacity, and a contractor running at zero spare cannot bid the next route, so tenure and vacancy history price a book as much as the fleet does. | BizBuySell limousine and passenger transport benchmarks (2021-2025 sold listings, class blend) |
| Security Guard Services | 1.95x to 3.29x SDE (sold quartiles) | SDE | Advisers quote local single-state operators at 2.5x to 4x SDE, above the cited sold quartiles, and small multi-state platforms at 4x to 6x EBITDA; margins are thin, so the bill-pay spread, client concentration, guard turnover, and replacing the qualifying agent set the position. | BizBuySell security services benchmarks (2021-2025 sold listings, sector blend) |
| Self-Storage | 2.61x to 4.24x SDE (sold quartiles, storage and warehouse) | SDE | Priced like real estate on stabilized NOI, so this earnings band is a cross-check and not the price. Economic occupancy (collections against gross potential rent) is the number that survives diligence. | BizBuySell storage and warehouse benchmarks (sold listings, 2021 to 2025) |
| Septic Pumping & Service | 2.14x to 3.88x SDE (waste class sold quartiles) | SDE | The publisher's waste class prints no split between route and demand-only pumping, and puts companies selling over $1.5M a year approaching 4x earnings and those under $400k closer to 2x. Recurring route share, route density, disposal access, licensing transfer, and fleet condition set the position. | BizBuySell, waste management sold-listing benchmarks (2021-2025) |
| Sign Companies | 1.95x to 2.94x SDE (sold quartiles) | SDE | Advisers quote EBITDA bands of 3.5x to 4.7x, and the cited page puts sold revenue multiples between 0.44x and 0.75x; the share of recurring service and maintenance revenue over one-time fabrication, national-account contracts, and equipment currency decide where a shop lands. | BizBuySell, sign manufacturing sold-listing quartiles (2021-2025) |
| Staffing Agencies | 2.04x to 3.22x SDE (sold quartiles) | SDE | Advisers quote larger firms on EBITDA at 4.0x to 7.0x; recurring temp and contract books, IT and healthcare specialties, low client concentration, and margin quality lift the multiple, while the payroll float sets the working capital the deal really needs. | BizBuySell staffing agency benchmarks (2021-2025 sold listings) |
| Swim Schools | 1.56x to 2.94x SDE (sold-schools class) | SDE | The publisher puts unique competitive advantages at or above the class's upper quartile, where perpetual monthly enrollment behind a facility moat belongs; the natatorium plant's age, the mechanical capital schedule, and waitlist depth price the rest. | Sold-schools valuation benchmarks (BizBuySell class data, 2021-2025) |
| Tire & Service | 1.70x to 3.26x SDE (sold quartiles) | SDE | Revenue size and service mix sort this band. The class page puts shops over $1.3 million of revenue at 3.25x or better and those under $500k nearer 1.7x, and attached mechanical service is the lever that moves a tire shop up it. Recurring fleet accounts steady the volume a buyer is paying for. | BizBuySell, auto service and repair sold-listing benchmarks (2021-2025) |
| Towing & Recovery | 2.06x to 3.87x SDE (sold quartiles, fleet-heavy) | SDE | Call-only operators sit near the low end and shops anchored by police rotation and motor-club contracts plus a full storage yard toward the top, and the publisher puts $2.6M of revenue around the 3.87x end. Contract share of dispatches, rotation-contract transfer, storage-lot capacity, and fleet age set the position. | BizBuySell towing benchmarks (2021-2025 sold listings) |
| Tree Service & Arboriculture | 2x to 4x SDE (trade association magazine) | SDE | The trade association's magazine puts tree care businesses at 2x to 4x discretionary earnings, with equipment condition, the safety record, crew expertise and documented processes deciding the position. Recurring commercial contracts that run without the owner command the top, and platform-grade operators with utility contracts trade above it on EBITDA. | Tree Care Industry Magazine, what a tree care business is worth (August 2026) |
| Trucking & Freight Carriers | 2.29x to 3.56x SDE (sold quartiles) | SDE | Dedicated contract lanes price above spot freight and hold through a soft market, so the split by month is the first read. A poor federal safety score raises the insurance quote and closes shipper doors, and an asset purchase takes a new USDOT number with eighteen months of new-entrant monitoring behind it, and keeps the operating authority only if the regulator records a transfer. | BizBuySell trucking benchmarks (sold listings, 2021-2025) |
| Tutoring Centers | 1.56x to 2.94x SDE (sold-schools class) | SDE | One Florida broker says recurring monthly memberships at 70%-plus can often justify a half-turn premium and values a student at $500 to $2,000 by niche; the instructor bench, the owner's own teaching, and school-year seasonality set the position. | Sold-schools valuation benchmarks (BizBuySell class data, 2021-2025) |
| Urgent Care Centers | 1.46x to 2.94x SDE (medical practice, sold) | SDE | EBITDA tiers in circulation have no sold data behind them, so the band above is the anchor; payer mix and in-network status set the reimbursement, visit volume and staffing model set the cost, and most states restrict who can own the clinical practice. | Medical practice valuation benchmarks, sold listings (BizBuySell, 2021-2025) |
| Vending Machine Routes | 1.8x to 2.62x SDE (sold quartiles) | SDE | The publisher puts routes selling over $130k a year above 2.5x earnings and those under $50k closer to 1.8x; locked multi-year location contracts at fair commission, cashless-conversion share, route density, and expansion headroom set the position, while heavy owner driving and stalled growth lower it. | BizBuySell vending machine business benchmarks (2021-2025 sold listings) |
| Veterinary Practices | 2.3x to 2.9x SDE (clinics, a valuation firm's range) | SDE | Clinics trade at roughly 2.3x to 2.9x SDE and 3.48x to 4.30x EBITDA by one valuation advisor's reading, with no published size tier; doctor production concentration decides transferability, and a minority of states restrict non-veterinarian ownership. | Peak Business Valuation, veterinary clinic valuation multiples (2025) |
| Window Cleaning | 1.57x to 2.66x SDE (cleaning class sold quartiles) | SDE | Size moves the cleaning class: the cited page reads a janitorial company with $900,000 of revenue at 2.7x earnings or higher and one under $250,000 nearer 1.6x. Recurring commercial route share, customer diversification versus concentration, route density, and the labor structure set where a window cleaner lands in the range. | BizBuySell cleaning and janitorial benchmarks (2021-2025 sold quartiles, sector blend) |
Each band is the figure its industry guide carries, hedged to the source cited in the row and stated as a directional range rather than a comp. Multiples move with size, recurring revenue, owner dependence, and the deal market, so treat a band as the question to ask rather than the answer.
Method & Source
Loan counts, median loan, and total lending are computed from the SBA 7(a) FOIA loan-level file, filtered to change-of-ownership approvals (FY2020 through FY2025). Charge-off rates use the seasoned cohort, FY2018-19 change-of-ownership approvals (7-8 years seasoned); industries below the publishing floor read “too few” rather than a number one default would swing. Charge-off rates come from the seasoned cohort only; FY2020+ loans have not had time to show their full failure rate. Rates are a lower bound (open loans can still fail), so read the ordering, not the level. The multiple band is the figure the industry guide cites, hedged to its own source.