PEStore

Benchmarks

Valuation multiples by sector

What buyers actually paid, as a multiple of earnings and of revenue, across 16 sectors. Every figure is a median over the same 10,204 recorded transactions the sector pages are built from, so the multiple here is the multiple there.

Highest EBITDA multiple12.7×Education
Lowest EBITDA multiple4.8×Construction
Highest revenue multiple3.6×Financial Services
Transactions behind them10,204Disclosed considerations, 2014 to 2025

Ranked by EBITDA multiple

Every sector, both multiples

Both multiples are medians, and each is shown only where deals disclosed the underlying figure, so the two rest on different samples. The median consideration is the sturdier benchmark of the three.

SectorEV / EBITDAEV / revenueMedian considerationTransactionsInvestors
Education12.7×1.9×$108m81364
Healthcare & Life Sciences12.5×2.8×$110m1,2631,855
Real Estate11×2.55×$129m70638
Software & Internet10.9×2.2×$80m2,6723,454
Food & Beverage10.15×1.35×$143m386462
Financial Services9.55×3.6×$107m7261,337
Business & Professional Services8.5×1.2×$55m6681,093
Transportation & Logistics8.3×0.7×$80m338515
Media & Communications8.2×1.6×$77m583515
Environmental & Safety8.1×1.3×$72m158610
Consumer & Retail8.05×1.2×$90m8371,286
Industrials & Manufacturing8.05×1.2×$110m1,2981,560
Materials & Chemicals7.85×1.4×$118m401187
Energy & Utilities7.1×1.4×$180m5841,006
Agriculture6.85×0.7×$75m53181
Construction4.8×0.5×$80m86229

A multiple is the median of the disclosed multiples in the sector, not a figure applied to every deal. Where a transaction disclosed no revenue or EBITDA, only its consideration is counted. Nothing is imputed.

Common questions

Which sector has the highest EBITDA multiple?
Of the 16 sectors with a published multiple, education carries the highest median EV/EBITDA multiple at 12.7×, and construction the lowest at 4.8×. Multiples are medians across recorded transactions that disclosed the underlying figure.
What is a typical revenue multiple in these sectors?
Median EV/revenue multiples range from about 0.5× to 3.6× (financial services). Revenue multiples are disclosed less often than deal values, so each rests on a smaller sample than the median consideration in the same row.
How are these multiples calculated?
Each figure is the median of the disclosed multiples across an archive of 10,204 recorded transactions (2014 to 2025), grouped into 16 sectors. A multiple appears only where the transaction itself disclosed revenue or EBITDA; where it did not, only the deal value is counted. Nothing is imputed from comparable deals.
Are these multiples an appraisal of my business?
No. A sector median is context, not a valuation: your own margins, growth, size and buyer set move the number in both directions. Use the median as a starting point and the free valuation to work from your actual figures.

For owners

Own a business in this space?

The investors on this page acquire companies like yours. A confidential valuation costs nothing, commits you to nothing, and nobody is told you asked.

Request a confidential valuation

For investors

Are you an investor?

Register your mandate and we will send matching opportunities as they arise.

Register a mandate

Targeted buyer search

Which hundred of these would actually buy your business?

A researched shortlist with a verified deal-team contact for each, and the reason it is on the list. Fixed fee, from $1,450 - or we make the approach for you and hand you the conversations.

See how it works