Data and corrections
Data and corrections: What Your Business Is Worth
This page holds the analysis tables behind the book What Your Business Is Worth (Neil P. Bostick, 2026) and any corrections to it. The method is described in the book's Appendix A.
Updated 4 October 2026
The archive
The book analyzes the FairlyValued comparables archive as downloaded on 1 October 2026: 10,221 records, of which the 10,212 dated 2 September 2014 to 1 July 2025 form the book's universe. Nine records sourced from SEC filings and added on 30 September 2026 were set aside; they are listed in table T00b.
The archive is public and needs no account: browse it on the Comparables page, or download the whole table as one file at /data/archive.json. The site adds deals over time, so the live table holds more than the book's universe. To reproduce the book, keep the records dated 2 September 2014 to 1 July 2025.
Analysis tables (CSV)
Each table of multiples carries its sample size (n) and a tier: "firm" at n of 25 or more, "thin" at 8 to 24; no quantiles are published below 8. The chapter shown is where the table's figures are used.
| Table | Contents | Used in |
|---|---|---|
| T00 | Archive overview: counts, date window, deal value range | Appendix A |
| T00b | The nine SEC-sourced records set aside from the book's universe | Appendix A |
| T01 | Deals by year, with disclosure rates | |
| T02 | Distribution of deal values | |
| T03 | Revenue and EBITDA multiples, all disclosed deals | Chapter 1 |
| T03b | Deals that disclose a multiple against those that do not | |
| T04 | Multiples by sector, with n and tier | Chapter 4, Appendix B |
| T05 | Multiples by super-sector, with n and tier | Chapter 4, Appendix B |
| T06 | The censoring trap: multiples sorted by deal value | Chapter 5 |
| T07 | Multiples by implied EBITDA band | Chapter 5 |
| T08 | Multiples by implied revenue band | Chapter 5 |
| T09 | Size bands within a common observable window | Chapter 5 |
| T09b | Size elasticity regression | Chapter 5 |
| T10 | Private equity against strategic buyers | Chapter 8 |
| T10b | Buyer type by EBITDA band | Chapter 8 |
| T11 | PE-backed sellers | Chapter 8 |
| T12 | Multiples by year | Chapter 13 |
| T12b | Multiples by era | Chapter 13 |
| T13 | Multiples by transaction type | Chapter 8 |
| T14 | Implied EBITDA margin against multiples | Chapter 6 |
| T14b | Margin against multiples, revenue multiple of 0.5x or more | Chapter 6 |
| T15 | Leave-one-out accuracy of comparable-sales estimates | Chapter 7 |
| T16 | The most active acquirers | Chapter 8 |
| T17 | Top acquirers by super-sector | Chapter 8, Appendix B |
| T18 | Buyer mix by super-sector | Chapter 8 |
| T19 | Acquirer country | Chapter 8 |
| T19b | Target region | |
| T20 | Audit of the site's 42 industry ranges | Chapter 3 |
| T21 | The most extreme multiples in the archive | |
| T22 | Controlled regressions (size, sector, year, buyer type) | Chapter 8 |
| X02 | Owner age of employer businesses, US Census Bureau, 2023 | Chapter 13 |
| X03 | SBA debt-coverage price ceiling by interest rate ($500,000 of cash flow) | Chapter 9 |
The tables cover the 10,212-sale archive, 2 September 2014 to 1 July 2025. X02 is US Census Bureau data (public domain); X03 is the author's arithmetic for Chapter 9. The Market Pulse figures in Chapter 3 are the copyrighted survey output of the International Business Brokers Association and M&A Source, so they are cited, not republished here: read them at ibba.org.
Programs
The download and analysis programs are available from the author on request, as Appendix A says: use the Contact page.
Corrections
None yet.
Each correction will be listed here with its date, the page or chapter, what the book says, what it should say, and whether a later printing has fixed it. To report an error, use the Contact page.
General education, not an appraisal or tax, legal, lending or investment advice.