Quarterly report
Valuation multiples by sector, Q3 2026
Median EV/EBITDA and EV/Revenue for 59 sectors, from 10,221 recorded transactions (2,117 with a disclosed multiple). Across all sectors: EV/EBITDA 8.9x (n=829), EV/Revenue 1.5x (n=2051). 9 sourced deals were added this quarter.
Data to 2026-07-29. Published 2026-10-07.
By sector
Every figure comes from recorded transactions with a disclosed deal value between $1m and $1bn. Most deals close without a published multiple, so each median states how many deals it rests on, and a median resting on fewer than 5 deals is withheld.
| Sector | Deals | EV/EBITDA | EBITDA IQR | EV/Revenue | Revenue IQR | Median deal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Internet Software and Services | 781 | 11.4x (n=44) | 8.2x to 26.2x | 3.1x (n=102) | 1.4x to 5.9x | $75.0m |
| Information Technology | 779 | 8.5x (n=59) | 6.0x to 15.2x | 1.5x (n=129) | 0.9x to 3.2x | $89.0m |
| Life Science | 614 | 17.5x (n=21) | 12.6x to 35.8x | 3.8x (n=92) | 2.4x to 7.0x | $114m |
| Software | 573 | 10.1x (n=40) | 8.3x to 20.1x | 2.8x (n=109) | 1.7x to 4.3x | $65.3m |
| Financial Services | 568 | 9.0x (n=10) | 4.9x to 15.3x | 3.8x (n=86) | 1.9x to 5.0x | $99.3m |
| Business Services | 463 | 10.0x (n=49) | 6.8x to 12.6x | 1.1x (n=114) | 0.6x to 2.3x | $63.1m |
| Medical Products | 398 | 10.6x (n=19) | 7.8x to 21.6x | 2.6x (n=85) | 1.6x to 4.7x | $100m |
| Consumer Products | 319 | 8.2x (n=31) | 6.0x to 10.3x | 1.3x (n=62) | 0.9x to 2.3x | $70.0m |
| Manufacturing | 268 | 8.2x (n=30) | 6.8x to 9.9x | 1.4x (n=89) | 0.8x to 1.9x | $111m |
| Healthcare Services | 254 | 9.6x (n=28) | 6.3x to 14.1x | 1.8x (n=53) | 1.0x to 2.5x | $112m |
| Food | 242 | 8.5x (n=24) | 7.1x to 10.6x | 1.4x (n=66) | 0.8x to 2.3x | $130m |
| Technology Hardware | 217 | 10.8x (n=15) | 7.6x to 22.2x | 1.6x (n=48) | 1.0x to 2.5x | $85.0m |
| Oil/Gas Exploration | 205 | 4.7x (n=10) | 3.2x to 7.7x | 1.6x (n=12) | 0.5x to 3.3x | $310m |
| Machinery | 200 | 8.1x (n=23) | 6.5x to 10.8x | 1.4x (n=68) | 0.9x to 1.9x | $102m |
| Energy Services and Equipment | 194 | 7.1x (n=11) | 5.5x to 10.3x | 1.3x (n=22) | 0.7x to 2.1x | $141m |
| Communications | 185 | 7.4x (n=26) | 5.6x to 11.4x | 1.7x (n=37) | 1.0x to 2.5x | $135m |
| Digital Media | 181 | 8.3x (n=21) | 5.5x to 10.7x | 1.6x (n=35) | 1.2x to 3.5x | $39.2m |
| Building Materials | 177 | 8.2x (n=33) | 6.3x to 11.1x | 1.2x (n=67) | 0.8x to 2.0x | $117m |
| Retail | 175 | 6.4x (n=17) | 5.0x to 9.1x | 0.6x (n=43) | 0.3x to 1.4x | $101m |
| Chemicals | 172 | 8.9x (n=21) | 7.1x to 10.5x | 1.5x (n=46) | 1.1x to 2.1x | $153m |
| Transportation | 170 | 8.9x (n=10) | 5.7x to 12.8x | 0.8x (n=37) | 0.4x to 1.0x | $80.6m |
| Metals/Mining | 167 | 8.1x (n=11) | 3.5x to 12.8x | 1.3x (n=23) | 0.5x to 1.9x | $75.0m |
| Electrical Equipment | 163 | 9.1x (n=18) | 6.2x to 12.6x | 1.7x (n=50) | 1.1x to 2.1x | $73.3m |
| Insurance | 158 | withheld, n=4 | n/a | 1.5x (n=15) | 0.9x to 3.7x | $155m |
| Distribution | 157 | 8.4x (n=20) | 6.1x to 10.5x | 0.8x (n=48) | 0.4x to 1.0x | $72.5m |
| Media | 151 | 8.6x (n=12) | 6.2x to 12.8x | 1.4x (n=20) | 0.7x to 2.3x | $85.0m |
| Marketing | 146 | 6.0x (n=11) | 5.1x to 10.9x | 1.5x (n=25) | 0.9x to 3.0x | $37.7m |
| Automotive | 142 | 7.3x (n=14) | 5.4x to 10.0x | 0.9x (n=37) | 0.6x to 1.4x | $152m |
| Semiconductors | 124 | 16.8x (n=13) | 9.8x to 21.3x | 2.0x (n=31) | 0.9x to 3.2x | $120m |
| Leisure | 111 | 7.2x (n=7) | n/a | 3.1x (n=13) | 1.8x to 3.8x | $118m |
| Packaging | 102 | 6.7x (n=11) | 5.9x to 7.8x | 1.1x (n=37) | 0.8x to 1.4x | $83.1m |
| Environmental | 93 | 7.4x (n=15) | 4.2x to 9.6x | 1.4x (n=28) | 0.6x to 2.0x | $91.0m |
| Utilities | 93 | 9.2x (n=5) | n/a | 1.3x (n=8) | n/a | $83.0m |
| Construction | 87 | 4.8x (n=5) | n/a | 0.5x (n=13) | 0.4x to 0.9x | $85.0m |
| Apparel/Textiles | 87 | 10.1x (n=16) | 7.3x to 12.8x | 1.4x (n=23) | 1.1x to 2.1x | $147m |
| Consumer Services | 82 | 14.3x (n=5) | n/a | 1.2x (n=13) | 0.5x to 1.5x | $83.0m |
| Restaurants | 82 | 10.5x (n=9) | n/a | 1.1x (n=18) | 0.5x to 1.5x | $178m |
| Aerospace | 81 | withheld, n=2 | n/a | 2.3x (n=9) | n/a | $216m |
| Education | 81 | 12.7x (n=8) | n/a | 1.9x (n=14) | 1.3x to 4.0x | $108m |
| Test/Measurement Equipment | 78 | withheld, n=4 | n/a | 1.7x (n=26) | 1.2x to 2.8x | $47.8m |
| Renewable Energy | 77 | 7.2x (n=5) | n/a | 1.4x (n=9) | n/a | $169m |
| Real Estate | 70 | 11.0x (n=6) | n/a | 2.6x (n=6) | n/a | $129m |
| Information Services | 69 | withheld, n=4 | n/a | 4.3x (n=16) | 3.1x to 6.5x | $114m |
| Safety/Security | 66 | 10.1x (n=9) | n/a | 1.3x (n=27) | 0.9x to 1.8x | $62.7m |
| Beverages | 63 | 12.9x (n=9) | n/a | 1.6x (n=13) | 0.6x to 2.5x | $130m |
| Forest Products | 62 | 6.0x (n=8) | n/a | 0.9x (n=13) | 0.7x to 1.2x | $160m |
| Staffing | 59 | 5.1x (n=9) | n/a | 0.8x (n=18) | 0.2x to 1.6x | $34.3m |
| E-Commerce | 58 | 6.9x (n=5) | n/a | 0.9x (n=12) | 0.6x to 1.6x | $62.8m |
| Agriculture | 53 | 6.9x (n=6) | n/a | 0.7x (n=9) | n/a | $75.4m |
| Plastics | 52 | 9.0x (n=7) | n/a | 1.0x (n=18) | 0.8x to 1.3x | $164m |
| Electronics | 51 | 12.3x (n=7) | n/a | 1.1x (n=18) | 0.7x to 2.3x | $87.0m |
| Engineering | 49 | 8.0x (n=6) | n/a | 0.8x (n=13) | 0.4x to 1.3x | $28.0m |
| Publishing | 37 | 6.1x (n=6) | n/a | 1.2x (n=8) | n/a | $58.6m |
| Marine | 31 | withheld, n=2 | n/a | 1.0x (n=5) | n/a | $244m |
| Gaming | 30 | withheld, n=4 | n/a | 5.0x (n=5) | n/a | $103m |
| Defense | 21 | withheld, n=0 | n/a | withheld, n=2 | n/a | $85.0m |
| Infrastructure | 15 | withheld, n=0 | n/a | withheld, n=1 | n/a | $234m |
| Furniture | 14 | withheld, n=1 | n/a | withheld, n=3 | n/a | $73.1m |
| Airlines | 11 | withheld, n=1 | n/a | withheld, n=1 | n/a | $109m |
The size effect
Across the bands where the collection window does not bind, the median EV/EBITDA runs from 7.0x at $1m to $3m (n=129) to 10.2x at $10m to $30m (n=224). Deals above $1bn and below $1m were never collected. That bends multiples down for the largest companies and up for the smallest, so the size effect is read only between $1m and $30m of EBITDA, where neither limit binds.
| Implied EBITDA | Median EV/EBITDA | IQR | Deals | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under $1m EBITDA | 6.0x | 4.4x to 8.8x | 33 | limited by the $1m deal floor; not comparable |
| $1m to $3m EBITDA | 7.0x | 5.0x to 9.4x | 129 | |
| $3m to $10m EBITDA | 8.8x | 6.4x to 15.6x | 224 | |
| $10m to $30m EBITDA | 10.2x | 7.5x to 14.5x | 224 | |
| $30m EBITDA and over | 9.5x | 7.0x to 12.5x | 219 | limited by the $1bn deal ceiling; not comparable |
Deals added this quarter
Each deal below was added from a public filing that states both the price and the target's revenue or EBITDA. The filing is linked.
| Date | Target | Acquirer | Sector | Value | EV/EBITDA | EV/Revenue | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-07-02 | Lehan's Medical Equipment | VIEMED HEALTHCARE, INC. | Healthcare Services | $26.0m | 3.5x | 1.0x | SEC 8-K exhibit |
| 2025-07-17 | UNIPEC | UFP TECHNOLOGIES INC | Medical Products | $7.5m | n/d | 1.5x | SEC 8-K exhibit |
| 2025-08-01 | Helping Hands Home Care Service | Addus HomeCare Corp | Healthcare Services | $21.3m | n/d | 1.3x | SEC 8-K exhibit |
| 2025-12-10 | Petersen Industries | ALAMO GROUP INC | Machinery | $167m | n/d | 2.2x | SEC 8-K exhibit |
| 2026-02-25 | Royston | LSI INDUSTRIES INC | Electrical Equipment | $325m | 8.6x | 1.2x | SEC 8-K exhibit |
| 2026-03-02 | Estech Systems, LLC | Crexendo, Inc. | Communications | $35.0m | n/d | 1.3x | SEC 8-K exhibit |
| 2026-04-02 | SE&M Constructors, Inc. | Everus Construction Group, Inc. | Construction | $158m | n/d | 1.4x | SEC 8-K exhibit |
| 2026-04-21 | Terrasoul Superfoods | Laird Superfood, Inc. | Food | $48.0m | n/d | 0.7x | SEC 8-K exhibit |
| 2026-07-29 | ES&H | CLEAN HARBORS INC | Environmental | $305m | 10.2x | 3.4x | SEC 8-K exhibit |
Source: the FairlyValued comparables archive (recorded transactions with a disclosed deal value), plus deals added from public SEC filings where linked. Built by a fixed script from the stored figures; no figure is estimated or filled in.