Every founder I talk to has heard some version of "businesses like yours sell for 6–8x EBITDA." It's not wrong. It's just not useful.
Here's the problem with averages: a 7.2x average includes a healthcare services business that sold at 9.1x and a general contracting company that sold at 4.8x. Those two numbers average to 7.0x. Neither founder got 7.0x. The average tells you nothing about which one you are.
The question that actually matters isn't "what's the market average?" It's: which end of the range does my business land on, and why?
| Segment | Average Multiple |
|---|---|
| $10M–$25M enterprise value | 6.2x–6.7x |
| $25M–$50M enterprise value | 6.7x–7.4x |
| $50M–$100M enterprise value | 7.7x–8.8x |
| Healthcare services | 8.3x |
| Business services | 7.5x |
| Distribution / logistics | 7.0x |
| Manufacturing | 6.5x |
Size matters almost as much as sector. A $4M EBITDA business and a $10M EBITDA business in the same industry can have a 1.5x multiple difference — not because of anything operational, but simply because the buyer universe changes at scale.
What moves you toward the top of your range: contracted recurring revenue, no customer over 15% of revenue, a management team that can run the business without you, and three years of clean reviewed financials.
The 7.2x average is a starting point. Your number is somewhere in a range driven by factors largely within your control — which means it's worth understanding before you're in a room with a buyer.
Pull your last 12 months of revenue and sort customers by size. If any single customer is above 20% of revenue, that's your most important exit planning project — not because you have to fix it before you sell, but because you need to know what discount it's costing you and decide whether the timeline to address it is worth it.
A realistic range specific to your sector, size, and quality profile. Not a market average.
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