United States. Privately held businesses
Business valuation calculator: value my business on what firms sell for
Most “what is my business worth” calculators apply a public company multiple to a private business, giving a number several times too high. This one shows both, sourced and dated: the median US private sale multiple and the listed one.
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The basis
- The default multiple is 5.5x EBITDA, the median reported for deals in the $5M to $50M band by the IBBA and M&A Source Market Pulse survey for Q2 2025. It was compiled from 272 completed transactions reported by 326 business brokers and M&A advisors (IBBA and M&A Source, Market Pulse Q2 2025).
- The same survey reported a median of 2.3x for businesses selling under $500,000.
- The public company comparison is 16.95x EBITDA: the total market EV/EBITDA for US firms with positive EBITDA excluding financials. It comes from NYU Stern's Enterprise Value Multiples by Sector dataset, data as of January 2026 across 5,994 firms (NYU Stern, Damodaran). Including financials the same dataset reports 19.73x.
- Those two figures measure different things and that is the point of showing both. One is what listed companies trade at; the other is what privately held businesses actually sold for. A private business is not a small listed company, and the gap between the two lines is the combined effect of size, illiquidity, customer concentration and owner dependence.
- Main Street and lower middle market are the survey's own bands: Main Street is up to $2M and the lower middle market is $2M to $50M. Below roughly $2M, deals are usually quoted on SDE (seller's discretionary earnings, the owner's total benefit), not EBITDA. So a multiple from one basis cannot be applied to the other.
- Surplus cash and debt are treated the way a buyer treats them. Enterprise value is what the business is worth; then cash is added and debt-like items are deducted to reach what reaches shareholders. Deferred consideration, earn-outs and working capital adjustments are not modelled and routinely move the final figure.
- This is an indication, not a valuation. It applies no adjustment for sector, growth, margin, customer concentration or owner dependence, and a real valuation is mostly the work of making those adjustments.
Bizworth Calculator is an information site. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to the IBBA, M&A Source, NYU Stern or any adviser named here, and nothing on it is valuation, tax or investment advice. It produces an indication from published market multiples and your own inputs; it is not a valuation, and it applies no adjustment for sector, growth, margin, customer concentration or owner dependence, which is most of what a real valuation consists of. Multiples move: every figure carries the date and the survey or dataset it came from.
What US businesses actually sell for, against what listed companies trade at, 2026
Last updated
The two most-cited multiple datasets in the United States measure different populations and are routinely quoted as though they were interchangeable. Putting them side by side is the fastest way to see why an owner's expectation and a buyer's offer are so often several times apart.
Two published sources, read on 15 August 2026 and cited in full below. Private transaction multiples come from the IBBA and M&A Source Market Pulse survey, a quarterly survey of business brokers and M&A advisors covering business sales up to $50M: the Q2 2025 edition, its 53rd, was completed by 326 advisors reporting 272 transactions, and reported a median of 2.3x for deals under $500K and 5.5x for the $5M to $50M band. Its Q1 2026 edition, the 56th, was completed by 300 advisors reporting 203 transactions and reported multiples broadly consistent with prior periods, with slight increases in the $500K to $1M and $1M to $2M ranges and larger deals holding steady; it did not publish the band figures themselves, so the Q2 2025 numbers are the most recent published bands and are labelled with their date rather than presented as current. Public company multiples come from NYU Stern's Enterprise Value Multiples by Sector (US) dataset compiled by Aswath Damodaran, data as of January 2026 across 5,994 US firms, using the positive-EBITDA column. Band-to-band comparisons are not like for like and the table says so: sub-$2M deals are conventionally quoted on SDE rather than EBITDA. Nothing here is derived, averaged or estimated.
| Population | Basis | Multiple | Source and date | What it actually measures |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US businesses under $500K | SDE, conventionally | 2.3x | IBBA Market Pulse, Q2 2025 | Main Street sales, owner's total benefit |
| US deals $5M to $50M | EBITDA | 5.5x | IBBA Market Pulse, Q2 2025 | Lower middle market, after a market-rate manager |
| US listed, excluding financials | EBITDA | 16.95x | NYU Stern, January 2026 | 5,994 firms with positive EBITDA |
| US listed, all firms | EBITDA | 19.73x | NYU Stern, January 2026 | Same dataset, financials included |
| Semiconductor, listed | EBITDA | 34.75x | NYU Stern, January 2026 | The dataset's high end by sector |
| Auto parts, listed | EBITDA | 6.43x | NYU Stern, January 2026 | The dataset's low end by sector |
- US listed companies traded at 16.95x EBITDA excluding financials in January 2026, while US private deals of $5M to $50M sold at a median of 5.5x in Q2 2025.
- That is roughly three times the multiple for the same dollar of earnings, before any adjustment for sector, growth or owner dependence.
- US businesses selling under $500,000 had a median multiple of 2.3x, about seven times below the listed market figure.
- Even inside the listed market the spread by sector is wide, from 6.43x in auto parts to 34.75x in semiconductors.
- The private survey covers business sales up to $50M and drew on 272 completed transactions reported by 326 advisors in the quarter.
Cite this page
“What US businesses actually sell for, against what listed companies trade at, 2026”, Business Worth Calculator, https://bizworthcalculator.com/ (updated 2026-08-15). Two published sources, read on 15 August 2026 and cited in full below. Private transaction multiples come from the IBBA and M&A Source Market Pulse survey, a quarterly survey of business brokers and M&A advisors covering business sales up to $50M: the Q2 2025 edition, its 53rd, was completed by 326 advisors reporting 272 transactions, and reported a median of 2.3x for deals under $500K and 5.5x for the $5M to $50M band. Its Q1 2026 edition, the 56th, was completed by 300 advisors reporting 203 transactions and reported multiples broadly consistent with prior periods, with slight increases in the $500K to $1M and $1M to $2M ranges and larger deals holding steady; it did not publish the band figures themselves, so the Q2 2025 numbers are the most recent published bands and are labelled with their date rather than presented as current. Public company multiples come from NYU Stern's Enterprise Value Multiples by Sector (US) dataset compiled by Aswath Damodaran, data as of January 2026 across 5,994 US firms, using the positive-EBITDA column. Band-to-band comparisons are not like for like and the table says so: sub-$2M deals are conventionally quoted on SDE rather than EBITDA. Nothing here is derived, averaged or estimated.
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Guides
Every figure sourced and dated.
- How much is my company worth? A US answer, sourced
What US businesses actually sold for, from a survey of completed transactions, set against what listed companies trade at. Both figures, both dated.
- Business valuation methods: which one a US buyer uses
The income, market and asset approaches named by the SBA, what each is for, and why almost every private US sale is settled on a multiple of earnings.
- The difference between SDE and EBITDA, and which your buyer uses
US deals under about $2M are quoted on SDE and larger ones on EBITDA. The difference, the add-backs buyers accept, and the ones they reject.
The questions we get
How much is my business worth?
For a US private business, start with adjusted earnings times the median multiple businesses your size sold for. The IBBA and M&A Source Market Pulse Q2 2025 survey: 2.3x under $500,000, 5.5x for $5M to $50M deals (smaller deals use SDE, not EBITDA). Add surplus cash, deduct all debt. It is a market indication, not a valuation of your company.(IBBA and M&A Source, Market Pulse Q2 2025 survey)
Can I trust a how much is my business worth calculator?
Only if it uses the right multiple. Many apply a listed company multiple to a private business: 16.95x EV/EBITDA for US listed firms excluding financials in January 2026. US private deals sold at a median 5.5x in the $5M to $50M band and 2.3x under $500,000. This one shows both figures side by side, each sourced and dated.(IBBA and M&A Source, Market Pulse Q2 2025 survey)
Is this a free business valuation calculator?
Yes. The calculator runs on this page, with no sign-up, and nothing you type into it is sent anywhere. Only the enquiry form further down sends your details, and only if you choose to fill it in.
How does this company valuation calculator work?
It multiplies adjusted earnings by a multiple for enterprise value, adds surplus cash and deducts all debt. The result shows three ways: at your own multiple, and at 5.5x, the IBBA and M&A Source Market Pulse Q2 2025 median for US private deals of $5M to $50M. The third: 16.95x, NYU Stern's for listed US firms excluding financials, January 2026.
Can I use it as a private company valuation calculator?
That is what it is built for. Its private medians come from completed sales of privately held businesses, not listed share prices. The listed figure sits beside them only so you can see how far apart the two are.
How much can I sell my business for?
BizBuySell's median US small business sale in 2025 was $350,000, at 94% of asking (its 2025 year in review). Its Q2 2026 Insight Report puts the median sale price at $349,250 on median cash flow of $155,921. Yours is adjusted earnings at your size band's multiple, plus surplus cash, less debt, before deal costs and tax.
Is this a business net worth calculator?
No. Net worth, or book value, is what the balance sheet says the assets are worth less the liabilities. Buyers of a trading business price it on earnings instead, as this calculator does. The asset approach suits a business whose value sits in what it owns, not what it earns; the business valuation methods guide covers when that applies.
What is a typical EBITDA multiple for a US small business?
It depends on size. The IBBA and M&A Source Market Pulse Q2 2025 survey (272 deals, 326 advisors) found a 2.3x median for sales under $500,000, and 5.5x for $5M to $50M. Below roughly $2M, deals use SDE, not EBITDA; the bases do not mix. Listed US firms' 16.95x (January 2026, excluding financials) is the wrong benchmark.
Why is the public company multiple so much higher than what businesses sell for?
Different populations, not different opinions. NYU Stern's dataset measures 5,994 listed US firms: large, liquid, professionally managed and buyable in fractions. Market Pulse measures completed sales of whole private businesses, mostly owner-run. The 16.95x versus 5.5x gap reflects size, illiquidity, customer concentration and owner dependence. A calculator applying a listed multiple to a private business uses the wrong dataset.
Does this calculator tell me what I will actually receive?
No. It gives a headline price before deal structure and before tax. Earn-outs, deferred consideration, working capital adjustments and warranty retentions change the cash that arrives, and tax on the gain then comes off what you keep.
Do multiples differ by sector and business size?
Yes, substantially, and we do not publish a sector table because no UK source publishes one we can cite and verify. The published index is a market-wide median and mean. Treat the gap between those two figures as the width of the answer, and ask a corporate finance adviser where in it your sector and size sit.
Is this a valuation?
No. It is an indication computed from a published market median. A valuation is a professional opinion given by someone who has read your accounts, contracts and customer list and can defend the figure to a buyer, a court or HMRC.
Sources
This site's own datasets, every figure quoted from its source and dated:
- The Closed Deal Benchmarks carries 32 published figures read from 4 sources' own pages; the 29 published figures given by metro run from 132,000 to 2,935,950 USD, read 11 November 2026.
- The median published figure in the Industry Valuation Multiples is 1,500,000 USD across 7 sources' own pages in USD (range 750,000 to 2,000,000 USD; 8 sources publish a figure), read 10 November 2026.
- The median published figure in the Valuation Engine Board is 1,465 USD across 5 sources' own pages (range 399 to 2,400 USD), read 11 November 2026.
- IBBA and M&A Source, Market Pulse Q2 2025 survey
- IBBA and M&A Source, Market Pulse Q1 2026 survey
- IBBA and M&A Source, Market Pulse Q4 2025 survey
- NYU Stern (Aswath Damodaran), Enterprise Value Multiples by Sector (US), data as of January 2026
- NYU Stern (Aswath Damodaran), current data page
- SBA, Close or sell your business
- IRS, Sale of a Business
Value it against the right market
The same earnings, priced at what private US businesses actually sold for and at what listed companies trade at, with both figures sourced and dated.
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