Private Company Valuation Multiples in 2026

Business Valuation Resources’ Q3 2026 DealStats Value Index Digest points to a private-company market that strengthened materially in early 2026. The first-quarter peak eased in Q2, but both EBITDA and revenue multiples remained well above their pre-2026 ranges.

The signal is constructive, but it is not a shortcut to value. A market median describes a group of completed transactions. It does not account for one company’s earnings quality, size, customer concentration, management depth, growth, capital needs, or deal structure.

EBITDA multiples pulled back from a Q1 peak

The median selling price-to-EBITDA multiple reached 4.8× in Q1 2026, then moved down to 4.1× in Q2. Even after that pullback, Q2 was higher than every quarter in the period shown other than Q1 2026.

The move stands out because the series had been much tighter. From 2023 through 2025, quarterly medians generally sat between 3.2× and 3.9×. The three-quarter average now turns upward as the stronger 2026 observations enter the calculation.

One quarter does not establish a new normal. DealStats also notes that past figures may change as new transactions are reported. For valuation work, the more defensible interpretation is that market evidence strengthened in early 2026, while the durability of that shift still needs to be tested against later quarters and deal-level facts.

Revenue multiples tell a similar story

The revenue series was less volatile but reached the same broad conclusion. Median selling price to net sales rose to 0.64× in Q1 2026 and held at 0.63× in Q2. Before 2026, the highest quarterly observation in the period shown was 0.58×.

Revenue multiples can be useful when margins vary or when earnings are temporarily depressed, but they need context. Two companies with the same sales can have very different values if one earns substantially more on each dollar of revenue or needs far more working capital and equipment to support those sales.

Margins remained stable

Median EBITDA margins increased from 15% in Q1 2026 to 16% in Q2. That is close to the recent range: the digest shows quarterly medians largely between 14% and 18% since 2022.

This matters when reading the valuation charts. The higher 2026 multiples did not coincide with a dramatic step-change in median profitability. The report therefore supports a view of stronger transaction pricing, not merely a mechanical response to a sudden margin expansion.

Sector medians vary widely

BVR’s all-time median across the sectors shown is 4.0× EBITDA, but individual sectors range from 2.6× to 10.7×. The latest 12-month observations are more dispersed still, led by finance and insurance at 16.6× and information at 11.0×.

Source: BVR DealStats Value Index Digest, Q3 2026, Exhibit 3. A dash means the digest did not show a last-12-month value for that sector.

These sector figures are useful as a screening reference, not as a direct pricing table. A broad category can contain businesses with very different scale, recurring revenue, asset intensity, customer risk, growth, and buyer appeal. The unusually high recent figure for finance and insurance is also a reminder that medians can move sharply when the mix of observed deals changes.

What this means for business owners

• Do not apply 4.1× to reported EBITDA without adjustments. Owner compensation, personal expenses, unusual costs, non-recurring income and related-party rent can all affect maintainable earnings.
• Keep enterprise value separate from equity value. Transaction multiples usually indicate the value of the operations before considering interest-bearing debt, surplus cash and other non-operating assets or liabilities.
• Look beyond the industry label. Size, customer concentration, management depth, recurring revenue, growth and capital expenditure requirements often explain more than the sector median alone.
• Use several valuation methods. Comparable transaction evidence is normally considered alongside an income approach and, where relevant, an asset approach.
• Treat the quarter as evidence, not a conclusion. Market data can inform judgment, but a valuation must still connect the observed multiples to the specific business and valuation date.

For a fuller explanation of the process, see how a Chartered Business Valuator values a small business. Owners who want to test normalized earnings and the bridge from enterprise value to equity value can also use Acadia Hill’s business valuation calculator as an educational starting point.