Original data
What businesses sell for: price and multiple index by sector
Median asking price, cash flow, and asking multiple across 1,454 real business-for-sale listings, broken down by sector. Updated October 2026.
| Sector | Listings | Median asking price | Median cash flow | Median multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Food and Restaurants | 442 | $300,000 | $150,000 | 2.1x |
| Service Businesses | 264 | $500,000 | $139,000 | 3.8x |
| Automotive and Boat | 157 | $995,000 | $275,000 | 3.5x |
| Retail | 154 | $455,000 | $180,000 | 2.5x |
| Building and Construction | 133 | $899,999 | $300,000 | 3.0x |
| Health Care and Fitness | 86 | $700,000 | $215,500 | 3.1x |
| Beauty and Personal Care | 57 | $225,000 | $120,000 | 2.0x |
| Entertainment and Recreation | 35 | $799,000 | $295,000 | 2.7x |
| Transportation and Storage | 26 | $825,000 | $219,000 | 2.9x |
| Online and Technology | 21 | $650,000 | $233,100 | 2.8x |
| Manufacturing | 19 | $1,650,000 | $300,000 | 4.4x |
| Wholesale and Distributors | 18 | $1,025,000 | $345,500 | 3.0x |
| Education and Children | 16 | $1,100,000 | $350,000 | 2.9x |
| Travel and Lodging | 14 | $1,724,500 | $340,172 | 6.1x |
| Financial Services | 12 | $1,037,500 | $260,840 | 4.1x |
How to read this
The multiple is the asking price divided by annual cash flow (SDE), the most common way small businesses are priced. A 3.0x multiple means the business is listed at three times its yearly cash flow. Sectors with heavier assets or more durable, transferable earnings (automotive, manufacturing, financial services) tend to carry higher multiples. Owner-dependent service and personal-care businesses tend to carry lower ones.
Methodology
- Figures are asking prices and listed cash flow, not closed-sale prices. Final sale prices typically land modestly below asking.
- Medians (not averages), so a few outsized listings don't skew the numbers.
- Sectors with fewer than 8 listings are left out. So are clear typos, and any listing where two of its figures are the same number, since we can't tell which one is right.
- Source: the live Frankly Advisors / Hedgestone listing pool. We count only businesses whose numbers were already made public. The index updates on its own.
Want a number for your business?
A sector median is a starting point, not a valuation. To estimate your own business, try our business valuation calculator or read how EBITDA multiples vary by industry and how to value a business.