How to Value an Aircraft MRO Business in 2026

Aircraft MRO — maintenance, repair, and overhaul — is one of the most attractive segments in aviation M&A right now, and the multiples reflect it. When Carlyle took StandardAero public in late 2024 at an enterprise value north of $10 billion, it put a very public marker on what a scaled MRO platform is worth: roughly 13-15x EBITDA. That headline number has sellers across the industry convinced their shop is worth the same. Most aren't. Let me explain why, and what actually drives MRO valuation in 2026.

The MRO Landscape

"MRO" is a catch-all for a dozen different business models with very different economics. Before you can value one, you need to know which bucket you're in.

Engine MRO is the highest-value segment. Shops with OEM authorizations from Pratt & Whitney, GE, Rolls-Royce, Honeywell, or Williams trade at double-digit multiples because the barriers to entry are enormous and the customer relationships are sticky for the life of the engine. StandardAero, AAR Corp, and Lufthansa Technik dominate this space. A small independent engine shop is almost always an acquisition target rather than a long-term independent.

Airframe heavy maintenance — C-checks, D-checks, 96-month inspections, paint, interior — is labor-intensive and hangar-constrained. Good operators run 60-75% hangar utilization and 70-80% labor utilization. Margins are thinner than engine work but the business is steady and predictable.

Component MRO (avionics, landing gear, APUs, wheels & brakes, cabin systems) sits in between. OEM authorizations and PMA parts approvals are the moat. A shop with FAA PMA authority for a specific component has pricing power that generic repair shops don't.

Business aviation service centers — Gulfstream-authorized, Textron-authorized, Bombardier-authorized, Embraer-authorized — are the bread and butter of the private aviation MRO world. Duncan Aviation, West Star Aviation, Jet Aviation, and Constant Aviation are the reference points.

The Multiples

Based on our transaction database and the public comps from StandardAero, AAR, HEICO, and TransDigm's aftermarket segment, MRO businesses trade in these ranges:

• Small independent airframe MRO (under $10M revenue): 4-6x EBITDA. Owner-dependent and labor-constrained.
• Mid-size airframe MRO ($10-50M revenue) with OEM authorizations: 6-9x EBITDA.
• Engine MRO with OEM authorizations: 9-13x EBITDA, higher for platform-quality assets.
• Component MRO with PMA parts: 10-14x EBITDA because PMA revenue is essentially annuity.
• Scaled MRO platforms (StandardAero-like): 12-16x EBITDA with strategic premiums.

HEICO is the valuation benchmark everyone points to. Its aftermarket parts business has traded at 20-30x EBITDA for most of the last decade because it compounds PMA approvals the way a software company compounds ARR. When a seller tells me their shop should trade at a HEICO multiple, I ask how many PMA approvals they're adding per year. The answer is usually zero.

Why OEM Authorizations Drive Everything

In MRO, the single biggest value driver is your relationship with the OEM. Being an authorized service center for Gulfstream, Dassault, Bombardier, Embraer, or Textron changes your entire P&L because:

Warranty work flows to you automatically. The OEM directs in-warranty aircraft to authorized centers and pays you labor rates at negotiated rates that are still profitable.

Parts pricing is better. Authorized centers get OEM parts at distributor pricing. Non-authorized shops pay list and sometimes can't get critical parts at all.

Customer trust is higher. Fleet operators and high-net-worth owners overwhelmingly prefer authorized service for warranty, residual value, and insurance reasons. A non-authorized shop is fighting for the budget end of the market.

Buyers underwrite OEM authorizations like intellectual property. Losing a Gulfstream authorization mid-sale has killed deals. If you're an authorized service center and your authorization renewal is within 24 months of a potential sale, lock it in before going to market.

The Labor Math

MRO is a labor business dressed up as a manufacturing business. The core economics come down to one number: billable labor hours per A&P technician per year.

A well-run airframe shop bills 1,500-1,700 hours per technician per year at a shop rate of $120-180 per hour. That's $180K-$300K of labor revenue per tech. After wages, benefits, and shop overhead, the labor margin is usually 30-45%. Everything else in the P&L — parts markup, materials, subcontract work — is a secondary contributor.

This makes technician recruiting and retention the single biggest operational risk in the business. Post-COVID A&P shortages pushed technician wages up 30-50%, and a lot of shops passed that through at lower markups. Buyers want to see stable technician headcount, low turnover, and a documented apprenticeship pipeline. A shop whose headcount dropped from 45 to 32 techs over 18 months is a value-destruction story no matter what the historical EBITDA looks like.

Hangar Utilization and Throughput

Airframe MRO is hangar-constrained. A shop with one 30,000 square foot heavy maintenance hangar can only work on 3-5 aircraft at a time. Once you're at 75%+ utilization, you either turn away work or build more hangar.

Buyers pay up for shops with available capacity because growth is organic and immediate. A shop at 90% utilization is actually harder to sell at a premium multiple because the growth story requires new hangar capex that will hit EBITDA before it generates revenue. If you're thinking about selling and you have hangar capacity under construction or recently completed, time the sale for after it's filled — the multiple impact is worth the wait.

What Drives Premium MRO Multiples

OEM authorizations, especially multiple airframe types. A shop authorized for Gulfstream, Dassault, and Bombardier is strictly more valuable than a single-OEM shop.

PMA parts approvals. Every FAA PMA approval is a piece of intellectual property generating annuity revenue. HEICO built a $25B company on this insight.

Engine program participation. Rolls-Royce CorporateCare, JSSI, MSP Gold, and similar programs push predictable engine work through authorized shops.

Diversification across commercial, business, and military. Shops serving multiple end markets have smoother revenue and higher multiples. AAR's model is the template.

Long-term customer contracts. Multi-year power-by-the-hour agreements with fractional operators, fleet customers, or government programs are gold.

What Kills MRO Value

Technician attrition. A shrinking labor force means shrinking throughput no matter how many hangar bays you have.

Owner-technician dependency. If the owner is also the senior DOM or A&P signing off most of the work, the business doesn't survive their departure. See the mechanics of customer and key-person concentration for the broader framework.

Environmental issues. MRO shops handle solvents, paint, Alodine, hydraulic fluid, and sometimes chromium. Phase II environmental findings can destroy deal economics.

FAA enforcement history. Repair station certificates with recent enforcement actions, warning letters, or certificate actions are red flags for institutional buyers.

The Bottom Line

MRO is having a moment, and the capital interested in the sector is deep. But the multiples you read about in StandardAero and AAR press releases reflect scale, diversification, and OEM relationships that most independent shops don't have. The sellers who exit at premium multiples have spent years building OEM authorizations, PMA parts portfolios, and technician retention programs. Those who decide to sell suddenly — burned out owner, tired of technician recruiting — usually realize 5-7x EBITDA to a strategic rollup and wonder what happened to the 13x multiple they read about in the trade press.