EXITVALUE RESEARCH · Q4 2026 EDITION · UPDATED NOVEMBER 2026
ExitValue M&A Multiples Index – Q4 2026
A recurring, citable read on what private businesses actually sell for. We track median EV/EBITDA & EV/Revenue multiples by sub-vertical (each with a sample size) across 21,352 real M&A transactions, with medians for 83 sub-verticals, sourced from SEC filings, EDGAR, and verified M&A reporting. All figures are aggregate population medians, not a number for any one business. Free to cite with attribution.
Key findings
- 84.5% of deals had strategic (operator/corporate) buyers; 9.2% private equity.
- Deal activity peaked in 2021 (1,028 disclosed transactions that year).
- The most common disclosed deal size was $50M-$250M (26.3% of deals with a disclosed value).
- The single most acquisitive buyer in the disclosed set was U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (43 deals).
- The busiest sector by deal count was SaaS (1,443 transactions).
- Across 31 sub-verticals with a publishable lower-middle-market median, EBITDA-based multiples ranged from 3.6x to 13.0x EV/EBITDA (each backed by n ≥ 10 disclosed deals).
Latest movements
Notable year-over-year shifts in aggregate median multiples, refreshed as new disclosed deals clear our sample-size floor. Each is an aggregate population median (with n), not a figure for any single business.
+16% (all sizes) 2021–2025 (SaaS) ▲ SaaS median EV/EBITDA rose 16% across all deal sizes, from 30.5x in 2021 to 35.3x in 2025 (n=16, disclosed deals 2018-2026).
Jun 21, 2026 · n=16 · disclosed deals 2018-2026 · Source: ExitValue.ai M&A Multiples Index (Q4 2026)
M&A deal volume by year
Disclosed transactions per year across all tracked industries.
Most active sectors
Industries by disclosed deal count. Each links to its buyer pool and M&A activity.
Who’s buying
Strategic operators drive 84.5% of disclosed deals; private equity and PE-backed platforms 9.2%. The most active disclosed acquirers:
Deal-size distribution
Among the 21,350 deals with a disclosed transaction value.
Median M&A multiples by sub-vertical
Median EV/EBITDA (or EV/Revenue where EBITDA disclosure is thin) for lower-middle-market deals, from disclosed transactions 2018–2026 (a licensed M&A database, SEC EDGAR filings and verified press releases). Every cell requires n ≥ 10 disclosed deals – no estimated or imputed values. The precise figure for a specific business adjusts for margins, growth, customer concentration, and owner-dependence (run the calculator).
| Sub-vertical | Size band (EV) | Median multiple | Middle 50% | n |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IT Services | $5M–$25M | 0.89x revenue | 0.35x–1.36x | 28 |
| Specialty Contractor | $5M–$25M | 0.72x revenue | 0.54x–0.97x | 27 |
| Physical Therapy | $5M–$25M | 2.25x revenue | 1.95x–2.80x | 26 |
| Home Health | under $5M | 4.7x EBITDA | 3.9x–6.3x | 25 |
| Healthcare IT | $5M–$25M | 2.60x revenue | 1.31x–5.10x | 24 |
| Pharmacy | $25M–$100M | 1.68x revenue | 0.78x–4.29x | 22 |
| Ambulatory Surgery Center | $5M–$25M | 8.1x EBITDA | 5.5x–11.4x | 20 |
| Gaming | $25M–$100M | 2.66x revenue | 0.95x–4.25x | 18 |
| Industrial Equipment | $25M–$100M | 8.4x EBITDA | 6.2x–11.3x | 18 |
| Food Manufacturing | $25M–$100M | 1.42x revenue | 0.56x–2.67x | 16 |
| Wholesale Distribution | $25M–$100M | 6.2x EBITDA | 4.8x–8.8x | 16 |
| Medical Practice Specialty | $5M–$25M | 5.9x EBITDA | 5.1x–8.2x | 15 |
| Metal Fabrication | $5M–$25M | 0.92x revenue | 0.66x–1.12x | 14 |
| Plastics | $25M–$100M | 1.42x revenue | 1.06x–2.13x | 14 |
| SaaS | $5M–$25M | 10.7x EBITDA | 8.2x–17.8x | 14 |
| Specialty Retail | $5M–$25M | 0.77x revenue | 0.57x–1.25x | 14 |
| Medical Devices | $25M–$100M | 13.0x EBITDA | 10.3x–23.3x | 13 |
| Oil Gas Services | $25M–$100M | 4.0x EBITDA | 2.3x–9.1x | 13 |
| Trucking | $25M–$100M | 0.64x revenue | 0.31x–1.40x | 13 |
| Advertising Agency | $5M–$25M | 1.20x revenue | 0.74x–1.56x | 12 |
| Consumer Products | $5M–$25M | 0.76x revenue | 0.47x–1.40x | 12 |
| Durable Medical Equipment | $5M–$25M | 5.0x EBITDA | 4.7x–5.7x | 12 |
| Laboratory Services | $5M–$25M | 1.42x revenue | 0.83x–2.50x | 12 |
| Mental Health | $5M–$25M | 0.90x revenue | 0.55x–1.37x | 12 |
| Hospice | $5M–$25M | 1.30x revenue | 0.80x–2.00x | 11 |
| Medical Practice Primary Care | under $5M | 3.6x EBITDA | 3.4x–4.6x | 11 |
| Aerospace | $5M–$25M | 0.77x revenue | 0.61x–1.02x | 10 |
| Apparel | $25M–$100M | 1.71x revenue | 0.58x–2.94x | 10 |
| Consulting | $5M–$25M | 1.31x revenue | 0.95x–1.83x | 10 |
| Dental Practice | $5M–$25M | 7.0x EBITDA | 6.5x–8.3x | 10 |
| Electronics | $25M–$100M | 9.1x EBITDA | 6.7x–18.4x | 10 |
31 sub-verticals with a publishable lower-middle-market median. Platform/mega-deal-only verticals are excluded. Each row links to its full size-bracket breakdown.
Attribution: cite as “ExitValue.ai M&A Multiples Index (Q4 2026), aggregate median multiples from 21,352 disclosed transactions.”
Cite this report
Free to reference with attribution. Suggested citation:
ExitValue.ai. (2026). The State of SMB & Mid-Market M&A. Retrieved from https://exitvalue.ai/research
Or embed a key stat on your site (copy & paste):
<a href="https://exitvalue.ai/research?utm_source=embed" style="display:inline-block;border:1px solid #e2e8f0;border-radius:10px;padding:14px 18px;font-family:system-ui,sans-serif;color:#0f172a;text-decoration:none;max-width:420px"> <strong style="font-size:22px;color:#0d9488">84.5%</strong> of disclosed M&A deals had strategic buyers, 9.2% private equity. <span style="display:block;margin-top:6px;font-size:12px;color:#64748b">Source: ExitValue.ai M&A Research – 21,352 transactions analyzed</span> </a>
Methodology & limitations
Aggregate activity (volume, sector mix, buyer-type mix, deal-size distribution) is computed across 21,352 M&A transactions in the ExitValue.ai database. Named acquirers reflect the 2,686 publicly-disclosed transactions sourced from SEC 8-K/S-4 filings, fairness opinions, and verified press releases.
- Source window: multiples reflect disclosed deals from 2018 onward; activity counts span the full database. Named-acquirer and multiple data come from a licensed M&A database, SEC EDGAR filings and verified press releases.
- Sample-size floor: every published multiple cell requires n ≥ 10 disclosed deals; “Latest movements” entries require n ≥ 15 in both compared years. No estimated, imputed, or fabricated values are ever shown.
- Aggregate medians only: all figures here are population medians (with interquartile spread). They are not a valuation for any specific business. A real company’s multiple adjusts for margins, growth, customer concentration, and owner-dependence – the calculator produces that adjusted figure.
- Coverage: deal counts reflect transactions with a disclosed value or financials; true market volume is larger. Outliers (EV/EBITDA outside 0.5x–60x; EV/Revenue outside 0.05x–25x) are excluded, as are catch-all “other” sub-verticals.
- Refresh: activity and multiples refresh weekly; “Latest movements” update as new disclosed deals clear the sample-size floor.
What’s your business worth in this market?
Get a valuation range and sellability score, benchmarked against these real transactions.
Value your business →