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Larger companies$20,000,000 in sales
What is a company with $20,000,000 in sales worth? The first argument is over which costs count
It's priced on what's left after costs, and on which of those costs a buyer agrees with.
Valuation
9 min read
Figures: IRS tax year 2023GF Data through Q3 2025TagniFi through March 2026Market Pulse through Q2 2026Read November 12, 2026
Legend Atty · Founder, BridgeBook
Published
What is $20,000,000 of sales worth to a buyer?
The short answer: nobody buys $20,000,000 of sales. They buy what's left, and the first argument is over which costs count. S corporations this size kept about 9.1%[1] before interest, depreciation and amortization in tax year 2023, by our math on IRS figures. That's $1,820,000 on $20,000,000. Two companies with the same sales can be worth much different amounts.
- IRS margin at this size
- 9.1%[1]Before interest, depreciation and amortization, tax year 2023, our math
- EBITDA at that rate
- $1,820,000A made-up example on $20,000,000 of sales
- Our sold-deal range, typical
- $8,803,285$7,191,143 to $10,406,724, on a blend of owner's earnings and EBITDA
- Other publishers' figures
- Exhibit 2For company values near this one, named and dated
That 9.1% is the figure for S corporations with $10,000,000 to $50,000,000 in sales, taken together. The IRS sorts them by business receipts, which this page calls sales. The plainer line on their returns was business profit. That's what they reported to the IRS as profit, as a share of what they took in, before the owners' own income tax. It came to 7.3%[1].
Most buyers at this size price EBITDA: yearly profit before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. At the IRS rate our calculator prices this company on a blend of owner's earnings and EBITDA, as the tool below shows. Its range is from the sold-deal data behind our calculator, IBBA and M&A Source Market Pulse[2]. Its top group is companies that sold for $5,000,000 to $50,000,000. Past that price, we don't put a figure on a company.
Your numbers
Industry: All industries
IRS, S corporations with $10,000,000 to $50,000,000 in sales, tax year 2023, our math. Change it to yours.
A made-up example at the IRS rate
$1,820,000
A made-up example: 9.1% of $20,000,000 in yearly sales. EBITDA is yearly profit before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.
Our sold-deal data puts that EBITDA at
$7,191,143 to $10,406,724
Typical $8,803,285, on a blend of owner's earnings and EBITDA.
IBBA and M&A Source Market Pulse, closed deals of $5,000,000 to $50,000,000. Typical is the middle of its recent readings. Our figures checked November 2, 2026.
Other publishers' figures, not ours
| Company value | Multiple of EBITDA | Publisher |
|---|---|---|
| $10,000,000 to $25,000,000 | 5.9x | GF Data, average, through the third quarter of 2025 |
| $25,000,000 to $50,000,000 | 6.6x | GF Data, average, through the third quarter of 2025 |
| $50,000,000 to $100,000,000 | 8.7x | GF Data, average, through the third quarter of 2025 |
| $100,000,000 to $250,000,000 | 10.0x | GF Data, average, through the third quarter of 2025 |
| $1,000,000 to $10,000,000Near yours | 5.5x | TagniFi, median, twelve months to March 31, 2026 |
| $10,000,000 to $50,000,000 | 7.3x | TagniFi, median, twelve months to March 31, 2026 |
| $50,000,000 to $200,000,000 | 9.0x | TagniFi, median, twelve months to March 31, 2026 |
| $200,000,000 to $500,000,000 | 11.4x | TagniFi, median, twelve months to March 31, 2026 |
These figures come from outside reports, not from BridgeBook's own data: each one counts different deals in its own way, so read them as a guide to the market, not as a price for your company.
At this profit you can book a call with a dedicated advisor.
The valuation asks your sales and profit again, then your name, email and cell phone, and shows a range.
Change the margin to your own. On this page, that one field moves the answer more than anything else.
Why can two $20,000,000 companies differ so much?
Because margin moves the price more than the multiple does. A made-up example: both companies sell $20,000,000 a year. One keeps 8% as EBITDA, $1,600,000. The other keeps 18%, or $3,600,000.
Two made-up companies, each with $20,000,000 in sales
Band is sale price| Company | Margin | EBITDA | Our sold-deal range | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thinner margin | 8% | $1,600,000 | $5,805,000 to $8,355,750 | $7,094,175 |
| Wider margin | 18% | $3,600,000 | $14,400,000 to $20,880,000 | $17,640,000 |
Source: IBBA and M&A Source, Second quarter of 2026[2]. Made-up example. The ranges are the sold-deal data behind our calculator, checked November 2, 2026.
The wider-margin company is worth more than twice the other, typical against typical. Same sales, and a much larger check. The thinner one is still small enough that our data prices it on a blend of owner's earnings and EBITDA.
The averages for each size band are on average profit margin by company size.
Which costs will a buyer refuse to count?
The ones with no paper behind them. Offers at this size are built on adjusted EBITDA: EBITDA with one-time and personal costs added back. An add-back is a cost a new owner won't have, added back to profit.
ACG's December 2025 piece on GF Data's work names a common source of add-backs: personal costs the owner runs through the business[3]. A car a family member drives is a common one. It's real money, and it needs a receipt to stay in.
The buyer's accountants test every add-back in a quality of earnings report: an outside accountant's test of your earnings and add-backs. A made-up example: they refuse one $250,000 add-back. Companies that sold for $5,000,000 to $50,000,000 went for a typical 4.9x EBITDA in our sold-deal data. At that multiple, the refused add-back takes $1,225,000 off the price.
The fix is dull and it works. Build the add-back list before a buyer does, with the invoice, contract or payroll record beside each line. Here's how a quality of earnings report works from your side.
Will a buyer see you as a platform or an add-on?
Ask, because it changes the deal. A platform is a fund's first company in an industry. An add-on is a company the fund buys later to join that platform.
Most private equity buyouts are now the second kind. In PitchBook's count for the second quarter of 2026, about three of every four U.S. buyouts were add-ons[4]. Platform buyouts fell 34% to 289.
As an add-on, your company may join a larger one, and some of your back office may move there. As a platform, your team becomes the base the fund builds on. Three questions sort it out on the first call:
- Is this a platform or an add-on for you?
- Who would run the company after closing, and who would they report to?
- How much of the price is cash at closing, and what comes later?
Funds aren't the only buyers. Companies in your field buy too, and so do family offices. More on who buys a company your size.
How many offers do companies this size draw?
Often several. In IBBA's Q2 2026 survey of advisors, 87% of deals over $5,000,000 drew at least three offers, and 33% drew ten or more.[5] The survey's sample was 255 advisors, 181 closed deals. It groups companies by sale price, not by sales.
One offer tells you what one buyer will pay. Three written offers side by side tell you what the market will pay. They also show which terms each buyer will give ground on.
How is the price usually paid?
Mostly in cash at closing, with some paid later or kept in shares. In IBBA's Q2 2026 Market Pulse, sales priced $5,000,000 to $50,000,000 were paid 83% in cash at closing[2]. Seller financing was 6%, earnouts 7% and shares the seller kept 4%.
Seller financing is a loan you make the buyer for part of the price. An earnout is part of the price, paid later only if targets are met. Keeping shares is called rollover equity: part of your price kept as shares in the new company.
Even the cash at closing isn't all yours to wire home. Debt is paid off. Then working capital is counted: what customers owe you, plus inventory, minus the bills you owe. You and the buyer agree on a normal amount the business hands over, called the peg or the target. Less than that and the price goes down by the gap. More and it goes up. Some is held in escrow: money set aside after closing to cover claims. Here's how a sale price becomes cash at closing.
What do outside reports show for this size?
Mostly higher multiples than our data, for different deals. GF Data counts private equity buyouts by company value: the price for the whole business, before debt and cash. TagniFi's figures come from more than 1,450 deals that 131 middle market firms sent in[6].
Other publishers' figures for company values up to $50,000,000
Band is company valueOther publishers' figures, not ours
| Company value | Multiple of EBITDA | Statistic | Buyers | Period | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $10,000,000 to $25,000,000 | 5.9x | Average | Private equity, platform buyouts | Through the third quarter of 2025 | GF Data[7] |
| $25,000,000 to $50,000,000 | 6.6x | Average | Private equity, platform buyouts | Through the third quarter of 2025 | GF Data[7] |
| $1,000,000 to $10,000,000Near yours | 5.5x | Median | All buyers | Twelve months to March 31, 2026 | TagniFi[6] |
| $10,000,000 to $50,000,000 | 7.3x | Median | All buyers | Twelve months to March 31, 2026 | TagniFi[6] |
These figures come from outside reports, not from BridgeBook's own data: each one counts different deals in its own way, so read them as a guide to the market, not as a price for your company.
Source: TagniFi, Twelve months to March 31, 2026[6]; GF Data, Through the third quarter of 2025[7].
Those rows are other publishers' figures, and we don't turn them into a price for your company. Funds paying for a platform and advisors closing smaller sales are different markets. Why the two differ.
What we'd look at first
Before any talk of price, a dedicated advisor works out the number a buyer will price. On a first call, that means four things.
- Your EBITDA, traced back to your tax return, so the starting figure is one a buyer can follow.
- Every add-back, with the invoice, contract or payroll record behind it, and the ones without paper set aside.
- Gross margin by product line or by large customer, year by year, to show where the profit comes from.
- What you'd tell a fund that called tomorrow, and whether you'd rather be a platform or an add-on to it.
Selling a company with $20,000,000 in sales, by industry
Each of these pages has a section for a company your size in that industry: its margin, who buys it and what they check.
- Manufacturing of any kind
- Food manufacturing
- Metal fabrication and machine shops
- Machinery manufacturing
- Building construction
- Site work and civil construction
- HVAC, plumbing and electrical
- Distribution and wholesale
- Food and beverage distribution
- Trucking and logistics
- Staffing and recruiting
- Commercial facility services
- Waste management
Questions owners ask at $20,000,000
How much is a business with $20,000,000 in sales worth?
At the IRS rate for S corporations this size, 9.1%, the profit is about $1,820,000. The sold-deal data behind our calculator puts that at $7,191,143 to $10,406,724. A company with a wider margin is worth more, often much more.
What is adjusted EBITDA?
EBITDA with one-time and personal costs added back. A buyer's accountants test each add-back, and the price moves with every one they refuse.
What's the difference between a platform and an add-on?
A platform is a fund's first company in an industry. Add-ons are the companies it buys later to join it.
How much of the price is cash at closing?
In IBBA's Q2 2026 Market Pulse, sales priced $5,000,000 to $50,000,000 were paid 83% in cash at closing. The rest came as seller financing, an earnout and shares the seller kept.
Where these numbers come from
The sold-deal data behind our calculator: IBBA and M&A Source Market Pulse, closed deals. Our figures checked November 2, 2026.
- IRS Statistics of Income, Corporation Income Tax Returns Complete Report (Publication 16), Table 3.2, Form 1120-S by size of business receipts. Tax Year 2023, released September 2026. Read November 12, 2026.
- IBBA and M&A Source, Market Pulse Q2 2026 Highlights. Second quarter of 2026. Read November 12, 2026.
- ACG Insights (GF Data), Why More Sellers Are Using Quality of Earnings Reports for M&A Deals. December 2, 2025. Read November 12, 2026.
- PitchBook, Q2 2026 US PE Breakdown. Second quarter of 2026. Read November 12, 2026.
- IBBA and M&A Source (PR Newswire), The Market Pulse Survey Q2 2026 Reports the Latest Trends in Business Sales up to $50,000,000. Second quarter of 2026: 255 advisors, 181 closed deals. Read November 12, 2026.
- TagniFi, PowerComps Middle Market Update for the first quarter of 2026: Quality Over Quantity. Twelve months to March 31, 2026. Read November 12, 2026.
Percentages are BridgeBook's arithmetic on the IRS dollar figures.
Outside figures are other publishers', named and dated, and they don't feed our calculator. How we use outside figures
Keep reading
- Larger companiesQuality of Earnings, From the Seller's SideWhat a quality of earnings review tests, when a seller should order one, and what it costs to skip.
- Larger companiesFrom Sale Price to Cash at ClosingWhat comes off the price in the letter before money reaches your bank, in the order it happens.
- Larger companiesWhat a $30,000,000 Company Is WorthWhy the team that runs your company matters as much as its profit when buyers set a price.
- SellingHow to sell a businessThe steps from a first valuation to closing day, and what to get ready before buyers look.
- Larger companiesAverage Profit Margin by Company SizeWhat companies your size keep as profit, by size and by industry, from tax returns the IRS publishes.
- Larger companiesWhat a $10,000,000 Company Is WorthWhen buyers stop counting your pay as profit, and who can buy a company this size.
One important decision. Two good places to start.
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