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Larger companies$30,000,000 in sales
What is a company with $30,000,000 in sales worth? It depends on who runs it without you
A buyer prices the profit, then asks whether your team can earn it with you gone.
Valuation
9 min read
Figures: IRS tax year 2023ACG Insights, through the third quarter of 2025Harvard Business School Working Knowledge, 2,500,000 workers at 3,600 companies, over two decadesMarket Pulse through Q2 2026Read November 12, 2026
Legend Atty · Founder, BridgeBook
Published
What is it worth at $30,000,000?
The short answer: at $30,000,000 in sales, a buyer prices two things, the profit and whether it shows up without you. S corporations in this size band kept about 9.1%[1] before interest, depreciation and amortization in tax year 2023, by our math on IRS figures. That's $2,730,000 a year. Buyers meet your managers before they make an offer, and judge them.
- IRS margin at this size
- 9.1%[1]Before interest, depreciation and amortization, tax year 2023, our math
- EBITDA at that rate
- $2,730,000A made-up example on $30,000,000 of sales
- Our sold-deal range, typical
- $13,377,000$10,920,000 to $15,834,000, priced on EBITDA
- Other publishers' figures
- Exhibit 2For company values near this one, named and dated
That margin is S corporations with $10,000,000 to $50,000,000 in sales, all added together, grouped by business receipts. We call receipts sales here. Their bottom line on the return, business profit before the owners' own income tax, was 7.3%[1] of receipts.
EBITDA, yearly profit before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, is what a buyer prices here. The tool's range is the sold-deal data behind our calculator, IBBA and M&A Source Market Pulse[2]. It stops at companies that sold for $50,000,000, and at the IRS rate this company sits well inside it. For how margin alone moves the price, see the $20,000,000 page; for where our data runs out, see the $50,000,000 page.
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
$2,730,000
A made-up example: 9.1% of $30,000,000 in yearly sales. EBITDA is yearly profit before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.
Our sold-deal data puts that EBITDA at
$10,920,000 to $15,834,000
Typical $13,377,000, priced on 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 $25,000,000Near yours | 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 $10,000,000 | 5.5x | TagniFi, median, twelve months to March 31, 2026 |
| $10,000,000 to $50,000,000Near yours | 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.
Why does your management team move the price?
Because a buyer has to pay someone to do every job you do now. The letter of intent is the buyer's written offer. One middle market investment bank, PCE, lists what buyers weigh before it: the leadership team, the growth plan, the culture and how deep the operation runs.[3]
A made-up example shows the money in it. The same company earns $2,730,000. In one version a general manager is already on the payroll. In the other, you're the general manager and draw nothing for that job.
One made-up company with $30,000,000 in sales, with and without a general manager
Band is sale price| Who runs it day to day | EBITDA a buyer counts | Our sold-deal range | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|
| A general manager already on the payroll | $2,730,000 | $10,920,000 to $15,834,000 | $13,377,000 |
| You, unpaid for the role, so a buyer must hire one | $2,430,000 | $9,720,000 to $14,094,000 | $11,907,000 |
Source: IBBA and M&A Source, Second quarter of 2026[2]. Made-up example; the general manager's $300,000 salary is an input, not a market figure. Ranges from the sold-deal data behind our calculator, checked November 2, 2026.
That's $1,470,000 at the typical figure, from one missing salary. The bigger cost is harder to put in a table. A buyer who can't see who'd run the place may pay more of the price later, or ask you to stay longer.
What will a buyer ask your managers?
Questions that test whether the company runs without you. Here's who on a typical team answers them. It's our own list, not a survey.
| What a buyer asks | Who on your team answers |
|---|---|
| How the books close each month, and how many days it takes | Your controller or CFO |
| Which customers grew, shrank or left this year, and why | Your sales lead |
| How a job or an order gets priced, and who can change the price | Your sales or operations lead |
| What happens when a big supplier raises prices | Your purchasing or operations lead |
| What each add-back is and where its paper is filed | Your controller, with your CPA |
| Who might leave once a sale is announced | You, privately |
BridgeBook's own list. No outside source.
After the letter of intent, the buyer's accountants test your earnings in a quality of earnings report. Most of those take 4 to 6 weeks[4] to a draft, Eide Bailly says. Their request list comes early, and most of it goes to your controller.
Tell your controller before that list arrives, not after. A controller who learns about the sale from a buyer's request list is a hard first meeting.
Will a buyer ask you to keep a stake?
A private equity buyer often will. That stake is rollover equity: part of your price kept as shares in the new company. In GF Data's figures, average rollover rose from 14.0% of company value in 2021 to 16.9% through the third quarter of 2025, in private equity deals of $10,000,000 to $500,000,000.[5]
A rolled stake isn't cash at closing, so it comes off what you take home that day. Your shares get paid when the fund sells, after its debt and sometimes after its own shares. Ask what gets paid before yours do. Here's how rollover equity works.
A fund that wants a stake from you prices the whole company first. For company values near this one, here's what two publishers report.
Other publishers' figures for company values near this one
Band is company valueOther publishers' figures, not ours
| Company value | Multiple of EBITDA | Statistic | Buyers | Period | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $10,000,000 to $25,000,000Near yours | 5.9x | Average | Private equity, platform buyouts | Through the third quarter of 2025 | GF Data[6] |
| $25,000,000 to $50,000,000 | 6.6x | Average | Private equity, platform buyouts | Through the third quarter of 2025 | GF Data[6] |
| $10,000,000 to $50,000,000Near yours | 7.3x | Median | All buyers | Twelve months to March 31, 2026 | TagniFi[7] |
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: GF Data, Through the third quarter of 2025[6]; TagniFi, Twelve months to March 31, 2026[7].
GF Data's rows are private equity platform buyouts, averaged. TagniFi's are medians across all buyers. Neither is a price for your company, and both run above our sold-deal data.
What happens to your people after a sale?
Jobs hold up fairly well on average, and the pay losses fall mostly on people who leave. Harvard Business School researchers followed 2,500,000 workers at 3,600 companies bought by private equity firms[8]. Three years after the buyout, workers were 2% less likely to be employed.
Wages fell 18% for those who left. For those who found new jobs, they fell 0.5%. That's the average across many deals, not a forecast for your team.
What you can do is put things in writing before you sign. Some buyers agree to keep pay and benefits for a set time, or to fund stay bonuses for named managers. Ask in the letter of intent, while you still have more than one buyer. More on who buys a company your size, and on selling part of it instead.
What if one customer is a big share of sales?
There's no fixed line. We haven't found a sourced discount for it, so we don't print one.
Buyers handle it in the terms instead of the headline. Part of the price can ride on that customer staying, through an earnout: money paid later only if targets are met. Or more of the price is held back after closing. A signed multi-year contract with that customer does more for you than any argument.
What we'd look at first
On a first call, a dedicated advisor looks past the profit to the people behind it.
- An org chart with names, and which decisions each person makes without asking you.
- How long each manager has been there, how they're paid, and whether anything ties them to the company.
- The month you were away longest in the last two years, and what the numbers did while you were gone.
- The share of sales from your largest customer, and how long its contract runs.
If you're weighing who should run your sale at this size, here's what brokers, M&A advisors and bankers each do.
Selling a company with $30,000,000 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 $30,000,000
How much is a company with $30,000,000 in revenue worth?
Start from its profit. S corporations in this size band kept 9.1% before interest, depreciation and amortization, by our math on IRS figures. On $30,000,000, that's $2,730,000. Our calculator's sold-deal data then prices that profit at $10,920,000 to $15,834,000. How much of that profit depends on you moves the price inside that range.
Do buyers meet my managers before making an offer?
Usually, yes. Buyers judge the leadership team before the letter of intent, so your managers should know the numbers they'll be asked about.
Will private equity make me keep a stake?
Often. In GF Data's private equity deals, the average rollover was 16.9% of the company's value through the third quarter of 2025.
What happens to my employees?
Harvard Business School researchers followed 2,500,000 workers at 3,600 companies bought by private equity firms. Three years later, employees were 2% less likely to be employed. Wages fell 18% for those who left, and 0.5% for those who found new jobs.
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.
- PCE Companies, M&A Process Stages Timeline: What Business Owners Should Expect. July 14, 2026. Read November 12, 2026.
- Eide Bailly, Understanding Quality of Earnings When Selling a Business. Updated October 22, 2026. Read November 12, 2026.
- ACG Insights (GF Data analyst), Rollover Equity Rises as Credit Conditions Reshape the Middle Market. Through the third quarter of 2025. 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.
- Harvard Business School Working Knowledge, Is Private Equity's Slash-and-Burn Reputation Overblown?. 2,500,000 workers at 3,600 companies, over two decades. 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 companiesRollover Equity: Keeping a Stake When You SellWhy private equity buyers ask you to keep shares, how much sellers keep, and what sits ahead of you.
- Larger companiesWho Buys a Company Your SizeThe kinds of buyer for a mid-size company, how each pays, and what each does after closing.
- Larger companiesWhat a $50,000,000 Company Is WorthWhere our sold-deal data ends, what outside reports show, and how much of the price is held back.
- 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.
Talk it through before a buyer asks
On a call, a dedicated advisor goes through who runs what and what a buyer will ask your team. Then you decide whether to go further.
Your exit credit comes off our success fee at closing and grows with your yearly sales: $5,000 under $5,000,000 in sales ($2,500 for your valuation report, plus $2,500 for your advisor call or for starting your listing), up to $50,000 at $100,000,000 or more.
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