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It sells on its EBITDA and on how much of next year is already on the books. In a made-up example at the IRS trades rate, a contractor with $20,000,000 in sales earns about $2,080,000, which our calculator puts at $8,320,000 to $12,064,000. From about $100,000,000 up, the profit runs past our sold-deal data. Each size below has its own answer.
Figures: IRS tax year 2023Census 2022TagniFi through March 2026Market Pulse through Q2 2026Read November 12, 2026
The short answer: specialty trade contractors filing as S corporations kept 8.0%[1] of sales as business profit in tax year 2023, by our math on IRS figures for every size. Census counted 4,424[2] plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors and 3,404 electrical contractors with $10,000,000 to $99,999,999 in sales in 2022. Bigger buyers look first at service agreements and who runs jobs.
That first figure is every specialty trade S corporation's business profit added together, losses included, as a share of what they all took in. It's what they told the IRS, before the owners' own income tax, so a well-run contractor should beat it.
The second adds back interest, depreciation and amortization, by our math. That's close to EBITDA: yearly profit before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, the figure a larger buyer prices. The IRS doesn't publish this industry's gains on selling trucks and equipment, so that figure includes them. Below, the trades sit beside building contractors and site work, the rest of construction.
| Industry | Business profit on tax returns | Before interest, depreciation and amortization |
|---|---|---|
| Specialty trade contractors all sizes | 8.0% | 10.4%* |
| Construction of buildings all sizes | 4.8% | 5.9%* |
| Heavy and civil engineering construction and land subdivision all sizes | 7.4% | 11.1%* |
| Construction all sizes | 6.7% | 8.4% |
| All S corporations | 7.5% | 9.7% |
* Includes gains on selling equipment, which the IRS doesn't publish for this industry.
Sorted by business receipts, which this page calls sales. Before interest, depreciation and amortization = (business profit + interest + depreciation + amortization − net gains on selling equipment) ÷ total receipts, by our math on IRS figures.[1][3]
Source: IRS Statistics of Income, Tax Year 2023[1]; IRS Statistics of Income, Tax Year 2023, released September 2026[3]. Industry rows cover every size of company.
One narrower row comes from a different IRS table, and it counts every kind of corporation, public companies included. For plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors, receipts less deductions came to 6.9%[4] of receipts in tax year 2023, every size together. Before interest, depreciation and amortization, it was 8.8%, by our math.
Private equity buyers adding a contractor to one they own quote a multiple of EBITDA. That's the price divided by a year of EBITDA. Below is what one M&A firm publishes for add-ons of a set size, with the firm and year named. They're quotes, not sold medians. SDE, which the notes mention, is seller's discretionary earnings: profit plus the owner's own pay.
Smaller owner-run businesses are priced on SDE and larger ones on EBITDA: our calculator uses SDE under $1,000,000 of yearly owner earnings, EBITDA (SDE less a $150,000 manager's salary) from $2,000,000, and a blend of the two in between.
What bigger buyers quote: 5x-7x EBITDA (private equity add-ons, $1,000,000 to $3,000,000 of EBITDA; Ad Astra Equity, 2026). These are adviser figures on profit after paying a manager, so they don't apply to an SDE figure.
See what companies your size keep and sell for or read how a dedicated advisor runs your sale.
What bigger buyers quote: 4.5x-6.5x EBITDA (private equity add-ons, $1,000,000 to $3,000,000 of EBITDA; Ad Astra Equity, 2026). These are adviser figures on profit after paying a manager, so they don't apply to an SDE figure.
Those quotes are for add-ons of a given EBITDA. A contractor with its own managers and several branches may be bought as a platform instead, which is a different conversation (below). We don't hold a trades figure of our own for companies your size, so we don't print one.
Take the IRS trades rate of 10.4%: a made-up contractor earns $1,040,000 on $10,000,000 of sales and $31,200,000 on $300,000,000. Our sold-deal data ends at companies that sold for $50,000,000, so from $100,000,000 up there's no figure of ours. Electrical and other trades follow the same answers: the IRS counts them in one row.
| Sales | IRS size row | EBITDA at 10.4% | Our sold-deal range |
|---|---|---|---|
| $10,000,000 | 9.1% | $1,040,000 | $3,255,068 to $5,072,733 |
| $20,000,000 | 9.1% | $2,080,000 | $8,320,000 to $12,064,000 |
| $30,000,000 | 9.1% | $3,120,000 | $12,480,000 to $18,096,000 |
| $50,000,000 | 8.0% | $5,200,000 | $20,800,000 to $30,160,000 |
| $100,000,000 | 8.0% | $10,400,000 | Past our data |
| $200,000,000 | 8.0% | $20,800,000 | Past our data |
| $300,000,000 | 8.2% | $31,200,000 | Past our data |
Source: IRS Statistics of Income, Tax Year 2023[1]; IRS Statistics of Income, Tax Year 2023, released September 2026[3]; IBBA and M&A Source, Second quarter of 2026[5]. Made-up examples. The rate is specialty trade contractor S corporations of every size. Ranges are the sold-deal data behind our calculator, all industries together, checked November 2, 2026.
Trades contractors earn more than the size row, every S corporation that size, at every size. So they pass our data's line at a smaller size than the average company does.
Often to a private equity fund adding you to a trades company it owns: your profit fits the add-on size buyers quote. A made-up example at the IRS trades rate of 10.4%: about $1,040,000 a year, which our calculator puts at $3,255,068 to $5,072,733.[1][5]
Bigger buyers quote add-ons of $1,000,000 to $3,000,000 of EBITDA, and this made-up profit sits inside that. Their quotes, with the firm and year, are above.
At this profit our calculator prices on a blend of owner's earnings and EBITDA. SDE, owner's earnings, is profit plus the owner's own pay. The trades run above the IRS size row of 9.1% for all S corporations this size.
Booked calls with a dedicated advisor start at $700,000 of yearly profit. At the trades rate this made-up contractor is past it, so a call is open to you from here up.
Across every industry: what a company with $10,000,000 in sales is worth.
With several buyers bidding, often funds that already own trades companies and larger contractors in your region. A made-up example at 10.4%: about $2,080,000 a year, which our calculator puts at $8,320,000 to $12,064,000, priced on EBITDA.[1][5]
From $2,000,000 of owner's earnings our calculator prices on EBITDA alone. A trades contractor this size is past that line at the IRS rate.
Expect more than one offer. In IBBA's survey of advisors for the second quarter of 2026, 87% of deals over $5,000,000 drew at least three offers[6].
Insurance on the contract's promises opens up here. Lockton says reps and warranties policies are often available at company values as low as $10,000,000[7], and this range crosses that line. The policy pays the buyer if a promise proves wrong, so less of your price is held back.
Across every industry: what a company with $20,000,000 in sales is worth.
To a fund as a large add-on or a small platform, because your profit runs past the add-on size most quotes cover. A made-up example at 10.4%: about $3,120,000 a year, which our calculator puts at $12,480,000 to $18,096,000.[1][5]
The add-on quotes stop at $3,000,000 of EBITDA, and this made-up profit runs past it. That's where a fund starts asking whether you could be its platform, the first company it buys in the trades.
Search funds bid here too. A search fund is an investor who buys one company to run it. In 2024 and 2025 they paid a median $16,000,000[8], Stanford reports, inside this range.
Our view: at this size a buyer wants each branch or service line run by a manager, not by you. Here's what makes a platform.
Across every industry: what a company with $30,000,000 in sales is worth.
By running a sale for buyers who price your EBITDA, with service managers who can run the company without you. A made-up example at 10.4%: about $5,200,000 a year, which our calculator puts at $20,800,000 to $30,160,000.[1][5]
The IRS's next band, $50,000,000 to $250,000,000, starts at exactly $50,000,000. Its S corporations kept 8.0% before interest, depreciation and amortization, still under the trades rate.
A trades contractor this size stays inside our data unless it earns about 17.2% or more. That's the margin at which $50,000,000 of sales reaches the $8,620,690 of EBITDA our data covers. Expect a quality of earnings report too, an outside accountant's test of your profit. PKF O'Connor Davies writes that it has long been standard in deals with company values of $10,000,000 to $1,000,000,000[9].
By now a lot of money sits in running the work: parts on your trucks and in the warehouse, what customers and builders owe you, and retainage on new construction jobs. Retainage is the part of each bill held until the job ends. A buyer counts all of it at closing, and the box below shows how.
Lincoln International says the target is usually an average of the last 3 to 12 months[10]. Summer cooling and winter heating swing what you're owed and what you stock, so which months go in matters. The working capital peg, step by step.
Across every industry: what a company with $50,000,000 in sales is worth.
As a platform, to funds buying their first company in the trades or to larger service groups, in a run sale. A made-up example at 10.4%: about $10,400,000 a year, past the sold-deal data behind our calculator, so we don't put a figure on it.[1]
At the trades rate this contractor earns about $10,400,000, and a price on that passes $50,000,000, the top of the sold-deal data behind our calculator. From here the page shows only what other publishers count, with their rows nearest your profit marked.
Other publishers' figures, not ours
| Company value | Multiple of EBITDA | Statistic | Buyers | Period | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $50,000,000 to $100,000,000Near yours | 8.7x | Average | Private equity, platform buyouts | Through the third quarter of 2025 | GF Data[11] |
| $100,000,000 to $250,000,000Near yours | 10.0x | Average | Private equity, platform buyouts | Through the third quarter of 2025 | GF Data[11] |
| $100,000,000 to $500,000,000 | 9.8x against 7.0x under $100,000,000 | Average | Private equity, platform buyouts | Through the third quarter of 2025 | GF Data[11] |
| $50,000,000 to $200,000,000Near yours | 9.0x | Median | All buyers | Twelve months to March 31, 2026 | TagniFi[12] |
| $200,000,000 to $500,000,000 | 11.4x | Median | All buyers | Twelve months to March 31, 2026 | TagniFi[12] |
| $50,000,000 to $200,000,000, construction | 6.6x | Median | All buyers | Twelve months to March 31, 2026 | TagniFi[12] |
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[11]; TagniFi, Twelve months to March 31, 2026[12].
Platforms are rarer than add-ons. PitchBook counted 289 U.S. platform buyouts in the second quarter of 2026, down 34%[13]. A contractor this size with managers in place could be one.
Across every industry: what a company with $100,000,000 in sales is worth.
In rounds, to funds and companies that already own several trades brands, with a short list bidding against each other. A made-up example at 10.4%: about $20,800,000 a year, which only outside reports describe at this size.[1]
Exhibit 4 pulls out the rows nearest $20,800,000 of EBITDA. They show how other publishers count deals this size, not what yours is worth.
Other publishers' figures, not ours
| Company value | Multiple of EBITDA | Statistic | Buyers | Period | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $100,000,000 to $250,000,000Near yours | 10.0x | Average | Private equity, platform buyouts | Through the third quarter of 2025 | GF Data[11] |
| $50,000,000 to $200,000,000Near yours | 9.0x | Median | All buyers | Twelve months to March 31, 2026 | TagniFi[12] |
| $200,000,000 to $500,000,000Near yours | 11.4x | Median | All buyers | Twelve months to March 31, 2026 | TagniFi[12] |
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[11]; TagniFi, Twelve months to March 31, 2026[12].
The contract's promises get their own negotiation at this size. In SRS Acquiom's 2024 deals, reps and warranties insurance was on about 42% of them[14]. Without it, more of the price waits in escrow, money held back after closing for claims. Buyers had a median 12 months after closing to bring general claims.
Across every industry: what a company with $200,000,000 in sales is worth.
To the largest trades groups and the funds that own them, in a sale run in rounds. A made-up example at 10.4%: about $31,200,000 a year, in the IRS top size band and past our data.[1]
From exactly $250,000,000 up, the IRS stops splitting by size: $250,000,000 or more is one band, where S corporations kept 8.2% before interest, depreciation and amortization. The average company in it had $715,078,611 in sales.
Companies buy as well as funds. Citizens surveyed companies with $25,000,000 to $1,000,000,000 in revenue in November 2025: 61% saw themselves as buyers[15].
At this size the people count as much as the numbers. A letter of intent is the buyer's written offer, signed before its full checks. PCE writes that before the letter of intent, buyers judge the leadership team, the growth plan, the culture and how deep the operation runs.[16] Here's who buys a company your size.
Across every industry: what a company with $300,000,000 in sales is worth.
TagniFi, a deal database, lists specialty trade contractors among its most active sectors for deals of $10,000,000 to $100,000,000. It also publishes construction by deal size. Here they are as TagniFi prints them.
Other publishers' figures, not ours
| Company value | Multiple of EBITDA | Statistic | Buyers | Period | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $10,000,000 to $100,000,000, specialty trade contractors | 6.2x | As printed | All buyers | Twelve months to the third quarter of 2025 | TagniFi[17] |
| $10,000,000 to $50,000,000, construction | 5.3x | Median | All buyers | Twelve months to March 31, 2026 | TagniFi[12] |
| $50,000,000 to $200,000,000, construction | 6.6x | Median | All buyers | Twelve months to March 31, 2026 | TagniFi[12] |
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 (PR Newswire), Twelve months to the third quarter of 2025[17]; TagniFi, Twelve months to March 31, 2026[12].
Those groups are what companies sold for, not their sales, and the construction rows mix builders with trades. Read them as context for a conversation. Why bigger deals carry bigger multiples.
If a fund buys you, most likely as an add-on. A platform is the first company a fund buys in a field. An add-on is a company bought to join it. In PitchBook's count, about three of every four U.S. buyouts in the second quarter of 2026 were add-ons, an estimated 885[13].
Our view, not a published rule: a contractor gets looked at as a platform when it runs without the owner. That means a general manager, a controller, service managers who run their own schedules, and more than one branch.
If a fund calls, ask which one you'd be. The answer changes who you'd report to and whether you'd keep a stake. What to do when a buyer calls.
They make next year's revenue easier to count on, which is what a buyer pays for. Our HVAC calculator asks it directly. How much of your revenue comes from maintenance agreements: more than half, a fifth to a half, or less than a fifth?
What follows is our judgment, not a published figure. A buyer wants the list, not the share: the count, last year's renewals, what each costs and what it covers. A plan that renews by itself counts for more than one a technician sells on a visit.
Agreements also feed the replacement work. A buyer will ask what share of new equipment sales came from agreement customers. Pull it from your field software before you're asked.
That's set in the deal, so ask before you sign the letter of intent: the buyer's written offer, signed before due diligence. Ask whether your trucks keep your name, who your service managers will report to, and what's offered to keep your best technicians.
One detail catches owners late. In many states a contractor's license names a qualifying person. If that's you, a buyer will ask who takes it over, and how soon.
One law firm, Porter Hedges, writes that private equity buyers "very often" ask the seller to keep a share[18]. That share is called rollover equity. How rollover equity works.
Your own sales and margin go in below, starting from the IRS trades rate. The range comes from IBBA and M&A Source Market Pulse[5], the sold-deal data behind our calculator, all industries together, checked November 2, 2026.
Industry: HVAC, plumbing, electrical and other trades
IRS, hvac, plumbing, electrical and other trades S corporations of every size, tax year 2023, our math. Change it to yours. Includes gains on selling equipment, which the IRS doesn't publish for this industry.
A made-up example at the IRS rate
A made-up example: 10.4% 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
$8,320,000 to $12,064,000
Typical $10,192,000, 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.
On the first call your numbers come first. With a trades contractor, a dedicated advisor starts with these four.
Your advisor then tells you what the sold-deal data says about a contractor with your profit, and where a buyer will push. Owners often hear a lower number than they hoped. It's the one that holds up when a buyer's accountants test it.
Often to a private equity fund adding you to a trades company it owns: your profit fits the add-on size buyers quote. A made-up example at the IRS trades rate of 10.4%: about $1,040,000 a year, which our calculator puts at $3,255,068 to $5,072,733.
With several buyers bidding, often funds that already own trades companies and larger contractors in your region. A made-up example at 10.4%: about $2,080,000 a year, which our calculator puts at $8,320,000 to $12,064,000, priced on EBITDA.
To a fund as a large add-on or a small platform, because your profit runs past the add-on size most quotes cover. A made-up example at 10.4%: about $3,120,000 a year, which our calculator puts at $12,480,000 to $18,096,000.
By running a sale for buyers who price your EBITDA, with service managers who can run the company without you. A made-up example at 10.4%: about $5,200,000 a year, which our calculator puts at $20,800,000 to $30,160,000.
As a platform, to funds buying their first company in the trades or to larger service groups, in a run sale. A made-up example at 10.4%: about $10,400,000 a year, past the sold-deal data behind our calculator, so we don't put a figure on it.
In rounds, to funds and companies that already own several trades brands, with a short list bidding against each other. A made-up example at 10.4%: about $20,800,000 a year, which only outside reports describe at this size.
To the largest trades groups and the funds that own them, in a sale run in rounds. A made-up example at 10.4%: about $31,200,000 a year, in the IRS top size band and past our data.
It's priced on its profit, its service agreements and who runs the jobs. The calculator prices yours on sold-deal data, and this page shows what bigger buyers quote, with the source.
Specialty trade contractor S corporations reported 8.0% as business profit in tax year 2023, and about 10.4% before interest, depreciation and amortization, by our math on IRS figures for every size. The second figure includes gains on selling equipment, which the IRS doesn't publish for this industry.
Yes, often as add-ons to a company they already own.
They make next year's revenue easier to count on, which is what buyers pay for. How much depends on how many renew.
More for trades owners: HVAC, plumbing and electrical guides, selling an HVAC business and average profit margin by company size.
The sold-deal data behind our calculator: IBBA and M&A Source Market Pulse, closed deals. Our figures checked November 2, 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
The valuation opens on HVAC. Beyond sales and profit it asks how much of your revenue comes from maintenance agreements. Then it takes your name, email and cell phone and shows a range, not one number.
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.
Get an initial range and a clearer starting point for your plans.
Discuss your goals, timing and questions in a private conversation.