Valuation Lab · Calculator
This calculator values an operating business on normalized EBITDA times an industry multiple, then bridges to equity value by adding excess cash and subtracting debt. The multiple band comes from Windsor Drake’s 2026 industry ranges by earnings size, which are analyst ranges informed by GF Data (Q1 2026 middle-market average 7.3x), BizBuySell (Q2 2026) and NYU Stern (Jan 2026). It does not claim to cover every business type: banks, lenders and pre-profit companies need a different method.
Most private-company sale prices are agreed as a multiple of trailing adjusted EBITDA, quoted on a cash-free, debt-free basis. The tool follows that convention exactly: it shows the enterprise value first, then the equity bridge, and it never blends a revenue method into the EBITDA answer. Where a revenue method is appropriate (software, fintech, services with thin margins), it appears as a separately labelled cross-check.
Use it to see which of three things moves your number most: the earnings you can defend as normalized, the size band those earnings put you in, and the position inside the band that growth, concentration and transferability decide. The sensitivity grid makes the second and third explicit.
The interactive calculator loads here. The published example scenario below is the same model (2026.09.22-1) evaluated at the example inputs.
Indicative enterprise value, EV / LTM adjusted EBITDA (B2B SaaS (profitable), $1M-$3M EBITDA): $13.5M. $11.0M to $16.0M at 5.5x to 8.0x; selected 6.8x
Equity value (EV + cash – debt +/- working capital): $11.5M. Equity value is not net proceeds after fees, taxes, escrow or earn-outs. Band source: Windsor Drake EBITDA multiples by industry, Aug 2026 (analyst ranges informed by GF Data Q1 2026, BizBuySell Q2 2026, NYU Stern Jan 2026).
EBITDA margin: 16.7% · Equity value: $11.5M · Revenue method: $48.0M
| Line | Value |
|---|---|
| Basis | EV / LTM adjusted EBITDA ($1M-$3M EBITDA) |
| Normalized EBITDA | $2.0M |
| Industry band (analyst range) | 5.5x to 8.0x |
| Selected multiple | 6.8x |
| Enterprise value | $13.5M |
| Add excess cash | $1.0M |
| Less debt | -$3.0M |
| Working-capital adjustment | $0 |
| Equity value | $11.5M |
| Revenue-method cross-check | $48.0M at 4.0x revenue (SEG SaaS M&A median 2Q26 (4.0x); Aventis private M&A Q1 2026 (3.1x) to public Aug 2026 (4.6x)) |
Currency: USD. Period: latest twelve months. Cash and debt at the valuation date.
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Industry | B2B SaaS (profitable) |
| Annual revenue | $12,000,000 |
| Normalized EBITDA | $2,000,000 |
| Revenue growth | 15% |
| Selected EBITDA multiple (0 = use industry band midpoint) | 0x |
| Excess cash | $1,000,000 |
| Debt and debt-like items | $3,000,000 |
| Working-capital adjustment (+/-) | $0 |
Size is the first driver: GF Data’s H1 2025 small-deal analysis observed roughly 5.5x at $1M-$5M of enterprise value rising to 6.2x-6.7x at $10M-$25M, and the same pattern runs through every industry row. Inside a band, buyers price revenue quality (recurring share, contract length), growth and margin together, customer and supplier concentration, transferability of relationships and know-how away from the owner, capital intensity and, finally, the competitiveness of the process itself. A company that scores well on those and is sold in a competitive process lands at the top of its band; the same company sold to a single buyer usually does not.
Three situations break the method. Loss-making or barely profitable companies have no earnings to capitalize; use a revenue method with a sector benchmark or a DCF. Balance-sheet businesses (banks, lenders that hold loans, risk-bearing insurers) are valued on book value, capital and loss experience, not on EV/EBITDA. Businesses whose earnings depend on the owner’s personal relationships need normalization first, and the adjusted figure may be much lower than the reported one.
Exploring what your company is worth? A principal will give you a confidential perspective on how the market is pricing businesses like yours: current multiples, the acquirers active in your sector, and where your company would likely land.
Start with the industry row and the size band that matches your normalized EBITDA, then move inside the band on revenue quality, growth, concentration and transferability. The published ranges for 2026 run from 3.0x-4.5x for small construction firms to 9.0x-13.0x for profitable software above $10M of EBITDA.
The headline figure is enterprise value. The bridge converts it to equity value by adding excess cash and subtracting debt; net proceeds are lower again after transaction fees, taxes, escrow and any earn-out.
EBITDA is zero or negative. A multiple of a negative number is not a discount; it is undefined. Use the revenue cross-check where offered, the DCF calculator, or the sector calculator for your business model.
Restate owner and family compensation to market rates, remove genuine one-off costs and revenues, and add back personal expenses run through the business. Document each adjustment; buyers test every one in diligence.
It changes where you land inside the band and sometimes which band a buyer accepts. The Windsor Drake Proprietary Discount Index tracks the gap between unbanked bilateral outcomes and competitive-process outcomes.
Enterprise value is quoted cash-free and debt-free; equity value adds excess cash and subtracts debt and debt-like items, before fees, taxes, escrow, rollover and earn-outs. Every method states its denominator, period (trailing twelve months unless labelled), currency (USD) and treatment of cash and debt. Results are ranges under stated assumptions, not statistical confidence intervals. Company inputs stay in the browser and are never transmitted. Benchmark snapshot 2026.09.22-1; model 2026.09.22-1; changes are recorded in the Valuation Lab changelog in the Windsor Drake repository.
Benchmark: EBITDA multiples by industry · Related: SaaS valuation calculator · DCF calculator · Fintech valuation calculator · IT services valuation calculator · All valuation tools