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What is a manufacturing business worth?

Manufacturing businesses that sold from 2021 to 2025 went for a median of 2.75x seller's discretionary earnings (SDE). The middle half sold for 2.04x to 3.59x. ^[1]

Last verified October 24, 2026

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What multiple do manufacturing businesses sell for?

Lower quartile

2.04x

Median

2.75x

Upper quartile

3.59x

Times seller's discretionary earnings (SDE). Manufacturing, BizBuySell, sales 2021–2025; 2,303 sales.

SDE is the profit one owner takes out of the business: pre-tax profit plus one owner's pay and perks, interest, depreciation and one-time costs. How we calculate it.

What raises the value of manufacturing businesses?

• Higher sales volume raises the multiple mainly because it gives the buyer room to service debt. ^[1]
• Upper-quartile pricing goes with consistent financials, above-average revenue and earnings, growth potential, low owner involvement, a competitive advantage and seller financing (common to all BizBuySell benchmark pages). ^[1]

What lowers the value of manufacturing businesses?

• Lower-quartile pricing goes with low sales volume, thin margins, full-time owner involvement and many competitors (common to all BizBuySell benchmark pages). ^[1]

What is the market for manufacturing businesses like?

• Manufacturing median sale price $650,000 (full-year 2025); ranked 5th by volume with the longest time to close, 223 days. ^{[2, 3]}

Which types of business does this cover?

Each type uses its own published quartiles where they exist; the rest use the broader category, and the table says which.

Low and high are the lower and upper quartiles: the middle half of sales. Figures are BizBuySell, businesses sold 2021–2025.

Machine shops & tooling

Median 3.08x SDE; middle half 2.32x to 4.23x (sample size not published). ^[4]

Raises value:

• Shops above $2MM in revenue trade around 4x SDE. ^[4]

Lowers value:

• Shops below $700K trade around 2–2.5x. ^[4]

Value a machine shops & tooling business

Food manufacturing

Median 2.43x SDE; middle half 1.77x to 3.37x (sample size not published). ^[6]

Raises value:

• Production efficiency, product mix, distribution channels, regulatory compliance, supplier relationships, equipment condition and customer contracts. ^[5]

Market notes:

• Averages 2.44–3.48x SDE, 3.20–4.21x EBITDA, 0.44–0.75x revenue (no data source). ^[5]

Value a food manufacturing business

Packaging manufacturing

Median 2.57x SDE; middle half 1.87x to 3.56x (sample size not published). ^[8]

Market notes:

• Packaging deal count fell 21.3% YoY through Q2 2026. ^[7]

Value a packaging manufacturing business

Metal product manufacturing

Median 2.93x SDE; middle half 2.26x to 3.72x (sample size not published). ^[9]

Raises value:

• Above $3MM in revenue may reach 3.7x or more. ^[9]

Lowers value:

• Below $900K may trade under 2.2x. ^[9]

Market notes:

• Median SDE margin fell from 28.1% (2021) to 20.4% (2025). ^[9]

Value a metal product manufacturing business

Contract & general manufacturing

Based on the broader category (Manufacturing): no published quartiles for contract & general manufacturing.

Value a contract & general manufacturing business

Fabrication & welding

Based on the broader category (Manufacturing): no published quartiles for fabrication & welding.

Value a fabrication & welding business

Industrial machinery

Based on the broader category (Manufacturing): no published quartiles for industrial machinery.

Value a industrial machinery business

Chemical manufacturing

Based on the broader category (Manufacturing): no published quartiles for chemical manufacturing.

Value a chemical manufacturing business

Clothing & fabric manufacturing

Based on the broader category (Manufacturing): no published quartiles for clothing & fabric manufacturing.

Value a clothing & fabric manufacturing business

Paper & printing

Based on the broader category (Manufacturing): no published quartiles for paper & printing.

Value a paper & printing business

Sign makers

Based on the broader category (Manufacturing): no published quartiles for sign makers.

Value a sign makers business

What do larger manufacturing businesses sell for?

Above about $2 million of price, buyers price on EBITDA (earnings after paying a manager) instead of SDE, and private equity buyers enter the market. These ranges are advisor estimates for larger firms, labeled as such. Don't apply them to an owner-run business.

How should you use these numbers?

Multiply your SDE by a multiple in the range to get a rough price for the business, not counting real estate. Where you land in the range depends on how much the business depends on you, how much revenue repeats, growth, customer concentration and the other factors in the calculator. Half of all sales land outside the quartile range, so a real deal can go higher or lower.

Where do these numbers come from?