What is your HVAC business actually worth?
Enter your numbers and see an estimated enterprise value range built from private equity transaction comparables in the trades. No email, no signup, no one calls you.
Works for HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing, and multi-trade companies.
Valuation calculator
Approximate numbers are fine. Nothing you type here is sent anywhere.
Enter your annual EBITDA to see an estimate.
How this calculator works
There is no mystery to it, and it is worth understanding rather than trusting blindly.
Step one: earnings, not revenue
Buyers acquire earnings. Revenue is context. Two HVAC companies both doing $4M in revenue can produce wildly different profit, and the profitable one is worth considerably more. So the calculation starts from EBITDA, which stands for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.
If you do not have a clean EBITDA figure, start with net profit and add back interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. Most owner-operated companies then add back an above-market owner salary, personal vehicles and expenses run through the business, and genuinely one-time costs. That adjusted figure is what a buyer applies a multiple to, and it is usually meaningfully higher than the profit shown on a tax return.
Step two: a base multiple by trade
Different trades trade in different bands, for structural reasons rather than fashion. HVAC leads because of its natural maintenance agreement motion and large replacement cycle. Roofing sits lowest because storm-driven revenue is episodic and a roof generates little repeat business from the same customer.
| Trade | Base EBITDA multiple |
|---|---|
| HVAC | 6.0x – 9.0x |
| Multi-trade | 5.5x – 8.5x |
| Plumbing | 5.0x – 8.0x |
| Electrical | 5.0x – 8.0x |
| Roofing | 4.5x – 7.0x |
Step three: adjust for recurring revenue
This is the biggest lever available to you, and the one most owners underuse. Recurring maintenance revenue lifts the multiple because it converts unpredictable transactional demand into a forecastable annuity, and because every maintenance visit is a future replacement lead. The calculator adds up to a full turn of EBITDA for a book that is more than half recurring.
Step four: adjust for scale
Bigger businesses earn higher multiples for the same earnings quality. They are easier to finance, they attract institutional buyers who compete with one another, and they are less dependent on any single person. Companies above roughly $3M of EBITDA get an upward adjustment, and those below roughly $500K get a downward one, reflecting concentration and owner-dependency risk.
What the calculator cannot see
Being honest about the limits is more useful than false precision. This tool has four numbers. A buyer will build a model from dozens. The factors that most often move a real transaction away from this estimate:
- Customer concentration. One builder or property manager at 30% of revenue is a discount, every time.
- Growth trajectory. Three years of steady growth prices very differently from three years of decline at the same current EBITDA.
- Owner dependence. If you personally quote every job, the buyer is acquiring your calendar rather than a business.
- Recurring revenue quality. A documented agreement base with a measurable renewal rate is worth far more than an informal list of loyal customers.
- Technician retention. In a labor-constrained industry, the crew often is the asset.
- Earnings normalization. Storm years, freeze events, and aggressive add-backs get adjusted out in diligence.
Use the number as a starting point for a serious conversation, not as a price.
Valuation questions, answered.
How is an HVAC business valued?
Almost always as a multiple of EBITDA, not revenue. The buyer estimates normalized annual earnings and applies a multiple reflecting how durable and transferable those earnings are. HVAC companies commonly fall between about 6x and 9x EBITDA, with recurring maintenance revenue, scale, and low owner dependence moving a specific business toward the top of the range.
What is EBITDA and how do I calculate mine?
EBITDA is earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. Start with net profit, then add back interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. Most owner-operated companies also add back an above-market owner salary, personal vehicles and expenses run through the business, and genuine one-time costs. The result, sometimes called adjusted or normalized EBITDA, is what buyers apply a multiple to.
Why does the calculator ask about recurring revenue?
Because it is the single strongest driver of the multiple. Maintenance agreements convert one-time customers into predictable annual revenue and generate the replacement pipeline that drives future sales. A company with more than half of revenue under recurring agreements typically earns roughly a full turn of EBITDA above an otherwise identical company with none.
Is a revenue multiple ever used to value an HVAC business?
Rules of thumb based on revenue circulate in the industry, but serious buyers do not use them. Two companies with identical revenue can have very different profitability, and the buyer is acquiring earnings rather than sales volume. A revenue-based figure is best treated as a rough sanity check, never as a valuation.
How accurate is this estimate?
It is a starting point, not an appraisal or an offer. The calculator applies transaction comparables to the figures you enter. It cannot see your customer concentration, growth trajectory, technician retention, contract quality, or the diligence findings that ultimately set the price. Treat the range as the beginning of an informed conversation.
Turn the estimate into a real number.
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