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AUGUST 2026 MARKET DATA

Food & restaurants business valuation multiples

See what reported US sales of food & restaurants imply about cash-flow multiples, revenue multiples, and typical sale prices.

Median reported sale price

$200,000Reported sales from Q3 2021–Q2 2026

Cash flow multiple

2.27×Price ÷ seller’s discretionary earnings

Revenue multiple

0.42×Price ÷ annual gross revenue

Sector rank

#14By cash-flow multiple among 16 sectors

Versus all businesses

-12%Cash-flow multiple versus 2.58× overall

ORIGINAL INDEX SIGNAL

Private transaction evidence for food & restaurants, from Main Street to $1B+.

Independently indexed as of August 14, 2026. These non-identifying records add a second market lens beyond the public sale averages above. Counts reveal evidence depth—not a universal multiple. Percentiles and individual rows stay protected. Explore the full evidence map.

Under $1M—not published
$1M–$10M—not published
$10M–$50M—not published
$50M–$250M—not published
$250M–$1B—not published
$1B+13indexed records
Displayed cross-size records13Only counts inside published cells
Public size coverage1 / 6Food & restaurants · a blank may be zero or privacy-withheld
Contributor view25th · median · 75thShare an operating profile to see the protected range
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WORKED MARKET REFERENCE

How the two common methods compare

For an example food & restaurants business with $1,000,000 in annual revenue and $250,000 in SDE:

SDE method$567,500$250,000 × 2.27
Revenue method$420,000$1,000,000 × 0.42

The indications can differ because margins vary. A personalized market reference should use the company’s actual revenue and normalized SDE, then consider transferability and deal terms separately.

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NEARBY BENCHMARKS

Detailed industryCoffee shop2.27× cash flowDetailed industryFood truck2.03× cash flowDetailed industryRestaurant2.18× cash flow

COMMON QUESTIONS

Reading this food & restaurants business benchmark

What is the average food & restaurants business cash-flow multiple?

Reported sales in this category average 2.27× seller’s discretionary earnings and 0.42× annual revenue. The reported median sale price is $200,000.

How should I use the 2.27× multiple?

Apply it first to normalized SDE, not tax-return profit without review. Then cross-check the revenue method and examine the business-specific risks a buyer would inherit.

Does this tell me exactly what my food & restaurants business is worth?

No. It is a reported-sale average, not an appraisal or offer. Company size, margins, growth, transferability, assets, liabilities, geography, and deal terms can produce a different outcome.

Source and scope

Public aggregates reported by BizBuySell for closed US sales of food & restaurants. The headline multiples cover Q3 2021–Q2 2026. The separate businessvaluation.fyi index adds privacy-protected transaction counts for the broader food & restaurants sector as of 2026-08-14; it does not expose individual deals or valuation multiples. These are useful relative indicators, not a formal appraisal, offer, or complete census.

Headline source Original index map