Electrical Business Sale Multiples (2026): What Buyers Pay
Small electrical contractors sell for 2.5 to 4.5 times what the business pays the owner. Companies turning over $3M to $10M sell for 5.5 to 8 times profit. Above $25M, the range runs 9 to 13.
Three things decide where you land:
- Service agreements matter more than size. Get a fifth of revenue onto contracts and you add up to one and a half turns.
- Commercial work prices above residential. A residential-only book gives up half a turn to a full turn.
- What you wire changes the number. Charging points and industrial work carry a premium. Solar does not, any more.
What Electrical Contractors Sell For, by Size
These bands are revenue, not profit. Size decides which buyers can reach you, and the buyer decides your multiple.
| Yearly revenue | Priced on | Typical multiple | Likely buyer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under $1 million | What the business pays you | 2.5x to 4.5x | An individual with a bank loan |
| $1M to $3M | Either, depending on your crew size | 3.5x to 6.5x | Local competitors, small roll-ups |
| $3M to $10M | Profit after paying a manager | 5.5x to 8.0x | Investor-backed trade platforms |
| $10M to $25M | Profit after paying a manager | 7.5x to 10.5x | Larger platforms, regional strategics |
| $25 million or more | Profit after paying a manager | 9.0x to 13.0x | Buyout funds, public companies |
Those ranges come from a 2026 review of electrical contractor deal data built on broker surveys and private deal aggregates.
Where the ceiling sits
Public electrical companies trade at 8 to 15 times profit. Quanta sits at the top of that range and MasTec near the bottom.
That ceiling is why platforms can pay you 6 or 7. They buy below their own valuation and the gap is the profit. Your own band is worked through in electrical valuation by size.
The Four Things That Move Your Multiple
1. Service agreements
This is the biggest lever you control. Maintenance contracts, priority-service plans, and generator servicing all count.
Get 20% of revenue onto agreements and you price above an identical shop with none. The lift runs three quarters of a turn to a turn and a half.
2. Commercial versus residential
Commercial and industrial work carries a backlog a buyer can see and forecast. Residential work does not.
A residential-only contractor gives up half a turn to a full turn against a mixed book of the same size.
3. What you actually wire
- Vehicle charging installs price highest, at 7.5 to 11 times, one to two turns above a general shop.
- Industrial and high-voltage runs 6.5 to 10 times, at the top of the normal band.
- Data and low-voltage cabling runs 6 to 9.5 times, helped by managed-service income.
- Generator work runs 6.5 to 9.5 times, with a lift for dealers who service what they fit.
- Solar installs run 5 to 8 times, well down from the 2021 peak.
4. Whether it runs without you
Under $1M in revenue, buyers price off what the business pays you. Put a manager in and they switch to profit after that manager’s wage.
That switch is worth more than any other single change, because it moves you into a different table row.
Who Is Buying Electrical Contractors
- Multi-trade platforms pay the most. Apex Service Partners, Wrench Group, Sila Services, Redwood Services, and Southern Home Services all buy electrical alongside heating and plumbing.
- Public companies buy the large commercial firms. IES Holdings, MYR Group, EMCOR, and Quanta.
- Charging specialists buy charging specialists. If most of your work is vehicle charging, your buyer pool is different and it pays better.
- Individuals buy the small end, usually through the government-backed loan program, which caps at $5 million.
The same platforms buy heating and plumbing companies, so a shop that does more than one trade widens its own buyer pool.
For how those buyers differ, see investor-backed platforms versus strategic buyers. The same names show up in HVAC.
How Long It Takes
Six to nine months for most electrical shops, and nine to twelve above $2 million in price. Preparation is what shortens it.
Bigger deals also draw more bidders. In early 2026 the $2M to $5M band averaged 3.2 offers per deal, against 1.9 for the smallest.
The month-by-month version: how long an electrical sale really takes, and what stretches it.
Mistakes That Cost Electrical Sellers Money
- Treating service plans as a side line. To a buyer they are the most valuable revenue you have.
- Bringing the wrong earnings number. One method adds your pay back, the other takes a manager’s wage out. Using the wrong one for your size prices you badly.
- Undocumented work in progress. Commercial jobs part-finished at closing are a fight if nobody wrote down the stage they reached.
- Talking to one buyer. A single bidder sets your price, whoever introduced them.
- Ignoring the license question. Who holds the qualifying credential decides whether the business can pull permits the day after you leave.
For scale on the wider market, 2,117 businesses of all kinds changed hands in the second quarter of 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
Under $1 million in revenue, 2.5 to 4.5 times what the business pays the owner. From $3M to $10M, 5.5 to 8 times profit. From $10M to $25M, 7.5 to 10.5. Above $25M, 9 to 13.
More than anything else you control. Put 20% of revenue onto maintenance or service plans. That lifts you three quarters of a turn to a turn and a half above the same shop with none.
Yes. Commercial and industrial contracts give a buyer visible backlog, so they can forecast it. A residential-only contractor gives up half a turn to a full turn against a mixed book of the same size.
Multi-trade platforms like Apex Service Partners, Wrench Group, Sila Services and Redwood Services pay the most. Public companies including IES Holdings, MYR Group, EMCOR and Quanta buy the large commercial firms.
Yes, at 7.5 to 11 times profit, one to two turns above a general electrical shop. Buyers who specialize in charging infrastructure compete for that work, so the buyer pool is different as well as richer.
Six to nine months for most shops, and nine to twelve above $2 million in price. A prepared seller with three clean years and documented contracts moves faster than one starting from scratch.
Next Steps
- Work out what share of revenue sits under service agreements. That number sets your multiple.
- Split your revenue between residential, commercial, and industrial. Buyers ask for this first.
- Write down who holds the qualifying credential, and fix it now if the answer is only you.
- Sanity-check it against what businesses sell for outside the trades.
- Settle the structure early. Selling the assets costs you more tax than selling the company.
- Selling in Pennsylvania? Start with the state guide, where licensing and tax clearance are covered.
- Get a free valuation and buyer introductions. No fee, no exclusive, no obligation to sell.