Metrics & Performance
EBITDA Multiple
A valuation metric expressing a company's value as a multiple of its EBITDA — commonly used in growth equity and private equity but less in early-stage VC.
An EBITDA multiple is the ratio of a company's enterprise value to its EBITDA: Enterprise Value / EBITDA. It's the primary valuation methodology for profitable businesses in private equity and growth equity. Example: a company with $20M EBITDA valued at $200M is trading at 10x EBITDA. EBITDA multiples vary significantly by industry, growth rate, and market conditions. High-growth software companies may trade at 20-30x EBITDA; slower-growth industrial businesses at 5-8x. For early-stage VC, EBITDA multiples are irrelevant (companies are pre-profit) — ARR multiples and DCF are more applicable. EBITDA multiples become relevant as companies approach profitability and contemplate later-stage growth equity or PE transactions.