Middle-market private deal multiples expanded over the trailing twelve months across the $10 million to $500 million range, according to data from PowerComps, a dataset maintained by TagniFi. Median total enterprise value-to-EBITDA multiples increased to 9.2x for the trailing twelve-month period ended March 31, 2026, up from 8.4x in 2024.
The increase in valuations has been uneven across deal sizes. Transactions in the $10 million to $50 million range recorded more modest gains compared with larger deals, while the $200 million to $500 million segment saw multiples rise to 11.4x from 9.6x a year earlier. At the upper end, deals between $500 million and $999 million reached 12.0x, compared with 10.1x in 2024. Overall deal volume, however, remained subdued across all size cohorts, suggesting that pricing strength is occurring in a constrained transaction environment.
“Valuations are rising, but not across the board—they’re concentrated in a smaller group of stronger companies,” said Bob Wegbreit, managing director, private markets at TagniFi. “Buyers are focusing on businesses with consistent margins and reliable cash flow, and that’s creating a wider gap in pricing between higher- and lower-quality assets.”
In the lower middle market, operating performance continues to influence valuation outcomes. Manufacturing transactions in the $10 million to $50 million range posted a median multiple of 6.7x alongside median EBITDA margins of 18.7%. Data dispersion indicates a clear divide between higher- and lower-performing businesses. Companies with above-median margins recorded a 7.2x multiple and 23.9% margins, while those below the median saw multiples of 6.3x and margins of 13.5%.
“Earnouts are functioning less as a concession and more as a core structuring tool in today’s market.”
This spread highlights the role of profitability in supporting valuation, particularly in a market where buyers are applying greater scrutiny to operating metrics. The findings align with broader market sentiment that higher-quality assets continue to transact, even as overall activity remains limited.
Earnouts remain a common feature in transactions, particularly among smaller deals where valuation gaps persist. In the $10 million to $50 million segment, earnouts averaged 16.5% of total enterprise value, with a median duration of 24 months. Their continued use reflects efforts by buyers and sellers to balance pricing expectations against uncertain forward performance.
“Earnouts are functioning less as a concession and more as a core structuring tool in today’s market,” added Mr. Wegbreit. “With limited forward visibility, they give buyers a way to underwrite to current performance while offering sellers a path to achieve full valuation if results materialize.”
Industry-level data shows varying sensitivity to scale. Manufacturing and business services transactions exhibited stronger multiple expansion as deal size increased, with both sectors reaching 10.0x in the $50 million to $200 million range. Construction multiples, by contrast, showed limited variation across size cohorts, while distribution businesses remained under pressure amid tariff uncertainty and political headwinds affecting margins.
About the Author
Bob Wegbreit is the Managing Director, Private Markets at TagniFi, a Tampa-headquartered provider of valuation data and analytics for middle-market companies using web-based tools, spreadsheet integrations and application programming interfaces.
TagniFi’s PowerComps product is a proprietary transaction database built through contributions from private equity firms, family offices and M&A advisors. The dataset includes more than 1,450 contributed deals from 131 middle-market firms, with contributors receiving access in exchange for anonymized deal submissions.