Earnings Normalisation Benchmarks
The median published figure in the Earnings Normalisation Benchmarks is 126,520 USD across 5 sources' own pages (range 80,000 to 175,000 USD), read 15 October 2026.
5 of the 11 named sources read in full publish a figure; 6 publish none, read 15 October 2026.
The median is unchanged since 26 September 2026 (was 126,520 USD across 5).
Every figure, with its source
One row per published figure: the figure as the source's own page publishes it, the page, and the day it was read. A figure that is not on a page we read is not on this one.
| Source | Figure | Read |
|---|---|---|
| SeaRidge SDE and EBITDA guide | 175,000USD | 2026-10-15 |
| CT Acquisitions, using SDE for an owner-operator business | 150,000USD | 2026-10-15 |
| BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, management occupations | 126,520USD | 2026-10-15 |
| BLS OEWS general and operations managers | 101,280USD | 2026-10-15 |
| Elite Exit Advisors SDE valuation guide | 80,000USD | 2026-10-15 |
The sentence each figure was read from (5)
- SeaRidge SDE and EBITDA guide, read 2026-10-15:
Market compensation for a replacement general manager: $175,000
- CT Acquisitions, using SDE for an owner-operator business, read 2026-10-15:
Convert reported owner salary to market-rate GM comp ($150K-$300K typical) and add the differential back.
- BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, management occupations, read 2026-10-15:
The median annual wage for this group was $126,520 in May 2025, which was higher than the median annual wage for all occupations of $50,980.
- BLS OEWS general and operations managers, read 2026-10-15:
Annual Wage (2) $ 46,340 $ 65,180 $ 101,280 $ 160,290 $ 232,110
- Elite Exit Advisors SDE valuation guide, read 2026-10-15:
Adjust owner pay: current salary $120,000 replaced by market-rate $80,000 (subtract the excess).
Read in full, publishes no figure
6 named sources were read in full on the dates shown and print no usable figure. They are counted, never filled in.
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, national table 1, read 2026-09-12: every candidate on the page was refused
- BLS OEWS tables index, read 2026-09-12: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- BLS OEWS national estimates, read 2026-09-12: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- Arthur Berry on seller's discretionary earnings, read 2026-09-15: every candidate on the page was refused
- Midwest Brokers on SDE, read 2026-10-15: every candidate on the page was refused
- Star Capital on seller discretionary earnings, read 2026-09-15: every candidate on the page was refused
Methodology
Every row is a verbatim sentence read from the named source's own page through our fetch service on the date shown, hash-pinned to the stored read (the sha of the page's visible text; the raw page is mirrored to R2).
5 of the 11 named sources that could be read published a usable figure; 6 published none and are recorded as not published, never filled in; 0 could not be read (blocked, dead or unreachable) and count nowhere.
The headline figures (median, minimum, maximum, quartiles) are over ONE figure per source in USD (a source's median where its page yielded several accepted sentences), so N counts sources, never sentences; 76 candidate sentence(s) were refused by a reviewer with the reason recorded.
The fuller derivation this dataset is chartered to grow into (not yet what the figures above are; they are each source's own published figure as read): the add-back list scored by how many publishers accept, dispute or reject each item, beside the BLS market wage for the occupation that would replace the owner - national and per metro - so the replacement salary in a normalisation is a published figure rather than a seller's assertion; the median claimed-versus-accepted add-back share is the headline
76 candidate sentences on these pages were refused by a reviewer; each refusal and its reason is recorded in the review ledger.
Sources (11)
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, national table 1(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- BLS OEWS general and operations managers(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- BLS OEWS tables index(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- BLS OEWS national estimates(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, management occupations(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Arthur Berry on seller's discretionary earnings(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- SeaRidge SDE and EBITDA guide(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- CT Acquisitions, using SDE for an owner-operator business(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Elite Exit Advisors SDE valuation guide(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Midwest Brokers on SDE(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Star Capital on seller discretionary earnings(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
Cite or embed this figure
The median published figure in the Earnings Normalisation Benchmarks is 126,520 USD across 5 sources' own pages (range 80,000 to 175,000 USD), read 15 October 2026.
5 of the 11 named sources read in full publish a figure; 6 publish none, read 15 October 2026.
The median is unchanged since 26 September 2026 (was 126,520 USD across 5).
Cite as: "businessvaluenow.com Earnings Normalisation Benchmarks", updated 2026-10-23, https://businessvaluenow.com/datasets/earnings-normalisation-benchmarks/.
Download the CSV (5 rows, computed 2026-10-23)
Questions this data answers
Which earnings does the multiple get applied to - what add-backs survive, and what is the owner's job actually worth?
The median published figure in the Earnings Normalisation Benchmarks is 126,520 USD across 5 sources' own pages (range 80,000 to 175,000 USD), read 15 October 2026.
Where do the figures in the Earnings Normalisation Benchmarks come from?
Every figure is quoted from its source's own page and dated (last read 15 Oct 2026). 11 named sources were read and 5 publish a figure; the 6 that publish none are recorded as not published, never estimated.