Sector benchmarks · Updated daily from Yahoo Finance

EV/EBITDA Multiples by Sector

Median EV/EBITDA ratios and quartile ranges across all 11 GICS sectors. Use these benchmarks to judge whether a stock's valuation is cheap, fair, or stretched relative to its industry peers.

By Basis Report editorial deskReviewed by Basis Report methodology teamLast updated July 2026Methodology

11 GICS sectors · Click column headers to sortData as of 2026-01-01

Sector ↕	Median EV/EBITDA ↓	25th Pct ↕	75th Pct ↕	N ↕
Technology	22.4×	16.1×	32.8×	9
Real Estate	21.7×	17.3×	28.4×	10
Consumer Discretionary	18.1×	13.8×	26.4×	10
Healthcare	17.3×	13.2×	23.6×	10
Industrials	15.8×	11.7×	20.3×	9
Consumer Staples	14.2×	11.4×	18.1×	10
Utilities	13.1×	11.0×	16.2×	10
Communication Services	12.4×	9.1×	17.8×	9
Financials	11.9×	8.8×	15.6×	8
Materials	11.3×	8.5×	15.1×	10
Energy	7.6×	5.4×	10.2×	10

How to read EV/EBITDA by sector

EV/EBITDA is one of the most widely used valuation multiples in professional equity research and M&A. Unlike P/E, it is capital-structure-neutral — it does not depend on how a company is financed, making cross-sector comparisons more meaningful when companies carry very different debt loads.

The median multiple is the midpoint of the sector's distribution — half the sample trades above it, half below. The 25th and 75th percentile columns show the typical range within each sector. A stock near the 25th percentile may be cheap; one near the 75th may already be pricing in significant growth expectations.

Technology premium explained

Tech stocks command the highest multiples because investors assign value to recurring software revenue, high operating leverage, and long reinvestment runways. A 20× multiple implies the market expects 5–7% annual EBITDA growth sustained for 15+ years at typical discount rates.

Energy discount explained

Energy companies trade at low multiples because EBITDA doesn't capture the high sustaining capital requirements of oil and gas production. Investors discount cyclical earnings and long-term commodity price uncertainty. Free cash flow yield is a more useful metric for many E&P names.

Real estate nuances

REITs report high EV/EBITDA because D&A is a large non-cash item. Most professionals prefer EV/EBITDA adjusted for straight-line rents, or Funds from Operations (FFO) multiples instead. The REIT sector median here reflects raw EBITDA — treat it as directional, not precise.

Financials caveat

EV/EBITDA is a poor fit for banks and insurers — interest expense is a core operating cost, not a financing cost, and EBITDA adds it back misleadingly. Analysts use P/B, P/E, or ROE for financial sector comparisons. The Financials row here includes only companies where EBITDA data is available and positive.

Frequently asked questions

What is EV/EBITDA and why is it used for valuation?

EV/EBITDA compares a company's total enterprise value (market cap + debt − cash) to its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. It's preferred over P/E when comparing companies with different capital structures because it removes the effect of financing decisions. A lower multiple generally signals a cheaper valuation, but must be interpreted within sector context.

Why do EV/EBITDA multiples vary so much across sectors?

High-growth sectors like Technology and Real Estate trade at premium multiples because investors pay for expected future earnings growth. Capital-intensive sectors like Energy trade at discounts because their EBITDA includes high maintenance capital requirements not reflected in the metric. Sector-specific accounting treatments (especially for REITs) also affect comparability.

How should I use these benchmarks in my analysis?

Use the sector median as a sanity check. A stock trading at 8× EV/EBITDA in a sector with a 20× median may be a value opportunity — or a warning sign. Always verify with DCF analysis and check whether the discount is explained by lower growth, higher debt, or impaired fundamentals. Quartile ranges show how wide the spread is within each sector.

Why are some sectors excluded or have smaller sample sizes?

Tickers with negative or zero EBITDA are filtered out — companies with operating losses produce nonsensical EV/EBITDA ratios. Financial companies often get filtered because EBITDA is an unusual metric for banks and insurers; net income or P/B is more standard there. Sample sizes under 5 are noted in the table.

How often is this data updated?

The benchmark table refreshes daily at 03:00 UTC from Yahoo Finance data. The 'as of' date in the table header reflects the most recent data pull. Individual company EV and EBITDA values are trailing twelve months from the latest filings.

How does your stock compare?

Run a comparable company analysis to see how a specific stock stacks up against sector peers on EV/EBITDA, P/E, P/S, and margins. Or calculate the EV/EBITDA multiple for any ticker directly.

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