How much is my electrical contracting business worth in 2026?

An electrical contracting business is worth a multiple of its yearly earnings. That multiple is set mostly by three things: how stable your licensed crew is, who holds the license, and how much of your work repeats. Two businesses with the same profit can sell for very different prices. Deal attorneys at Taft, writing with investment bankers at Cascade Partners, say multiples can differ by 30% to 50% between electrical businesses with similar earnings, based on factors the owner can manage (Taft, July 2026).

How buyers measure your earnings

Smaller, owner-run shops are usually priced on seller’s discretionary earnings (SDE). That’s your profit plus your own pay and personal perks. Larger companies with a management team are priced on EBITDA, which is profit before interest, taxes, and depreciation, with a market salary for the owner taken out.

Which measure applies changes the multiple you’ll hear. An SDE multiple will always look smaller than an EBITDA multiple for the same business, because SDE is the bigger number. Read SDE vs EBITDA if a buyer quotes one and your accountant quotes the other.

Your crew is the asset buyers want most

Licensed electricians are scarce, and buyers know it. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects electrician jobs will grow 9% from 2025 to 2035, with about 72,700 openings each year (BLS Occupational Outlook). Many buyers are buying your business because hiring that crew from scratch would take years.

That means a buyer will look hard at:

• How many licensed electricians you have, and their license levels.
• How long they’ve been with you. Long tenure tells a buyer they’ll likely stay.
• Whether they’re loyal to the company or to you. If the crew follows the owner, a buyer will want you to stay longer.
• Your apprentice pipeline. A business that trains its own people is worth more.

Repeat work vs one-off projects

Buyers pay more for revenue they expect to see again. The Taft bulletin notes that service and maintenance programs are valued at higher multiples than pure project work, “especially where recurring revenue exceeds roughly 25% of the business” (Taft).

Type of work	How buyers see it
Service calls and maintenance contracts	Most valuable. Repeats every year
Repeat work for the same builders or facilities	Valuable if spread across many customers
Bid commercial projects	Worth less. Has to be won again every time
One-off residential jobs	Worth the least unless the volume is very steady

If most of your revenue comes from bids, that doesn’t kill a sale. It does mean the buyer will look closely at your backlog and your win rate.

Customer concentration: the 20% and 50% rule

Electrical contractors often lean on a few general contractors or facility owners. Buyers worry about that. The Taft bulletin gives a simple test: keep your top customer below about 20% of revenue and your top five below about 50% (Taft).

If you’re above those lines, expect the buyer to lower the price or tie part of it to whether those customers stay. See customer concentration risk for what you can do about it.

The license question in Florida

In Florida, an electrical contracting business works under the license of a person called the qualifying agent. If that person leaves, their qualifying status ends when a new qualifier is named, or 60 days after the state board is notified, whichever comes first. The departing qualifier then has 60 days to move or deactivate their license (Florida Statutes §489.522).

For a sale, that means one of three things:

1. The buyer brings their own qualifier. Common with larger companies.
2. Someone on your team qualifies. A licensed manager or senior electrician steps up. This makes your business more valuable.
3. You stay on as qualifier for a while. This is often written into the deal as a paid consulting period.

Work this out before you sign a letter of intent. It’s one of the most common reasons trade deals get delayed.

What else moves the number

Things that help:

• A manager or estimator who bids and runs jobs without you
• Clean job-costing that shows which work makes money
• Bonding capacity and a clean safety record
• Backlog of signed work for the next 6 to 12 months

Things that hurt:

• You do all the estimating and hold all the customer relationships
• Mixed personal and business expenses in the books
• Open disputes, liens, or warranty claims
• Old trucks and equipment that need replacing soon

What to do before you get a number

1. Pull three years of tax returns and profit and loss statements, with your add-backs listed. See what an add-back is.
2. Split revenue by type: service, maintenance contracts, bid projects, residential.
3. List your top 10 customers and their share of revenue.
4. List every licensed electrician, their license level, and years with you.
5. Decide who will qualify the business after you leave.

Then talk to a broker who has sold electrical contractors before. They’ll know which buyers are active and what they’re paying for crews like yours. If you’re in Florida, start with our guide to finding the right broker to sell your electrical business. For more on value, browse the Business Value section.

For owners in Florida, we can find the best broker in Florida for your industry and size. It’s free, and there’s no obligation.