3.0× The typical HVAC or electrical contractor for sale in the US asks 3.0 times its yearly cash flow.
We read 652 HVAC and electrical contractors listed for sale on a major online marketplace and compared each asking price with the cash flow its seller reported.
The findings in eight sentences.
- The middle half of HVAC and electrical contractors ask between 2.0 and 3.8 times their yearly cash flow.
- HVAC and electrical contractors ask more than the typical business for sale, which asks 2.6 times.
- The typical asking price for an HVAC or electrical contractor is $754,000.
- Measured against revenue, the typical HVAC or electrical contractor asks 0.7 times its yearly sales.
- 25% of HVAC and electrical contractors for sale offer seller financing, against 22% overall.
- 62% of owners who say why they're selling are retiring.
- 5% of HVAC and electrical contractors for sale show no revenue, cash flow or EBITDA, against 18% overall.
- 14% of the HVAC and electrical contractors for sale are listed in Florida, 9% in Texas and 7% in California.
Get the next study by email
Our new studies by email: what we found and the data behind it.
Unsubscribe from any email. How we use your address
Of the building and home service industries, HVAC and electrical contractors tie for the most, at 3.0 times.
Insulation contractors ask the least, 1.9 times their yearly cash flow.
- Concrete contractors: median 3.0×, middle half from 2.5× to 4.0×
- HVAC and electrical contractors: median 3.0×, middle half from 2.0× to 3.8×
- Roofing contractors: median 3.0×, middle half from 2.2× to 3.8×
- Plumbing and construction contractors: median 2.7×, middle half from 1.7× to 3.6×
- Landscaping and lawn care businesses: median 2.7×, middle half from 1.9× to 3.4×
- Painting contractors: median 2.2×, middle half from 1.6× to 2.8×
- Flooring contractors: median 2.2×, middle half from 1.7× to 3.0×
- Cleaning businesses: median 2.2×, middle half from 1.3× to 3.0×
- Pool service businesses: median 2.2×, middle half from 1.1× to 2.9×
- Restoration and remediation companies: median 2.0×, middle half from 1.3× to 2.9×
- Insulation contractors: median 1.9×, middle half from 1.4× to 2.8×
fulkersonadvisors.com
In 2019, before ChatGPT, the median asking multiple for HVAC and electrical contractors was 2.7× cash flow. Measured the same way today, it is up 9%. How every industry moved since
Every industryPrivate Equity in HVAC and Plumbing: 0.9% of ContractorsWhat changes after private equity buys an HVAC company
53% of HVAC and electrical contractors ask between two and four times their yearly cash flow.
25% ask less than two, and 22% more than four.
fulkersonadvisors.com
HVAC and electrical contractors ask 2.3 to 3.4 times at each size.
The typical ask is 2.9 times below $100,000 of yearly cash flow, 2.3 times at $100,000 to $250,000, 3.1 times at $250,000 to $500,000 and 3.4 times at $500,000 to $1 million.
- Under $100k: median 2.9×, middle half from 1.7× to 3.6×
- $100k to $250k: median 2.3×, middle half from 1.6× to 3.3×
- $250k to $500k: median 3.1×, middle half from 2.3× to 3.8×
- $500k to $1M: median 3.4×, middle half from 2.8× to 4.5×
fulkersonadvisors.com
What HVAC and electrical contractors for sale say they run on.
13% of HVAC and electrical contractors for sale say what they run on, and 82% of those name scheduling, dispatch or industry software. The brand named most is QuickBooks, for accounting. 4% of HVAC and electrical contractors for sale pitch technology as a way to grow.
- Scheduling, dispatch or industry software: 82%
- Accounting or payroll software: 25%
- Online booking, ordering or store: 9%
- Point-of-sale or payment system: 4%
fulkersonadvisors.com
Each bar is a share of the listings that say what they run on. A listing can name several.
What an HVAC or electrical contractor like yours would ask.
The middle half of similar listings ask
$637,000 to $1,040,000
The typical one asks $853,000, 3.1× its yearly cash flow.
Based on HVAC and electrical contractors with $250k to $500k of yearly cash flow. These are asking prices, not sale prices or appraisals.
After the close.
We write the software a newly bought business runs on, one process at a time, such as quoting, scheduling or billing, and the new owner keeps the code. How we work with buyers and operating partners.
The data.
We read the listings on September 24, 2026, and their full details from September 25 to 30, 2026.
Questions
What multiple of cash flow do HVAC and electrical contractors sell for?
HVAC and electrical contractors listed for sale in the US ask a median 3.0 times their yearly cash flow (seller's discretionary earnings), and the middle half ask between 2.0 and 3.8 times. Sale prices usually come in lower.
How much does it cost to buy an HVAC or electrical contractor?
The typical HVAC or electrical contractor for sale asks $754,000, and the middle half ask between $346,000 and $1,600,000. Sale prices usually come in lower.
How many HVAC and electrical contractors for sale offer seller financing?
25% of HVAC and electrical contractors for sale offer seller financing, against 22% overall.
What multiple of revenue do HVAC and electrical contractors ask?
The typical HVAC or electrical contractor for sale asks 0.7 times its yearly sales, and the middle half ask between 0.4 and 1.0 times.
What software do HVAC and electrical contractors use?
13% of HVAC and electrical contractors for sale say in their listing what they run on. Of those, 82% name scheduling, dispatch or industry software, 25% accounting or payroll software, 9% online booking, ordering or an online store and 4% a point-of-sale or payment system. The brand named most is QuickBooks, for accounting.
Why are HVAC and electrical contractors for sale?
62% of owners who give a reason are retiring. 17% are moving on to other businesses or interests, and 8% are relocating.
How we did it
We read every listing on a major US online marketplace for businesses for sale on September 24, 2026, and went back to each one from September 25 to 30, 2026 for its full details. This page covers the 652 established HVAC and electrical contractors among them. 502 show both an asking price and a cash flow, and 482 of those are left after the exclusions below.
Older listings use a flat list of named categories, and newer ones a two-level list whose subcategories have no names. A listing without its own photo shows its category's default photo. Each default photo almost always shows up in a single newer subcategory, so each named category joins the subcategory where its photo appears. Listings filed as HVAC businesses and electrical and mechanical are on this page.
A multiple is the asking price divided by the seller's discretionary earnings the listing reports. We left out multiples below 0.3 or above 20, and listings whose price includes the property. Prices and cash flows on this page come from the listings with a multiple. These are asking prices, and a business usually sells for less than it asks. The full method.
The section on what HVAC and electrical contractors run on counts what listings say. A page has it when at least 30 of its listings say what they run on.
Cite this page
Fulkerson Advisors (2026). What HVAC and electrical contractors for sale ask. From What Small Businesses for Sale Ask: 39,587 US Listings, September 2026. https://www.fulkersonadvisors.com/research/small-business-multiples/hvac-electrical-contractors
Use any of these numbers or charts. Credit Fulkerson Advisors and link to this page. The data is under a CC BY 4.0 license.