3.2× The typical metal fabricator for sale in the US asks 3.2 times its yearly cash flow.
We read 139 metal fabricators 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 metal fabricators ask between 2.5 and 4.5 times their yearly cash flow.
- Metal fabricators ask more than the typical business for sale, which asks 2.6 times.
- The typical asking price for a metal fabricator is $799,000.
- Measured against revenue, the typical metal fabricator asks 0.8 times its yearly sales.
- 22% of metal fabricators for sale offer seller financing, the same as overall.
- 84% of owners who say why they're selling are retiring.
- 6% of metal fabricators for sale show no revenue, cash flow or EBITDA, against 18% overall.
- 12% of the metal fabricators for sale are listed in Ohio, 10% in California and 6% in Florida.
Of the manufacturing and wholesale industries, metal fabricators ask more than most.
Wholesale distributors ask the most, 3.3 times their yearly cash flow, and furniture manufacturers the least, 2.4 times.
- Wholesale distributors: median 3.3×, middle half from 2.5× to 4.5×
- Metal fabricators: median 3.2×, middle half from 2.5× to 4.5×
- Sign makers, machine shops and fabricators: median 3.2×, middle half from 2.4× to 4.1×
- Clothing and fabric manufacturers: median 2.7×, middle half from 2.1× to 3.3×
- Food manufacturers: median 2.6×, middle half from 2.1× to 3.9×
- Furniture manufacturers: median 2.4×, middle half from 2.2× to 3.2×
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58% of metal fabricators ask between two and four times their yearly cash flow.
31% ask more than four, and 11% less than two.
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What a metal fabricator like yours would ask.
The middle half of similar listings ask
$629,000 to $1,130,000
The typical one asks $801,000, 3.2× its yearly cash flow.
Based on metal fabricators of every size. Too few this size are listed. 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 metal fabricators sell for?
Metal fabricators listed for sale in the US ask a median 3.2 times their yearly cash flow (seller's discretionary earnings), and the middle half ask between 2.5 and 4.5 times. Sale prices usually come in lower.
How much does it cost to buy a metal fabricator?
The typical metal fabricator for sale asks $799,000, and the middle half ask between $490,000 and $1,500,000. Sale prices usually come in lower.
How many metal fabricators for sale offer seller financing?
22% of metal fabricators for sale offer seller financing, the same as overall.
What multiple of revenue do metal fabricators ask?
The typical metal fabricator for sale asks 0.8 times its yearly sales, and the middle half ask between 0.5 and 1.2 times.
Why are metal fabricators for sale?
84% of owners who give a reason are retiring. 10% are moving on to other businesses or interests, and 5% are selling for health reasons.
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 139 established metal fabricators among them. 88 show both an asking price and a cash flow, and 73 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.
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.
Cite this page
Fulkerson Advisors (2026). What metal fabricators for sale ask. From What Small Businesses for Sale Ask: 39,587 US Listings, September 2026. https://www.fulkersonadvisors.com/research/small-business-multiples/metal-fabricators
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.