Aerospace & Defense valuation multiples
Worldwide, the median listed aerospace and defense company was valued at 20.8x EBITDA and 36.9x normalised earnings at 30 September 2026. By region, the median was 19.5x in the United States, 16.1x in Europe and 29.5x in Emerging Asia.
Global 194 listed aerospace and defense companies at 30 September 2026
median
median
median
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*Excludes companies with negative EBITDA. **Excludes companies with negative normalised earnings. ***Excludes companies with negative operating profit (EBIT). How the figures are built
| EV/EBITDA | P/E | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region | Companies | Median | Aggregate | Median | Aggregate |
| Global | 141 | 20.8x | 20.6x | 36.9x | 40.2x |
| United States | 36 | 19.5x | 21.2x | 32.3x | 42.2x |
| Europe | 39 | 16.1x | 18.7x | 33.5x | 32.9x |
| Japan | 1 | – | n/m | – | n/m |
| Emerging Asia | 55 | 29.5x | 26.8x | 44.6x | n/m |
Companies: those in the EV/EBITDA median. Median: the typical aerospace and defense company. Aggregate: the industry as a whole, total value over total revenue, earnings or book value, with larger companies weighing more and loss-makers included. Larger companies weigh more in the aggregate, so it can differ from the median. n/m: not meaningful, or too few companies. How both are calculated
Valuation multiples by sector and region
What listed companies trade on worldwide, by region and sector, in ten pages. It may be shared and quoted with attribution to Siblis Research.
- Market multiples for eight regions: EV/EBITDA, P/E, EV/Sales, P/B
- 13 sectors by region: EV/EBITDA and P/E
- The most and least expensive industries
- Twelve quarters of history
| Multiple | Global | United States | Europe | Japan | Emerging Asia |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EV/EBITDAEnterprise value to EBITDA; share-based pay counted as an expense. The key multiple for aerospace and defense companies. | 20.8x | 19.5x | 16.1x | – | 29.5x |
| EV/EBITEnterprise value to operating profit, after depreciation. | 27.0x | 25.6x | 24.2x | – | 42.1x |
| P/ENormalised earnings: one-off items removed. | 36.9x | 32.3x | 33.5x | – | 44.6x |
| P/FCFMarket value to free cash flow. | 27.8x | 32.2x | 28.5x | – | 22.1x |
| Ratio | Global | United States | Europe | Japan | Emerging Asia |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EBIT margin | 9.0% | 10.1% | 10.7% | – | 5.9% |
| EBITDA margin | 13.5% | 13.7% | 16.1% | – | 11.9% |
| Revenue growth | 14.9% | 18.4% | 14.5% | – | 13.2% |
| Return on invested capital | 7.4% | 8.9% | 16.2% | – | 3.9% |
Each ratio is the median of the companies that report the figure. Revenue growth compares the last twelve months with the twelve months before.
Global
- General Electric CoUS
- RTX CorpUS
- Airbus Group SEFrance
- Rolls-Royce Holdings plcUK
- Safran SAFrance
of 194 companies
United States
- General Electric CoUS
- RTX CorpUS
- Boeing CoUS
- Lockheed Martin CorpUS
- Howmet Aerospace IncUS
of 55 companies
Europe
- Airbus Group SEFrance
- Rolls-Royce Holdings plcUK
- Safran SAFrance
- BAE Systems plcUK
- Thales SAFrance
of 47 companies
Japan
- Synspective IncJapan
- Astroscale Holdings IncJapan
- Ispace IncJapan
- Imasen Electric Industrial Co LtdJapan
of 4 companies
Emerging Asia
- Hanwha Aerospace Co LtdKorea
- Bharat Electronics LtdIndia
- AVIC Chengdu Aircraft Co LtdChina
- Avic Shenyang Aircraft Co LtdChina
- AECC Aviation Power Co LtdChina
of 74 companies
Subscribers get the figures of all 194 companies at 30 Sep 2026, and of every company in earlier quarters, delisted ones included, with their key multiples, size band, last reporting date and data flags. Every median and aggregate can be checked company by company, and every company figure traced back to that company's own filings.
| Sub-industry | Covers | EV/EBITDA | P/E |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aerospace | Commercial aircraft, engines, aerostructures, aftermarket, space launch | See plans | See plans |
| Defense | Defense primes, defense electronics, munitions, government mission systems | See plans | See plans |
Global medians, 30 Sep 2026
Global median EV/EBITDA, 12 quarters
Aerospace & Defense in the full data
High multiples, rising demand
The global median EV/EBITDA rose from 18.1x in Q4 2023 to a high of 24.8x in Q3 2025, and stands at 20.8x. Growth supports it: the median company grew its revenue by 14.9% over the last twelve months, and the median US company by 18.4%.
Europe: the lowest multiple on the highest returns
European companies trade at a median 16.1x EBITDA, below the United States' 19.5x, on a median return on invested capital of 16.2%, the highest of the regions. Emerging Asia is the reverse: the highest median multiple, 29.5x, and the lowest return, 3.9%. Japan has 4 listed companies above USD 100m, too few for a meaningful median.
Size
Micro caps (USD 100–300m) trade at a median 12.7x EBITDA, against 20.8x for small caps and 22.8x for companies above USD 10bn. Prime contractors, engine makers and component suppliers are all in this industry; for a supplier, EV/EBIT, which charges depreciation, is the usual cross-check.
What EV/EBITDA multiple do aerospace and defense companies trade at?
The median listed aerospace and defense company traded at 20.8x EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) at 30 September 2026, across 141 companies above USD 100m; the aggregate was 20.6x. United States 19.5x, Europe 16.1x, Emerging Asia 29.5x.
What is the median P/E of aerospace and defense companies?
36.9x at 30 September 2026, across 112 companies; the aggregate was 40.2x.
Should a valuation use the median or the aggregate?
The median, with the 25th and 75th percentiles of a peer group close to the target in sub-industry and size. The aggregate describes the industry as an investor holding all of it would see it, and it is pulled towards the largest companies.
Do these figures include private aerospace and defense companies?
No. They cover listed companies with a market value above USD 100m. Data for US companies of USD 25–100m is available to subscribers as a separate universe.
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Companies with a market value above USD 100m whose main business is making aircraft, engines, defense equipment and their components, listed on the largest stock markets in every region. Delisted companies are included for the dates they were listed, so past figures carry no survivorship bias.
Financial statements come from official filing databases where they exist, such as SEC EDGAR in the United States and EDINET in Japan, and otherwise from the companies' own published reports.
194 aerospace and defense companies at 30 September 2026. The number changes every quarter as companies list, delist or change industry. Companies with accounts more than about nine months old, and holding companies whose results are mainly revaluations of their investments, are left out.
The typical company: each counts once, from at least five values. A company with negative EBITDA, operating profit or normalised earnings is left out of the median of that multiple, as are multiples above 50x for EV/Sales or 100x for earnings multiples. So each median has its own number of companies.
The industry as a whole: total value over total revenue or earnings in US dollars, each company weighted by its free float, loss-makers included. Where one company is more than half the industry's value, the aggregate mostly describes that company; use the median.
Each figure uses only the financial statements public on the valuation date, over the last twelve months. Later restatements never change it.
Market value plus debt, preferred equity and minority interests, less cash. Lease liabilities are included on the IFRS 16 basis.
Restructuring, deal and litigation costs are added back; share-based pay stays an expense. Adjusted EBITDA adds share-based pay back as well.
Net earnings with one-off items removed, such as impairments, restructuring costs and disposal gains. The P/E uses these, never reported earnings.
Cite this page
Siblis Research (2026). Aerospace & Defense Valuation Multiples [Data set]. Valuation date 30 September 2026. siblisresearch.com/valuation-multiples-by-industry/aerospace-defense/
Charts on this page may be reproduced with attribution to Siblis Research and a link to this page.
@misc{siblis_aerospace_defense_multiples,
title = {Aerospace & Defense Valuation Multiples},
author = {{Siblis Research}},
year = {2026},
note = {Valuation date 30 September 2026},
url = {https://siblisresearch.com/valuation-multiples-by-industry/aerospace-defense/}
}