Professional Services valuation multiples
Worldwide, the median listed professional services company was valued at 9.0x EBITDA and 18.1x normalised earnings at 30 September 2026. By region, the median was 10.9x in the United States, 9.6x in Europe, 7.0x in Japan and 9.2x in Emerging Asia.
Global 210 listed professional services companies at 30 September 2026
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 | 184 | 9.0x | 13.7x | 18.1x | 23.5x |
| United States | 53 | 10.9x | 12.4x | 20.1x | 20.2x |
| Europe | 45 | 9.6x | 12.1x | 20.0x | 21.4x |
| Japan | 52 | 7.0x | 25.1x | 13.8x | 40.4x |
| Emerging Asia | 26 | 9.2x | 13.9x | 22.0x | n/m |
Companies: those in the EV/EBITDA median. Median: the typical professional services 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. Worldwide and in Europe, Japan and Emerging Asia the larger companies trade on higher multiples than the typical one, so the aggregate sits above the median. In Japan one company is more than half the industry's value, so the aggregate mostly describes that company. 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 professional services companies. | 9.0x | 10.9x | 9.6x | 7.0x | 9.2x |
| EV/EBITEnterprise value to operating profit, after depreciation. | 12.5x | 16.0x | 15.9x | 8.4x | 9.1x |
| P/ENormalised earnings: one-off items removed. | 18.1x | 20.1x | 20.0x | 13.8x | 22.0x |
| P/FCFMarket value to free cash flow. | 14.1x | 12.6x | 12.2x | 14.7x | 20.6x |
| Ratio | Global | United States | Europe | Japan | Emerging Asia |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EBIT margin | 9.3% | 8.3% | 6.6% | 10.2% | 11.4% |
| EBITDA margin | 12.7% | 12.4% | 11.4% | 12.5% | 16.3% |
| Revenue growth | 5.6% | 6.8% | 1.6% | 6.4% | 5.2% |
| Return on invested capital | 13.1% | 11.0% | 9.8% | 22.3% | 10.3% |
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
- Recruit Holdings Co LtdJapan
- Automatic Data Processing IncUS
- Relx plcUK
- Paychex IncUS
- Experian plcUK
of 210 companies
United States
- Automatic Data Processing IncUS
- Paychex IncUS
- Verisk Analytics IncUS
- Broadridge Financial Solutions IncUS
- Equifax IncUS
of 61 companies
Europe
- Relx plcUK
- Experian plcUK
- SGS SASwitzerland
- Bureau Veritas SAFrance
- Intertek Group plcUK
of 49 companies
Japan
- Recruit Holdings Co LtdJapan
- Persol Holdings Co LtdJapan
- MEITEC Group Holdings IncJapan
- SMS Co LtdJapan
- Open Up Group IncJapan
of 59 companies
Emerging Asia
- Centre Testing International Group Co LtdChina
- GRG Metrology & Test Group Co LtdChina
- Beijing Lanxum Tech CoChina
- Beijing Urban Rural Commercial Group Co LtdChina
- CATARC Automotive Proving Ground Co LtdChina
of 32 companies
Subscribers get the figures of all 210 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Staffing & HR Services | Staffing, payroll, HR outsourcing | See plans | See plans |
| Research & Consulting | Consulting, research, testing and certification | See plans | See plans |
| Business Process Outsourcing | Outsourced business processes and data processing (payments: Technology) | See plans | See plans |
Global medians, 30 Sep 2026
Global median EV/EBITDA, 12 quarters
Professional Services in the full data
Lower in every region
The global median EV/EBITDA has fallen from 11.4x in Q4 2023 to 9.0x (−21%), and every region's median is lower than at the start of the period. The aggregate, 13.7x, stays well above the median: the largest companies, many of them payroll, data and information businesses with recurring revenue, trade on higher multiples than staffing and consulting firms.
Size
The median rises with size: 14.0x EBITDA for companies above USD 10bn, 11.2x for mid caps, 8.9x for small caps and 7.1x for micro caps.
Japan: one company
Japanese professional services companies trade at a median 7.0x, the lowest of the four regions, on the highest median return on invested capital, 22.3%. The Japanese aggregate of 25.1x describes one company, which is 91% of the group's value, and is no guide to a Japanese target.
What EV/EBITDA multiple do professional services companies trade at?
The median listed professional services company traded at 9.0x EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) at 30 September 2026, across 184 companies above USD 100m; the aggregate was 13.7x. United States 10.9x, Europe 9.6x, Japan 7.0x, Emerging Asia 9.2x.
What is the median P/E of professional services companies?
18.1x at 30 September 2026, across 165 companies; the aggregate was 23.5x.
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 professional services 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 staffing, consulting, research, payroll and business information services, 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.
210 professional services 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). Professional Services Valuation Multiples [Data set]. Valuation date 30 September 2026. siblisresearch.com/valuation-multiples-by-industry/professional-services/
Charts on this page may be reproduced with attribution to Siblis Research and a link to this page.
@misc{siblis_professional_services_multiples,
title = {Professional Services Valuation Multiples},
author = {{Siblis Research}},
year = {2026},
note = {Valuation date 30 September 2026},
url = {https://siblisresearch.com/valuation-multiples-by-industry/professional-services/}
}