Retail valuation multiples
Worldwide, the median listed retailer was valued at 7.8x EBITDA and 15.7x normalised earnings at 30 September 2026. By region, the median was 7.3x in the United States, 7.2x in Europe, 8.1x in Japan and 9.8x in Emerging Asia.
Global 443 listed retailers at 30 September 2026
median
median
median
median
*Excludes companies with negative EBITDA. **Excludes companies with negative normalised earnings. ***Excludes companies with stale accounts or results driven mainly by revaluations of investment holdings, and EV/Sales above 50x, typically early-stage companies with little revenue. How the figures are built
| EV/EBITDA | P/E | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region | Companies | Median | Aggregate | Median | Aggregate |
| Global | 381 | 7.8x | 10.5x | 15.7x | 20.1x |
| United States | 75 | 7.3x | 11.1x | 15.6x | 19.7x |
| Europe | 71 | 7.2x | 8.8x | 17.3x | 22.5x |
| Japan | 72 | 8.1x | 9.2x | 14.0x | 19.2x |
| Emerging Asia | 104 | 9.8x | 9.9x | 19.3x | 26.6x |
Companies: those in the EV/EBITDA median. Median: the typical retailer. 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 the United States and Europe the larger companies trade on higher multiples than the typical one, so the aggregate sits above 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 retailers. | 7.8x | 7.3x | 7.2x | 8.1x | 9.8x |
| P/ENormalised earnings: one-off items removed. | 15.7x | 15.6x | 17.3x | 14.0x | 19.3x |
| EV/SalesEnterprise value to revenue. | 0.9x | 0.8x | 0.8x | 0.6x | 1.4x |
| P/FCFMarket value to free cash flow. | 10.9x | 13.1x | 6.0x | 17.3x | 9.5x |
| Ratio | Global | United States | Europe | Japan | Emerging Asia |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gross margin | 36.4% | 38.4% | 32.9% | 42.6% | 31.5% |
| EBITDA margin | 11.1% | 12.4% | 11.5% | 8.0% | 12.9% |
| Revenue growth | 4.1% | 4.8% | 5.1% | 5.7% | 0.1% |
| SG&A to revenue | 26.2% | 26.8% | 12.2% | 35.7% | 10.7% |
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
- Home Depot IncUS
- Industria de Diseno Textil SASpain
- TJX Companies IncUS
- Lowe's Companies IncUS
- Ross Stores IncUS
of 443 companies
United States
- Home Depot IncUS
- TJX Companies IncUS
- Lowe's Companies IncUS
- Ross Stores IncUS
- O'Reilly Automotive IncUS
of 83 companies
Europe
- Industria de Diseno Textil SASpain
- Next plcUK
- Marks and Spencer Group plcUK
- D'Ieteren Group SABelgium
- Kingfisher plcUK
of 84 companies
Japan
- AEON Co LtdJapan
- Pan Pacific International Holdings CorpJapan
- Nitori Holdings Co LtdJapan
- Sanrio Co LtdJapan
- Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings LtdJapan
of 82 companies
Emerging Asia
- China International Travel Service Corp LtdChina
- Trent LtdIndia
- Hotai Motor Co LtdTaiwan
- Central Retail Corp PCLThailand
- Vipshop Holdings LtdChina
of 130 companies
Subscribers get the figures of all 443 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broadline Retail | Department stores, discount and general merchandise retail | See plans | See plans |
| Apparel Retail | Apparel and accessories retail | See plans | See plans |
| Home Improvement & Furnishings Retail | Home improvement and home furnishing stores | See plans | See plans |
| Automotive Retail | Auto dealers, auto parts retail, gas stations | See plans | See plans |
| Specialty Retail | Electronics and other specialty stores; online-first retailers selling their own inventory | See plans | See plans |
Global medians, 30 Sep 2026
Global median EV/EBITDA, 12 quarters
Retail in the full data
Size is the biggest difference
Retailers above USD 10bn trade at a median 12.8x EBITDA, mid caps at 7.5x, small caps at 7.8x and micro caps at 6.3x. In the United States the gap is the same: 12.5x for the largest retailers and 6.5x for mid caps. The aggregate, 10.5x, sits above the median for the same reason.
Leases
Retailers lease most of their stores, so leverage is better measured with leases included. The median net debt to EBITDA is 1.6x; with lease liabilities, 1.6x. Enterprise value here includes lease liabilities, and EBITDA excludes rent, so the multiple compares retailers that lease and retailers that own on the same basis.
By region
The regional medians are close together: 7.3x in the United States, 7.2x in Europe, 8.1x in Japan and 9.8x in Emerging Asia, the highest, despite median revenue growth of 0.1%, the lowest of the four. The global median, 7.8x, is at its lowest in the twelve quarters.
What EV/EBITDA multiple do retailers trade at?
The median listed retailer traded at 7.8x EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) at 30 September 2026, across 381 companies above USD 100m; the aggregate was 10.5x. United States 7.3x, Europe 7.2x, Japan 8.1x, Emerging Asia 9.8x.
What is the median P/E of retailers?
15.7x at 30 September 2026, across 328 companies; the aggregate was 20.1x.
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 retailers?
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 store-based and online retail of consumer goods, from department stores to specialty and home-improvement retailers, 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.
443 retailers 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). Retail Valuation Multiples [Data set]. Valuation date 30 September 2026. siblisresearch.com/valuation-multiples-by-industry/retail/
Charts on this page may be reproduced with attribution to Siblis Research and a link to this page.
@misc{siblis_retail_multiples,
title = {Retail Valuation Multiples},
author = {{Siblis Research}},
year = {2026},
note = {Valuation date 30 September 2026},
url = {https://siblisresearch.com/valuation-multiples-by-industry/retail/}
}