Software valuation multiples
Worldwide, the median listed software company was valued at 4.0x revenue and 15.8x EBITDA at 30 September 2026. By region, the median was 3.9x in the United States, 3.2x in Europe, 3.1x in Japan and 5.6x in Emerging Asia.
Global 490 listed software companies at 30 September 2026
median
median
median
median
*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. **Excludes companies with negative EBITDA. ***Excludes companies with negative normalised earnings. How the figures are built
| EV/Sales | EV/EBITDA | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region | Companies | Median | Aggregate | Median | Aggregate |
| Global | 455 | 4.0x | 9.3x | 15.8x | 22.7x |
| United States | 138 | 3.9x | 10.3x | 19.0x | 23.5x |
| Europe | 74 | 3.2x | 4.6x | 12.1x | 15.1x |
| Japan | 42 | 3.1x | 4.0x | 9.4x | 14.8x |
| Emerging Asia | 159 | 5.6x | 4.7x | 27.0x | n/m |
Companies: those in the EV/Sales median. Median: the typical software 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 the United States, Europe and Japan the larger companies trade on higher multiples than the typical one, so the aggregate sits above the median. Worldwide and in the United States and Europe 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/SalesEnterprise value to revenue. The key multiple for software companies. | 4.0x | 3.9x | 3.2x | 3.1x | 5.6x |
| EV/EBITDAEnterprise value to EBITDA; share-based pay counted as an expense. | 15.8x | 19.0x | 12.1x | 9.4x | 27.0x |
| EV/Adj. EBITDAShare-based pay added back, as in company-reported adjusted EBITDA. | 13.9x | 13.9x | 11.9x | 9.4x | 25.9x |
| P/ENormalised earnings: one-off items removed. | 28.1x | 35.9x | 23.2x | 20.4x | 28.8x |
| P/FCFMarket value to free cash flow. | 17.7x | 16.8x | 17.0x | 18.0x | 21.6x |
| Ratio | Global | United States | Europe | Japan | Emerging Asia |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth | 9.5% | 13.3% | 7.1% | 15.1% | 2.0% |
| Gross margin | 62.4% | 73.4% | 47.6% | 60.7% | 45.8% |
| EBITDA margin | 13.3% | 11.4% | 21.2% | 25.0% | 6.2% |
| Free cash flow margin | 13.1% | 21.2% | 13.5% | 17.6% | 2.0% |
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
- Microsoft CorpUS
- Palantir Technologies IncUS
- Oracle CorpUS
- Palo Alto Networks IncUS
- CrowdStrike Holdings IncUS
of 490 companies
United States
- Microsoft CorpUS
- Palantir Technologies IncUS
- Oracle CorpUS
- Palo Alto Networks IncUS
- CrowdStrike Holdings IncUS
of 144 companies
Europe
- SAP SEGermany
- Dassault Systemes SEFrance
- Amadeus IT Group SASpain
- Sage Group plcUK
- Nemetschek AGGermany
of 86 companies
Japan
- OBIC Co LtdJapan
- PayPay CorpJapan
- Oracle Corp JapanJapan
- Trend Micro IncJapan
- Obic Business Consultants Co LtdJapan
of 43 companies
Emerging Asia
- Beijing Kingsoft Office Software IncChina
- Iflytek Co LtdChina
- 360 Security Technology IncChina
- Shanghai Baosight Software Co LtdChina
- Empyrean Technology Co LtdChina
of 164 companies
Subscribers get the figures of all 490 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/Sales | EV/EBITDA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enterprise Applications | Horizontal business applications: CRM, ERP, HR, finance, collaboration, marketing, analytics | See plans | See plans |
| Vertical Software | Software built for one industry: financial services, health, real estate, government, construction ... | See plans | See plans |
| Infrastructure, Data & DevOps Software | Databases, data platforms, cloud infrastructure, IT operations, developer tools, operating systems | See plans | See plans |
| Cybersecurity | Security software and services: network, endpoint, identity, cloud security | See plans | See plans |
| Design & Engineering Software | CAD, simulation, EDA, PLM and creative / design software | See plans | See plans |
Global medians, 30 Sep 2026
Global median EV/Sales, 12 quarters
Software in the full data
Revenue sets the price
Software is valued on revenue because much of the industry has little profit to value. Of the 479 companies in the statistics, 455 have a meaningful EV/Sales, against 319 with a meaningful EV/EBITDA and 256 with a meaningful P/E; 24% have negative EBITDA.
The median gross margin is 62.4% and the median EBITDA margin 13.3%. The difference is mostly sales, marketing and development spending, which is why two companies with the same revenue can trade at very different EBITDA multiples and similar revenue multiples.
The largest companies carry the industry's value
Over twelve quarters the global median EV/Sales moved from 4.9x in Q4 2023 to 4.0x, between a low of 3.6x in Q2 2026 and a high of 5.0x in Q2 2025. The aggregate, which weights companies by their value, went from 9.7x to 9.3x: the industry as a whole is valued at more than twice the typical company's revenue multiple.
The gap is size. The median large-cap software company (above USD 10bn) trades at 7.5x revenue, mid caps at 4.9x, small caps at 4.1x and micro caps at 2.0x. For a valuation, the size band of the peer group matters as much as the industry.
United States: high gross margins, heavy share-based pay
The median US software company has a gross margin of 73.4%, against 47.6% in Europe, and pays 10.6% of its revenue in shares. That cost is why the EBITDA definition matters more in the United States than anywhere else. With share-based pay counted as an expense, the median US EV/EBITDA is 19.0x; with it added back, as in the adjusted EBITDA most US companies report, it is 13.9x. In Europe the two are 12.1x and 11.9x. A target that reports adjusted EBITDA belongs next to the adjusted multiple.
The US aggregate EV/Sales of 10.3x is no guide to a typical target: one company is 56% of the group's value.
Europe and Japan: lower revenue multiples, higher margins
European software trades at a median 3.2x revenue, against 3.7x in Q4 2023, with a median EBITDA margin of 21.2%. Japanese software trades at 3.1x. It has the highest median EBITDA margin of the four regions, 25.0%, and the lowest median EV/EBITDA, 9.4x.
Emerging Asia: the highest revenue multiple on the thinnest margins
Emerging Asian software carries the highest median EV/Sales of the four regions, 5.6x, with median revenue growth of 2.0%, a median EBITDA margin of 6.2% and a median free cash flow margin of 2.0%. Its median EV/EBITDA, 27.0x, is also the highest of the four, for the same reason: the profit underneath the revenue is thin.
Using these figures in a valuation
For the guideline public company method, the starting point is the median and interquartile range of a peer group, not the aggregate. Three choices move the result most: the sub-industry, the size band and the EBITDA definition. A design-software company and an enterprise-applications company are both software, and they are not valued alike.
What EV/Sales multiple do software companies trade at?
The median listed software company traded at 4.0x revenue (EV/Sales) at 30 September 2026, across 455 companies above USD 100m; the aggregate was 9.3x. United States 3.9x, Europe 3.2x, Japan 3.1x, Emerging Asia 5.6x.
What is the median EV/EBITDA of software companies?
15.8x at 30 September 2026, across 319 companies; the aggregate was 22.7x.
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 software 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.
Global Equity Valuations Database
- Question
- Is this market cheap or dear against its own history?
- Covers
- Stock market indices and their sectors, back to 1970 on the longest series
- Delivered
- Daily, through an API, with a monthly Excel dashboard
Siblis Global Valuation Multiples
- Question
- What does a company like my target trade on, and who are its listed peers?
- Covers
- 70 industries, 139 sub-industries and about 25,000 companies, delisted ones included
- Delivered
- Excel reports for every quarter end, licensed for client work
Every industry, at any valuation date
One subscription covers all 70 industries and 139 sub-industries in eight regions: about 25,000 companies, delisted ones included, at every quarter end since Q1 2009.
Siblis Research in research and the press
Siblis Research market valuation data appears in peer-reviewed journals, central bank publications and the financial press.
Companies with a market value above USD 100m whose main business is developing and selling software, from enterprise applications to security and design tools, 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.
490 software 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). Software Valuation Multiples [Data set]. Valuation date 30 September 2026. siblisresearch.com/valuation-multiples-by-industry/software/
Charts on this page may be reproduced with attribution to Siblis Research and a link to this page.
@misc{siblis_software_multiples,
title = {Software Valuation Multiples},
author = {{Siblis Research}},
year = {2026},
note = {Valuation date 30 September 2026},
url = {https://siblisresearch.com/valuation-multiples-by-industry/software/}
}