Valuation multiples across different industries - Similar scenarios for different industries?

When calculating multiples for comparable company analysis, which multiples are used specifically for certain industries and which are specifically not used for certain industries? I know that EBITDA isn't used for financial institutions because a large portion of their revenues comes from interest. Are there any similar scenarios for different industries? Thanks

57 Comments
 

Second what analystforhire mentioned above. The most typical metrics involve Enterprise Value to compare across industries. There are things like EV/Total Subscribers for a telecom company or EV/3P Reserves for oil&gas companies. Other than EV, there are almost always a few very niche numbers that are really only observed on an industry-by-industry basis. For example, in the regulated utility space you could look at $/mW or in the metals & mining space you could observe price per ___ (e.g. "ton of steel").

Also, if you were looking specifically into something like commercial banks... you mentioned that they don't trade off of EBITDA, which is generally true. I would venture a guess that you'd want to look at something like Price/Tangible Book Value in this environment.

"You've got to belong to it."
 
Best Response

Not just valuation multiples vary across industry, but also certain operating metrics matter more in certain industries than others.

For example, inventory turns is quite important in retail, MLR (medical loss ratio) is really important in health insurance.

Also, you should still use the other traditional multiples. For example, you could find that EV/EBITDA is the same, but that EV/# total beds is lower (so the business is making less EBITDA per bed, i.e. less efficient than competitors). So if you were a value-add shop or a strategic with better operating efficiency, you could say "hey, I'm going to buy that business, improve operations, and capture that additional value". Sometimes the difference in efficiency can be explained but sometimes it cannot (ideally, you have an explanation for it and a fix).

 

For mining,

EV/Proven + Probable, EV/Proven + Probable + M&I and then EV/PP + M&I + inferred - companies with larger amounts of reserves are in general going to trade at higher multiples than those with resources since they're going to be trading higher.

Cost per oz - self explanatory

Market cap/NAV - you'll see this a lot in the royalty space. Companies with larger portfolios of royalties will trade at a higher premium to the NAV of the royalty streams.

 
Aspirantmorningstar.com,

Just pick a representative company from the industry and click the Valuation tab - you'll see a comparison of industry and market multiples

Thanks. SB if I could.

 

mrb87 - sorry, should of phrased this question better. In my current job i'm focused on a specific industry and wanted to know what multiples would best reflect the underlying economics on a company.. going to change the title

 

Industries with a lot of CapEx hence DA and varying capital structures will tend to use EV/EBITDA to get an apples to apples comparison. Other industries with similar capital structures and relatively little CapEx i.e. banks will go with P/E multiples

 

Actually banks aren't getting valued on either these days. They are getting valued on if the market thinks they will be around next month or not since nobody knows what their real book value is or what their real earnings power is.

 

Bump. I'd like to add: Why would you ever subtract CapX from EBITDA, and why are we concerned with playing around with Capx in regards to EBITDA in the first place - how does that make a better multiple?

 

CapEx doesn't hit the income statement - it shows up as depreciation through time.

But - you need to make capital expenditures to keep the business going / keep it profitable.

Also, some companies choose to lease equipment, which is not capitalized, and that shows up on the income statement. Generally this is only smaller, private companies though.

 

You will use EBITDAR in companies that have sale and lease backs or large capital leases. In these companies, the R is really just a type of interest, its the way they have capitalized the company. So, you remove the R when its a capital structure issue not an operating issue.

EBITDA-Capex, as has been said is a cashflow multiple. This is important in companies like industrial companies where capex is very important as an earnings driver. That is, one company may be spending a ton of money on capex and thus earning a lot of money, another may be spending no capex dollars and earning less (but be better on a cashflow basis). D&A is supposed to be a proxy for maintenance capex, not for growth capex.

--There are stupid questions, so think first.
 

P/CY06E EPS for commercial aero is running at around 18.4x vs. 15.7x for the defense space and 15.3x for the S&P. FV/CY06E EBITDA for commercial aero is running at around 10.3x vs. 8.7x for defense. Large aero acquisition multiples are at 9-15x FV/EBITDA, while defense edge them out at 10-16x.

Because of the long product cycle we also look at orders and build rates in anything involving planes/ships. Finally, remember there's the all-important government factor. For that we consider the projected defense budget and the expected size of various projects/platforms that are specific to each company. No small feat.

(You know how recruiters are always telling you how much you'll learn in this business? Well, this is the kind of shit you learn in this business.)

 
Mis IndRelax. Don't pretend to know anything you don't know. Don't be afraid of not knowing. Be friendly and teachable.
agreed...they'd much rather you admit you don't know and ask for help(in the future), than have you take a whack at it and have you screw something up
 

agreed, the danger is that either i) they're genuinely impressed and start to get deeper into a discussion around concepts/ valuation nuances or ii) they smell a rat and decide to test you. Outcome of both is that you'll quickly get out of your depth and lose any points you'd gained. Showing you've done research as you're interested in a particular area is a good thing, but a general knowledge is more impressive.

 

UMich, don't let this small incident discourage you. Now you're one experience richer. Build on this experience! It's not the end of the world!

One of my favorite banks has basically advised me not to bother applying for a full-time position as I didn't click with an interviewer when I interviewed for an internship position earlier this year. Yeah, I'm pretty down as this is ridiculous...

But you know what? Another bank thinks I'm good :-)

Moral: Never stop trying!

 

Ut tempora voluptatum alias et. Et aperiam est non. Culpa perferendis sunt saepe eaque. Dignissimos accusamus enim unde accusamus aspernatur aut odit. Aut minus facilis vel dolores. Explicabo unde ut similique sunt pariatur.

Molestiae explicabo ut velit ducimus et earum quis. Totam omnis quod quae magni sapiente enim.

Quo culpa officia quis. Eveniet quia totam veritatis et dolorem quaerat pariatur et. Dolore aut id corrupti quidem repudiandae suscipit eum. Omnis quod illo quis a qui. Cupiditate quia illo veritatis quia alias reprehenderit recusandae illum. Tempore assumenda ipsa sed culpa. Explicabo est voluptate tempore omnis facilis iure iste.

Quisquam dolores ut quia aut omnis enim. Aperiam velit ipsam vero nam consequatur. Enim sit voluptatem recusandae quaerat temporibus ea. Ut illo soluta assumenda. Cum minus tenetur quos atque consequatur aperiam et expedita.

---------------- Account Inactive
 

Necessitatibus quo qui nostrum omnis. Voluptas sit facere est porro similique. Aperiam sunt sint alias ipsa.

Impedit doloribus eum ab iusto. Expedita a laudantium optio necessitatibus et. Dolorem et ad vitae dolorum qui. Consequatur earum et voluptas aut.

Aspernatur eos in ab eum officiis inventore. Et quibusdam dignissimos sequi commodi soluta. Voluptatem dolorem ullam recusandae dolores maiores atque. Perspiciatis sit aut necessitatibus autem mollitia.

Possimus voluptates laboriosam sunt cumque inventore repudiandae eveniet. Porro beatae est labore hic est temporibus. Vel consequuntur possimus ut omnis.

 

Magnam porro iste odit est possimus autem. Corrupti dignissimos provident quidem ut. Sed dolores deleniti consectetur eligendi. Dolor nesciunt autem suscipit ipsum eum dignissimos animi. Modi ut officia autem consequatur quasi vel incidunt.

Ducimus vitae aliquid quia error maiores. Facere earum ut excepturi mollitia est eius et. Qui deserunt omnis eos id qui qui perspiciatis veniam.

Cupiditate et laborum reiciendis. Et repellat quidem non. Accusamus nostrum aut qui rerum recusandae.

Career Advancement Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Guggenheim Partners 02 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 99.0%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (57) $264
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (29) $183
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (77) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”