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BizBuySell's Insight Reports

About the Insight Reports

The BizBuySell Insight Report is a nationally-recognized economic indicator that tracks the health of the U.S. small business economy. Each quarter, BizBuySell analyzes sales and listing prices of small businesses across the United States based on over 47,000 businesses for sale and those recently sold. The BizBuySell Insight Reports focus on over 70 major U.S. markets and publish local, regional, state and national data for trending and analysis.

An expert on small business issues, BizBuySell General Manager Mike Handelsman discusses the trends revealed by the Insight Reports in various media outlets. Mike has been featured in numerous news publications regarding small business.

Insight Reports

In reviewing this data, please note the following:

  1. As the largest business-for-sale marketplace, BizBuySell has access to the nation's largest inventory of business-for-sale listings and completed transactions. This data has not been available publicly prior to the release of the BizBuySell Insight Reports.
  2. The data provides insights on local market small business economic trends, industry trends, and trends for the overall U.S. small business economy.

2009-Q4 National Data

The latest data has just been released for the Fourth Quarter of 2009. The data suggests that the recovery which began mid-year in the business-for-sale market continued to gain momentum throughout the Fourth Quarter of 2009.

The recovery has been led in large part by service businesses and restaurants; businesses that typically do not require a large capital investment and thus have greater appeal in challenging economic times.

According to the BizBuySell Insight Report data, the number of closed transactions reported to BizBuySell in the Fourth Quarter of 2009 dropped 12 percent as compared with the same time period in 2008 - from 1,232 transactions to 1,081. However, this is a marked improvement when comparing Third Quarter data of 2009 to 2008, where the percentage drop was 23% and the second quarter of 2009, where the percentage drop from the same quarter in 2008 was 50%. In addition to fewer completed deals than year ago during Q409, BizBuySell notes slight changes in the metrics that are used to value companies. Compared to the same quarter last year, revenue multiples rose while cash flow multiples have declined slightly.

Revenue multiples on reported closed transactions in the Fourth Quarter of 2009 rose from 0.689 to 0.70 compared against Q408, representing a 3% increase. Conversely, cash flow multiples dropped slightly from the Fourth Quarter of 2008's 2.68 to Q409's 2.66, representing just under a 1% decline. The revenue and cash flow multiples are calculated by dividing the selling price of the business by its reported annual revenue or cash flow.

For information about local data in your area, or questions regarding the BizBuySell Insight Reports, contact Frank Krolicki at fkrolicki@walkersands.com or by phone at 312-546-4127.

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