Market
Reading brokerage M&A headlines against your own numbers
Headlines sell certainty; underwriting lives in the footnotes and the company-specific model.
Coming soon · 5 min read
Announced multiples blend structure, earn-outs, and accounting choices that rarely appear in a headline. A ‘12x’ story might mix trailing and projected periods, exclude integration costs, or reflect only the cash component at close.
Footprint matters: super-regional density, franchise versus independent, and service mix change replicability. A comp from one transaction is a conversation starter, not a price tag.
What to do instead
Benchmark from your own trailing financials and buyer feedback on analogous books — then triangulate with public data as context, not as a shortcut. Your narrative should survive a banker or buyer reconstructing the math.
Editorial draft — replace or extend this section when the full article publishes.