Is 15% EBITDA good?

Asked by: Dorris Lynch  |  Last update: September 20, 2025
Score: 5/5 (8 votes)

Long story short, it depends. The longer answer is that a good EBITDA margin is at least 10%. A higher EBITDA margin suggests a company has lower operating costs than its revenue. Meanwhile, a lower margin signifies poor cash flow.

Is an EBITDA of 20% good?

A “good” EBITDA margin is industry-specific, however, an EBITDA margin in excess of 10% is perceived positively by most.

What does a 10% EBITDA margin mean?

EBITDA margin calculation example: A company with revenue totalling $500,000 and EBITDA of $50,000 would have an EBITDA margin of $50,000/$500,000 = 10% The higher the EBITDA margin, the smaller a company's operating expenses are in relation to their total revenue, leading to a more profitable operation.

What is a good EBITDA percentage?

A good EBITDA margin may fall between 15% and 25%, says Simon Thomas, Managing Director of accountancy firm Ridgefield Consulting. Generally, the higher the EBITDA margin, the greater the profitability and efficiency of a company.

Is 11% EBITDA good?

An EBITDA over 10 is considered good. Over the last several years, the EBITDA has ranged between 11 and 14 for the S&P 500. You may also look at other businesses in your industry and their reported EBITDA as a way to see how your company is measuring up.

Is EBITDA a good reflection of a company's performance?

25 related questions found

Is 15% a good EBITDA?

Generally, a healthy EBITDA for a mid-size home services company is between 10% and 15% of their total revenue. This means that the company is generating more in revenue than it is spending on costs and expenses.

Is 12% EBITDA good?

The longer answer is that a good EBITDA margin is at least 10%. A higher EBITDA margin suggests a company has lower operating costs than its revenue. Meanwhile, a lower margin signifies poor cash flow.

What is the 30% EBITDA rule?

The Interest Limitation Rule (ILR) is intended to limit base erosion using excessive interest deductions. It limits the maximum net interest deduction to 30% of Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, Amortization (EBITDA). Any interest above that amount is not deductible in the current year.

What is an acceptable EBITDA?

What Is a Good EBITDA? A strong EBITDA is considered to be at least two times the company's interest expense. For example, if a company's annual interest expense is $1 million, then a strong EBITDA would be at least $2 million. In some industries, a higher EBITDA margin above 15% or more, may be considered favorable.

Does EBITDA include owner salary?

The Main Difference Between SDE and EBITDA

SDE – The primary measure of cash flow used to value small businesses and includes the owner's compensation as an adjustment. EBITDA – The primary measure of cash flow used to value mid to large-sized businesses and does not include the owner's salary as an adjustment.

Is 10% margin good?

As a rule of thumb, 5% is a low margin, 10% is a healthy margin, and 20% is a high margin. But a one-size-fits-all approach isn't the best way to set goals for your business profitability. First, some companies are inherently high-margin or low-margin ventures.

Can EBITDA be too high?

A too-high EBITDA could translate to a very high sales price that makes your business unattractive or uncompetitive. This could price you out of the market and make other dealerships, with their lower EBITDAs and lower sales prices, look like better values as acquisitions.

What is a good EBITDA for a small business?

Generally speaking, a good EBITDA margin for manufacturing businesses falls between 5% and 10%. However, this will vary depending on the specific industry you are manufacturing your products for, and how capital-intensive your operations are.

What is the 20 EBITDA rule?

The other way round: the first million euros in interest is deductible, but after that the amount of deductible interest may not exceed 20% of the profit (more accurately: 20% of the fiscal EBITDA).

Why is EBITDA flawed?

By ignoring depreciation, Ebitda fails to account for the ongoing capital requirements necessary to replace aging assets. As a result, investors may underestimate the future capital needs of the company, leading to underinvestment and potential operational challenges down the line.

What is a bad EBITDA multiple?

While the "healthy" range for EV/EBITDA varies by industry—in 2024, it ranged from about eight to 30, depending on the sector—this ratio provides critical context when analyzing a company's value. 1. Many analysts consider an EV/EBITDA below 10 a strong signal of an undervalued company.

What is the rule of 40 in EBITDA?

The Rule of 40 states that the sum of a healthy SaaS company's annual recurring revenue growth rate and its EBITDA margin should be equal to or exceed 40%. It is a measure of how well a SaaS balances growth with profitability.

What is EBITDA in layman's terms?

EBITDA stands for 'Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortisation'. It is a measure of profitability. The benefit of EBITDA is that it focuses on a company's core performance rather than the effects of non-core financial expenses.

Is 20% a good EBITDA margin?

What is a good EBITDA? A "good" EBITDA varies depending on the industry sector and the company's size, but generally, a higher EBITDA indicates strong operational efficiency and profitability. In many industries, an EBITDA margin between 10% and 20% is considered solid, with anything above 20% seen as exceptional.

Is EBITDA the same as net profit?

The key difference between EBITDA and net income? EBITDA is net income BEFORE taking out interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization expenses. So EBITDA will almost always be higher than net income.

What does EBITDA multiple tell you?

The EBITDA multiple is a financial ratio that compares a company's Enterprise Value to its annual EBITDA (which can be either a historical figure or a forecast/estimate). This multiple is used to determine the value of a company and compare it to the value of other, similar businesses.

Is 13 EBITDA good?

Generally, a good EBITDA margin is considered to be above 15% for most sectors. However, industries such as technology and healthcare may have higher expectations, often aiming for margins above 20% or even higher.

What's a healthy EBITDA?

For example, technology and consumer retail companies often operate with EBITDA margins between 10-25%. Manufacturing businesses may be closer to 15-30%, while capital-intensive industries like energy or utilities tend to have lower margins of 10-20%.