Stout released its 2026 ESOP Benchmark Study, which uses six years of annual valuation analyses to benchmark growth, profitability, enterprise value, share price appreciation, leverage, and share count trends among ESOP-owned companies. The study gives owners, boards, trustees, and management teams a practical view of how the typical ESOP-owned company is performing relative to its peers.

Findings from the 2026 Study

• Growth: Over the five years through 2025, the median company increased revenue by 7.6% annually and adjusted EBITDA by 10.1% annually. In 2025, revenue grew 4.0% and adjusted EBITDA grew 3.9%.
• Profitability: Median adjusted EBITDA margins held between 9.0% and 10.0% in every year since 2021.
• Industry and size: Business & Professional Services reported the highest median adjusted EBITDA margin at 11.8%, while AEC and Industrials led in five-year adjusted EBITDA growth. Larger companies generally carried less leverage.
• Share price drivers: Over the past three years, enterprise value growth contributed approximately 25% to median share price growth, and debt repayment contributed approximately 16%.
• Share count: Many ESOP-owned companies continued to reduce share count through redemptions, which increases the importance of repurchase obligation planning.

Stout has the largest dedicated ESOP practice in the country and advises clients across the full ESOP lifecycle through an integrated approach spanning valuation, investment banking, and consulting.

Download the Stout ESOP Benchmark Study.

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