Q1 2026 was the most active quarter for ecommerce acquisitions since Q3 2024. Here's what we're seeing across deal flow, pricing, and lender appetite.
Volume
Deal volume in Q1 2026 was up approximately 18% year-over-year, driven primarily by:
- More motivated sellers coming to market after holding through 2024–2025 softness
- Improved lender liquidity following the Fed's rate stabilization in Q4 2025
- A backlog of buyers who completed SBA prequalification in late 2025 and are now actively transacting
Multiples
Median EBITDA multiples across deals we've seen:
| Deal size | Median multiple | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Under $1M EBITDA | 2.8× | 2.2–3.5× |
| $1M–$3M EBITDA | 3.2× | 2.5–4.2× |
| $3M–$8M EBITDA | 4.1× | 3.2–5.5× |
| $8M+ EBITDA | 5.0× | 4.0–7.0× |
Multiples on sub-$2M revenue businesses have compressed about 0.4–0.6× from peak 2022 levels, primarily because buyers have more deal options and lenders are more conservative on growth-dependent projections.
By Category
Amazon FBA remains the most liquid category — buyers are familiar with the model, lenders have underwriting frameworks for it, and deals close faster. Multiples are holding at 2.8–3.5× SDE.
DTC brands on Shopify are seeing wider variance — strong brands with real repeat purchase rates are pricing at 3.5–5×, while acquisition-dependent brands are struggling to get above 2.5×.
SaaS and software commands the highest multiples in our deal flow (4.5–7×) but also requires the most specialized underwriting.
Content and affiliate sites remain difficult to finance via SBA — most lenders require at least 2 years of stable cash flow and don't love single-traffic-source dependency.
SBA Approval Rates
Our SBA 7(a) approval rate in Q1 was 94%, consistent with Q4 2025. Deals that did not receive approval were primarily disqualified on:
- Insufficient owner equity injection documentation
- Business valuations coming in below purchase price
- Seller tax return discrepancies discovered in transcript verification
What to Expect in Q2
We expect deal volume to hold or slightly increase in Q2. Buyers who prequalified in Q1 are now actively submitting LOIs. Lender appetite remains strong at the $500K–$3M deal size where SBA 7(a) is the dominant financing tool.
If you're actively searching, now is a good time to get your prequalification current — lenders are engaged and turnaround times are reasonable.