The small business transaction market posted 2,345 completed deals in Q1 2026, generating a combined enterprise value of approximately $2 billion, with the manufacturing sector leading all categories in year-over-year growth at 16 percent more transactions than Q1 2025, according to BizBuySell's quarterly insight report.

The services sector, which accounts for 42 percent of all small business transactions, showed a clear value-over-volume dynamic. Services deal volume rose only 1 percent year-over-year, but median sale prices climbed 13 percent to $350,000 as median cash flow grew 7 percent to $166,615 and median revenue expanded 8 percent to $568,956.

Manufacturing deal activity surged in volume but saw price compression, with the median sale price declining 23 percent to $775,000, median cash flow falling 23 percent to $268,000, and median revenue contracting 18 percent to $1.4 million year-over-year, reflecting the mix shift toward smaller manufacturing businesses changing hands.

New SBA lending rules effective March 2026 require all business owners seeking 7(a) and 504 loans to hold US citizenship, eliminating access for green card holders and foreign nationals. Forty-five percent of business brokers reported the change is making deals harder to close, while 61 percent of buyers now request seller financing as part of their transaction structure.

Source: BizBuySell -- https://www.bizbuysell.com/insight-report/