SDE
Seller’s Discretionary Earnings — the Main Street cash-flow figure that adds owner compensation and certain personal expenses back to profit.
Last updated September 5, 2026
SDE (Seller’s Discretionary Earnings) estimates the total financial benefit a single full-time owner-operator could take from a business. It typically starts from reported profit and adds back owner salary, one-time or personal expenses, and other agreed add-backs so buyers can compare similarly sized Main Street deals. On a Bizgora listing, SDE or cash flow is the number most buyers use first when judging asking price, not enterprise-style EBITDA alone. SDE is less useful when a professional management team already runs the company and the buyer will not replace an owner’s labor.