Will buyers discount my storm work?

If you are selling a storm restoration roofing company, or any roofer where hail and hurricane claims are a big part of the year, expect buyers to look at your storm work differently from your retail reroofs. They will still buy it. They just will not pay full price for revenue that depends on the weather repeating. This page explains how buyers do the math, what it costs you, and how to shift the mix before you sell.

Storm work can be very profitable, and in hail and hurricane country it is often unavoidable. Texas had 902 hail events in 2025, the most of any state, and NICB ranks Texas first and Colorado second for hail claims. The problem for a buyer is not the work. It is that a storm year tells them little about next year.

How buyers value storm revenue

Buyers split your revenue by who pays. Insurance claim work after hail, wind or a hurricane goes in one bucket. Work paid by the owner of the building, retail reroofs, repairs and maintenance, goes in another. KPMG says proven retail-focused businesses are the most sought after, though it also notes there is no consensus on the ideal mix and a deliberate blend can add value.

How much it costs you is our estimate. We built it from adviser guidance: Chisel Industries writes that storm revenue is valued at 0.5x to 0.7x the retail multiple, with half to a full turn gained above 65% retail, and Portus advises keeping storm work under 30%.

Illustrative estimate

Storm share of revenue	What buyers tend to do	Effect on the multiple (our estimate)
Over 50%	Price on a quiet year, some pass	Minus 0.75x to 1.5x EBITDA
30% to 50%	Average storm years, ask for 5 years of history	Minus 0.25x to 0.75x
Under 30%, retail over 65%	Treat storm as a bonus on a steady base	Plus 0.5x to 1.0x

These are in turns of adjusted EBITDA. For a smaller owner-run company valued on SDE, the swings are about 0.6 times as large. Individual buyers and their SBA lenders are usually the most cautious about storm swings. Private equity and strategic buyers will buy storm-heavy firms, but they normalize the earnings hard.

How buyers average storm years

Before any multiple is applied, buyers re-base your earnings. Sofer Advisors describes buyers using a 3 to 5 year average or the trough year, and gives the example of a roofer showing $4M in a hail year that is really a $1.8M business. When your best-to-worst year swing is more than 40%, we estimate buyers take off another 0.25x to 0.5x on top.

Our calculator does something in between the two buyer habits. If storm work is 30% or more of revenue and you tell us your quietest year in the last 5, we take the average of that quiet year and your weighted recent revenue, and scale earnings to it. That is an estimate of how a buyer will think, not a rule any buyer follows.

One more catch: if you add back one-time storm costs, like out-of-town crews, hotels, per diem and extra dumpsters, buyers accept that only if the storm revenue is normalized too. They will not let you add back the costs and keep the windfall.

Worked example

Worked example: A Dallas roofer after a strong hail run

This is the made-up roofing example from our methodology. The company is not real and the multiples are illustrative.

Revenue for the last three years is $5.6M, $5.1M and $4.6M. Storm work is 30% to 50% of revenue, and the quietest year in the last 5 was $4.0M. Last year's SDE was $887,000.

Weighted revenue, leaning on the recent years because the company grew every year: $5.35M.
Storm normalization: the average of $4.0M and $5.35M is $4.675M.
That is about 83.5% of last year's $5.6M, so earnings are scaled to match: $887,000 becomes about $740,000 of SDE.
After multiples and adjustments, the illustrative range is about $1.91M to $2.75M, likely about $2.30M.

The storm share alone takes about $104,000 off the likely value in this example. If the same company moved its storm share down to 10% to 30%, with nothing else changed, our model adds about $259,500. That was the largest single fix in the example.

Claim practices that kill deals in Texas and Florida

How you handle claims is not a discount. It can end the deal.

Texas. Under Texas Business and Commerce Code 27.02, a contractor who waives or covers an insured customer's deductible commits a criminal offense. Texas has no state roofing license, so there is no license barrier to a sale, but that also means buyers lean harder on your sales practices. See selling a roofing company in Texas.

Florida. SB 2-A, passed in 2022, barred assignment of post-loss benefits on policies issued from January 1, 2023, removed one-way attorney fees in property insurance suits and shortened claim deadlines. A company built on assignment of benefits was built on a model that no longer works for new policies. Buyers are active in Florida, including Sun Capital's purchase of Latite Roofing in 2025, and Axia notes that buyers check a target's sales practices against these rules. See selling a roofing company in Florida.

If you cover deductibles now, stop today and talk to a lawyer about past jobs before you speak to any buyer. If you stopped years ago, expect a buyer to ask for an indemnity, and in our estimate about a quarter turn off the multiple.

Red flags on storm-heavy companies

Over half your revenue is storm claims (RF2). Buyers will value you on a quiet year, not a big one. Building retail and repair work for 2 to 3 years before selling can raise your price.
Your best year is more than double your quietest (RF3). Expect buyers to use an average or your quietest year. Our estimate does the same.
Your crews travel to chase storms (RF12). Work that follows storms to other states is the hardest kind to sell, because the next owner cannot count on it.
You cover deductibles (RF1). Most buyers walk away. Stop now.

How to shift the mix in the next 12 to 24 months

Track revenue by payor every month. Insurance claim, retail reroof, repair, maintenance. If you cannot show the split, a buyer will assume the worst.
Turn storm customers into retail customers. Every storm job is a homeowner who will need gutters, repairs and an inspection later. Ask for reviews and referrals and stay in touch.
Own your leads. We estimate that over half your work from storm canvassing or one paid channel costs 0.25x to 0.5x, while over 40% from referrals, repeat customers and your own website adds the same. CriticalPoint puts lead costs at about 7% to 12% of revenue for many residential firms.
Move sales reps to W-2 where you can. 1099 door knockers can leave with the lead list. KPMG notes a trend toward W-2 sales teams in residential roofing.
Sell maintenance and inspection plans, especially to commercial customers. Renewing work is the opposite of storm work in a buyer's eyes.
Stop traveling to storms in the last two years before a sale, or report that revenue separately.

For the full list of drivers, see what makes a roofing company worth more. To see your own numbers with storm normalization applied, start the free estimate.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Ask a lawyer in your state about past claim practices.

Sources

Questions owners ask

Can I sell a roofing company that is mostly storm work?

Yes. Private equity and strategic buyers do buy storm-heavy roofers, but they value them on a normal or quiet year and some will pass. Individual buyers and their lenders tend to be the most cautious, so expect a smaller pool of buyers and a lower multiple.

Which years will a buyer use for my earnings?

Expect them to ask for 3 to 5 years and either average them or use your quietest year. If your last twelve months include a big hail or hurricane season, prepare a version of your earnings without it before a buyer does it for you.

How much retail work do buyers want to see?

In our estimate the multiple starts to rise once retail reroof and repair work passes about 65% of revenue, with storm work on top. Advisers commonly suggest keeping storm work under about 30%.

I stopped covering deductibles years ago. Is that still a problem?

It can be. A history of illegal claim practices is a liability that follows the company, so institutional buyers check for it. Expect questions, a possible indemnity and some price impact, and get advice from a lawyer before you go to market.

What makes a roofing company worth more?
What moves roofing company valuation multiples. The 5 drivers buyers weigh most, the claim practices that kill deals, and 15 red flags with fixes.
Who buys roofing companies?
Private equity roofing companies get the headlines, but most roofers your size sell to individuals and local competitors. Every buyer type, side by side.
How do I sell my roofing company, step by step?
How to sell a roofing company in nine steps, from deciding what you want to the handover. Buyers, the LOI, due diligence, closing and what to ask.

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This is an educational estimate, not an appraisal. RetireFromTrades gives an illustrative range based on what you told us and on general market information. It is not a formal business valuation or appraisal, and it is not an offer to buy your business. We are not a business broker, M&A adviser, CPA, lawyer or financial adviser, and nothing here is legal, tax, accounting or investment advice. Real offers depend on your actual financial records, buyer diligence, deal terms and market conditions, and can be higher or lower than this range. Before you make any decision, talk to a licensed professional. If you ask, we can introduce you to an independent licensed business broker; we do not broker, negotiate or take part in any sale.