Maintainable earnings
Plain-English definition of maintainable earnings for small-business valuation.
What Maintainable earnings means
Maintainable earnings are the profit a business could reasonably keep producing after unusual one-off items, owner adjustments and temporary conditions are removed. They matter because valuations usually depend on sustainable earnings, not the best month or a short-term spike.
Why it matters
It keeps valuation conversations grounded in repeatable profit rather than temporary results.
An example
If a business had one unusually large project last year, maintainable earnings may be lower than reported profit unless that work is likely to repeat.