trading-comps-builderlisted

# Trading Comps Builder ## Purpose Build a defensible public trading comparables set that supports a minority-stake valuation reference, frames the public-market view of the target, and survives a sharp counterparty's review. The output is a small set of true peers — typically 6 to 12 — with clean, calendarized metrics, consistent EBITDA adjustments, and a documented rationale for inclusion or exclusion of every name considered. ## Governing Principle **A peer is a company whose multiple a sophisticated investor would actually use to price the target. Everything else is a distractor.** The discipline is in what gets cut, not in what gets added. A comps page with 25 names is usually a comps page with 6 peers and 19 things hiding the analysis. ## The Three Tests of a True Peer A name belongs in the set only if it passes all three. Borderline names go on a "near-peer" page, not in the main set. 1. **Business model match** — same revenue model, customer profile, and unit economics 2. **Financial profile match** — comparable growth, margins, and capital intensity (or differences priced explicitly into the discussion) 3. **Trading liquidity and disclosure** — sufficient float, sell-side coverage, and disclosure to produce a defensible multiple Geography is a tag, not a filter. A non-US peer with the same business model can be more useful than a US name with a different one — but the geographic multiple delta must be acknowledged and adjusted. ## Workflow ### Step 1 — Bu