Benchmark Report
Sorren-branded, client-ready reporting generated from the selected peer cohort.
Ashland Engineering Group
Ashland, OR · NAICS 541330 Engineering Services
Executive Summary
Ashland Engineering Group generated $14,198,000 of revenue in 2026 with 58 employees, producing an EBITDA margin of 9.3% against a peer median of 19.9%. Compared with 164 similar businesses, performance is strongest in liquidity and warrants examination in profitability. Total benchmark variance across all categories is $3.90M.
Company Snapshot
Peer Group Definition
Comparison sample size 164; NAICS 541330; revenue range $7.10M–$22.70M; geographic filter OR. Data availability for this client: 78% coverage across tax return, financial statements, payroll and employee records.
Financial Performance
| Line item (% revenue) | Company | Peer median | Top 25% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| Cost of Goods Sold | 15.1% | 14.9% | 13.1% |
| Gross Profit | 84.9% | 85.1% | 86.9% |
| Payroll | 50.4% | 42.3% | 36.8% |
| Benefits | 9.1% | 7.1% | 6.4% |
| Occupancy | 4.0% | 4.2% | 3.7% |
| Marketing | 1.7% | 1.4% | 1.6% |
| Insurance | 2.0% | 1.9% | 1.7% |
| Professional Fees | 1.5% | 1.6% | 1.4% |
| Administrative & Other | 5.4% | 4.8% | 4.3% |
| EBITDA | 9.3% | 19.9% | 26.5% |
| Depreciation | 2.2% | 1.8% | 1.6% |
| Interest | 0.9% | 0.8% | 0.7% |
| Net Income | 5.0% | 13.7% | 19.1% |
Profitability and Operational Efficiency
Balance Sheet
Tax Overview
Industry Trends
| Year | Revenue | Growth | Gross | EBITDA | Payroll % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | $11.44M | +3.9% | 84.2% | 11.3% | 56.7% |
| 2023 | $11.64M | +1.7% | 84.2% | 11.5% | 56.6% |
| 2024 | $12.91M | +10.9% | 84.4% | 11.0% | 57.2% |
| 2025 | $13.51M | +4.6% | 84.9% | 9.5% | 59.2% |
| 2026 | $14.20M | +5.1% | 84.9% | 9.3% | 59.5% |
Opportunities for Discussion
- Operating Expense Load. Operating expenses run 75.6% of revenue versus a peer median of 65.2%. Which expense categories account for the difference?Benchmark variance $1.48M
- Payroll Efficiency. Total labor cost represents 59.5% of revenue against a peer median of 49.5%. Is the staffing model carrying capacity for growth, or absorbing margin?Benchmark variance $1.41M
- Leverage Profile. Debt to EBITDA of 1.32x compares with a peer median of 0.58x. Does the capital structure match the asset base and cash cycle?Benchmark variance $980K
- Gross Margin Variance. Gross margin of 84.9% compares with a peer median of 85.1%. Where are direct costs and pricing diverging from comparable businesses?Benchmark variance $24K
- Revenue per Employee. Revenue per employee of $245K compares with a peer median of $239K. Is productivity constrained by capacity, mix, or pricing?
- Owner Compensation Structure. Owner compensation represents 10.7% of revenue compared with a 9.0% median for comparable entities. Should compensation strategy be reviewed with the tax team?
- Working Capital Position. Current ratio of 7.02 compares with an industry median of 5.59. How much liquidity headroom does the business need through its cycle?
Advisor Notes
Methodology
Sorren Benchmark aggregates anonymized financial, tax, payroll and operational data across 60,000 businesses. Peer statistics report count, mean, median, 10th, 25th, 75th and 90th percentiles and standard deviation. Comparisons use normalized ratios rather than raw dollars. Statistics are released only where a cohort contains at least 10 businesses, and individual peer companies are never displayed. Benchmark variance expresses the mathematical difference between this company and its peer median; it is not a projection of savings, nor tax or investment advice.