01 Executive Summary
Higher earnings, with adjustments that deserve attention.
Summit generates $8.2 million of trailing revenue. Reported EBITDA of $742,000 bridges to $1,005,000 after $263,000 of net adjustments. Adjustments represent 26.2% of adjusted EBITDA, so the quality of the evidence matters as much as the headline.
The immediate management questions are whether utilization gains persist, whether collections convert earnings into cash, and which proposed adjustments would survive independent scrutiny.
02 Historical Financial Performance
| Measure ($000s) | 2024 | 2025 | TTM Aug 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 7,100 | 7,720 | 8,200 |
| Reported EBITDA | 568 | 665 | 742 |
| Net Adjustments | 177 | 185 | 263 |
| Adjusted EBITDA | 745 | 850 | 1,005 |
| Adjusted EBITDA Margin | 10.5% | 11.0% | 12.3% |
TTM is a rolling twelve-month period, not an additional calendar year. Margin equals adjusted EBITDA divided by revenue.
03 Earnings Bridge
| Bridge Item | $000s |
|---|---|
| Reported EBITDA | 742 |
| Owner compensation above market | +185 |
| One-time legal settlement | +62 |
| Personal vehicle and travel | +38 |
| Non-recurring ERP implementation | +55 |
| Related-party rent to market | −48 |
| Deferred maintenance normalization | −29 |
| Adjusted EBITDA | 1,005 |
Positive and negative normalizations are considered together. Adjusted EBITDA is an analytical measure, not cash available for distribution.
04 Adjustment Schedule
| Proposed Adjustment | $000s | Evidence Required |
|---|---|---|
| Owner compensation above market | +185 | Payroll detail and replacement-role benchmark |
| One-time legal settlement | +62 | Settlement agreement and general-ledger tie-out |
| Personal vehicle and travel | +38 | Transaction-level review and business-purpose test |
| Non-recurring ERP implementation | +55 | Invoices separated from recurring support |
| Related-party rent to market | −48 | Lease and comparable-market rent analysis |
| Deferred maintenance normalization | −29 | Maintenance history and sustainable-cost estimate |
Each adjustment needs a source, rationale, period, and recurring/non-recurring assessment. Owner compensation must reflect the cost of replacing the role. Unresolved claims remain flagged, not silently accepted.
05 Operating Driver Analysis
August revenue of $684,156 equals 142 completed jobs × $4,818 average job value. July revenue of $631,140 equals 134 × $4,710, producing the 8.4% monthly increase.
| Operating driver | Aug 2026 | Jul 2026 | Financial link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jobs completed | 142 | 134 | Revenue |
| Average job value | $4,818 | $4,710 | Revenue |
| Billable utilization | 78.4% | 75.9% | Gross margin |
| Rework rate | 3.1% | 4.6% | Cost of sales |
| Backlog (weeks) | 6.2 | 5.4 | Forward revenue |
Revenue growth reflects both volume and average job value. Utilization and rework should be reviewed alongside job mix before attributing margin improvement to a single cause.
06 Scenario Analysis
Adjust the same company's TTM baseline. This sensitivity holds documented adjustments constant and separates operating income from EBITDA.
The future view compounds the selected revenue change each year and holds the margin and overhead changes constant. It is a sensitivity, not a forecast.
Move one assumption at a time. The value is not the forecast itself, it is seeing which operating change is large enough to deserve a plan.
+$007 Key Observations
- The adjustment burden is material. Evidence quality is a priority before a financing conversation.
- Utilization increased 2.5 percentage points, while rework declined 1.5 points. Neither proves a causal margin improvement without job-level analysis.
- Profit does not establish liquidity. Receivables aging, payment timing, and maintenance commitments need a separate cash view.
08 Management Priorities
| Timing | Action | Decision Test |
|---|---|---|
| First 30 Days | Validate compensation, rent, and one-time costs | Retain, revise, or exclude each proposed adjustment |
| Days 31–60 | Reconcile job margin and collection aging | Prioritize work by contribution and cash timing |
| Days 61–90 | Review capacity and pricing scenarios | Commit only after operating thresholds are met |
| Quarterly | Refresh forecast and decision register | Compare actual outcomes with the original assumptions |
09 Data Notes
Illustrative inputs are a trial balance, P&L, general ledger, payroll detail, AR/AP aging, job log, and an assumptions register. Accounting periods and operating dates must be aligned, intercompany items identified, and source totals reconciled before analysis.
Dollar amounts are rounded for presentation. Historical EBITDA starts before depreciation and amortization; the scenario separately adds $120,000 of D&A to $622,000 of operating income, then the same $263,000 net adjustments.
10 Methodology
- 01
Establish
Reconcile financial and operational sources.
- 02
Normalize
Separate sustainable performance from temporary, unusual, or discretionary items.
- 03
Explain
Connect financial outcomes with operating drivers.
- 04
Prioritize
Identify the decisions with the greatest financial impact.
- 05
Operate
Build a recurring reporting cadence around those decisions.
Document sources and limitations, test adjustments in both directions, and agree the management decision before designing the output. A formal valuation requires a credentialed appraiser.
Data & Security