280-Location California ATM Route, Alameda County Cash-Handling Business

$665K

SDE

3.4x

Multiple

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Full Editorial Writeup

This is an established ATM route of roughly 280 active machine placements spread across California, generating approximately $665,000 in annual cash flow. Revenue is driven by surcharge fees collected on cash withdrawals at merchant locations, with the economics of the business tied to transaction volume per machine rather than any single storefront. The seller is explicit that this is a built-out network with transaction history already in place, not a route that still needs to be assembled machine by machine.

The operating model is largely hands-off for ownership. Cash loading, machine servicing, maintenance coordination, and routine field activity are handled by an established professional operating structure that stays in place after closing, which means the new owner focuses on monitoring numbers, reviewing location performance, and deciding how aggressively to grow. The business carries no traditional retail storefront, and the acquisition transfers the installed equipment, merchant relationships, transaction history, and reporting systems.

At a $2.25M asking price against $665K of cash flow, the deal prices at roughly 3.38x. The core appeal is diversification: no single machine or merchant dominates revenue, and the moat is the difficulty of recreating hundreds of productive merchant placements from scratch. The reason for selling is described only as a portfolio transition, and financing is not offered by the seller.

Why we like it

Earnings quality is spread across roughly 280 merchant locations, so no single machine, store, or account can sink the cash flow. That diversification is meaningful at this scale and makes the $665K figure more defensible than a concentrated single-site operator. The transaction-fee model also throws off cash daily with minimal receivables.
The moat is operational rather than technological. Buying ATM hardware is trivial, but securing hundreds of productive merchant placements with real transaction history takes years of route development, and that work is already done here. A new entrant would have to negotiate placements and wait for each location to season.
ATM usage holds up reasonably well in a downturn because the underlying need is access to cash, which does not disappear when discretionary spending contracts. Surcharge revenue is tied to transaction counts at convenience stores, bars, and similar venues that see steady foot traffic. This is closer to a utility route than a discretionary consumer business.
The route is genuinely manager-run with cash loading, servicing, and field activity staying within an established professional structure after closing. That makes this a candidate for a semi-absentee owner or an acquirer bolting it onto an existing cash-logistics or route portfolio. Ownership time goes to monitoring numbers and expansion, not driving to 280 machines.

How to improve it

Rank all 280 locations by net cash flow per machine within the first 90 days and identify the bottom quartile. Underperforming placements should be relocated, renegotiated, or pulled, because dead machines still cost servicing and cash-load trips. Concentrating effort on the best-performing venues lifts margin without adding headcount.
Review and push surcharge pricing where the local market and venue traffic support it. Even a modest fee increase at high-volume locations flows almost entirely to the bottom line given the fixed-cost nature of servicing. Test increases at a sample of sites and monitor transaction decay before rolling broadly.
Tighten the cash-logistics and servicing cost structure by optimizing route density and loading schedules. Grouping nearby machines, reducing unnecessary refill trips, and monitoring cash-out events via the reporting systems can cut field costs materially. This is the largest controllable expense in an ATM route.
Pursue bolt-on route acquisitions and additional merchant placements within the California markets already served. Adding density uses the existing servicing infrastructure and spreads fixed costs across more machines, which is the single highest-return growth lever. The seller flags compatible route acquisition as a logical path.
Audit processor and vendor agreements for better rates on transaction processing and cash supply. At 280 machines there is leverage to renegotiate interchange splits, armored cash services, and maintenance contracts. Small basis-point improvements compound meaningfully across the full portfolio.
Build a simple performance dashboard tracking uptime, cash-out frequency, and revenue per machine so declining locations surface early. Machines sitting empty or out of service silently leak revenue in a route this large. Proactive monitoring protects the cash flow the valuation is built on.

Diligence notes

Gross revenue is not disclosed, only cash flow, so insist on the full surcharge revenue, processor statements, and the exact cost structure behind the $665K figure. Understand what is deducted for cash loading, servicing, armored transport, and maintenance before accepting the cash-flow number. Confirm whether the quoted figure is pre or post any owner labor.
Verify the 280 locations are genuinely active and seasoned by pulling machine-level transaction history for at least 12 to 24 months. Ask how many locations are dormant, newly placed, or trending down, since an average can mask a meaningful tail of weak machines. Concentration of cash flow in the top 20 percent of machines would change the risk profile.
Scrutinize merchant agreements for term length, exclusivity, and surcharge-split arrangements. ATM placements can be terminable on short notice or require revenue sharing with venue owners, which affects both durability and margin. Understand renewal risk and whether any large venues could leave en masse.
Clarify the economics and reliability of the third-party operating structure that handles cash loading and servicing. If the business depends on an outside vendor or a key servicer, confirm those arrangements transfer and are not tied to the seller. Determine the true cost and whether the new owner inherits or must replace this infrastructure.
Confirm compliance with ATM operator regulations, money-services and cash-handling rules, and processor sponsorship requirements in California. Interrupted processor sponsorship or regulatory gaps could halt revenue across the entire network. Verify insurance, cash-replenishment capital needs, and any licensing that must transfer at closing.
Quantify the working capital required to float cash in the machines, since an operator must fund the physical cash across 280 units. This is a real capital commitment on top of the purchase price and should be modeled into returns. Confirm whether the quoted cash flow is net of the cost of that float.

Source

Originally listed on BizBuySell. View original listing →