served available market

The specific portion of the total addressable market that a company's products or services can actually target and fulfill.

Served Available Market (SAM) is the specific portion of the Total Addressable Market (TAM) that a company's current products, services, and geographic reach can actually target and fulfill. While TAM represents the theoretical maximum size of an entire industry, SAM filters this down to the realistic market opportunity defined by a company's active business model, technology limitations, and distribution channels. Investors analyze SAM to understand a company's near-to-medium-term growth runway. It helps distinguish between a massive, abstract industry opportunity and the actual addressable revenue pool. A company might operate in a massive global market, but if its sales force, regulatory approvals, or product specifications only cover a fraction of that market, its near-term growth is constrained by its SAM rather than its TAM. Comparing SAM to actual revenue reveals a company's market share within its reachable segment. If a company's SAM is growing rapidly, it indicates that the business is successfully expanding its product portfolio or entering new geographic regions. Conversely, a stagnant or shrinking SAM suggests that the company's products are becoming obsolete or confined to a niche, limiting its long-term revenue potential even if the broader industry is growing.

A cloud software company estimates the total global market for enterprise database software (TAM) is $50 billion. However, the company's software only supports English-language databases and is optimized solely for mid-sized businesses with 100 to 999 employees. By filtering the global database market for only English-speaking mid-sized businesses, the company calculates its Served Available Market (SAM) is $12 billion.