Discounted Cash Flow Valuation

Aswath Damodaran

Aswath Damodaran 1
 Discounted Cashflow Valuation: Basis for
Approach

t = n CF
Value = ∑ t
t
t = 1( 1 +r)

where CFt is the cash flow in period t, r is the discount rate appropriate
given the riskiness of the cash flow and t is the life of the asset.
Proposition 1: For an asset to have value, the expected cash flows
have to be positive some time over the life of the asset.
Proposition 2: Assets that generate cash flows early in their life will
be worth more than assets that generate cash flows later; the latter
may however have greater growth and higher cash flows to
compensate.

Aswath Damodaran 2
 Equity Valuation versus Firm Valuation

n Value just the equity stake in the business

n Value the entire business, which includes, besides equity, the other
claimholders in the firm

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 I.Equity Valuation

n The value of equity is obtained by discounting expected cashflows to equity,

i.e., the residual cashflows after meeting all expenses, tax obligations and
interest and principal payments, at the cost of equity, i.e., the rate of return
required by equity investors in the firm.
t=n
CF to Equity t
Value of Equity = ∑ (1+ k )t
t=1 e

where,
CF to Equityt = Expected Cashflow to Equity in period t
ke = Cost of Equity
n The dividend discount model is a specialized case of equity valuation, and the
value of a stock is the present value of expected future dividends.

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 II. Firm Valuation

n The value of the firm is obtained by discounting expected cashflows to

the firm, i.e., the residual cashflows after meeting all operating
expenses and taxes, but prior to debt payments, at the weighted
average cost of capital, which is the cost of the different components
of financing used by the firm, weighted by their market value
proportions.
t=n
CF to Firm t
Value of Firm = ∑
t = 1 ( 1 +WACC)
t

where,
CF to Firmt = Expected Cashflow to Firm in period t
WACC = Weighted Average Cost of Capital

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 Firm Value and Equity Value

n To get from firm value to equity value, which of the following would
you need to do?
o Subtract out the value of long term debt
o Subtract out the value of all debt
o Subtract the value of all non-equity claims in the firm, that are
included in the cost of capital calculation
o Subtract out the value of all non-equity claims in the firm
n Doing so, will give you a value for the equity which is
o greater than the value you would have got in an equity valuation
o lesser than the value you would have got in an equity valuation
o equal to the value you would have got in an equity valuation

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 Cash Flows and Discount Rates

n Assume that you are analyzing a company with the following cashflows for
the next five years.
Year CF to Equity Int Exp (1-t) CF to Firm
1 $ 50 $ 40 $ 90
2 $ 60 $ 40 $ 100
3 $ 68 $ 40 $ 108
4 $ 76.2 $ 40 $ 116.2
5 $ 83.49 $ 40 $ 123.49
Terminal Value $ 1603.0 $ 2363.008
n Assume also that the cost of equity is 13.625% and the firm can borrow long
term at 10%. (The tax rate for the firm is 50%.)
n The current market value of equity is $1,073 and the value of debt outstanding
is $800.

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 Equity versus Firm Valuation

Method 1: Discount CF to Equity at Cost of Equity to get value of equity

n Cost of Equity = 13.625%
n PV of Equity = 50/1.13625 + 60/1.136252 + 68/1.136253 +
76.2/1.136254 + (83.49+1603)/1.136255 = $1073
Method 2: Discount CF to Firm at Cost of Capital to get value of firm
Cost of Debt = Pre-tax rate (1- tax rate) = 10% (1-.5) = 5%
WACC = 13.625% (1073/1873) + 5% (800/1873) = 9.94%
PV of Firm = 90/1.0994 + 100/1.09942 + 108/1.09943 + 116.2/1.09944 +
(123.49+2363)/1.09945 = $1873
n PV of Equity = PV of Firm - Market Value of Debt
= $ 1873 - $ 800 = $1073

Aswath Damodaran 8
 First Principle of Valuation

n Never mix and match cash flows and discount rates.

n The key error to avoid is mismatching cashflows and discount rates,
since discounting cashflows to equity at the weighted average cost of
capital will lead to an upwardly biased estimate of the value of equity,
while discounting cashflows to the firm at the cost of equity will yield
a downward biased estimate of the value of the firm.

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 The Effects of Mismatching Cash Flows and
Discount Rates

Error 1: Discount CF to Equity at Cost of Capital to get equity value

PV of Equity = 50/1.0994 + 60/1.09942 + 68/1.09943 + 76.2/1.09944 +
(83.49+1603)/1.09945 = $1248
Value of equity is overstated by $175.
Error 2: Discount CF to Firm at Cost of Equity to get firm value
PV of Firm = 90/1.13625 + 100/1.136252 + 108/1.136253 + 116.2/1.136254 +
(123.49+2363)/1.136255 = $1613
PV of Equity = $1612.86 - $800 = $813
Value of Equity is understated by $ 260.
Error 3: Discount CF to Firm at Cost of Equity, forget to subtract out debt, and
get too high a value for equity
Value of Equity = $ 1613
Value of Equity is overstated by $ 540

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 Discounted Cash Flow Valuation: The Steps

n Estimate the discount rate or rates to use in the valuation

• Discount rate can be either a cost of equity (if doing equity valuation) or a
cost of capital (if valuing the firm)
• Discount rate can be in nominal terms or real terms, depending upon
whether the cash flows are nominal or real
• Discount rate can vary across time.
n Estimate the current earnings and cash flows on the asset, to either
equity investors (CF to Equity) or to all claimholders (CF to Firm)
n Estimate the future earnings and cash flows on the firm being
valued, generally by estimating an expected growth rate in earnings.
n Estimate when the firm will reach “stable growth” and what
characteristics (risk & cash flow) it will have when it does.
n Choose the right DCF model for this asset and value it.

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 Generic DCF Valuation Model

DISCOUNTED CASHFLOW VALUATION

Expected Growth
Cash flows Firm: Growth in
Firm: Pre-debt cash Operating Earnings
flow Equity: Growth in
Equity: After debt Net Income/EPS Firm is in stable growth:
cash flows Grows at constant rate
forever

Terminal Value
CF1 CF2 CF3 CF4 CF5 CFn
Value .........
Firm: Value of Firm Forever
Equity: Value of Equity
Length of Period of High Growth

Discount Rate
Firm:Cost of Capital

Equity: Cost of Equity

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 EQUITY VALUATION WITH DIVIDENDS

Dividends Expected Growth

Net Income Retention Ratio *
* Payout Ratio Return on Equity
Firm is in stable growth:
= Dividends
Grows at constant rate
forever

Terminal Value= Dividend n+1 /(ke-gn)

Dividend 1 Dividend 2 Dividend 3 Dividend 4 Dividend 5 Dividend n
Value of Equity .........
Forever
Discount at Cost of Equity

Cost of Equity

Riskfree Rate :
- No default risk Risk Premium
- No reinvestment risk Beta - Premium for average
- In same currency and + - Measures market risk X
risk investment
in same terms (real or
nominal as cash flows
Type of Operating Financial Base Equity Country Risk
Business Leverage Leverage Premium Premium

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 Financing Weights EQUITY VALUATION WITH FCFE
Debt Ratio = DR

Cashflow to Equity Expected Growth

Net Income Retention Ratio *
- (Cap Ex - Depr) (1- DR) Return on Equity
Firm is in stable growth:
- Change in WC (!-DR)
Grows at constant rate
= FCFE
forever

Terminal Value= FCFE n+1 /(ke-gn)

FCFE1 FCFE2 FCFE3 FCFE4 FCFE5 FCFEn
Value of Equity .........
Forever
Discount at Cost of Equity

Cost of Equity

Riskfree Rate :
- No default risk Risk Premium
- No reinvestment risk Beta - Premium for average
- In same currency and + - Measures market risk X
risk investment
in same terms (real or
nominal as cash flows
Type of Operating Financial Base Equity Country Risk
Business Leverage Leverage Premium Premium

Aswath Damodaran 14
 VALUING A FIRM

Cashflow to Firm Expected Growth

EBIT (1-t) Reinvestment Rate
- (Cap Ex - Depr) * Return on Capital
Firm is in stable growth:
- Change in WC
Grows at constant rate
= FCFF
forever

Terminal Value= FCFF n+1 /(r-gn)

FCFF1 FCFF2 FCFF3 FCFF4 FCFF5 FCFFn
Value of Operating Assets .........
+ Cash & Non-op Assets Forever
= Value of Firm
Discount at WACC= Cost of Equity (Equity/(Debt + Equity)) + Cost of Debt (Debt/(Debt+ Equity))
- Value of Debt
= Value of Equity

Cost of Equity Cost of Debt Weights

(Riskfree Rate Based on Market Value
+ Default Spread) (1-t)

Riskfree Rate :
- No default risk Risk Premium
- No reinvestment risk Beta - Premium for average
+ - Measures market risk X
- In same currency and risk investment
in same terms (real or
nominal as cash flows
Type of Operating Financial Base Equity Country Risk
Business Leverage Leverage Premium Premium

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 Discounted Cash Flow Valuation:
The Inputs
Aswath Damodaran

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 I. Estimating Discount Rates

DCF Valuation

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 Estimating Inputs: Discount Rates

n Critical ingredient in discounted cashflow valuation. Errors in

estimating the discount rate or mismatching cashflows and discount
rates can lead to serious errors in valuation.
n At an intuitive level, the discount rate used should be consistent with
both the riskiness and the type of cashflow being discounted.
• Equity versus Firm: If the cash flows being discounted are cash flows to
equity, the appropriate discount rate is a cost of equity. If the cash flows
are cash flows to the firm, the appropriate discount rate is the cost of
capital.
• Currency: The currency in which the cash flows are estimated should also
be the currency in which the discount rate is estimated.
• Nominal versus Real: If the cash flows being discounted are nominal cash
flows (i.e., reflect expected inflation), the discount rate should be nominal

Aswath Damodaran 18
 Cost of Equity

n The cost of equity should be higher for riskier investments and lower
for safer investments
n While risk is usually defined in terms of the variance of actual returns
around an expected return, risk and return models in finance assume
that the risk that should be rewarded (and thus built into the discount
rate) in valuation should be the risk perceived by the marginal investor
in the investment
n Most risk and return models in finance also assume that the marginal
investor is well diversified, and that the only risk that he or she
perceives in an investment is risk that cannot be diversified away (I.e,
market or non-diversifiable risk)

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 The Cost of Equity: Competing Models

Model Expected Return Inputs Needed

CAPM E(R) = Rf + β (Rm- Rf) Riskfree Rate
Beta relative to market portfolio
Market Risk Premium
APM E(R) = Rf + Σj=1 βj (Rj- Rf) Riskfree Rate; # of Factors;
Betas relative to each factor
Factor risk premiums
Multi E(R) = Rf + Σj=1,,N βj (Rj- Rf) Riskfree Rate; Macro factors
factor Betas relative to macro factors
Macro economic risk premiums
Proxy E(R) = a + Σj=1..N bj Yj Proxies
Regression coefficients

Aswath Damodaran 20
 The CAPM: Cost of Equity

n Consider the standard approach to estimating cost of equity:

Cost of Equity = Rf + Equity Beta * (E(Rm) - Rf)
where,
Rf = Riskfree rate
E(Rm) = Expected Return on the Market Index (Diversified Portfolio)
n In practice,
• Short term government security rates are used as risk free rates
• Historical risk premiums are used for the risk premium
• Betas are estimated by regressing stock returns against market returns

Aswath Damodaran 21
 Short term Governments are not riskfree

n On a riskfree asset, the actual return is equal to the expected return.

Therefore, there is no variance around the expected return.
n For an investment to be riskfree, then, it has to have
• No default risk
• No reinvestment risk
n Thus, the riskfree rates in valuation will depend upon when the cash
flow is expected to occur and will vary across time
n A simpler approach is to match the duration of the analysis (generally
long term) to the duration of the riskfree rate (also long term)
n In emerging markets, there are two problems:
• The government might not be viewed as riskfree (Brazil, Indonesia)
• There might be no market-based long term government rate (China)

Aswath Damodaran 22
 Estimating a Riskfree Rate

n Estimate a range for the riskfree rate in local terms:

• Approach 1: Subtract default spread from local government bond rate:
Government bond rate in local currency terms - Default spread for
Government in local currency
• Approach 2: Use forward rates and the riskless rate in an index currency
(say Euros or dollars) to estimate the riskless rate in the local currency.
n Do the analysis in real terms (rather than nominal terms) using a real
riskfree rate, which can be obtained in one of two ways –
• from an inflation-indexed government bond, if one exists
• set equal, approximately, to the long term real growth rate of the economy
in which the valuation is being done.
n Do the analysis in another more stable currency, say US dollars.

Aswath Damodaran 23
 A Simple Test

n You are valuing Ambev, a Brazilian company, in U.S. dollars and are
attempting to estimate a riskfree rate to use in the analysis. The
riskfree rate that you should use is
o The interest rate on a Brazilian Real denominated long term
Government bond
o The interest rate on a US $ denominated Brazilian long term bond (C-
Bond)
o The interest rate on a US $ denominated Brazilian Brady bond (which
is partially backed by the US Government)
o The interest rate on a US treasury bond

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 Everyone uses historical premiums, but..

n The historical premium is the premium that stocks have historically

earned over riskless securities.
n Practitioners never seem to agree on the premium; it is sensitive to
• How far back you go in history…
• Whether you use T.bill rates or T.Bond rates
• Whether you use geometric or arithmetic averages.
n For instance, looking at the US:
Arithmetic average Geometric Average
Historical Period T.Bills T.Bonds T.Bills T.Bonds
1928-2001 8.09% 6.84% 6.21% 5.17%
1962-2001 5.89% 4.68% 4.74% 3.90%
1991-2001 10.62% 6.90% 9.44% 6.17%

Aswath Damodaran 25
 If you choose to use historical premiums….

n Go back as far as you can. A risk premium comes with a standard

error. Given the annual standard deviation in stock prices is about
25%, the standard error in a historical premium estimated over 25
years is roughly:
Standard Error in Premium = 25%/√25 = 25%/5 = 5%
n Be consistent in your use of the riskfree rate. Since we argued for long
term bond rates, the premium should be the one over T.Bonds
n Use the geometric risk premium. It is closer to how investors think
about risk premiums over long periods.

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 Country Risk Premiums

n Historical risk premiums are almost impossible to estimate with any

precision in markets with limited history - this is true not just of
emerging markets but also of many Western European markets.
n For such markets, we can estimate a modified historical premium
beginning with the U.S. premium as the base:
• Relative Equity Market approach: The country risk premium is based
upon the volatility of the market in question relative to U.S market.
Country risk premium = Risk PremiumUS* σCountry Equity / σUS Equity
• Country Bond approach: In this approach, the country risk premium is
based upon the default spread of the bond issued by the country.
Country risk premium = Risk PremiumUS+ Country bond default spread
• Combined approach: In this approach, the country risk premium
incorporates both the country bond spread and equity market volatility.

Aswath Damodaran 27
 Step 1: Assessing Country Risk Using Country
Ratings: Latin America - March 2001

Country Rating Typical Spread Market Spread

Argentina B1 450 563
Bolivia B1 450 551
Brazil B1 450 537
Colombia Ba2 300 331
Ecuador Caa2 750 787
Guatemala Ba2 300 361
Honduras B2 550 581
Mexico Baa3 145 235
Paraguay B2 550 601
Peru Ba3 400 455
Uruguay Baa3 145 193
Venezuela B2 550 631

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 Step 2: From Bond Default Spreads to Equity
Spreads

n Country ratings measure default risk. While default risk premiums and
equity risk premiums are highly correlated, one would expect equity
spreads to be higher than debt spreads.
• One way to adjust the country spread upwards is to use information from
the US market. In the US, the equity risk premium has been roughly twice
the default spread on junk bonds.
• Another is to multiply the bond spread by the relative volatility of stock
and bond prices in that market. For example,
– Standard Deviation in Bovespa (Equity) = 32.6%
– Standard Deviation in Brazil C-Bond = 17.1%
– Adjusted Equity Spread = 5.37% (32.6/17.1%) = 10.24%
n Ratings agencies make mistakes. They are often late in recognizing
and building in risk.

Aswath Damodaran 29
 Another Example: Assessing Country Risk
Using Currency Ratings: Western Europe

• Country Rating Typical Spread Actual Spread

• Austria Aaa 0
• Belgium Aaa 0
• Denmark Aaa 0
• Finland Aaa 0
• France Aaa 0
• Germany Aaa 0
• Greece A3 95 50
• Ireland AA2 65 35
• Italy Aa3 70 30
• Netherlands Aaa 0
• Norway Aaa 0
• Portugal A3 95 55
• Spain Aa1 60 30
• Sweden Aa1 60 25
• Switzerland Aaa 0

Aswath Damodaran 30
 Greek Country Risk Premium

n Country ratings measure default risk. While default risk premiums and
equity risk premiums are highly correlated, one would expect equity
spreads to be higher than debt spreads.
• One way to adjust the country spread upwards is to use information from
the US market. In the US, the equity risk premium has been roughly twice
the default spread on junk bonds.
• Another is to multiply the bond spread by the relative volatility of stock
and bond prices in that market. For example,
– Standard Deviation in Greek ASE(Equity) = 40.5%
– Standard Deviation in Greek GDr Bond = 26.1%
– Adjusted Equity Spread = 0.95% (40.5%/26.1%) = 1.59%
n Ratings agencies make mistakes. They are often late in recognizing
and building in risk.

Aswath Damodaran 31
 From Country Spreads to Corporate Risk
premiums

n Approach 1: Assume that every company in the country is equally

exposed to country risk. In this case,
E(Return) = Riskfree Rate + Country Spread + Beta (US premium)
Implicitly, this is what you are assuming when you use the local
Government’s dollar borrowing rate as your riskfree rate.
n Approach 2: Assume that a company’s exposure to country risk is
similar to its exposure to other market risk.
E(Return) = Riskfree Rate + Beta (US premium + Country Spread)
n Approach 3: Treat country risk as a separate risk factor and allow
firms to have different exposures to country risk (perhaps based upon
the proportion of their revenues come from non-domestic sales)
E(Return)=Riskfree Rate+ β (US premium) + λ (Country Spread)

Aswath Damodaran 32
 Estimating Company Exposure to Country Risk

n Different companies should be exposed to different degrees to country risk.

For instance, a Brazilian firm that generates the bulk of its revenues in the
United States should be less exposed to country risk in Brazil than one that
generates all its business within Brazil.
n The factor “λ” measures the relative exposure of a firm to country risk. One
simplistic solution would be to do the following:
λ = % of revenues domesticallyfirm/ % of revenues domesticallyavg firm
For instance, if a firm gets 35% of its revenues domestically while the average
firm in that market gets 70% of its revenues domestically
λ = 35%/ 70 % = 0.5
n There are two implications
• A company’s risk exposure is determined by where it does business and not by
where it is located
• Firms might be able to actively manage their country risk exposures

Aswath Damodaran 33
 Estimating E(Return) for Embraer

n Assume that the beta for Embraer is 0.88, and that the riskfree rate used is
4.5%. (Real Riskfree Rate)
n Approach 1: Assume that every company in the country is equally exposed to
country risk. In this case,
E(Return) =4.5% + 10.24% + 0.88 (5.51%) = 19.59%
n Approach 2: Assume that a company’s exposure to country risk is similar to
its exposure to other market risk.
E(Return) = 4.5% + 0.88 (5.51%+ 10.24%) = 18.36%
n Approach 3: Treat country risk as a separate risk factor and allow firms to
have different exposures to country risk (perhaps based upon the proportion of
their revenues come from non-domestic sales)
E(Return)= 4.5% + 0.88(5.51%) + 0.50 (10.24%) = 14.47%
Embraer is less exposed to country risk than the typical Brazilian firm since much
of its business is overseas.

Aswath Damodaran 34
 Implied Equity Premiums

n If we use a basic discounted cash flow model, we can estimate the

implied risk premium from the current level of stock prices.
n For instance, if stock prices are determined by a variation of the simple
Gordon Growth Model:
• Value = Expected Dividends next year/ (Required Returns on Stocks -
Expected Growth Rate)
• Dividends can be extended to included expected stock buybacks and a
high growth period.
• Plugging in the current level of the index, the dividends on the index and
expected growth rate will yield a “implied” expected return on stocks.
Subtracting out the riskfree rate will yield the implied premium.
n This model can be extended to allow for two stages of growth - an
initial period where the entire market will have earnings growth
greater than that of the economy, and then a stable growth period.

Aswath Damodaran 35
 Estimating Implied Premium for U.S. Market:
Jan 1, 2002

n Level of the index = 1148

n Treasury bond rate = 5.05%
n Expected Growth rate in earnings (next 5 years) = 10.3% (Consensus
estimate for S&P 500)
n Expected growth rate after year 5 = 5.05%
n Dividends + stock buybacks = 2.74% of index (Current year)
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5
Expected Dividends = $34.72 $38.30 $42.24 $46.59 $51.39
+ Stock Buybacks
Expected dividends + buybacks in year 6 = 51.39 (1.0505) = $ 54.73
1148 = 34.72/(1+r) + 38.30/(1+r)2+ + 42.24/(1+r)3 + 46.59/(1+r)4 + (51.39+(54.73/(r-
.0505))/(1+r)5
Solving for r, r = 8.67%. (Only way to do this is trial and error)
Implied risk premium = 8.67% - 5.05% = 3.62%

Aswath Damodaran 36
 Implied Premium for US Equity Market

7.00%

6.00%

5.00%
Implied Premium

4.00%

3.00%

2.00%

1.00%

0.00%
1960

1962

1964

1966

1968

1970

1972

1974

1976

1978

1980

1982

1984

1986

1988

1990

1992

1994

1996

1998

2000
Year

Aswath Damodaran 37
 Implied Premium for Brazilian Market: March 1,
2001

n Level of the Index = 16417

n Dividends on the Index = 4.40% of (Used weighted yield)
n Other parameters
• Riskfree Rate = 4.5% (real riskfree rate)
• Expected Growth
– Next 5 years = 13.5% (Used expected real growth rate in Earnings)
– After year 5 = 4.5% (real growth rate in long term)
n Solving for the expected return:
• Expected return on Equity = 11.16%
• Implied Equity premium = 11.16% -4. 5% = 6.66%

Aswath Damodaran 38
 The Effect of Using Implied Equity Premiums
on Value

n Embraer’s value per share (using historical premium + country risk

adjustment) = 11.22 BR
n Embraer’s value per share (using implied equity premium of 6.66%) =
20.02 BR
n Embraer’s stock price (at the time of the valuation) = 15.25 BR

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 Estimating Beta

n The standard procedure for estimating betas is to regress stock returns

(Rj) against market returns (Rm) -
Rj = a + b Rm
• where a is the intercept and b is the slope of the regression.
n The slope of the regression corresponds to the beta of the stock, and
measures the riskiness of the stock.
n This beta has three problems:
• It has high standard error
• It reflects the firm’s business mix over the period of the regression, not
the current mix
• It reflects the firm’s average financial leverage over the period rather than
the current leverage.

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 Beta Estimation: The Noise Problem

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 Beta Estimation: The Index Effect

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 Determinants of Betas

n Product or Service: The beta value for a firm depends upon the
sensitivity of the demand for its products and services and of its costs
to macroeconomic factors that affect the overall market.
• Cyclical companies have higher betas than non-cyclical firms
• Firms which sell more discretionary products will have higher betas than
firms that sell less discretionary products
n Operating Leverage: The greater the proportion of fixed costs in the
cost structure of a business, the higher the beta will be of that business.
This is because higher fixed costs increase your exposure to all risk,
including market risk.
n Financial Leverage: The more debt a firm takes on, the higher the
beta will be of the equity in that business. Debt creates a fixed cost,
interest expenses, that increases exposure to market risk.

Aswath Damodaran 43
 Equity Betas and Leverage

n The beta of equity alone can be written as a function of the unlevered

beta and the debt-equity ratio
βL = βu (1+ ((1-t)D/E))
where
βL = Levered or Equity Beta
βu = Unlevered Beta (Asset Beta)
t = Corporate marginal tax rate
D = Market Value of Debt
E = Market Value of Equity
n While this beta is estimated on the assumption that debt carries no
market risk (and has a beta of zero), you can have a modified version:
βL = βu (1+ ((1-t)D/E)) - βdebt (1-t) (D/E)

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 Solutions to the Regression Beta Problem

n Modify the regression beta by

• changing the index used to estimate the beta
• adjusting the regression beta estimate, by bringing in information about the
fundamentals of the company
n Estimate the beta for the firm using
• the standard deviation in stock prices instead of a regression against an index.
• accounting earnings or revenues, which are less noisy than market prices.
n Estimate the beta for the firm from the bottom up without employing the
regression technique. This will require
• understanding the business mix of the firm
• estimating the financial leverage of the firm
n Use an alternative measure of market risk that does not need a regression.

Aswath Damodaran 45
 Bottom-up Betas

n The bottom up beta can be estimated by :

• Taking a weighted (by sales or operating income) average of the
unlevered betas of the different businesses a firm is in.
j =k
 Operating Income j 
∑j =1
j  Operating Income


Firm 

(The unlevered beta of a business can be estimated by looking at other firms in

the same business)
• Lever up using the firm’s debt/equity ratio
levered = unlevered [1+ (1− tax rate) (Current Debt/Equity Ratio)]

n The bottom up beta will give you a better estimate of the true beta
when
• It has lower standard error (SEaverage = SEfirm / √n (n = number of firms)
• It reflects the firm’s current business mix and financial leverage
• It can be estimated for divisions and private firms.

Aswath Damodaran 46
 Bottom-up Beta: Firm in Multiple Businesses
Boeing in 1998

Segment Estimated Value Unlevered Beta Segment Weight

Commercial Aircraft 30,160.48 0.91 70.39%
Defense 12,687.50 0.80 29.61%
Estimated Value = Revenues of division * Enterprise Value/SalesBusiness
Unlevered Beta of firm = 0.91 (.7039) + 0.80 (.2961) = 0.88

Levered Beta Calculation

Market Value of Equity = $ 33,401
Market Value of Debt = $8,143
Market Debt/Equity Ratio = 24.38%
Tax Rate = 35%
Levered Beta for Boeing = 0.88 (1 + (1 - .35) (.2438)) = 1.02

Aswath Damodaran 47
 Siderar’s Bottom-up Beta

Siderar is an Argentine steel company.

Business Unlevered D/E Ratio Levered
Beta Beta
Steel 0.68 5.97% 0.71

Proportion of operating income from steel = 100%

Levered Beta for Siderar= 0.71

Aswath Damodaran 48
 Comparable Firms?

Can an unlevered beta estimated using U.S. steel companies be used to

estimate the beta for an Argentine steel company?
q Yes
q No

Aswath Damodaran 49
 The Cost of Equity: A Recap

Preferably, a bottom-up beta,

based upon other firms in the
business, and firm’s own financial
leverage

Cost of Equity = Riskfree Rate + Beta * (Risk Premium)

Has to be in the same Historical Premium Implied Premium

currency as cash flows, 1. Mature Equity Market Premium: Based on how equity
and defined in same terms Average premium earned by or market is priced today
(real or nominal) as the stocks over T.Bonds in U.S. and a simple valuation
cash flows 2. Country risk premium = model
Country Default Spread* ( σEquity/σCountry bond)

Aswath Damodaran 50
 Estimating the Cost of Debt

n The cost of debt is the rate at which you can borrow at currently, It
will reflect not only your default risk but also the level of interest rates
in the market.
n The two most widely used approaches to estimating cost of debt are:
• Looking up the yield to maturity on a straight bond outstanding from the
firm. The limitation of this approach is that very few firms have long term
straight bonds that are liquid and widely traded
• Looking up the rating for the firm and estimating a default spread based
upon the rating. While this approach is more robust, different bonds from
the same firm can have different ratings. You have to use a median rating
for the firm
n When in trouble (either because you have no ratings or multiple ratings
for a firm), estimate a synthetic rating for your firm and the cost of
debt based upon that rating.

Aswath Damodaran 51
 Estimating Synthetic Ratings

n The rating for a firm can be estimated using the financial

characteristics of the firm. In its simplest form, the rating can be
estimated from the interest coverage ratio
Interest Coverage Ratio = EBIT / Interest Expenses
n For Siderar, in 1999, for instance
Interest Coverage Ratio = 161/48 = 3.33
• Based upon the relationship between interest coverage ratios and ratings,
we would estimate a rating of A- for Siderar. With a default spread of
1.25% (given the rating of A-)
n For Titan’s interest coverage ratio, we used the interest expenses and
EBIT from 2000.
Interest Coverage Ratio = 55,467/ 4028= 13.77

Aswath Damodaran 52
 Interest Coverage Ratios, Ratings and Default
Spreads

If Coverage Ratio is Estimated Bond Rating Default Spread(1/99) Default Spread(1/01)

> 8.50 AAA 0.20% 0.75%
6.50 - 8.50 AA 0.50% 1.00%
5.50 - 6.50 A+ 0.80% 1.50%
4.25 - 5.50 A 1.00% 1.80%
3.00 - 4.25 A– 1.25% 2.00%
2.50 - 3.00 BBB 1.50% 2.25%
2.00 - 2.50 BB 2.00% 3.50%
1.75 - 2.00 B+ 2.50% 4.75%
1.50 - 1.75 B 3.25% 6.50%
1.25 - 1.50 B– 4.25% 8.00%
0.80 - 1.25 CCC 5.00% 10.00%
0.65 - 0.80 CC 6.00% 11.50%
0.20 - 0.65 C 7.50% 12.70%
< 0.20 D 10.00% 15.00%

Aswath Damodaran 53
 Cost of Debt computations

n Companies in countries with low bond ratings and high default risk
might bear the burden of country default risk
• For Siderar, the rating estimated of A- yields a cost of debt as follows:
Pre-tax Cost of Debt in 1999
= US T.Bond rate + Country default spread + Company Default Spread
= 6% + 5.25% + 1.25% = 12.50%
n The synthetic rating for Titan is AAA. The default spread in 2001 is
0.75%.
Pre-tax Cost of Debt
= Riskfree Rate + Company Default Spread+ Country Spread
= 5.10% + 0.75% + 0.95%= 6.80%

Aswath Damodaran 54
 Synthetic Ratings: Some Caveats

n The relationship between interest coverage ratios and ratings,

developed using US companies, tends to travel well, as long as we are
analyzing large manufacturing firms in markets with interest rates
close to the US interest rate
n They are more problematic when looking at smaller companies in
markets with higher interest rates than the US.

Aswath Damodaran 55
 Weights for the Cost of Capital Computation

n The weights used to compute the cost of capital should be the market
value weights for debt and equity.
n There is an element of circularity that is introduced into every
valuation by doing this, since the values that we attach to the firm and
equity at the end of the analysis are different from the values we gave
them at the beginning.
n As a general rule, the debt that you should subtract from firm value to
arrive at the value of equity should be the same debt that you used to
compute the cost of capital.

Aswath Damodaran 56
 Estimating Cost of Capital: Titan Cements
Mature Greek country premium
market
n Equity premium

• Cost of Equity = 5.10% + 0.96 (4%+1.59%) = 10.47%

• Market Value of Equity = 739,217 million GDr (78.7%)
Company default spread
Country default spread
n Debt
• Cost of debt = 5.10% + 0.75% +0.95%= 6.80%
• Market Value of Debt = 199,766 million GDr (21.3 %)

n Cost of Capital
Cost of Capital = 10.47 % (.787) + 6.80% (1- .2449) (0.213)) = 9.33 %

Aswath Damodaran 57
 Titan Cement: Book Value Weights

n Titan Cement has a book value of equity of 135,857 million GDR and
a book value of debt of 200,000 million GDR. Estimate the cost of
capital using book value weights instead of market value weights.

Aswath Damodaran 58
 Estimating A U.S. Dollar Cost of Capital:
Siderar - An Argentine Steel Company

Mature Market Premium Country Risk Premium for Argentina

n Equity
• Cost of Equity = 6.00% + 0.71 (4% +10.53%) = 16.32%
• Market Value of Equity = 3.20* 310.89 = 995 million (94.37%)
n Debt
• Cost of debt = 6.00% + 5.25% (Country default) +1.25% (Company
default) = 12.5%
• Market Value of Debt = 59 Mil (5.63%)
n Cost of Capital
Cost of Capital = 16.32 % (.9437) + 12.50% (1-.3345) (.0563))
= 16.32 % (.9437) + 8.32% (.0563)) = 15.87 %

Aswath Damodaran 59
 Converting a Dollar Cost of Capital into a Peso
cost of capital

n Approach 1: Use a peso riskfree rate in all of the calculations above. For
instance, if the peso riskfree rate was 10%, the cost of capital would be
computed as follows:
• Cost of Equity = 10.00% + 0.71 (4% +10.53%) = 20.32%
• Cost of Debt = = 10.00% + 5.25% (Country default) +1.25% (Company default) =
16.5%
(This assumes the peso riskfree rate has no country risk premium embedded in it.)
n Approach 2: Use the differential inflation rate to estimate the cost of capital.
For instance, if the inflation rate in pesos is 7% and the inflation rate in the
U.S. is 3%
Cost of capital=  1+ Inflation Peso 
(1 + Cost of Capital )
$  1+ Inflation 
 $ 

= 1.1587 (1.07/1.03) = 1.2037--> 20.37%

Aswath Damodaran 60
 Dealing with Hybrids and Preferred Stock

n When dealing with hybrids (convertible bonds, for instance), break the
security down into debt and equity and allocate the amounts
accordingly. Thus, if a firm has $ 125 million in convertible debt
outstanding, break the $125 million into straight debt and conversion
option components. The conversion option is equity.
n When dealing with preferred stock, it is better to keep it as a separate
component. The cost of preferred stock is the preferred dividend yield.
(As a rule of thumb, if the preferred stock is less than 5% of the
outstanding market value of the firm, lumping it in with debt will make
no significant impact on your valuation).

Aswath Damodaran 61
 Recapping the Cost of Capital

Cost of borrowing should be based upon

(1) synthetic or actual bond rating Marginal tax rate, reflecting
(2) default spread tax benefits of debt
Cost of Borrowing = Riskfree rate + Default spread

Cost of Capital = Cost of Equity (Equity/(Debt + Equity)) + Cost of Borrowing (1-t) (Debt/(Debt + Equity))

Cost of equity
based upon bottom-up Weights should be market value weights
beta

Aswath Damodaran 62
 II. Estimating Cash Flows

DCF Valuation

Aswath Damodaran 63
 Steps in Cash Flow Estimation

n Estimate the current earnings of the firm

• If looking at cash flows to equity, look at earnings after interest expenses -
i.e. net income
• If looking at cash flows to the firm, look at operating earnings after taxes
n Consider how much the firm invested to create future growth
• If the investment is not expensed, it will be categorized as capital
expenditures. To the extent that depreciation provides a cash flow, it will
cover some of these expenditures.
• Increasing working capital needs are also investments for future growth
n If looking at cash flows to equity, consider the cash flows from net
debt issues (debt issued - debt repaid)

Aswath Damodaran 64
 Measuring Cash Flows

Cash flows can be measured to

Just Equity Investors

All claimholders in the firm

EBIT (1- tax rate) Net Income Dividends

- ( Capital Expenditures - Depreciation) - (Capital Expenditures - Depreciation) + Stock Buybacks
- Change in non-cash working capital - Change in non-cash Working Capital
= Free Cash Flow to Firm (FCFF) - (Principal Repaid - New Debt Issues)
- Preferred Dividend

Aswath Damodaran 65
 Measuring Cash Flow to the Firm

EBIT ( 1 - tax rate)

- (Capital Expenditures - Depreciation)
- Change in Working Capital
= Cash flow to the firm
n Where are the tax savings from interest payments in this cash flow?

Aswath Damodaran 66
 From Reported to Actual Earnings

Operating leases R&D Expenses

Firm’s Comparable - Convert into debt - Convert into asset
history Firms - Adjust operating income - Adjust operating income

Normalize Cleanse operating items of

Earnings - Financial Expenses
- Capital Expenses
- Non-recurring expenses

Measuring Earnings

Update
- Trailing Earnings
- Unofficial numbers

Aswath Damodaran 67
 I. Update Earnings

n When valuing companies, we often depend upon financial statements

for inputs on earnings and assets. Annual reports are often outdated
and can be updated by using-
• Trailing 12-month data, constructed from quarterly earnings reports.
• Informal and unofficial news reports, if quarterly reports are unavailable.
n Updating makes the most difference for smaller and more volatile
firms, as well as for firms that have undergone significant
restructuring.

Aswath Damodaran 68
 II. Correcting Accounting Earnings

n The Operating Lease Adjustment: While accounting convention treats

operating leases as operating expenses, they are really financial
expenses and need to be reclassified as such. This has no effect on
equity earnings but does change the operating earnings
n The R & D Adjustment: Since R&D is a capital expenditure (rather
than an operating expense), the operating income has to be adjusted to
reflect its treatment.

Aswath Damodaran 69
 The Magnitude of Operating Leases

Operating Lease expenses as % of Operating Income

60.00%

50.00%

40.00%

30.00%

20.00%

10.00%

0.00%
Market Apparel Stores Furniture Stores Restaurants

Aswath Damodaran 70
 Dealing with Operating Lease Expenses

n Operating Lease Expenses are treated as operating expenses in

computing operating income. In reality, operating lease expenses
should be treated as financing expenses, with the following
adjustments to earnings and capital:
n Debt Value of Operating Leases = PV of Operating Lease Expenses at
the pre-tax cost of debt
n Adjusted Operating Earnings
Adjusted Operating Earnings = Operating Earnings + Operating Lease
Expenses - Depreciation on Leased Asset
• As an approximation, this works:
Adjusted Operating Earnings = Operating Earnings + Pre-tax cost of Debt *
PV of Operating Leases.

Aswath Damodaran 71
 Operating Leases at The Home Depot in 1998

n The pre-tax cost of debt at the Home Depot is 6.25%

Yr Operating Lease Expense Present Value
1 $ 294 $ 277
2 $ 291 $ 258
3 $ 264 $ 220
4 $ 245 $ 192
5 $ 236 $ 174
6-15 $ 270 $ 1,450 (PV of 10-yr annuity)
Present Value of Operating Leases =$ 2,571
n Debt outstanding at the Home Depot = $1,205 + $2,571 = $3,776 mil
(The Home Depot has other debt outstanding of $1,205 million)
n Adjusted Operating Income = $2,016 + 2,571 (.0625) = $2,177 mil

Aswath Damodaran 72
 The Effects of Capitalizing Operating Leases

n Debt : will increase, leading to an increase in debt ratios used in the

cost of capital and levered beta calculation
n Operating income: will increase, since operating leases will now be
before the imputed interest on the operating lease expense
n Net income: will be unaffected since it is after both operating and
financial expenses anyway
n Return on Capital will generally decrease since the increase in
operating income will be proportionately lower than the increase in
book capital invested

Aswath Damodaran 73
 The Magnitude of R&D Expenses

R&D as % of Operating Income

60.00%

50.00%

40.00%

30.00%

20.00%

10.00%

0.00%
Market Petroleum Computers

Aswath Damodaran 74
 R&D Expenses: Operating or Capital Expenses

n Accounting standards require us to consider R&D as an operating

expense even though it is designed to generate future growth. It is
more logical to treat it as capital expenditures.
n To capitalize R&D,
• Specify an amortizable life for R&D (2 - 10 years)
• Collect past R&D expenses for as long as the amortizable life
• Sum up the unamortized R&D over the period. (Thus, if the amortizable
life is 5 years, the research asset can be obtained by adding up 1/5th of the
R&D expense from five years ago, 2/5th of the R&D expense from four
years ago...:

Aswath Damodaran 75
 Capitalizing R&D Expenses: Cisco

n R & D was assumed to have a 5-year life.

Year R&D Expense Unamortized portion Amortization this year

1999 (current) 1594.00 1.00 1594.00

1998 1026.00 0.80 820.80 $205.20
1997 698.00 0.60 418.80 $139.60
1996 399.00 0.40 159.60 $79.80
1995 211.00 0.20 42.20 $42.20
1994 89.00 0.00 0.00 $17.80
Total $ 3,035.40 $ 484.60
Value of research asset = $ 3,035.4 million
Amortization of research asset in 1998 = $ 484.6 million
Adjustment to Operating Income = $ 1,594 million - 484.6 million = 1,109.4 million

Aswath Damodaran 76
 The Effect of Capitalizing R&D

n Operating Income will generally increase, though it depends upon

whether R&D is growing or not. If it is flat, there will be no effect
since the amortization will offset the R&D added back. The faster
R&D is growing the more operating income will be affected.
n Net income will increase proportionately, depending again upon how
fast R&D is growing
n Book value of equity (and capital) will increase by the capitalized
Research asset
n Capital expenditures will increase by the amount of R&D;
Depreciation will increase by the amortization of the research asset;
For all firms, the net cap ex will increase by the same amount as the
after-tax operating income.

Aswath Damodaran 77
 III. One-Time and Non-recurring Charges

n Assume that you are valuing a firm that is reporting a loss of $ 500
million, due to a one-time charge of $ 1 billion. What is the earnings
you would use in your valuation?
o A loss of $ 500 million
o A profit of $ 500 million
Would your answer be any different if the firm had reported one-time
losses like these once every five years?
o Yes
o No

Aswath Damodaran 78
 IV. Dealing with Negative or Abnormally Low
Earnings
A Framework for Analyzing Companies with Negative or Abnormally Low Earnings

Why are the earnings negative or abnormally low?

Temporary Cyclicality: Life Cycle related Leverage Long-term

Problems Eg. Auto firm reasons: Young Problems: Eg. Operating
in recession firms and firms with An otherwise Problems: Eg. A firm
infrastructure healthy firm with with significant
problems too much debt. production or cost
problems.

Normalize Earnings

If firm’s size has not If firm’s size has changed

changed significantly over time
over time Value the firm by doing detailed cash
flow forecasts starting with revenues and
reduce or eliminate the problem over
time.:
Use firm’s average ROE (if (a) If problem is structural: Target for
Average Dollar valuing equity) or average operating margins of stable firms in the
Earnings (Net Income ROC (if valuing firm) on current sector.
if Equity and EBIT if BV of equity (if ROE) or current (b) If problem is leverage: Target for a
Firm made by BV of capital (if ROC) debt ratio that the firm will be comfortable
the firm over time with by end of period, which could be its
own optimal or the industry average.
(c) If problem is operating: Target for an
industry-average operating margin.

Aswath Damodaran 79
 What tax rate?

n The tax rate that you should use in computing the after-tax operating
income should be
o The effective tax rate in the financial statements (taxes paid/Taxable
income)
o The tax rate based upon taxes paid and EBIT (taxes paid/EBIT)
o The marginal tax rate
o None of the above
o Any of the above, as long as you compute your after-tax cost of debt
using the same tax rate

Aswath Damodaran 80
 The Right Tax Rate to Use

n The choice really is between the effective and the marginal tax rate. In
doing projections, it is far safer to use the marginal tax rate since the
effective tax rate is really a reflection of the difference between the
accounting and the tax books.
n By using the marginal tax rate, we tend to understate the after-tax
operating income in the earlier years, but the after-tax tax operating
income is more accurate in later years
n If you choose to use the effective tax rate, adjust the tax rate towards
the marginal tax rate over time.

Aswath Damodaran 81
 A Tax Rate for a Money Losing Firm

n Assume that you are trying to estimate the after-tax operating income
for a firm with $ 1 billion in net operating losses carried forward. This
firm is expected to have operating income of $ 500 million each year
for the next 3 years, and the marginal tax rate on income for all firms
that make money is 40%. Estimate the after-tax operating income each
year for the next 3 years.
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
EBIT 500 500 500
Taxes
EBIT (1-t)
Tax rate

Aswath Damodaran 82
 Net Capital Expenditures

n Net capital expenditures represent the difference between capital

expenditures and depreciation. Depreciation is a cash inflow that pays
for some or a lot (or sometimes all of) the capital expenditures.
n In general, the net capital expenditures will be a function of how fast a
firm is growing or expecting to grow. High growth firms will have
much higher net capital expenditures than low growth firms.
n Assumptions about net capital expenditures can therefore never be
made independently of assumptions about growth in the future.

Aswath Damodaran 83
 Capital expenditures should include

n Research and development expenses, once they have been re-

categorized as capital expenses. The adjusted net cap ex will be
Adjusted Net Capital Expenditures = Net Capital Expenditures + Current
year’s R&D expenses - Amortization of Research Asset
n Acquisitions of other firms, since these are like capital expenditures.
The adjusted net cap ex will be
Adjusted Net Cap Ex = Net Capital Expenditures + Acquisitions of other
firms - Amortization of such acquisitions
Two caveats:
1. Most firms do not do acquisitions every year. Hence, a normalized
measure of acquisitions (looking at an average over time) should be used
2. The best place to find acquisitions is in the statement of cash flows,
usually categorized under other investment activities

Aswath Damodaran 84
 Cisco’s Acquisitions: 1999

Acquired Method of Acquisition Price Paid

GeoTel Pooling $1,344
Fibex Pooling $318
Sentient Pooling $103
American Internent Purchase $58
Summa Four Purchase $129
Clarity Wireless Purchase $153
Selsius Systems Purchase $134
PipeLinks Purchase $118
Amteva Tech Purchase $159
$2,516

Aswath Damodaran 85
 Cisco’s Net Capital Expenditures in 1999

Cap Expenditures (from statement of CF) = $ 584 mil

- Depreciation (from statement of CF) = $ 486 mil
Net Cap Ex (from statement of CF) = $ 98 mil
+ R & D expense = $ 1,594 mil
- Amortization of R&D = $ 485 mil
+ Acquisitions = $ 2,516 mil
Adjusted Net Capital Expenditures = $3,723 mil

(Amortization was included in the depreciation number)

Aswath Damodaran 86
 Working Capital Investments

n In accounting terms, the working capital is the difference between

current assets (inventory, cash and accounts receivable) and current
liabilities (accounts payables, short term debt and debt due within the
next year)
n A cleaner definition of working capital from a cash flow perspective is
the difference between non-cash current assets (inventory and accounts
receivable) and non-debt current liabilities (accounts payable)
n Any investment in this measure of working capital ties up cash.
Therefore, any increases (decreases) in working capital will reduce
(increase) cash flows in that period.
n When forecasting future growth, it is important to forecast the effects
of such growth on working capital needs, and building these effects
into the cash flows.

Aswath Damodaran 87
 Working Capital: General Propositions

n Changes in non-cash working capital from year to year tend to be

volatile. A far better estimate of non-cash working capital needs,
looking forward, can be estimated by looking at non-cash working
capital as a proportion of revenues
n Some firms have negative non-cash working capital. Assuming that
this will continue into the future will generate positive cash flows for
the firm. While this is indeed feasible for a period of time, it is not
forever. Thus, it is better that non-cash working capital needs be set to
zero, when it is negative.

Aswath Damodaran 88
 Volatile Working Capital?

Amazon Cisco Motorola

Revenues $ 1,640 $12,154 $30,931
Non-cash WC -419 -404 2547
% of Revenues -25.53% -3.32% 8.23%
Change from last year $ (309) ($700) ($829)
Average: last 3 years-15.16% -3.16% 8.91%
Average: industry 8.71% -2.71% 7.04%
Assumption in Valuation
WC as % of Revenue 3.00% 0.00% 8.23%

Aswath Damodaran 89
 Dividends and Cash Flows to Equity

n In the strictest sense, the only cash flow that an investor will receive
from an equity investment in a publicly traded firm is the dividend that
will be paid on the stock.
n Actual dividends, however, are set by the managers of the firm and
may be much lower than the potential dividends (that could have been
paid out)
• managers are conservative and try to smooth out dividends
• managers like to hold on to cash to meet unforeseen future contingencies
and investment opportunities
n When actual dividends are less than potential dividends, using a model
that focuses only on dividends will under state the true value of the
equity in a firm.

Aswath Damodaran 90
 Measuring Potential Dividends

n Some analysts assume that the earnings of a firm represent its potential
dividends. This cannot be true for several reasons:
• Earnings are not cash flows, since there are both non-cash revenues and
expenses in the earnings calculation
• Even if earnings were cash flows, a firm that paid its earnings out as
dividends would not be investing in new assets and thus could not grow
• Valuation models, where earnings are discounted back to the present, will
over estimate the value of the equity in the firm
n The potential dividends of a firm are the cash flows left over after the
firm has made any “investments” it needs to make to create future
growth and net debt repayments (debt repayments - new debt issues)
• The common categorization of capital expenditures into discretionary and
non-discretionary loses its basis when there is future growth built into the
valuation.

Aswath Damodaran 91
 Estimating Cash Flows: FCFE

n Cash flows to Equity for a Levered Firm

Net Income
- (Capital Expenditures - Depreciation)
- Changes in non-cash Working Capital
- (Principal Repayments - New Debt Issues)
= Free Cash flow to Equity

• I have ignored preferred dividends. If preferred stock exist, preferred

dividends will also need to be netted out

Aswath Damodaran 92
 Estimating FCFE when Leverage is Stable

Net Income
- (1- δ) (Capital Expenditures - Depreciation)
- (1- δ) Working Capital Needs
= Free Cash flow to Equity
δ = Debt/Capital Ratio
For this firm,
• Proceeds from new debt issues = Principal Repayments + d (Capital
Expenditures - Depreciation + Working Capital Needs)
n In computing FCFE, the book value debt to capital ratio should be
used when looking back in time but can be replaced with the market
value debt to capital ratio, looking forward.

Aswath Damodaran 93
 Estimating FCFE: Disney

n Net Income=$ 1533 Million

n Capital spending = $ 1,746 Million
n Depreciation per Share = $ 1,134 Million
n Increase in non-cash working capital = $ 477 Million
n Debt to Capital Ratio = 23.83%
n Estimating FCFE (1997):
Net Income $1,533 Mil
- (Cap. Exp - Depr)*(1-DR) $465.90 [(1746-1134)(1-.2383)]
Chg. Working Capital*(1-DR) $363.33 [477(1-.2383)]
= Free CF to Equity $ 704 Million

Dividends Paid $ 345 Million

Aswath Damodaran 94
 FCFE and Leverage: Is this a free lunch?

Debt Ratio and FCFE: Disney

1600

1400

1200

1000
FCFE

800

600

400

200

0
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%
Debt Ratio

Aswath Damodaran 95
 FCFE and Leverage: The Other Shoe Drops

Debt Ratio and Beta

8.00

7.00

6.00

5.00
Beta

4.00

3.00

2.00

1.00

0.00
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%
Debt Ratio

Aswath Damodaran 96
 Leverage, FCFE and Value

n In a discounted cash flow model, increasing the debt/equity ratio will

generally increase the expected free cash flows to equity investors over
future time periods and also the cost of equity applied in discounting
these cash flows. Which of the following statements relating leverage
to value would you subscribe to?
o Increasing leverage will increase value because the cash flow effects
will dominate the discount rate effects
o Increasing leverage will decrease value because the risk effect will be
greater than the cash flow effects
o Increasing leverage will not affect value because the risk effect will
exactly offset the cash flow effect
o Any of the above, depending upon what company you are looking at
and where it is in terms of current leverage

Aswath Damodaran 97
 Estimating FCFE: Brahma

n Net Income (1996) = 325 Million BR

n Capital spending (1996) = 396 Million
n Depreciation (1996) = 183 Million BR
n Increase in Non-cash Working capital Change (1996) = 12 Million BR
n Debt Ratio = 43.48%
n Estimating FCFE (1996):
Earnings per Share 325.00 Million BR
- (Cap Ex-Depr) (1-DR) = (396-183)(1-.4348) = 120.39 Million BR
- Change in Non-cash WC (1-DR) = 12 (1-.4348) = 6.78 Million BR
Free Cashflow to Equity 197.83 Million Br

Dividends Paid 232.00 Million BR

Aswath Damodaran 98
 III. Estimating Growth

DCF Valuation

Aswath Damodaran 99
 Ways of Estimating Growth in Earnings

n Look at the past

• The historical growth in earnings per share is usually a good starting point
for growth estimation
n Look at what others are estimating
• Analysts estimate growth in earnings per share for many firms. It is useful
to know what their estimates are.
n Look at fundamentals
• Ultimately, all growth in earnings can be traced to two fundamentals -
how much the firm is investing in new projects, and what returns these
projects are making for the firm.

Aswath Damodaran 100

 I. Historical Growth in EPS

n Historical growth rates can be estimated in a number of different ways

• Arithmetic versus Geometric Averages
• Simple versus Regression Models
n Historical growth rates can be sensitive to
• the period used in the estimation
n In using historical growth rates, the following factors have to be
considered
• how to deal with negative earnings
• the effect of changing size

Aswath Damodaran 101

 Motorola: Arithmetic versus Geometric Growth
Rates

Revenues % Change EBITDA % Change EBIT % Change

1994 $ 22,245 $ 4,151 $ 2,604
1995 $ 27,037 21.54% $ 4,850 16.84% $ 2,931 12.56%
1996 $ 27,973 3.46% $ 4,268 -12.00% $ 1,960 -33.13%
1997 $ 29,794 6.51% $ 4,276 0.19% $ 1,947 -0.66%
1998 $ 29,398 -1.33% $ 3,019 -29.40% $ 822 -57.78%
1999 $ 30,931 5.21% $ 5,398 78.80% $ 3,216 291.24%
Arithmetic Average 7.08% 10.89% 42.45%
Geometric Average 6.82% 5.39% 4.31%
Standard deviation 8.61% 41.56% 141.78%

Aswath Damodaran 102

 Cisco: Linear and Log-Linear Models for
Growth

Year EPS ln(EPS)

1991 $ 0.01 -4.6052
1992 $ 0.02 -3.9120
1993 $ 0.04 -3.2189
1994 $ 0.07 -2.6593
1995 $ 0.08 -2.5257
1996 $ 0.16 -1.8326
1997 $ 0.18 -1.7148
1998 $ 0.25 -1.3863
1999 $ 0.32 -1.1394
n EPS = -.066 + 0.0383 ( t): EPS grows by $0.0383 a year
Growth Rate = $0.0383/$0.13 = 30.5% ($0.13: Average EPS from 91-99)
n ln(EPS) = -4.66 + 0.4212 (t): Growth rate approximately 42.12%

Aswath Damodaran 103

 A Test

n You are trying to estimate the growth rate in earnings per share at
Time Warner from 1996 to 1997. In 1996, the earnings per share was a
deficit of $0.05. In 1997, the expected earnings per share is $ 0.25.
What is the growth rate?
o -600%
o +600%
o +120%
o Cannot be estimated

Aswath Damodaran 104

 Dealing with Negative Earnings

n When the earnings in the starting period are negative, the growth rate
cannot be estimated. (0.30/-0.05 = -600%)
n There are three solutions:
• Use the higher of the two numbers as the denominator (0.30/0.25 = 120%)
• Use the absolute value of earnings in the starting period as the
denominator (0.30/0.05=600%)
• Use a linear regression model and divide the coefficient by the average
earnings.
n When earnings are negative, the growth rate is meaningless. Thus,
while the growth rate can be estimated, it does not tell you much about
the future.

Aswath Damodaran 105

 The Effect of Size on Growth: Callaway Golf

Year Net Profit Growth Rate

1990 1.80
1991 6.40 255.56%
1992 19.30 201.56%
1993 41.20 113.47%
1994 78.00 89.32%
1995 97.70 25.26%
1996 122.30 25.18%
Geometric Average Growth Rate = 102%

Aswath Damodaran 106

 Extrapolation and its Dangers

Year Net Profit

1996 $ 122.30
1997 $ 247.05
1998 $ 499.03
1999 $ 1,008.05
2000 $ 2,036.25
2001 $ 4,113.23
n If net profit continues to grow at the same rate as it has in the past 6
years, the expected net income in 5 years will be $ 4.113 billion.

Aswath Damodaran 107

 II. Analyst Forecasts of Growth

n While the job of an analyst is to find under and over valued stocks in
the sectors that they follow, a significant proportion of an analyst’s
time (outside of selling) is spent forecasting earnings per share.
• Most of this time, in turn, is spent forecasting earnings per share in the
next earnings report
• While many analysts forecast expected growth in earnings per share over
the next 5 years, the analysis and information (generally) that goes into
this estimate is far more limited.
n Analyst forecasts of earnings per share and expected growth are
widely disseminated by services such as Zacks and IBES, at least for
U.S companies.

Aswath Damodaran 108

 How good are analysts at forecasting growth?

n Analysts forecasts of EPS tend to be closer to the actual EPS than

simple time series models, but the differences tend to be small
Study Time Period Analyst Forecast Error Time Series Model
Collins & Hopwood Value Line Forecasts 31.7% 34.1%
Brown & Rozeff Value Line Forecasts 28.4% 32.2%
Fried & Givoly Earnings Forecaster 16.4% 19.8%
n The advantage that analysts have over time series models
• tends to decrease with the forecast period (next quarter versus 5 years)
• tends to be greater for larger firms than for smaller firms
• tends to be greater at the industry level than at the company level
n Forecasts of growth (and revisions thereof) tend to be highly correlated
across analysts.

Aswath Damodaran 109

 Are some analysts more equal than others?

n A study of All-America Analysts (chosen by Institutional Investor) found that

• There is no evidence that analysts who are chosen for the All-America Analyst
team were chosen because they were better forecasters of earnings. (Their median
forecast error in the quarter prior to being chosen was 30%; the median forecast
error of other analysts was 28%)
• However, in the calendar year following being chosen as All-America analysts,
these analysts become slightly better forecasters than their less fortunate brethren.
(The median forecast error for All-America analysts is 2% lower than the median
forecast error for other analysts)
• Earnings revisions made by All-America analysts tend to have a much greater
impact on the stock price than revisions from other analysts
• The recommendations made by the All America analysts have a greater impact on
stock prices (3% on buys; 4.7% on sells). For these recommendations the price
changes are sustained, and they continue to rise in the following period (2.4% for
buys; 13.8% for the sells).

Aswath Damodaran 110

 The Five Deadly Sins of an Analyst

n Tunnel Vision: Becoming so focused on the sector and valuations

within the sector that they lose sight of the bigger picture.
n Lemmingitis:Strong urge felt by analysts to change recommendations
& revise earnings estimates when other analysts do the same.
n Stockholm Syndrome(shortly to be renamed the Bre-X syndrome):
Refers to analysts who start identifying with the managers of the firms
that they are supposed to follow.
n Factophobia (generally is coupled with delusions of being a famous
story teller): Tendency to base a recommendation on a “story” coupled
with a refusal to face the facts.
n Dr. Jekyll/Mr.Hyde: Analyst who thinks his primary job is to bring in
investment banking business to the firm.

Aswath Damodaran 111

 Propositions about Analyst Growth Rates

n Proposition 1: There if far less private information and far more

public information in most analyst forecasts than is generally claimed.
n Proposition 2: The biggest source of private information for analysts
remains the company itself which might explain
• why there are more buy recommendations than sell recommendations
(information bias and the need to preserve sources)
• why there is such a high correlation across analysts forecasts and revisions
• why All-America analysts become better forecasters than other analysts
after they are chosen to be part of the team.
n Proposition 3: There is value to knowing what analysts are forecasting
as earnings growth for a firm. There is, however, danger when they
agree too much (lemmingitis) and when they agree to little (in which
case the information that they have is so noisy as to be useless).

Aswath Damodaran 112

 III. Fundamental Growth Rates

Investment Current Return on

in Existing Investment on Current
Projects X Projects = Earnings
$ 1000 12% $120

Investment Next Period’s Investment Return on

in Existing Return on in New Investment on Next
Projects
$1000
X Investment
12%
+ Projects
$100
X New Projects
12%
= Period’s
Earnings
132

Investment Change in Investment Return on

in Existing ROI from in New Investment on
Projects
$1000
X current to next
period: 0%
+ Projects
$100
X New Projects
12%
Change in Earnings
= $ 12

Aswath Damodaran 113

 Growth Rate Derivations

In the special case where ROI on existing projects remains unchanged and is equal to the ROI on new projects

Investment in New Projects Change in Earnings

Current Earnings X Return on Investment = Current Earnings

100 $12
120 X 12% = $120

Reinvestment Rate X Return on Investment = Growth Rate in Earnings

83.33% X 12% = 10%

in the more general case where ROI can change from period to period, this can be expanded as follows:

Investment in Existing Projects*(Change in ROI) + New Projects (ROI) Change in Earnings

Investment in Existing Projects* Current ROI = Current Earnings

For instance, if the ROI increases from 12% to 13%, the expected growth rate can be written as follows:

$1,000 * (.13 - .12) + 100 (13%) $23

$ 1000 * .12 = $120
= 19.17%

Aswath Damodaran 114

 I. Expected Long Term Growth in EPS

n When looking at growth in earnings per share, these inputs can be cast as
follows:
Reinvestment Rate = Retained Earnings/ Current Earnings = Retention Ratio
Return on Investment = ROE = Net Income/Book Value of Equity
n In the special case where the current ROE is expected to remain unchanged
gEPS = Retained Earningst-1/ NIt-1 * ROE
= Retention Ratio * ROE
= b * ROE
n Proposition 1: The expected growth rate in earnings for a company
cannot exceed its return on equity in the long term.

Aswath Damodaran 115

 Estimating Expected Growth in EPS: ABN
Amro

n Current Return on Equity = 15.79%

n Current Retention Ratio = 1 - DPS/EPS = 1 - 1.13/2.45 = 53.88%
n If ABN Amro can maintain its current ROE and retention ratio, its
expected growth in EPS will be:
Expected Growth Rate = 0.5388 (15.79%) = 8.51%

Aswath Damodaran 116

 Expected ROE changes and Growth

n Assume now that ABN Amro’s ROE next year is expected to increase
to 17%, while its retention ratio remains at 53.88%. What is the new
expected long term growth rate in earnings per share?

n Will the expected growth rate in earnings per share next year be
greater than, less than or equal to this estimate?
o greater than
o less than
o equal to

Aswath Damodaran 117

 Changes in ROE and Expected Growth

n When the ROE is expected to change,

gEPS= b *ROEt+1 +(ROEt+1– ROEt)/ ROEt
n Proposition 2: Small changes in ROE translate into large changes in
the expected growth rate.
• The lower the current ROE, the greater the effect on growth of changes in
the ROE.
n Proposition 3: No firm can, in the long term, sustain growth in
earnings per share from improvement in ROE.
• Corollary: The higher the existing ROE of the company (relative to the
business in which it operates) and the more competitive the business in
which it operates, the smaller the scope for improvement in ROE.

Aswath Damodaran 118

 Changes in ROE: ABN Amro

n Assume now that ABN’s expansion into Asia will push up the ROE to
17%, while the retention ratio will remain 53.88%. The expected
growth rate in that year will be:
gEPS = b *ROEt+1 + (ROEt+1– ROEt)/ ROEt
=(.5388)(.17)+(.17-.1579)/(.1579)
= 16.83%
n Note that 1.21% improvement in ROE translates into almost a
doubling of the growth rate from 8.51% to 16.83%.

Aswath Damodaran 119

 ROE and Leverage

n ROE = ROC + D/E (ROC - i (1-t))

where,
ROC = EBITt (1 - tax rate)) / BV of Capitalt-1
D/E = BV of Debt/ BV of Equity
i = Interest Expense on Debt / BV of Debt
t = Tax rate on ordinary income
n Note that BV of capital = BV of Debt + BV of Equity.

n BV: Book Value

Aswath Damodaran 120

 Decomposing ROE: Brahma

n Real Return on Capital = 687 (1-.32) / (1326+542+478) = 19.91%

• This is assumed to be real because both the book value and income are
inflation adjusted.
n Debt/Equity Ratio = (542+478)/1326 = 0.77
n After-tax Cost of Debt = 8.25% (1-.32) = 5.61% (Real BR)
n Return on Equity = ROC + D/E (ROC - i(1-t))
19.91% + 0.77 (19.91% - 5.61%) = 30.92%

Aswath Damodaran 121

 Decomposing ROE: Titan Watches (India)

n Return on Capital = 713 (1-.25)/(1925+2378+1303) = 9.54%

n Debt/Equity Ratio = (2378 + 1303)/1925 = 1.91
n After-tax Cost of Debt = 13.5% (1-.25) = 10.125%
n Return on Equity = ROC + D/E (ROC - i(1-t))
9.54% + 1.91 (9.54% - 10.125%) = 8.42%

Aswath Damodaran 122

 II. Expected Growth in Net Income

n The limitation of the EPS fundamental growth equation is that it

focuses on per share earnings and assumes that reinvested earnings are
invested in projects earning the return on equity.
n A more general version of expected growth in earnings can be
obtained by substituting in the equity reinvestment into real
investments (net capital expenditures and working capital):
Equity Reinvestment Rate = (Net Capital Expenditures + Change in Working
Capital) (1 - Debt Ratio)/ Net Income
Expected GrowthNet Income = Equity Reinvestment Rate * ROE

Aswath Damodaran 123

 III. Expected Growth in EBIT And
Fundamentals: Stable ROC and Reinvestment
Rate

n When looking at growth in operating income, the definitions are

Reinvestment Rate = (Net Capital Expenditures + Change in WC)/EBIT(1-t)
Return on Investment = ROC = EBIT(1-t)/(BV of Debt + BV of Equity)
n Reinvestment Rate and Return on Capital
gEBIT = (Net Capital Expenditures + Change in WC)/EBIT(1-t) * ROC
= Reinvestment Rate * ROC
n Proposition: The net capital expenditure needs of a firm, for a
given growth rate, should be inversely proportional to the quality
of its investments.

Aswath Damodaran 124

 No Net Capital Expenditures and Long Term
Growth

n You are looking at a valuation, where the terminal value is based upon
the assumption that operating income will grow 3% a year forever, but
there are no net cap ex or working capital investments being made
after the terminal year. When you confront the analyst, he contends
that this is still feasible because the company is becoming more
efficient with its existing assets and can be expected to increase its
return on capital over time. Is this a reasonable explanation?
o Yes
o No
n Explain.

Aswath Damodaran 125

 Estimating Growth in EBIT: Cisco versus
Motorola

Cisco’s Fundamentals
n Reinvestment Rate = 106.81%
n Return on Capital =34.07%
n Expected Growth in EBIT =(1.0681)(.3407) = 36.39%
Motorola’s Fundamentals
n Reinvestment Rate = 52.99%
n Return on Capital = 12.18%
n Expected Growth in EBIT = (.5299)(.1218) = 6.45%

Aswath Damodaran 126

 IV. Operating Income Growth when Return on
Capital is Changing

n When the return on capital is changing, there will be a second

component to growth, positive if the return on capital is increasing and
negative if the return on capital is decreasing.
n If ROCt is the return on capital in period t and ROCt+1 is the return on
capital in period t+1, the expected growth rate in operating income will
be:
Expected Growth Rate = ROCt+1 * Reinvestment rate
+(ROCt+1 – ROCt)/ROCt
n If the change is over multiple periods, the second component should be
spread out over each period.

Aswath Damodaran 127

 Motorola’s Growth Rate

n Motorola’s current return on capital is 12.18% and its reinvestment rate is

52.99%.
n We expect Motorola’s return on capital to rise to 17.22% over the next 5 years
(which is half way towards the industry average)
Expected Growth Rate
= ROCNew Investments*Reinvestment Ratecurrent+ {[1+(ROCIn 5 years-ROCCurrent)/ROCCurrent]1/5-1}
= .1722*.5299 +{ [1+(.1722-.1218)/.1218]1/5-1}
= .174 or 17.40%
One way to think about this is to decompose Motorola’s expected growth into
Growth from new investments: .1722*5299= 9.12%
Growth from more efficiently using existing investments: 17.40%-9.12%=8.28%
{Note that I am assuming that the new investmentsstart making 17.22%
immediately, while allowing for existing assets to improve returns gradually}

Aswath Damodaran 128

 V. Estimating Growth when Operating Income
is Negative or Margins are changing

n When operating income is negative or margins are expected to change

over time, we use a three step process to estimate growth:
• Estimate growth rates in revenues over time
– Use historical revenue growth to get estimates of revenue growth in the near
future
– Decrease the growth rate as the firm becomes larger
– Keep track of absolute revenues to make sure that the growth is feasible
• Estimate expected operating margins each year
– Set a target margin that the firm will move towards
– Adjust the current margin towards the target margin
• Estimate the capital that needs to be invested to generate revenue growth
and expected margins
– Estimate a sales to capital ratio that you will use to generate reinvestment
needs each year.

Aswath Damodaran 129

 Commerce One: Revenues and Revenue
Growth

Year Growth Rate Revenues Operating Margin Operating Income

Current $537 -79.62% -$428
1 50.00% $806 -48.17% -$388
2 100.00% $1,611 -27.21% -$438
3 80.00% $2,900 -13.23% -$384
4 60.00% $4,640 -3.91% -$182
5 40.00% $6,496 2.30% $149
6 35.00% $8,770 6.44% $565
7 30.00% $11,401 9.20% $1,049
8 20.00% $13,681 11.04% $1,510
9 10.00% $15,049 12.27% $1,846
10 5.00% $15,802 13.08% $2,068

Aswath Damodaran 130

 Commerce One: Reinvestment Needs

Year Revenues ∆Revenues Sales/Capital Reinvestment Capital ROC

Current $537 $2,744
1 $806 $269 2.20 $122 $2,866 -14.14%
2 $1,611 $806 2.20 $366 $3,232 -15.30%
3 $2,900 $1,289 2.20 $586 $3,818 -11.87%
4 $4,640 $1,740 2.20 $791 $4,609 -4.76%
5 $6,496 $1,856 2.20 $844 $5,452 3.24%
6 $8,770 $2,274 2.20 $1,033 $6,486 10.36%
7 $11,401 $2,631 2.20 $1,196 $7,682 16.17%
8 $13,681 $2,280 2.20 $1,036 $8,718 14.17%
9 $15,049 $1,368 2.20 $622 $9,340 13.76%
10 $15,802 $752 2.20 $342 $9,682 14.39%
Industry average = 15%

Aswath Damodaran 131

 Expected Growth Rate

Equity Earnings Operating Income

Analysts Fundamentals Historical Fundamentals Historical

Stable ROC Changing ROC Negative Earnings

ROCt+1*Reinvestment Rate
ROC * + (ROCt+1-ROCt)/ROCt
Reinvestment Rate

1. Revenue Growth
2. Operating Margins
Earnings per share Net Income 3. Reinvestment Needs

Stable ROE Changing ROE Stable ROE Changing ROE

ROEt+1*Retention Ratio ROEt+1*Eq. Reinv Ratio

ROE * Retention Ratio ROE * Equity
+ (ROEt+1-ROEt)/ROEt + (ROEt+1-ROEt)/ROEt
Reinvestment Ratio

Aswath Damodaran 132

 IV. Closure in Valuation

Discounted Cashflow Valuation

Aswath Damodaran 133

 Getting Closure in Valuation

n A publicly traded firm potentially has an infinite life. The value is

therefore the present value of cash flows forever.
t = ∞ CF
Value = ∑ t
t
t = 1 ( 1 +r)

n Since we cannot estimate cash flows forever, we estimate cash flows

for a “growth period” and then estimate a terminal value, to capture the
value at the end of the period:
t = N CF
Value = ∑ t + Terminal Value
t (1 + r)N
t = 1 (1 + r)

Aswath Damodaran 134

 Ways of Estimating Terminal Value

Terminal Value

Liquidation Multiple Approach Stable Growth

Value Model

Most useful Easiest approach but Technically soundest,

when assets makes the valuation but requires that you
are separable a relative valuation make judgments about
and when the firm will grow
marketable at a stable rate which it
can sustain forever,
and the excess returns
(if any) that it will earn
during the period.

Aswath Damodaran 135

 Stable Growth and Terminal Value

n When a firm’s cash flows grow at a “constant” rate forever, the present
value of those cash flows can be written as:
Value = Expected Cash Flow Next Period / (r - g)
where,
r = Discount rate (Cost of Equity or Cost of Capital)
g = Expected growth rate
n This “constant” growth rate is called a stable growth rate and cannot
be higher than the growth rate of the economy in which the firm
operates.
n While companies can maintain high growth rates for extended periods,
they will all approach “stable growth” at some point in time.
n When they do approach stable growth, the valuation formula above
can be used to estimate the “terminal value” of all cash flows beyond.

Aswath Damodaran 136

 Limits on Stable Growth

n The stable growth rate cannot exceed the growth rate of the economy
but it can be set lower.
• If you assume that the economy is composed of high growth and stable
growth firms, the growth rate of the latter will probably be lower than the
growth rate of the economy.
• The stable growth rate can be negative. The terminal value will be lower
and you are assuming that your firm will disappear over time.

Aswath Damodaran 137

 Growth Patterns

n A key assumption in all discounted cash flow models is the period of

high growth, and the pattern of growth during that period. In general,
we can make one of three assumptions:
• there is no high growth, in which case the firm is already in stable growth
• there will be high growth for a period, at the end of which the growth rate
will drop to the stable growth rate (2-stage)
• there will be high growth for a period, at the end of which the growth rate
will decline gradually to a stable growth rate(3-stage)
• Each year will have different margins and different growth rates (n stage)

Aswath Damodaran 138

 Determinants of Growth Patterns

n Size of the firm

• Success usually makes a firm larger. As firms become larger, it becomes
much more difficult for them to maintain high growth rates
n Current growth rate
• While past growth is not always a reliable indicator of future growth,
there is a correlation between current growth and future growth. Thus, a
firm growing at 30% currently probably has higher growth and a longer
expected growth period than one growing 10% a year now.
n Barriers to entry and differential advantages
• Ultimately, high growth comes from high project returns, which, in turn,
comes from barriers to entry and differential advantages.
• The question of how long growth will last and how high it will be can
therefore be framed as a question about what the barriers to entry are, how
long they will stay up and how strong they will remain.

Aswath Damodaran 139

 Stable Growth and Fundamentals

n The growth rate of a firm is driven by its fundamentals - how much it reinvests
and how high project returns are. As growth rates approach “stability”, the
firm should be given the characteristics of a stable growth firm.
Model High Growth Firms usually Stable growth firms usually
DDM 1. Pay no or low dividends 1. Pay high dividends
2. Have high risk 2. Have average risk
3. Earn high ROC 3. Earn ROC closer to WACC
FCFE/ 1. Have high net cap ex 1. Have lower net cap ex
FCFF 2. Have high risk 2. Have average risk
3. Earn high ROC 3. Earn ROC closer to WACC
4. Have low leverage 4. Have leverage closer to
industry average

Aswath Damodaran 140

 The Dividend Discount Model: Estimating
Stable Growth Inputs

n Consider the example of ABN Amro. Based upon its current return on
equity of 15.79% and its retention ratio of 53.88%, we estimated a
growth in earnings per share of 8.51%.
n Let us assume that ABN Amro will be in stable growth in 5 years. At
that point, let us assume that its return on equity will be closer to the
average for European banks of 15%, and that it will grow at a nominal
rate of 5% (Real Growth + Inflation Rate in NV)
n The expected payout ratio in stable growth can then be estimated as
follows:
Stable Growth Payout Ratio = 1 - g/ ROE = 1 - .05/.15 = 66.67%
g = b (ROE)
b = g/ROE
Payout = 1- b

Aswath Damodaran 141

 The FCFE/FCFF Models: Estimating Stable
Growth Inputs

n The soundest way of estimating reinvestment rates in stable growth is

to relate them to expected growth and returns on capital:
Reinvestment Rate = Growth in Operating Income/ROC
n For instance, Cisco is expected to be in stable growth 13 years from
now, growing at 5% a year and earning a return on capital of 16.52%
(which is the industry average). The reinvestment rate in year 13 can
be estimated as follows:
Reinvestment Rate = 5%/16.52% = 30.27%

Aswath Damodaran 142

 V. Beyond Inputs: Choosing and
Using the Right Model
Discounted Cashflow Valuation

Aswath Damodaran 143

 Summarizing the Inputs

n In summary, at this stage in the process, we should have an estimate of

the
• the current cash flows on the investment, either to equity investors
(dividends or free cash flows to equity) or to the firm (cash flow to the
firm)
• the current cost of equity and/or capital on the investment
• the expected growth rate in earnings, based upon historical growth,
analysts forecasts and/or fundamentals
n The next step in the process is deciding
• which cash flow to discount, which should indicate
• which discount rate needs to be estimated and
• what pattern we will assume growth to follow

Aswath Damodaran 144

 Which cash flow should I discount?

n Use Equity Valuation

(a) for firms which have stable leverage, whether high or not, and
(b) if equity (stock) is being valued
n Use Firm Valuation
(a) for firms which have leverage which is too high or too low, and expect to
change the leverage over time, because debt payments and issues do not
have to be factored in the cash flows and the discount rate (cost of capital)
does not change dramatically over time.
(b) for firms for which you have partial information on leverage (eg: interest
expenses are missing..)
(c) in all other cases, where you are more interested in valuing the firm than
the equity. (Value Consulting?)

Aswath Damodaran 145

 Given cash flows to equity, should I discount
dividends or FCFE?

n Use the Dividend Discount Model

• (a) For firms which pay dividends (and repurchase stock) which are close
to the Free Cash Flow to Equity (over a extended period)
• (b)For firms where FCFE are difficult to estimate (Example: Banks and
Financial Service companies)
n Use the FCFE Model
• (a) For firms which pay dividends which are significantly higher or lower
than the Free Cash Flow to Equity. (What is significant? ... As a rule of
thumb, if dividends are less than 80% of FCFE or dividends are greater
than 110% of FCFE over a 5-year period, use the FCFE model)
• (b) For firms where dividends are not available (Example: Private
Companies, IPOs)

Aswath Damodaran 146

 What discount rate should I use?

n Cost of Equity versus Cost of Capital

• If discounting cash flows to equity -> Cost of Equity
• If discounting cash flows to the firm -> Cost of Capital
n What currency should the discount rate (risk free rate) be in?
• Match the currency in which you estimate the risk free rate to the currency
of your cash flows
n Should I use real or nominal cash flows?
• If discounting real cash flows -> real cost of capital
• If nominal cash flows -> nominal cost of capital
• If inflation is low (<10%), stick with nominal cash flows since taxes are
based upon nominal income
• If inflation is high (>10%) switch to real cash flows

Aswath Damodaran 147

 Which Growth Pattern Should I use?

n If your firm is
• large and growing at a rate close to or less than growth rate of the economy, or
• constrained by regulation from growing at rate faster than the economy
• has the characteristics of a stable firm (average risk & reinvestment rates)
Use a Stable Growth Model
n If your firm
• is large & growing at a moderate rate (≤ Overall growth rate + 10%) or
• has a single product & barriers to entry with a finite life (e.g. patents)
Use a 2-Stage Growth Model
n If your firm
• is small and growing at a very high rate (> Overall growth rate + 10%) or
• has significant barriers to entry into the business
• has firm characteristics that are very different from the norm
Use a 3-Stage or n-stage Model

Aswath Damodaran 148

 The Building Blocks of Valuation

Choose a
Cash Flow Dividends Cashflows to Equity Cashflows to Firm
Expected Dividends to
Net Income EBIT (1- tax rate)
Stockholders
- (1- δ) (Capital Exp. - Deprec’n) - (Capital Exp. - Deprec’n)
- (1- δ) Change in Work. Capital - Change in Work. Capital
= Free Cash flow to Equity (FCFE) = Free Cash flow to Firm (FCFF)
[δ = Debt Ratio]
& A Discount Rate Cost of Equity Cost of Capital
Basis: The riskier the investment, the greater is the cost of equity. WACC = ke ( E/ (D+E))
Models: + kd ( D/(D+E))
CAPM: Riskfree Rate + Beta (Risk Premium) kd = Current Borrowing Rate (1-t)
APM: Riskfree Rate + Σ Betaj (Risk Premiumj): n factors E,D: Mkt Val of Equity and Debt
& a growth pattern Stable Growth Two-Stage Growth Three-Stage Growth
g g g

| |
t High Growth Stable High Growth Transition Stable

Aswath Damodaran 149

 6. Tying up Loose Ends

Aswath Damodaran 150

 Dealing with Cash and Marketable Securities

n The simplest and most direct way of dealing with cash and marketable
securities is to keep it out of the valuation - the cash flows should be
before interest income from cash and securities, and the discount rate
should not be contaminated by the inclusion of cash. (Use betas of the
operating assets alone to estimate the cost of equity).
n Once the firm has been valued, add back the value of cash and
marketable securities.
• If you have a particularly incompetent management, with a history of
overpaying on acquisitions, markets may discount the value of this cash.

Aswath Damodaran 151

 How much cash is too much cash?

Cash as % of Firm Value: July 2000

1200

1000

800

600

400

200

0
0-1% 1-2% 2-5% 5-10% 10-15% 15-20% 20-25% 25-30% >30%

Aswath Damodaran 152

 The Value of Cash

n Implicitly, we are assuming here that the market will value cash at
face value. Assume now that you are buying a firm whose only asset is
marketable securities worth $ 100 million. Can you ever consider a
scenario where you would not be willing to pay $ 100 million for this
firm?
o Yes
o No
n What is or are the scenario(s)?

Aswath Damodaran 153

 The Case of Closed End Funds

n Closed end funds are mutual funds, with a fixed number of shares.
Unlike regular mutual funds, where the shares have to trade at net
asset value (which is the value of the securities in the fund), closed end
funds shares can and often do trade at prices which are different from
the net asset value.
n The average closed end fund has always traded at a discount on net
asset value (of between 10 and 20%) in the United States.

Aswath Damodaran 154

Aswath Damodaran
Number of Funds

10
15
20
25
30
35

0
5
Discount > 25%

Discount: 20-25
%

Discount: 15-
20%

Discount: 10-
15%

Discount: 5-10%

Discount: 0 -5%

Premium:0-5%

Premium: 5-10%
Premium or Discount on NAV

Premium:10-
15%
Closed End Equity Funds: December 31, 1997

Premium: 15-
20%

Premium 20-
25%
Closed End Funds: Price and NAV

Premium 25-
30%

Premium > 30%

155
 A Simple Explanation for the Closed End
Discount

n Assume that you have a closed-end fund that invests in ‘average risk”
stocks. Assume also that you expect the market (average risk
investments) to make 11.5% annually over the long term. If the closed
end fund underperforms the market by 0.50%, estimate the discount on
the fund.

Aswath Damodaran 156

 A Premium for Marketable Securities

n Some closed end funds trade at a premium on net asset value. For
instance, the Thai closed end funds were trading at a premium of
roughly 40% on net asset value and the Indonesian fund at a premium
of 80%+ on NAV on December 31, 1997. Why might an investor be
willing to pay a premium over the value of the marketable securities in
the fund?

Aswath Damodaran 157

 Berkshire Hathaway

Berkshire Hathaway

45000 140.00%

40000
120.00%

35000

100.00%
30000

Premium over Book Value

Value Per Share

25000 80.00%
Market Value/Share
Book Value/Share
Premium over Book Value
20000 60.00%

15000
40.00%

10000

20.00%
5000

0 0.00%
1987

1988

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997
Year

Aswath Damodaran 158

 Dealing with Holdings in Other firms

n Holdings in other firms can be categorized into

• Minority passive holdings, in which case only the dividend from the
holdings is shown in the balance sheet
• Minority active holdings, in which case the share of equity income is
shown in the income statements
• Majority active holdings, in which case the financial statements are
consolidated.

Aswath Damodaran 159

 How to value holdings in other firms

Fin Statement Valuing What to do…

Not consolidated Equity Value equity in subsidiary and take
share of holding.
Not consolidated Firm Value subsidiary as a firm and add
portion of firm value. Add portion of
debt in subsidiary to the debt in
estimating equity value.
Consolidated Firm Strip operating income of subsidiary
and value subsidiary separately. Add
portion of this value to value of
parent firm.

Aswath Damodaran 160

 How some deal with subsidiaries...

n When financial statements are consolidated, some analysts value the

firm with the consolidated operating income and then subtract minority
interests from the firm value to arrive at the value of the equity in the
firm. What is wrong with this approach?

Aswath Damodaran 161

 Equity Value and Per Share Value: A Test

n Assume that you have done an equity valuation of Microsoft. The total
value for equity is estimated to be $ 400 billion and there are 5 billion
shares outstanding. What is the value per share?

Aswath Damodaran 162

 An added fact

n In 1999, Microsoft had 500 million options outstanding, granted to

employees over time. These options had an average exercise price of $
20 (the current stock price is $ 80). Estimate the value per share.

Aswath Damodaran 163

 Equity Value and Per Share Value

n The conventional way of getting from equity value to per share value
is to divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. This
approach assumes, however, that common stock is the only equity
claim on the firm.
n In many firms, there are other equity claims as well including:
• warrants, that are publicly traded
• management and employee options, that have been granted, but do not
trade
• conversion options in convertible bonds
• contingent value rights, that are also publicly traded.
n The value of these non-stock equity claims has to be subtracted from
the value of equity before dividing by the number of shares
outstanding.

Aswath Damodaran 164

 Warrants

n A warrant is a security issued by a company that provides the holder

with the right to buy a share of stock in the company at a fixed price
during the life of the warrant.
n A warrant is therefore a long term call option on the equity of the firm
and can be valued using option pricing models.
n Warrants and other equity options issued by the firm are claims on the
equity of the firm and have to be treated as equity, which has relevance
for:
• estimating debt and equity for the leverage calculation
• estimating per share value from total equity value

Aswath Damodaran 165

 Convertible Bonds

n A convertible bond is a bond that can be converted into a pre-

determined number of shares, at the option of the bond holder.
n While it generally does not pay to convert at the time of the bond
issue, conversion becomes a more attractive option as stock prices
increase.
n A convertible bond can be considered to be made up of two securities -
a straight bond and a conversion option.
n Firms generally add conversions options to bonds to lower the interest
rate paid on the bonds.

Aswath Damodaran 166

 The Straight Bond Component

n Embedded in every convertible bond is a straight bond component.

n The easiest way to value the straight bond component is to act as if the
conversion option does not exist and value the bond. This can be
accomplished as follows:
• Step 1: Obtain the coupon rate on the convertible bond (which will
generally be low because of the conversion option)
• Step 2: Estimate the interest rate that the company would have had to pay
if it had issued a straight bond. This can be obtained either from other
bonds that the company has outstanding or from its bond rating.
• Step 3: Using the maturity of the convertible bond, the coupon rate and
the market interest rate, estimate the value of the bond as:
Value of Bond = PV of coupons at market interest rate + PV of face value of
bond at market interest rate
n The straight bond component is clearly debt.

Aswath Damodaran 167

 Factors in Using Option Pricing Models to
Value Convertibles and Warrants

n Option pricing models can be used to value the conversion option with
three caveats –
• conversion options are long term, making the assumptions about constant
variance and constant dividend yields much shakier,
• conversion options result in stock dilution, and
• conversion options are often exercised before expiration, making it
dangerous to use European option pricing models.
n These problems can be partially alleviated by using a binomial option
pricing model, allowing for shifts in variance and early exercise, and
factoring in the dilution effect

Aswath Damodaran 168

 Steps in Getting to Value Per Share

n Step 1: Value the firm, using discounted cash flow or other valuation
models.
n Step 2:Subtract out the value of the outstanding debt to arrive at the
value of equity. Alternatively, skip step 1 and estimate the of equity
directly.
n Step 3:Subtract out the market value (or estimated market value) of
other equity claims:
• Value of Warrants = Market Price per Warrant * Number of Warrants :
Alternatively estimate the value using option pricing model
• Value of Conversion Option = Market Value of Convertible Bonds -
Value of Straight Debt Portion of Convertible Bonds
n Step 4:Divide the remaining value of equity by the number of shares
outstanding to get value per share.

Aswath Damodaran 169

 An Example: Valuing Sterling Software

n The equity in Sterling Software was valued at $2,036 million, based

upon projected cash flows
n The firm has two equity options outstanding:
• The firm has 115,000 bonds outstanding, each of which can be converted
into 20 shares of stock. The market price of each convertible bond is
$1,522 and the face value is $ 1000; coupon rate of 5.75%; expires in 8
years; Bond Rating is A-; Interest rate on comparable debt = 7.50%;
• The firm has 1.8 million warrants outstanding, with a strike price of $ 55
per share; these are trading at $ 30 per share

Aswath Damodaran 170

 Estimating the Value of Options

n Convertible Debt has market value of $ 175 million; face value of $

115 million; coupon rate of 5.75%; expires in 8 years;
• Bond Rating is A-; Interest rate on comparable debt = 7.50%;
• Coupon on Convertible Debt = .0575 * 115 million = $ 6.6125 million
• Value of Straight Debt Portion of Convertible Debt = $ 6.6125 (PV of
Annuity,7.5%,8 years) + $ 115 million/1.0758 = $ 103.21 million
• Value of Conversion Option in Debt = Market Value of Convertible Debt
- Straight Debt Portion = $ 175 - $ 103 = $ 72 million :Equity
n Value of Warrants = Number of warrants * Warrant Price = 1.8
million warrants * $ 30 = $ 54 million

Aswath Damodaran 171

 Value Per Share: Sterling Software

Value of Equity = $2,036 million

- Value of Equity in Convertible Debt =$ 72 million
- Value of Equity in Warrants =$ 54 million
Value of Equity in Common Stock = $ 1,910 million
/ Number of Shares outstanding = 25.50 million
Value per Share = $ 74.90

Aswath Damodaran 172

 A Comparison to Other Approaches

n The Conservative Approach: Estimate the total number of shares

outstanding, including those in the options.
Value of Equity per share = Value of Equity/Fully diluted # of shares
= $ 2,036/ (25.50 + 2.3 + 1.8) = $ 68.78
n The Treasury Stock Approach: Add the expected proceeds from
exercise to the numerator before dividing by the number of shares
outstanding:
Value of Equity per share = (Value of Equity + Proceeds from Exercise)/
Fully diluted number of shares
= (2036 + 115 + 1.8*55)/(25.5 + 2.3 + 1.8) = $ 76.01

Aswath Damodaran 173

 Valuations

Aswath Damodaran

Aswath Damodaran 174

 Companies Valued

Company Model Used Remarks

Con Ed Stable DDM Dividends=FCFE, Stable D/E, Low g
ABN Amro 2-Stage DDM FCFE=?, Regulated D/E, g>Stable
S&P 500 2-Stage DDM Collectively, market is an investment
Sony Stable FCFE Understated Earnings?
Nestle 2-Stage FCFE Dividends≠FCFE, Stable D/E, High g
Brahma 3-Stage FCFE Dividends≠FCFE, Stable D/E,High g
DaimlerChrysler Stable FCFF Normalized Earnings; Stable Sector
The Home Depot 2-stage FCFF Capitalizing Operating Leases
Global Crossing 2-stage FCFF Dealing with Distress
Amazon.com n-stage FCFF Varying margins over time

Aswath Damodaran 175

 General Information

n The risk premium that I will be using in the 1999 and 2000 valuations
for mature equity markets is 4%. This is the average implied equity
risk premium from 1960 to 2000.
n For the valuations from 1998 and earlier, I use a risk premium of
5.5%.

Aswath Damodaran 176

 Con Ed: Rationale for Model

n The firm is in stable growth; based upon size and the area that it
serves. Its rates are also regulated; It is unlikely that the regulators will
allow profits to grow at extraordinary rates.
n Firm Characteristics are consistent with stable, DDM model firm
• The beta is 0.80 and has been stable over time.
• The firm is in stable leverage.
• The firm pays out dividends that are roughly equal to FCFE.
– Average Annual FCFE between 1994 and 1999 = $553 million
– Average Annual Dividends between 1994 and 1999 = $ 532 million
– Dividends as % of FCFE = 96.2%

Aswath Damodaran 177

 Con Ed: A Stable Growth DDM: December 31,
2000

n Earnings per share for trailing 4 quarters = $ 3.15

n Dividend Payout Ratio over the 4 quarters = 69.21%
n Dividends per share for last 4 quarters = $2.18
n Expected Growth Rate in Earnings and Dividends =3%
n Con Ed Beta = 0.80 (Bottom-up beta estimate)
n Cost of Equity = 5.1% + 0.80*4% = 8.30%
Value of Equity per Share = $2.18 *1.03 / (.083 -.03) = $ 42.37
The stock was trading at $ 38.60 on December 31, 2000

Aswath Damodaran 178

 Con Ed: Break Even Growth Rates

Con Ed Value versus Growth Rate

$80.00

$70.00

$60.00

$50.00
Value per Share

Implied Growth Rate: Value per share = $ 38.60

$40.00

$30.00

$20.00

$10.00

$0.00
5.00% 4.00% 3.00% 2.00% 1.00% 0.00% -1.00% -2.00% -3.00%
Expected Growth Rate

Aswath Damodaran 179

 Estimating Implied Growth Rate

n To estimate the implied growth rate in Con Ed’s current stock price,
we set the market price equal to the value, and solve for the growth
rate:
• Price per share = $ 38.60 = $2.18 *(1+g) / (.083 -g)
• Implied growth rate = 2.51%
n Given its retention ratio of 30.79% and its return on equity in 1999 of
10%, the fundamental growth rate for Con Ed is:
Fundamental growth rate = (.3079*.10) = 3.08%

Aswath Damodaran 180

 Implied Growth Rates and Valuation
Judgments

n When you do any valuation, there are three possibilities. The first is
that you are right and the market is wrong. The second is that the
market is right and that you are wrong. The third is that you are both
wrong. In an efficient market, which is the most likely scenario?

n Assume that you invest in a misvalued firm, and that you are right and
the market is wrong. Will you definitely profit from your investment?
o Yes
o No

Aswath Damodaran 181

 Con Ed: A Look Back

Con Ed: Valuations over Time

$60.00

$50.00

$40.00
Per Share

Estimated Value
$30.00
Price per Share

$20.00

$10.00

$-
1: December 1997 2: December 1998 3: June 1999
Date of Valuaton

Aswath Damodaran 182

 ABN Amro: Rationale for 2-Stage DDM

n As a financial service institution, estimating FCFE or FCFF is very

difficult.
n The expected growth rate based upon the current return on equity of
15.56% and a retention ratio of 62.5% is 9.73%. This is higher than
what would be a stable growth rate (roughly 5% in Euros)

Aswath Damodaran 183

 ABN Amro: Summarizing the Inputs

n Market Inputs
• Long Term Riskfree Rate (in Euros) = 5.02%
• Risk Premium = 4% (U.S. premium : Netherlands is AAA rated)
n Current Earnings Per Share = 1.60 Eur; Current DPS = 0.60 Eur;
Variable High Growth Phase Stable Growth Phase
Length 5 years Forever after yr 5
Return on Equity 15.56% 15% (Industry average)
Payout Ratio 37.5% 66.67%
Retention Ratio 62.5% 33.33% (b=g/ROE)
Expected growth .1556*.625=.0973 5% (Assumed)
Beta 0.95 1.00
Cost of Equity 5.02%+0.95(4%) 5.02%+1.00(4%)
=8.82% =9.02%

Aswath Damodaran 184

 ABN Amro: Valuation

Year EPS DPS PV of DPS

1 1.76 0.66 0.60
2 1.93 0.72 0.61
3 2.11 0.79 0.62
4 2.32 0.87 0.62
5 2.54 0.95 0.63
Expected EPS in year 6 = 2.54(1.05) = 2.67 Eur
Expected DPS in year 6 = 2.67*0.667=1.78 Eur
Terminal Price (in year 5) = 1.78/(.0902-.05) = 42.41 Eur
PV of Terminal Price = 42.41/(1.0882)5 = 27.79 Eur
Value Per Share = 0.60 + 0.61+0.62+0.62+0.63+27.79 = 30.87 Eur
The stock was trading at 24.33 Euros on December 31, 2000

Aswath Damodaran 185

 VALUING ABN AMRO

Dividends Expected Growth

EPS = 1.60 Eur 62.5% * g =5%: ROE =15% (Ind. avg)
* Payout Ratio 37.5% 15.56% = 9.73% Beta = 1.00
DPS = 0.60 Eur Payout = (1- 5/15) = .667

Terminal Value= EPS6*Payout/(r-g)

= (2.67*.667)/(.0902-.05) = 42.41
Value of Equity per
share = 30.87 Eur 0.66 Eur 0.72 Eur 0.79 Eur 0.87 Eur 0.95 Eur
.........
Forever
Discount at Cost of Equity

Cost of Equity
5.02% + 0.95 (4%) = 8.82%

Riskfree Rate :
Long term bond rate in Risk Premium
the Netherlands Beta 4%
5.02% + 0.95 X

Average beta for European banks =

0.95 Mature Market Country Risk
4% 0%

Aswath Damodaran 186

 The Value of Growth

n In any valuation model, it is possible to extract the portion of the value

that can be attributed to growth, and to break this down further into
that portion attributable to “high growth” and the portion attributable
to “stable growth”. In the case of the 2-stage DDM, this can be
accomplished as follows:
t=n
∑ (1+r)
DPS t + Pn DPS 0 *(1+g n ) DPS 0 *(1+g n ) DPS 0 DPS 0
P0 = - + - r + r
t (1+r)n (r-gn ) (r-gn )
t=1
Value of High Growth Value of Stable Assets in
Growth Place
DPSt = Expected dividends per share in year t
r = Cost of Equity
Pn = Price at the end of year n
gn = Growth rate forever after year n

Aswath Damodaran 187

 ABN Amro: Decomposing Value

n Value of Assets in Place = Current DPS/Cost of Equity

= 0.60 Eur/..0882
= 6.65 Eur
n Value of Stable Growth = 0.60 (1.05)/(.0882-.05) - 6.65 NG
= 9.02 Eur
n Value of High Growth = Total Value - (6.65+ 9.02)
= 30.87 - (6.65+9.02) = 15.20 Eur

Aswath Damodaran 188

 S & P 500: Rationale for Use of Model

n While markets overall generally do not grow faster than the economies
in which they operate, there is reason to believe that the earnings at
U.S. companies (which have outpaced nominal GNP growth over the
last 5 years) will continue to do so in the next 5 years. The consensus
estimate of growth in earnings (from Zacks) is roughly 10% (with
bottom-up estimates) and 7.5% (with top-down estimates)
n Though it is possible to estimate FCFE for many of the firms in the
S&P 500, it is not feasible for several (financial service firms). The
dividends during the year should provide a reasonable (albeit
conservative) estimate of the cash flows to equity investors from
buying the index.

Aswath Damodaran 189

 S &P 500: Inputs to the Model (12/31/00)

n General Inputs
• Long Term Government Bond Rate = 5.1%
• Risk Premium for U.S. Equities = 4%
• Current level of the Index = 1320
n Inputs for the Valuation
High Growth Phase Stable Growth Phase
Length 5 years Forever after year 5
Dividend Yield 1.25% 1.25%
Expected Growth 7.5% 5.5% (Nominal US g)
Beta 1.00 1.00

Aswath Damodaran 190

 S & P 500: 2-Stage DDM Valuation

1 2 3 4 5
Expected Dividends = $17.74 $19.07 $20.50 $22.04 $23.69
Expected Terminal Value= $691.55
Present Value = $16.26 $16.02 $15.78 $15.55 $462.73
Intrinsic Value of Index = $526.35

Cost of Equity = 5.1% + 1(4%) = 9.1%

Terminal Value = 23.69*1.055/(.091 -.055) = 691.55

Aswath Damodaran 191

 Explaining the Difference

n The index is at 1320, while the model valuation comes in at 526. This
indicates that one or more of the following has to be true.
• The dividend discount model understates the value because dividends are
less than FCFE.
• The expected growth in earnings over the next 5 years will be much
higher than 7.5%.
• The risk premium used in the valuation (4%) is too high
• The market is overvalued.

Aswath Damodaran 192

 A More Realistic Valuation of the Index

nThe median dividend/FCFE ratio for U.S. firms is about 50%. Thus the
FCFE yield for the S&P 500 should be around 2.5% (1.25%/.5).
nThe implied risk premium between 1960 and 1970, which was when
long term rates were as well behaved as they are today, is 3%.
nWith these inputs in the model:
1 2 3 4 5
Expected Dividends = $35.48 $38.14 $41.00 $44.07 $47.38
Expected Terminal Value = $1,915.07
Present Value = $32.82 $32.63 $32.45 $32.27 $1,329.44
Intrinsic Value of Index = $1,459.62
At a level of 1320, the market is undervalued by about 10%.

Aswath Damodaran 193

 Sony: Background on Japanese firms

n Japanese firms have proved to be among the most difficult to value for
several reasons:
• The earnings in 1999 for most Japanese firms was depressed relative to
earnings earlier in the decade and in the 1980s, reflecting the Japanese
economy
• Japanese accounting standards tend to understate earnings and overstate
book value of equity, as firms are allowed to set aside provisions for
unspecified expenses
• The earnings of many export oriented Japanese firms tends to be heavily
influenced by exchange rate movements
• The cross holdings that Japanese firms have in other firms, and the lack of
transparency in these holdings, makes it difficult to value these holdings.

Aswath Damodaran 194

 Valuing Sony: August 2000

n Sony had net income of 31 billion JPY in 1999, down from 76 billion
JPY in 1997 and 38 billion in 1998. The return on equity at Sony
dropped from 5.25% in 1997 to 2.13% in 1999. The firm paid out
dividends of 21 billion JPY in 1999.
n Capital expenditures in 1999 amounted to 103 billion JPY, whereas
depreciation is 76 billion JPY.
n Non-cash working capital at Sony in 1999 was 220 billion JPY on
revenues of 2593 billion yet, yielding a non-cash working capital to
revenue ratio of 8.48%.
n The long term government bond rate in Japan was 2% at the time of
this valuation.

Aswath Damodaran 195

 Sony: Rationale for Model

n We will normalize earnings to reflect the fact that current earnings are depressed. To
normalize earnings, we will use the return on equity of 5.25%, which is the return on
equity that Sony had last year and is close to return on equity it used to earn in the early
1990s.
n We will assume that the firm’s dominant market share will keep it from posting high
growth. Over the last 5 years, the growth rate in revenues has been 3.5%. We will
assume a long term stable growth rate of 3% (higher than the Japanese economy due to
global exposure)
n We will assume that the net capital expenditures will grow at the same rate and that
non-cash working capital will stay at 8.48% of revenues
n Sony’s current book debt to capital ratio is 25.8%; we will assume that they will finance
reinvestment with this ratio (rather than the market value)
n We will use a beta of 1.10, to reflect the unlevered beta of electronic firms (globally)
and Sony’s market value debt to equity ratio (16%)

Aswath Damodaran 196

 Estimating the Inputs

n Normalized Earnings:
• Book Value of Equity (3/1999) = 1795 billion JPY
• Estimated Return on Equity = 5.25%
• Normalized Net Income next year = 1795 billion * .0525 = 94.24 billion
n Reinvestment Needs
• Current Net Capital Expenditures = (103 - 76) = 27 billion JPY
• Expected Net Capital Expenditures = 27 billion (1.03) = 27.81 billion
• Current Revenues = 2593 billion
• Expected Revenues next year = 2593(1.03) = 2671 billion
• Expected Change in non-cash Working Capital = (2671 - 2593)*.0848
= 6.60 billion JPY
n Book Value Debt Ratio = 25.8%
n Cost of Equity = 2% + 1.10 (4%) = 6.40%

Aswath Damodaran 197

 The Valuation

n Expected FCFE next year

Expected Net Income = 94.24 billion
- (Net Cap Ex) (1- Debt Ratio)= 27.81 (1-.258) = 20.64
- (∆ Non-cash WC) (1-Debt ratio) = 6.6 (1-.258) = 4.89
FCFE =68.71 billion JPY
n Valuation
n Cost of Equity = 6.4%; Stable growth rate = 3%;
Value of Equity = 68.71 billion / (.064 - .03) = 2021 billion JPY

Sony was trading at a market value of equity of 7146 billion JPY

Aswath Damodaran 198

 The Effect of Cross-holdings

n When firms have minority passive holdings in other companies, they

report only the dividends they receive from these holdings as part of
net income.
n Consequently, we tend to understate the value of these crossholdings
in valuations.
n To value them right, we have to estimate the value of the companies in
which these holdings are, and then take the percentage of the value of
these firms owned by the firm you are valuing.

Aswath Damodaran 199

 Nestle: Rationale for Using Model

n Earnings per share at the firm has grown about 5% a year for the last 5
years, but the fundamentals at the firm suggest growth in EPS of about
11%. (Analysts are also forecasting a growth rate of 12% a year for the
next 5 years)
n Nestle has a debt to capital ratio of about 37.6% and is unlikely to
change that leverage materially. (How do I know? I do not. I am just
making an assumption.)
n Like many large European firms, Nestle has paid less in dividends than
it has available in FCFE.

Aswath Damodaran 200

 Nestle: Summarizing the Inputs

n General Inputs
• Long Term Government Bond Rate (Sfr) = 4%
• Current EPS = 108.88 Sfr; Current Revenue/share =1,820 Sfr
• Capital Expenditures/Share=114.2 Sfr; Depreciation/Share=73.8 Sfr
High Growth Stable Growth
Length 5 years Forever after yr 5
Beta 0.85 0.85
Return on Equity 23.63% 16%
Retention Ratio 65.10% (Current) NA
Expected Growth 15.38% 5.00%
WC/Revenues 9.30% (Existing) 9.30% (Grow with earnings)
Debt Ratio 37.60% 37.60%
Cap Ex/Deprecn Current Ratio 150%

Aswath Damodaran 201

 Estimating the Risk Premium for Nestle

Revenues Weight Risk Premium

North America 17.5 24.82% 4.00%
South America 4.3 6.10% 12.00%
Switzerland 1.1 1.56% 4.00%
Germany/France/UK 18.4 26.10% 4.00%
Italy/Spain 6.4 9.08% 5.50%
Asia 5.8 8.23% 9.00%
Rest of W. Europe 13 18.44% 4.00%
Eastern Europe 4 5.67% 8.00%
Total 70.5 100.00% 5.26%
n The risk premium that we will use in the valuation is 5.26%
n Cost of Equity = 4% + 0.85 (5.26%) = 8.47%

Aswath Damodaran 202

 Nestle: Valuation

1 2 3 4 5
Earnings $125.63 $144.95 $167.25 $192.98 $222.66
- (Net CpEX)*(1-DR) $29.07 $33.54 $38.70 $44.65 $51.52
-∆ WC*(1-DR) $16.25 $18.75 $21.63 $24.96 $28.79
Free Cashflow to Equity $80.31 $92.67 $106.92 $123.37 $142.35
Present Value $74.04 $78.76 $83.78 $89.12 $94.7
Earnings per Share in year 6 = 222.66(1.05) = 231.57
Net Capital Ex 6 = Deprecn’n6 * 0.50 =73.8(1.1538)5(1.05)(.5)= 78.5 Sfr
Chg in WC6 =( Rev6 - Rev5)(.093) = 1820(1.1538)5(.05)(.093)=13.85 Sfr
FCFE6 = 231.57 - 78.5(1-.376) - 13.85(1-.376)= 173.93 Sfr
Terminal Value per Share = 173.93/(.0847-.05) = 3890.16 Sfr
Value=$74.04 +$78.76 +$83.78 +$89.12 +$94.7 +3890/(1.0847)5=3011Sf
The stock was trading 2906 Sfr on December 31, 1999

Aswath Damodaran 203

 Nestle: The Net Cap Ex Assumption

n In our valuation of Nestle, we assumed that cap ex would be 150% of

depreciation in steady state. If, instead, we had assumed that net cap ex
was zero, as many analysts do, the terminal value would have been:
FCFE6 = 231.57 - 13.85(1-.376) = 222.93 Sfr
Terminal Value per Share = 222.93/(.0847 -.05) = 4986 Sfr
Value= =$74.04 +$78.76 +$83.78 +$89.12 +$94.7 + 4986/(1.0847)5=
3740.91 Sfr

Aswath Damodaran 204

 Financing Weights A VALUATION OF NESTLE (PER SHARE)
Debt Ratio = 37.6%
Cashflow to Equity Expected Growth
Net Income 108.88 Retention Ratio *
- (Cap Ex - Depr) (1- DR) 25.19 Return on Equity
Firm is in stable growth:
- Change in WC (!-DR) 4.41 =.651*.2363=15.38%
g=5%; Beta=0.85;
= FCFE 79.28
Cap Ex/Deprec=150%
Debt ratio stays 37.6%

Terminal Value= 173.93/(.0847-.05)

Value of Equity 80.31 Sfr 92.67 Sfr 106.92 Sfr 123.37 Sfr 142.35 Sfr = 3890
per Share = .........
3011 Sfr Forever
Discount at Cost of Equity

Cost of Equity
4%+0.85(5.26%)=8.47%

Riskfree Rate :
Risk Premium
Swiss franc rate = 4% Beta 4% + 1.26%
+ 0.85 X

Bottom-up beta Market Base Equity Country Risk

for food= 0.79 D/E=11% Premium: 4% Premium:1.26%

Aswath Damodaran 205

 The Effects of New Information on Value

n No valuation is timeless. Each of the inputs to the model are

susceptible to change as new information comes out about the firm, its
competitors and the overall economy.
• Market Wide Information
– Interest Rates
– Risk Premiums
– Economic Growth
• Industry Wide Information
– Changes in laws and regulations
– Changes in technology
• Firm Specific Information
– New Earnings Reports
– Changes in the Fundamentals (Risk and Return characteristics)

Aswath Damodaran 206

 Nestle: Effects of an Earnings Announcement

n Assume that Nestle makes an earnings announcement which includes

two pieces of news:
• The earnings per share come in lower than expected. The base year
earnings per share will be 105.5 Sfr instead of 108.8 Sfr.
• Increased competition in its markets is putting downward pressure on the
net profit margin. The after-tax margin, which was 5.98% in the previous
analysis, is expected to shrink to 5.79%.
n There are two effects on value:
• The drop in earnings will make the projected earnings and cash flows
lower, even if the growth rate remains the same
• The drop in net margin will make the return on equity lower (assuming
turnover ratios remain unchanged). This will reduce expected growth.

Aswath Damodaran 207

 Financing Weights A RE-VALUATION OF NESTLE (PER SHARE)
Debt Ratio = 37.6%
Cashflow to Equity Expected Growth
Net Income 105.50 Retention Ratio *
- (Cap Ex - Depr) (1- DR) 25.19 Return on Equity
Firm is in stable growth:
- Change in WC (!-DR) 4.41 =.651*.2323 =15.12%
g=5%; Beta=0.85;
= FCFE 75.90
Cap Ex/Deprec=150%
Debt ratio stays 37.6%

Terminal Value= 164.84/(.0847-.05)

Value of Equity 76.48 Sfr 88.04 Sfr 101.35 Sfr 116.68 Sfr 134.32 Sfr = 3687
per Share = .........
2854 Sfr Forever
Discount at Cost of Equity

Cost of Equity
4%+0.85(5.26%)=8.47%

Riskfree Rate :
Risk Premium
Swiss franc rate = 4% Beta 4% + 1.26%
+ 0.85 X

Bottom-up beta Market Base Equity Country Risk

for food= 0.79 D/E=11% Premium: 4% Premium:1.26%

Aswath Damodaran 208

 Tsingtao Breweries: Rationale for Using Model

n Why three stage? Tsingtao is a small firm serving a huge and growing
market – China, in particular, and the rest of Asia, in general. The
firm’s current return on equity is low, and we anticipate that it will
improve over the next 5 years. As it increases, earnings growth will be
pushed up.
n Why FCFE? Corporate governance in China tends to be weak and
dividends are unlikely to reflect free cash flow to equity. In addition,
the firm consistently funds a portion of its reinvestment needs with
new debt issues.

Aswath Damodaran 209

 Background Information

n In 2000, Tsingtao Breweries earned 72.36 million CY(Chinese Yuan) in net income on
a book value of equity of 2,588 million CY, giving it a return on equity of 2.80%.
n The firm had capital expenditures of 335 million CY and depreciation of 204 million
CY during the year.
n The working capital changes over the last 4 years have been volatile, and we normalize
the change using non-cash working capital as a percent of revenues in 1999:
Normalized change in non-cash working capital = (Non-cash working capital1999/ Revenues 1999)
(Revenuess1999 – Revenues1998) = (180/2253)*( 2253-1598) = 52.3 million CY
Normalized Reinvestment
= Capital expenditures – Depreciation + Normalized Change in non-cash working capital
= 335 - 204 + 52.3= 183.3 million CY
n As with working capital, debt issues have been volatile. We estimate the firm’s book
debt to capital ratio of 40.94% at the end of 1999 and use it to estimate the normalized
equity reinvestment in 1999.

Aswath Damodaran 210

 Inputs for the 3 Stages

High Growth Transition Phase Stable Growth

Length 5 years 5 years Forever after yr 10
Beta 0.75 Moves to 0.80 0.80
Risk Premium 4%+2.28% --> 4+0.95%
ROE 2.8%->12% 12%->20% 20%
Equity Reinv. 149.97% Moves to 50% 50%
Expected Growth 44.91% Moves to 10% 10%
n We wil asssume that
Equity Reinvestment Ratio= Reinvestment (1- Debt Ratio) / Net Income
= = 183.3 (1-4094) / 72.36 = 149.97%
Expected growth rate- next 5 years
= Equity reinvestment rate * ROENew+[(ROE5-ROEtoday)/ROEtoday]1/5-1
= 1.4997 *.12 + [((.12-.028)/.028)1/5-1] = 44.91%

Aswath Damodaran 211

 Tsingtao: Projected Cash Flows

Equity
Year Expected Growth Net Income Reinvestment Rate FCFE Cost of Equity Present Value
Current CY72.36 149.97%
1 44.91% CY104.85 149.97% (CY52.40) 14.71% (CY45.68)
2 44.91% CY151.93 149.97% (CY75.92) 14.71% (CY57.70)
3 44.91% CY220.16 149.97% (CY110.02) 14.71% (CY72.89)
4 44.91% CY319.03 149.97% (CY159.43) 14.71% (CY92.08)
5 44.91% CY462.29 149.97% (CY231.02) 14.71% (CY116.32)
6 37.93% CY637.61 129.98% (CY191.14) 14.56% (CY84.01)
7 30.94% CY834.92 109.98% (CY83.35) 14.41% (CY32.02)
8 23.96% CY1,034.98 89.99% CY103.61 14.26% CY34.83
9 16.98% CY1,210.74 69.99% CY363.29 14.11% CY107.04
10 10.00% CY1,331.81 50.00% CY665.91 13.96% CY172.16
Sum of the present values of FCFE during high growth = ($186.65)

Aswath Damodaran 212

 Tsingtao: Terminal Value

n Expected stable growth rate =10%

n Equity reinvestment rate in stable growth = 50%
n Cost of equity in stable growth = 13.96%
n Expected FCFE in year 11
= Net Income11*(1- Stable period equity reinvestment rate)
= CY 1331.81 (1.10)(1-.5) = CY 732.50 million
n Terminal Value of equity in Tsingtao Breweries
= FCFE11/(Stable period cost of equity – Stable growth rate)
= 732.5/(.1396-.10) = CY 18,497 million

Aswath Damodaran 213

 Tsingtao: Valuation

n Value of Equity
= PV of FCFE during the high growth period + PV of terminal value
=-CY186.65+CY18,497/(1.14715*1.1456*1.1441*1.1426*1.1411*1.1396)
= CY 4,596 million
n Value of Equity per share = Value of Equity/ Number of Shares
= CY 4,596/653.15 = CY 7.04 per share
n The stock was trading at 10.10 Yuan per share, which would make it
overvalued, based upon this valuation.

Aswath Damodaran 214

 DaimlerChrysler: Rationale for Model

n DaimlerChrysler is a mature firm in a mature industry. We will

therefore assume that the firm is in stable growth.
n Since this is a relatively new organization, with two different cultures
on the use of debt (Daimler has traditionally been more conservative
and bank-oriented in its use of debt than Chrysler), the debt ratio will
probably change over time. Hence, we will use the FCFF model.

Aswath Damodaran 215

 Daimler Chrysler: Inputs to the Model

n In 1999, Daimler Chrysler had earnings before interest and taxes of

9,324 million DM and had an effective tax rate of 46.94%.
n Based upon this operating income and the book values of debt and
equity as of 1998, DaimlerChrysler had an after-tax return on capital
of 7.15%.
n The market value of equity is 62.3 billion DM, while the estimated
market value of debt is 64.5 billion
n The bottom-up unlevered beta for automobile firms is 0.61, and
Daimler is AAA rated.
n The long term German bond rate is 4.87% (in DM) and the mature
market premium of 4% is used.
n We will assume that the firm will maintain a long term growth rate of
3%.

Aswath Damodaran 216

 Daimler/Chrysler: Analyzing the Inputs

n Expected Reinvestment Rate = g/ ROC = 3%/7.15% = 41.98%

n Cost of Capital
• Bottom-up Levered Beta = 0.61 (1+(1-.4694)(64.5/62.3)) = 0.945
• Cost of Equity = 4.87% + 0.945 (4%) = 8.65%
• After-tax Cost of Debt = (4.87% + 0.20%) (1-.4694)= 2.69%
• Cost of Capital = 8.65%(62.3/(62.3+64.5))+ 2.69% (64.5/(62.3+64.5)) =
5.62%

Aswath Damodaran 217

 Daimler Chrysler Valuation

n Estimating FCFF
Expected EBIT (1-t) = 9324 (1.03) (1-.4694) = 5,096 mil DM
Expected Reinvestment needs = 5,096(.42) = 2,139 mil DM
Expected FCFF next year = 2,957 mil DM
n Valuation of Firm
Value of operating assets = 2957 / (.056-.03) = 112,847 mil DM
+ Cash + Marketable Securities = 18,068 mil DM
Value of Firm = 130,915 mil DM
- Debt Outstanding = 64,488 mil DM
Value of Equity = 66,427 mil DM

Value per Share = 72.7 DM per share

Stock was trading at 62.2 DM per share on August 14, 2000

Aswath Damodaran 218

 Circular Reasoning in FCFF Valuation

n In discounting FCFF, we use the cost of capital, which is calculated

using the market values of equity and debt. We then use the present
value of the FCFF as our value for the firm and derive an estimated
value for equity. Is there circular reasoning here?
o Yes
o No
n If there is, can you think of a way around this problem?

Aswath Damodaran 219

 Tube Investment: Rationale for Using 2-Stage
FCFF Model

n Tube Investments is a diversified manufacturing firm in India. While

its growth rate has been anemic, there is potential for high growth over
the next 5 years.
n The firm’s financing policy is also in a state of flux as the family
running the firm reassesses its policy of funding the firm.

Aswath Damodaran 220

 Tube Investments: Status Quo (in Rs)
Return on Capital
Current Cashflow to Firm Reinvestment Rate 9.20%
EBIT(1-t) : 4,425 60% Expected Growth Stable Growth
- Nt CpX 843 in EBIT (1-t) g = 5%; Beta = 1.00;
- Chg WC 4,150 .60*.092-= .0552 Debt ratio = 44.2%
= FCFF - 568 5.52 % Country Premium= 3%
Reinvestment Rate =112.82% ROC= 9.22%
Reinvestment Rate=54.35%
Terminal Value 5= 2775/(.1478-.05) = 28,378

Firm Value: 19,578 Term Yr

+ Cash: 13,653 EBIT(1-t) $4,670 $4,928 $5,200 $5,487 $5,790 6,079
- Debt: 18,073 - Reinvestment $2,802 $2,957 $3,120 $3,292 $3,474 3,304
=Equity 15,158 FCFF $1,868 $1,971 $2,080 $2,195 $2,316 2,775
-Options 0
Value/Share 61.57
Discount at Cost of Capital (WACC) = 22.8% (.558) + 9.45% (0.442) = 16.90%

Cost of Equity Cost of Debt

22.80% (12%+1.50%)(1-.30) Weights
= 9.45% E = 55.8% D = 44.2%

Riskfree Rate : Risk Premium

Real riskfree rate = 12% Beta 9.23%
+ 1.17 X

Unlevered Beta for Firm’s D/E Mature risk Country Risk

Sectors: 0.75 Ratio: 79% premium Premium
4% 5.23%

Aswath Damodaran 221

 Stable Growth Rate and Value

n In estimating terminal value for Tube Investments, I used a stable

growth rate of 5%. If I used a 7% stable growth rate instead, what
would my terminal value be? (Assume that the cost of capital and
return on capital remain unchanged.)

Aswath Damodaran 222

 The Effects of Return Improvements on Value

n The firm is considering changes in the way in which it invests, which

management believes will increase the return on capital to 12.20% on
just new investments (and not on existing investments) over the next 5
years.
n The value of the firm will be higher, because of higher expected
growth.

Aswath Damodaran 223

 Tube Investments: Higher Marginal Return(in Rs)
Return on Capital
Current Cashflow to Firm Reinvestment Rate 12.20%
EBIT(1-t) : 4,425 60% Expected Growth Stable Growth
- Nt CpX 843 in EBIT (1-t) g = 5%; Beta = 1.00;
- Chg WC 4,150 .60*.122-= .0732 Debt ratio = 44.2%
= FCFF - 568 7.32 % Country Premium= 3%
Reinvestment Rate =112.82% ROC=12.22%
Reinvestment Rate= 40.98%
Terminal Value 5= 3904/(.1478-.05) = 39.921

Firm Value: 25,185 Term Yr

+ Cash: 13,653 EBIT(1-t) $4,749 $5,097 $5,470 $5,871 $6,300 6,615
- Debt: 18,073 - Reinvestment $2,850 $3,058 $3,282 $3,522 $3,780 2,711
=Equity 20,765 FCFF $1,900 $2,039 $2,188 $2,348 $2,520 3,904
-Options 0
Value/Share 84.34
Discount at Cost of Capital (WACC) = 22.8% (.558) + 9.45% (0.442) = 16.90%

Cost of Equity Cost of Debt

22.80% (12%+1.50%)(1-.30) Weights
= 9.45% E = 55.8% D = 44.2%

Riskfree Rate : Risk Premium

Real riskfree rate = 12% Beta 9.23%
+ 1.17 X

Unlevered Beta for Firm’s D/E Mature risk Country Risk

Sectors: 0.75 Ratio: 79% premium Premium
4% 5.23%

Aswath Damodaran 224

 Return Improvements on Existing Assets

n If Tube Investments is also able to increase the return on capital on

existing assets to 12.20% from 9.20%, its value will increase even
more.
n The expected growth rate over the next 5 years will then have a second
component arising from improving returns on existing assets:
n Expected Growth Rate = .122*.60 +{ (1+(.122-.092)/.092)1/5-1}
=.1313 or 13.13%

Aswath Damodaran 225

 Tube Investments: Higher Average Return(in Rs) Return on Capital Improvement on existing assets
12.20% { (1+(.122-.092)/.092) 1/5-1}
Current Cashflow to Firm Reinvestment Rate
EBIT(1-t) : 4,425 60% Expected Growth Stable Growth
- Nt CpX 843 60*.122 + g = 5%; Beta = 1.00;
- Chg WC 4,150 .0581 = .1313 Debt ratio = 44.2%
= FCFF - 568 13.13 % Country Premium= 3%
Reinvestment Rate =112.82% ROC=12.22%
Reinvestment Rate= 40.98%
Terminal Value 5= 5081/(.1478-.05) = 51,956

Firm Value: 31,829 Term Yr

+ Cash: 13,653 EBIT(1-t) $5,006 $5,664 $6,407 $7,248 $8,200 8,610
- Debt: 18,073 - Reinvestment $3,004 $3,398 $3,844 $4,349 $4,920 3,529
=Equity 27,409 FCFF $2,003 $2,265 $2,563 $2,899 $3,280 5,081
-Options 0
Value/Share 111.3
Discount at Cost of Capital (WACC) = 22.8% (.558) + 9.45% (0.442) = 16.90%

Cost of Equity Cost of Debt

22.80% (12%+1.50%)(1-.30) Weights
= 9.45% E = 55.8% D = 44.2%

Riskfree Rate : Risk Premium

Real riskfree rate = 12% Beta 9.23%
+ 1.17 X

Unlevered Beta for Firm’s D/E Mature risk Country Risk

Sectors: 0.75 Ratio: 79% premium Premium
4% 5.23%

Aswath Damodaran 226

 Tube Investments and Tsingtao: Should there
be a corporate governance discount?

n Stockholders in Asian, Latin American and many European companies

have little or no power over the managers of the firm. In many cases,
insiders own voting shares and control the firm and the potential for
conflict of interests is huge. Would you discount the value that you
estimated to allow for this absence of stockholder power?
q Yes
q No.

Aswath Damodaran 227

 Dealing with Operating Leases: A Valuation of
the Home Depot

n The Home Depot does not carry much in terms of traditional debt on
its balance sheet. However, it does have significant operating leases.
n When doing firm valuation, these operating leases have to be treated as
debt. This, in turn, will mean that operating income has to get restated.

Aswath Damodaran 228

 Operating Leases at The Home Depot in 1998

n The pre-tax cost of debt at the Home Depot is 5.80%

Year Commitment Present Value
1 $ 294.00 $277.88
2 $ 291.00 $259.97
3 $ 264.00 $222.92
4 $ 245.00 $195.53
5 $ 236.00 $178.03
6 and beyond $ 270.00 $1,513.37
n Debt Value of leases = $ 2,647.70

Aswath Damodaran 229

 Other Adjustments from Operating Leases

Operating Lease Operating Lease

Expensed converted to Debt
EBIT $ 2,661mil $ 2,815 mil
EBIT (1-t) $1,730 mil $1,829 mil
Debt $1,433 mil $ 4,081 mil

Aswath Damodaran 230

 The Home Depot: A Valuation
Current Cashflow to Firm Reinvestment Rate Return on Capital
EBIT(1-t) : 1,829 88.62% Expected Growth 16.37%
- Nt CpX 1,799 in EBIT (1-t)
- Chg WC 190 Stable Growth
.8862*.1637= .1451 g = 5%; Beta = 0.87;
= FCFF <160> 14.51 %
Reinvestment Rate =108.75% D/(D+E) = 30%;ROC=14.1%
Reinvestment Rate=35.46%

Terminal Value 10 = 4806/(.0792-.05) = 164,486

Firm Value: 68,949

+ Cash: 62 EBIT(1-t) 2095 2399 2747 3146 3602 4125 4723 5409 6194 7092
- Debt: 4,081 - Reinv 1857 2126 2434 2788 3192 3655 4186 4793 5489 6285
=Equity 64,930 FCFF 238 273 313 358 410 469 538 616 705 807
-Options 2,021
Value/Share $42.55
Discount at Cost of Capital (WACC) = 9.79% (0.9555) + 3.77% (0.0445) = 9.52%

Cost of Equity Cost of Debt

9.79% (5%+ 0.80%)(1-.35) Weights
= 3.77% E = 95.55% D = 4.45%

Riskfree Rate :
Government Bond Risk Premium
Rate = 5% Beta 5.5%
+ 0.87 X

Unlevered Beta for Firm’s D/E Historical US Country Risk

Sectors: 0.86 Ratio: 4.76% Premium Premium
5.5% 0%

Aswath Damodaran 231

 Dealing with Distress

n A DCF valuation values a firm as a going concern. If there is a significant likelihood of

the firm failing before it reaches stable growth and if the assets will then be sold for a
value less than the present value of the expected cashflows (a distress sale value), DCF
valuations will understate the value of the firm.
n Value of Equity= DCF value of equity (1 - Probability of distress) + Distress sale value
of equity (Probability of distress)
n There are three ways in which we can estimate the probability of distress:
• Use the bond rating to estimate the cumulative probability of distress over 10 years
• Estimate the probability of distress with a probit
• Estimate the probability of distress by looking at market value of bonds..
n The distress sale value of equity is usually best estimated as a percent of book value
(and this value will be lower if the economy is doing badly and there are other firms in
the same business also in distress).

Aswath Damodaran 232

 Current Current
Revenue Margin: Stable Growth
$ 3,804 -49.82% Cap ex growth slows Stable
and net cap ex Stable Stable ROC=7.36%
decreases Revenue EBITDA/ Reinvest
EBIT Growth: 5% Sales 67.93%
-1895m Revenue EBITDA/Sales 30%
Growth: -> 30%
NOL: 13.33%
2,076m Terminal Value= 677(.0736-.05)
=$ 28,683
Term. Year
Revenues $3,804 $5,326 $6,923 $8,308 $9,139 $10,053 $11,058 $11,942 $12,659 $13,292 $13,902
EBITDA ($95) $ 0 $346 $831 $1,371 $1,809 $2,322 $2,508 $3,038 $3,589 $ 4,187
EBIT ($1,675)($1,738)($1,565)($1,272)$320$1,074 $1,550 $1,697 $2,186 $2,694 $ 3,248
EBIT (1-t) ($1,675)($1,738)($1,565)($1,272)$320$1,074 $1,550 $1,697 $2,186 $2,276 $ 2,111
+ Depreciation $1,580 $1,738 $1,911 $2,102 $1,051 $736 $773 $811 $852 $894 $ 939
- Cap Ex $3,431 $1,716 $1,201 $1,261 $1,324 $1,390 $1,460 $1,533 $1,609 $1,690 $ 2,353
- Chg WC $0 $46 $48 $42 $25 $27 $30 $27 $21 $19 $ 20
Value of Op Assets $ 5,530 FCFF ($3,526)($1,761)($903)($472) $22 $392 $832 $949 $1,407 $1,461 $ 677
+ Cash & Non-op $ 2,260 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
= Value of Firm $ 7,790 Forever
- Value of Debt $ 4,923 Beta 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 2.60 2.20 1.80 1.40 1.00
= Value of Equity $ 2867 Cost of Equity 16.80% 16.80% 16.80% 16.80% 16.80% 15.20% 13.60% 12.00% 10.40% 8.80%
- Equity Options $ 14 Cost of Debt 12.80% 12.80% 12.80% 12.80% 12.80% 11.84% 10.88% 9.92% 8.96% 6.76%
Value per share $ 3.22 Debt Ratio 74.91% 74.91% 74.91% 74.91% 74.91% 67.93% 60.95% 53.96% 46.98% 40.00%
Cost of Capital 13.80% 13.80% 13.80% 13.80% 13.80% 12.92% 11.94% 10.88% 9.72% 7.98%

Cost of Equity Cost of Debt Weights

16.80% 4.8%+8.0%=12.8% Debt= 74.91% -> 40%
Tax rate = 0% -> 35%

Riskfree Rate :
T. Bond rate = 4.8%
Risk Premium
Global Crossing
Beta 4% November 2001
+ 3.00> 1.10 X Stock price = $1.86

Internet/ Operating Current Base Equity Country Risk

Retail Leverage D/E: 441% Premium Premium

Aswath Damodaran 233

 Valuing Global Crossing with Distress

n Probability of distress
• Price of 8 year, 12% bond issued by Global Crossing = $ 653
t= 8
120(1- p Distress ) t 1000(1- p Distress ) 8
653 = Â +
t=1 (1.05) t (1.05) 8

• Probability of distress = 13.53% a year

†
• Cumulative probabilityof survival over 10 years = (1- .1353)10 = 23.37%
n Distress sale value of equity
• Book value of capital = $14,531 million
• Distress sale value = 15% of book value = .15*14531 = $2,180 million
• Book value of debt = $7,647 million
• Distress sale value of equity = $ 0
n Distress adjusted value of equity
• Value of Global Crossing = $3.22 (.2337) + $0.00 (.7663) = $0.75

Aswath Damodaran 234

 Dealing with R&D: Bristol Myers

n Bristol Myers, like most pharmaceutical firms, has a significant

amount of research and development expenses. These expenses,
though treated as operating expenditures, by accountants, are really
capital expenditures.
n When R&D expenses are reclassified as capital expenditures, there is a
ripple effect on the following:
• Operating income
• Capital Expendiutures
• Depreciation and Amortization
• Reinvestment Rates
• Return on Capital

Aswath Damodaran 235

 Converting R&D Expenses to Capital Expenses

Year R&D Expense Unamortized portion Amortization this year

Current 1939.00 1.00 1939.00
-1 1759.00 0.90 1583.10 $175.90
-2 1577.00 0.80 1261.60 $157.70
-3 1385.00 0.70 969.50 $138.50
-4 1276.00 0.60 765.60 $127.60
-5 1199.00 0.50 599.50 $119.90
-6 1108.00 0.40 443.20 $110.80
-7 1128.00 0.30 338.40 $112.80
-8 1083.00 0.20 216.60 $108.30
-9 983.00 0.10 98.30 $98.30
-10 881.00 0.00 0.00 $88.10
Value of Research Asset = $8,214.80
Amortization this year = $1,237.90

Aswath Damodaran 236

 The Consequences of a Research Asset

n Amortization of asset for current year = $ 1,238 million

n Adjustment to Operating Income :

• Add back the R& D Expenses $1,939 million
• Subtract out the amortization $1,238 million
• Increase in Operating Income $ 701 million (Increase)
n Tax Effect of R&D Expensing
• The entire R&D expense of $1,939 million is tax-deductible, rather than
just the amortization of $1,238 million
• This creates a tax benefit that can be computed as follows:
Additional tax benefit of expensing = (1939-1238) (.35) = $ 245 million

Aswath Damodaran 237

 Capitalizing R& D: The Effects

R&D expensed R&D capitalized Effect

EBIT = $ 6,009 mil $6,710 mil Increase $ 701
EBIT (1-t) $ 3,906 mil $4,607 mil Increase $ 701
Capital spending = $1,505 mil $ 3,444 mil Increase $1939
Depreciation = $ 801 mil $ 2,039 mil Increase $ 1238
Net Cap Ex $ 704mil $1,405 mil Increase $ 701
Non-cash WC Chg = $ 79 mil $ 79 mil Unchanged
Reinvestment Rate 20.04% 32.21% Increase
BV of Equity $ 10,105 mil $ 18,320 mil Increase
ROC 38.65% 25.21% Decrease

Aswath Damodaran 238

 Bristol Myers: Status Quo
Return on Capital
Current Cashflow to Firm Reinvestment Rate 25.15%
EBIT(1-t) : 4,607 32.21% Expected Growth
- Nt CpX 1,405 Stable Growth
in EBIT (1-t)
- Chg WC 79 g = 5%; Beta = 0.90;
.3221*.2515= .081
= FCFF 3,123 ROC= 15%
8.10 %
Reinvestment Rate =32.21% Reinvestment Rate=33.33%

Terminal Value5= 4760/(.0861-.05) = 131,716

Oper. Assets: 103,742 Term Yr

+ Cash 3,385 EBIT (1-t) $4,980 $5,383 $5,819 $6,290 $6,800 7140
- Debt: 1,885 - Reinvestment $1,604 $1,734 $1,874 $2,026 $2,190 2380
=Equity 105,241 FCFF $3,376 $3,649 $3,945 $4,264 $4,610 4760
-Options 2,300
Value/Share $ 52.97
Discount at Cost of Capital (WACC) = 8.42% (.9834) + 3.80% (0.0166) = 8.34%

Cost of Debt
Cost of Equity (5.1%+0.75%)(1-.35)
8.42% Weights
= 3.80% E =98.34% D = 1.66%
Synthetic rating = AAA

Riskfree Rate :
Riskfree rate = 5.1% Risk Premium
(10-year T.Bond rate) Beta 4.00%
+ 0.83 X

Unlevered Beta for Firm’s D/E Mature risk Country Risk

Sectors: 0.82 Ratio: 1.69% premium Premium
4% 0%
Aswath Damodaran 239
 The Dark Side of
Valuation
Aswath Damodaran
http://www.stern.nyu.edu/~adamodar

Aswath Damodaran 240

 To make our estimates, we draw our
information from..

n The firm’s current financial statement

• How much did the firm sell?
• How much did it earn?
n The firm’s financial history, usually summarized in its financial statements.
• How fast have the firm’s revenues and earnings grown over time? What can we
learn about cost structure and profitability from these trends?
• Susceptibility to macro-economic factors (recessions and cyclical firms)
n The industry and comparable firm data
• What happens to firms as they mature? (Margins.. Revenue growth…
Reinvestment needs… Risk)
n We often substitute one type of information for another; for instance, in
valuing Ford, we have 70 years+ of historical data, but not too many
comparable firms; in valuing a software firm, we might not have too much
historical data but we have lots of comparable firms.

Aswath Damodaran 241

 The Dark Side...

n Valuation is most difficult when a company

• Has negative earnings and low revenues in its current financial statements
• No history
• No comparables ( or even if they exist, they are all at the same stage of the
life cycle as the firm being valued)

Aswath Damodaran 242

 Discounted Cash Flow Valuation: High Growth with Negative Earnings
Current Reinvestment
Current Operating
Revenue Stable Growth
Margin
Sales Turnover Competitive
Ratio Advantages Stable Stable Stable
EBIT Revenue Operating Reinvestment
Revenue Expected Growth Margin
Growth Operating
Tax Rate Margin
- NOLs

FCFF = Revenue* Op Margin (1-t) - Reinvestment

Terminal Value= FCFF n+1 /(r-gn)
Value of Operating Assets FCFF1 FCFF2 FCFF3 FCFF4 FCFF5 FCFFn
+ Cash & Non-op Assets .........
= Value of Firm Forever
- Value of Debt Discount at WACC= Cost of Equity (Equity/(Debt + Equity)) + Cost of Debt (Debt/(Debt+ Equity))
= Value of Equity
- Equity Options
= Value of Equity in Stock

Cost of Equity Cost of Debt Weights

(Riskfree Rate Based on Market Value
+ Default Spread) (1-t)

Riskfree Rate :
- No default risk Risk Premium
- No reinvestment risk Beta - Premium for average
- In same currency and + - Measures market risk X
risk investment
in same terms (real or
nominal as cash flows
Type of Operating Financial Base Equity Country Risk
Business Leverage Leverage Premium Premium

Aswath Damodaran 243

 Amazon’s Bottom-up Beta

Unlevered beta for firms in internet retailing = 1.60

Unlevered beta for firms in specialty retailing = 1.00

n Amazon is a specialty retailer, but its risk currently seems to be determined by

the fact that it is an online retailer. Hence we will use the beta of internet
companies to begin the valuation but move the beta, after the first five years,
towards the beta of the retailing business.

Aswath Damodaran 244

 Estimating Synthetic Ratings and cost of debt

n The rating for a firm can be estimated using the financial

characteristics of the firm. In its simplest form, the rating can be
estimated from the interest coverage ratio
Interest Coverage Ratio = EBIT / Interest Expenses
n Amazon.com has negative operating income; this yields a negative
interest coverage ratio, which should suggest a low rating. We
computed an average interest coverage ratio of 2.82 over the next 5
years. This yields an average rating of BBB for Amazon.com for the
first 5 years. (In effect, the rating will be lower in the earlier years and
higher in the later years than BBB)

Aswath Damodaran 245

 Estimating the cost of debt

n The synthetic rating for Amazon.com is BBB. The default spread for
BBB rated bonds is 1.50%
n Pre-tax cost of debt = Riskfree Rate + Default spread
= 6.50% + 1.50% = 8.00%
n After-tax cost of debt right now = 8.00% (1- 0) = 8.00%: The firm is
paying no taxes currently. As the firm’s tax rate changes and its cost of
debt changes, the after tax cost of debt will change as well.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Pre-tax 8.00% 8.00% 8.00% 8.00% 8.00% 7.80% 7.75% 7.67% 7.50% 7.00%
Tax rate 0% 0% 0% 16.1% 35% 35% 35% 35% 35% 35%
After-tax 8.00% 8.00% 8.00% 6.71% 5.20% 5.07% 5.04% 4.98% 4.88% 4.55%

Aswath Damodaran 246

 Estimating Cost of Capital: Amazon.com

n Equity
• Cost of Equity = 6.50% + 1.60 (4.00%) = 12.90%
• Market Value of Equity = $ 84/share* 340.79 mil shs = $ 28,626 mil (98.8%)
n Debt
• Cost of debt = 6.50% + 1.50% (default spread) = 8.00%
• Market Value of Debt = $ 349 mil (1.2%)
n Cost of Capital
Cost of Capital = 12.9 % (.988) + 8.00% (1- 0) (.012)) = 12.84%

n Amazon.com has a book value of equity of $ 138 million and a book value of
debt of $ 349 million. Shows you how irrelevant book value is in this process.

Aswath Damodaran 247

 Calendar Years, Financial Years and Updated
Information

n The operating income and revenue that we use in valuation should be

updated numbers. One of the problems with using financial statements
is that they are dated.
n As a general rule, it is better to use 12-month trailing estimates for
earnings and revenues than numbers for the most recent financial year.
This rule becomes even more critical when valuing companies that are
evolving and growing rapidly.
Last 10-K Trailing 12-month
Revenues $ 610 million $1,117 million
EBIT - $125 million - $ 410 million

Aswath Damodaran 248

 Are S, G & A expenses capital expenditures?

n Many internet companies are arguing that selling and G&A expenses
are the equivalent of R&D expenses for a high-technology firms and
should be treated as capital expenditures.
n If we adopt this rationale, we should be computing earnings before
these expenses, which will make many of these firms profitable. It will
also mean that they are reinvesting far more than we think they are. It
will, however, make not their cash flows less negative.
n Should Amazon.com’s selling expenses be treated as cap ex?

Aswath Damodaran 249

 Amazon.com’s Tax Rate

Year 1 2 3 4 5
EBIT -$373 -$94 $407 $1,038 $1,628
Taxes $0 $0 $0 $167 $570
EBIT(1-t) -$373 -$94 $407 $871 $1,058
Tax rate 0% 0% 0% 16.13% 35%
NOL $500 $873 $967 $560 $0

After year 5, the tax rate becomes 35%.

Aswath Damodaran 250

 Estimating FCFF: Amazon.com

n EBIT (Trailing 1999) = -$ 410 million

n Tax rate used = 0% (Assumed Effective = Marginal)
n Capital spending (Trailing 1999) = $ 243 million (includes
acquisitions)
n Depreciation (Trailing 1999) = $ 31 million
n Non-cash Working capital Change (1999) = - 80 million
n Estimating FCFF (1999)
Current EBIT * (1 - tax rate) = - 410 (1-0) = - $410 million
- (Capital Spending - Depreciation) = $212 million
- Change in Working Capital = -$ 80 million
Current FCFF = - $542 million

Aswath Damodaran 251

 Growth in Revenues, Earnings and
Reinvestment: Amazon

Year Revenue Chg in New Sales/Capital ROC

Growth Revenue Investment
1 150.00% $1,676 $559 3.00 -76.62%
2 100.00% $2,793 $931 3.00 -8.96%
3 75.00% $4,189 $1,396 3.00 20.59%
4 50.00% $4,887 $1,629 3.00 25.82%
5 30.00% $4,398 $1,466 3.00 21.16%
6 25.20% $4,803 $1,601 3.00 22.23%
7 20.40% $4,868 $1,623 3.00 22.30%
8 15.60% $4,482 $1,494 3.00 21.87%
9 10.80% $3,587 $1,196 3.00 21.19%
10 6.00% $2,208 $736 3.00 20.39%
The sales/capital ratio of 3.00 was based on what Amazon accomplished last year and the
averages for the industry.

Aswath Damodaran 252

 Amazon.com: Stable Growth Inputs

High Growth Stable Growth

• Beta 1.60 1.00
• Debt Ratio 1.20% 15%
• Return on Capital Negative 20%
• Expected Growth Rate NMF 6%
• Reinvestment Rate >100% 6%/20% = 30%

Aswath Damodaran 253

 Estimating the Value of Equity Options

n Details of options outstanding

• Average strike price of options outstanding = $ 13.375
• Average maturity of options outstanding = 8.4 years
• Standard deviation in ln(stock price) = 50.00%
• Annualized dividend yield on stock = 0.00%
• Treasury bond rate = 6.50%
• Number of options outstanding = 38 million
• Number of shares outstanding = 340.79 million
n Value of options outstanding (using dilution-adjusted Black-Scholes
model)
• Value of equity options = $ 2,892 million

Aswath Damodaran 254

 Reinvestment:
Cap ex includes acquisitions
Stable Growth
Current Current Working capital is 3% of revenues
Revenue Margin: Stable Stable
Stable Operating ROC=20%
$ 1,117 -36.71% Revenue
Sales Turnover Competitive Margin: Reinvest 30%
Ratio: 3.00 Advantages Growth: 6% 10.00% of EBIT(1-t)
EBIT
-410m Revenue Expected
Growth: Margin: Terminal Value= 1881/(.0961-.06)
NOL: 42% -> 10.00% =52,148
500 m
Term. Year
$41,346
Revenues $2,793 5,585 9,774 14,661 19,059 23,862 28,729 33,211 36,798 39,006 10.00%
EBIT -$373 -$94 $407 $1,038 $1,628 $2,212 $2,768 $3,261 $3,646 $3,883 35.00%
EBIT (1-t) -$373 -$94 $407 $871 $1,058 $1,438 $1,799 $2,119 $2,370 $2,524 $2,688
- Reinvestment $559 $931 $1,396 $1,629 $1,466 $1,601 $1,623 $1,494 $1,196 $736 $ 807
FCFF -$931 -$1,024 -$989 -$758 -$408 -$163 $177 $625 $1,174 $1,788 $1,881
Value of Op Assets $ 14,910
+ Cash $ 26 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
= Value of Firm $14,936 Forever
Cost of Equity 12.90% 12.90% 12.90% 12.90% 12.90% 12.42% 12.30% 12.10% 11.70% 10.50%
- Value of Debt $ 349 Cost of Debt 8.00% 8.00% 8.00% 8.00% 8.00% 7.80% 7.75% 7.67% 7.50% 7.00%
= Value of Equity $14,587 AT cost of debt 8.00% 8.00% 8.00% 6.71% 5.20% 5.07% 5.04% 4.98% 4.88% 4.55%
- Equity Options $ 2,892 Cost of Capital 12.84% 12.84% 12.84% 12.83% 12.81% 12.13% 11.96% 11.69% 11.15% 9.61%
Value per share $ 34.32

Cost of Equity Cost of Debt Weights

12.90% 6.5%+1.5%=8.0% Debt= 1.2% -> 15%
Tax rate = 0% -> 35%

Riskfree Rate :
T. Bond rate = 6.5% Amazon.com
Risk Premium January 2000
Beta 4%
+ 1.60 -> 1.00 X Stock Price = $ 84

Internet/ Operating Current Base Equity Country Risk

Retail Leverage D/E: 1.21% Premium Premium

Aswath Damodaran 255

 What do you need to break-even at $ 84?

6% 8% 10% 12% 14%

30% $ (1.94) $ 2.95 $ 7.84 $ 12.71 $ 17.57
35% $ 1.41 $ 8.37 $ 15.33 $ 22.27 $ 29.21
40% $ 6.10 $ 15.93 $ 25.74 $ 35.54 $ 45.34
45% $ 12.59 $ 26.34 $ 40.05 $ 53.77 $ 67.48
50% $ 21.47 $ 40.50 $ 59.52 $ 78.53 $ 97.54
55% $ 33.47 $ 59.60 $ 85.72 $ 111.84 $ 137.95
60% $ 49.53 $ 85.10 $ 120.66 $ 156.22 $ 191.77

Aswath Damodaran 256

 Reinvestment:
Cap ex includes acquisitions
Stable Growth
Current Current Working capital is 3% of revenues
Revenue Margin: Stable Stable
Stable Operating ROC=16.94%
$ 2,465 -34.60% Revenue
Sales Turnover Competitive Margin: Reinvest 29.5%
Ratio: 3.02 Advantages Growth: 5% 9.32% of EBIT(1-t)
EBIT
-853m Revenue Expected
Growth: Margin: Terminal Value= 1064/(.0876-.05)
NOL: 25.41% -> 9.32% =$ 28,310
1,289 m
Term. Year
Revenues $4,314 $6,471 $9,059 $11,777 $14,132 $16,534 $18,849 $20,922 $22,596 $23,726 $24,912 $24,912
EBIT -$703 -$364 $54 $499 $898 $1,255 $1,566 $1,827 $2,028 $2,164 $2,322 $2,322
EBIT(1-t) -$703 -$364 $54 $499 $898 $1,133 $1,018 $1,187 $1,318 $1,406 $1,509 $1,509
- Reinvestment $612 $714 $857 $900 $780 $796 $766 $687 $554 $374 $445 $ 445
FCFF -$1,315 -$1,078 -$803 -$401 $118 $337 $252 $501 $764 $1,032 $1,064
$1,064
Value of Op Assets $ 7,967
+ Cash & Non-op $ 1,263 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
= Value of Firm $ 9,230 Forever
Debt Ratio 27.27% 27.27% 27.27% 27.27% 27.27% 24.81% 24.20% 23.18% 21.13% 15.00%
- Value of Debt $ 1,890 Beta 2.18 2.18 2.18 2.18 2.18 1.96 1.75 1.53 1.32 1.10
= Value of Equity $ 7,340 Cost of Equity 13.81% 13.81% 13.81% 13.81% 13.81% 12.95% 12.09% 11.22% 10.36% 9.50%
- Equity Options $ 748 AT cost of debt 10.00% 10.00% 10.00% 10.00% 9.06% 6.11% 6.01% 5.85% 5.53% 4.55%
Value per share $ 18.74 Cost of Capital 12.77% 12.77% 12.77% 12.77% 12.52% 11.25% 10.62% 9.98% 9.34% 8.76%

Cost of Equity Cost of Debt Weights

13.81% 5.1%+4.75%= 9.85% Debt= 27.38% -> 15%
Tax rate = 0% -> 35%

Riskfree Rate :
T. Bond rate = 5.1% Amazon.com
Risk Premium January 2001
Beta 4%
+ 2.18-> 1.10 X Stock price = $14

Internet/ Operating Current Base Equity Country Risk

Retail Leverage D/E: 37.5% Premium Premium

Aswath Damodaran 257