Applied Corporate Finance: Aswath Damodaran
Applied Corporate Finance: Aswath Damodaran
Applied Corporate Finance: Aswath Damodaran
231
Equity Valuation
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.
where,
CF to Equityt = Expected Cashflow to Equity in period t
ke = Cost of Equity
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.
Value of Equity =
CF to Equity
t
(1+ k
e
)
t
t=1
t=n
232
Firm Valuation
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.
where,
CF to Firmt = Expected Cashflow to Firm in period t
WACC = Weighted Average Cost of Capital
Value of Firm =
CF to Firm
t
(1+ WACC)
t
t=1
t=n
233
Generic DCF Valuation Model
Cash flows
Firm: Pre-debt cash
flow
Equity: After debt
cash flows
Expected Growth
Firm: Growth in
Operating Earnings
Equity: Growth in
Net Income/EPS
CF
1
CF
2
CF
3
CF
4
CF
5
Forever
Firm is in stable growth:
Grows at constant rate
forever
Terminal Value
CF
n
.........
Discount Rate
Firm:Cost of Capital
Equity: Cost of Equity
Value
Firm: Value of Firm
Equity: Value of Equity
DISCOUNTED CASHFLOW VALUATION
Length of Period of High Growth
234
Estimating Inputs:
I. Discount Rates
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.
At an intuitive level, the discount rate used should be consistent with
both the riskiness and the type of cashflow being discounted.
The cost of equity is the rate at which we discount cash flows to equity
(dividends or free cash flows to equity). The cost of capital is the rate
at which we discount free cash flows to the firm.
235
Reviewing Disneys Costs of Equity & Debt
Disneys Cost of Debt (based upon rating) = 5.25%
Disneys tax rate = 37.3%
Business Unlevered Beta
D/E
Ratio
Lever ed
Beta
Cost of
Equit y
Medi a Networks 1.08 5 0 26.6 2 % 1.26 6 1 10.1 0 %
Parks an d
Resorts 0.91 0 5 26.6 2 % 1.06 2 5 9.12%
Studio
Entertainment 1.14 3 5 26.6 2 % 1.33 4 4 10.4 3 %
Consumer
Products 1.13 5 3 26.6 2 % 1.32 4 8 10.3 9 %
Disn ey 1.06 7 4 26.6 2 % 1.24 5 6 10.0 0 %
236
Current Cost of Capital: Disney
Equity
Cost of Equity = Riskfree rate + Beta * Risk Premium
= 4% + 1.25 (4.82%) = 10.00%
Market Value of Equity = $55.101 Billion
Equity/(Debt+Equity ) = 79%
Debt
After-tax Cost of debt =(Riskfree rate + Default Spread) (1-t)
= (4%+1.25%) (1-.373) = 3.29%
Market Value of Debt = $ 14.668 Billion
Debt/(Debt +Equity) = 21%
Cost of Capital = 10.00%(.79)+3.29%(.21) = 8.59%
55.101/
(55.101+14.668)
237
II. Estimating Cash Flows
Cash Flows
To Equity To Firm
The Strict View
Dividends +
Stock Buybacks
The Broader View
Net Income
- Net Cap Ex (1-Debt Ratio)
- Chg WC (1 - Debt Ratio)
= Free Cashflow to Equity
EBIT (1-t)
- ( Cap Ex - Depreciation)
- Change in Working Capital
= Free Cashflow to Firm
238
Estimating FCFF in 2003: Disney
EBIT = $ 2,805 Million Tax rate = 37.30%
Capital spending = $ 1,735 Million
Depreciation = $ 1,254 Million
Increase in Non-cash Working capital = $ 454 Million
Estimating FCFF
EBIT * (1 - tax rate) $1,759 : 2805 (1-.373)
- Net Capital Expenditures $481 : (1735 - 1254)
-Change in Working Capital $454
Free Cashflow to Firm $824
Total Reinvestment = Net Cap Ex + Change in WC = 481 + 454 = 935
Reinvestment Rate =935/1759 = 53.18%
239
III. Expected Growth
Expected Growth
Net Income Operating Income
Retention Ratio=
1 - Dividends/Net
Income
Return on Equity
Net Income/Book Value of
Equity
X
Reinvestment
Rate = (Net Cap
Ex + Chg in
WC/EBIT(1-t)
Return on Capital =
EBIT(1-t)/Book Value of
Capital
X
240
Estimating Growth in EBIT: Disney
We begin by estimating the reinvestment rate and return on capital for
Disney in 2003, using the numbers from the latest financial statements.
We did convert operating leases into debt and adjusted the operating
income and capital expenditure accordingly.
Reinvestment Rate
2003
= (Cap Ex Depreciation + Chg in non-cash WC)/
EBIT (1-t) = (1735 1253 + 454)/(2805(1-.373)) = 53.18%
Return on capital
2003
= EBIT (1-t)
2003
/ (BV of Debt
2002
+ BV of
Equity
2002
) = 2805 (1-.373)/ (15,883+23,879) = 4.42%
Expected Growth Rate from existing fundamentals = 53.18% * 4.42% =
2.35%
We will assume that Disney will be able to earn a return on capital of
12% on its new investments and that the reinvestment rate will be
53.18% for the immediate future.
Expected Growth Rate in operating income = Return on capital *
Reinvestment Rate = 12% * .5318 = 6.38%
241
IV. Getting Closure in Valuation
A publicly traded firm potentially has an infinite life. The value is
therefore the present value of cash flows forever.
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:
Value =
CF
t
(1+ r)
t
t = 1
t =
Value =
CF
t
(1 + r)
t
+
Terminal Value
(1 + r)
N
t = 1
t = N
242
Stable Growth and Terminal Value
When a firms 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
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.
While companies can maintain high growth rates for extended periods,
they will all approach stable growth at some point in time.
When they do approach stable growth, the valuation formula above can
be used to estimate the terminal value of all cash flows beyond.
243
Growth Patterns
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)
The assumption of how long high growth will continue will depend
upon several factors including:
the size of the firm (larger firm -> shorter high growth periods)
current growth rate (if high -> longer high growth period)
barriers to entry and differential advantages (if high -> longer growth
period)
244
Firm Characteristics as Growth Changes
Variable High Growth Firms tend to Stable Growth Firms tend to
Risk be above-average risk be average risk
Dividend Payout pay little or no dividends pay high dividends
Net Cap Ex have high net cap ex have low net cap ex
Return on Capital earn high ROC (excess return) earn ROC closer to WACC
Leverage have little or no debt higher leverage
245
Estimating Stable Growth Inputs
Start with the fundamentals:
Profitability measures such as return on equity and capital, in stable
growth, can be estimated by looking at
industry averages for these measure, in which case we assume that this firm in
stable growth will look like the average firm in the industry
cost of equity and capital, in which case we assume that the firm will stop
earning excess returns on its projects as a result of competition.
Leverage is a tougher call. While industry averages can be used here as
well, it depends upon how entrenched current management is and whether
they are stubborn about their policy on leverage (If they are, use current
leverage; if they are not; use industry averages)
Use the relationship between growth and fundamentals to estimate
payout and net capital expenditures.
246
Estimating Stable Period Inputs: Disney
The beta for the stock will drop to one, reflecting Disneys status as a mature
company. This will lower the cost of equity for the firm to 8.82%.
Cost of Equity = Riskfree Rate + Beta * Risk Premium = 4% + 4.82% = 8.82%
The debt ratio for Disney will rise to 30%. This is the optimal we computed
for Disney earlier and we are assuming that investor pressure will be the
impetus for this change. Since we assume that the cost of debt remains
unchanged at 5.25%, this will result in a cost of capital of 7.16%
Cost of capital = 8.82% (.70) + 5.25% (1-.373) (.30) = 7.16%
The return on capital for Disney will drop from its high growth period level of
12% to a stable growth return of 10%. This is still higher than the cost of
capital of 7.16% but the competitive advantages that Disney has are unlikely to
dissipate completely by the end of the 10
th
year. The expected growth rate in
stable growth will be 4%. In conjunction with the return on capital of 10%,
this yields a stable period reinvestment rate of 40%:
Reinvestment Rate = Growth Rate / Return on Capital = 4% /10% = 40%
247
Disney: Inputs to Valuation
High Growth Phase Transition Phase Stable Growth Phase
Length of Period 5 years 5 years Forever after 10 years
Tax Rate 37.3% 37.3% 37.3%
Return on Capital 12% (last years return o n
capital was 4.42%)
Declines linearly to 10% Stable ROC of 10%
Reinvestment Rate
(Net Cap Ex + Working Capital
Investments/EBIT)
53.18% (Last years
reinvestment rate)
Declines to 40% as ROC an d
growth rates drop:
Reinvestment Rate = g/ROC
40% of afte r-tax operating
income, estimated from stabl e
growth rate of 4% and return
on capital of 10%.
Reinvestment rate = 4/10 =40%
Expected Growth Rate i n EBIT ROC * Reinvestment Rate =
12%*0.5318 = 6.38%
Linear decline t o Stable
Growth Rate of 4%
4%: Set to riskfree rate
Debt/Capital Ratio 21% (Existing debt ratio) Increases linearly to 30% Stable debt ratio of 30%
Risk Parameters Beta = 1.25, k
e
= 10%
Cost of Debt = 5.25%
Cost of capital = 8.59%
Beta decreases linearly to 1.00;
Cost of debt stays at 5.25%
Cost of capital drops t o 7.16%
Beta = 1.00; k
e
= 8.82%
Cost of debt stays at 5.25%
Cost of capital = 7.16%
248
Disney: FCFF Estimates
Year
Ex pe ct ed
Gro wth EBIT
EBIT (1-
t )
Rei nv es t m en t
Rat e Rei nv es t m en t FCFF
Cur re nt $ 2, 80 5
1 6. 3 8 % $ 2, 98 4 $ 1, 87 1 5 3. 1 8 % $ 9 9 4.92 $ 8 7 6.06
2 6. 3 8 % $ 3, 17 4 $ 1, 99 0 5 3. 1 8 % $ 1, 05 8. 4 1 $ 9 3 1.96
3 6. 3 8 % $ 3, 37 7 $ 2, 11 7 5 3. 1 8 % $ 1, 12 5. 9 4 $ 9 9 1.43
4 6. 3 8 % $ 3, 59 2 $ 2, 25 2 5 3. 1 8 % $ 1, 19 7. 7 9 $ 1, 05 4. 7 0
5 6. 3 8 % $ 3, 82 2 $ 2, 39 6 5 3. 1 8 % $ 1, 27 4. 2 3 $ 1, 12 2. 0 0
6 5. 9 0 % $ 4, 04 7 $ 2, 53 8 5 0. 5 4 % $ 1, 28 2. 5 9 $ 1, 25 5. 1 3
7 5. 4 3 % $ 4, 26 7 $ 2, 67 5 4 7. 9 1 % $ 1, 28 1. 7 1 $ 1, 39 3. 7 7
8 4. 9 5 % $ 4, 47 8 $ 2, 80 8 4 5. 2 7 % $ 1, 27 1. 1 9 $ 1, 53 6. 8 0
9 4. 4 8 % $ 4, 67 9 $ 2, 93 4 4 2. 6 4 % $ 1, 25 0. 7 8 $ 1, 68 2. 9 0
1 0 4. 0 0 % $ 4, 86 6 $ 3, 05 1 4 0. 0 0 % $ 1, 22 0. 4 1 $ 1, 83 0. 6 2
249
Disney: Costs of Capital and Present Value
Year Co st of c apital FCFF PV of FCFF
1 8. 5 9 % $ 8 7 6.06 $ 8 0 6.74
2 8. 5 9 % $ 9 3 1.96 $ 7 9 0.31
3 8. 5 9 % $ 9 9 1.43 $ 7 7 4.21
4 8. 5 9 % $ 1, 05 4. 7 0 $ 7 5 8.45
5 8. 5 9 % $ 1, 12 2. 0 0 $ 7 4 3.00
6 8. 3 1 % $ 1, 25 5. 1 3 $ 7 6 7.42
7 8. 0 2 % $ 1, 39 3. 7 7 $ 7 8 8.91
8 7. 7 3 % $ 1, 53 6. 8 0 $ 8 0 7.42
9 7. 4 5 % $ 1, 68 2. 9 0 $ 8 2 2.90
1 0 7. 1 6 % $ 1, 83 0. 6 2 $ 8 3 5.31
PV of cashflows du ring hig h gro wt h = $ 7, 89 4. 6 6
250
Disney: Terminal Value and Firm Value
Terminal Value
FCFF
11
= EBIT
11
(1-t) (1- Reinvestment Rate
Stable Growth
)/
= 4866 (1.04) (1-.40) = $1,903.84 million
Terminal Value = FCFF
11
/ (Cost of capital
Stable Growth
g)
= 1903.84/ (.0716 - .04) = $60,219.11 million
Value of firm
PV of cashflows during the high growth phase =$ 7,894.66
PV of terminal value =$ 27,477.81
+ Cash and Marketable Securities =$ 1,583.00
+ Non-operating Assets (Holdings in other companies) =$ 1,849.00
Value of the firm =$ 38,804.48
251
From Firm to Equity Value: What do you
subtract out?
The first thing you have to subtract out is the debt that you computed (and
used in estimating the cost of capital). If you have capitalized operating leases,
you should continue to treat operating leases as debt in this stage in the
process.
This is also your last chance to consider other potential liabilities that may be
faced by the firm including
Expected liabilities on lawsuits: You could be analyzing a firm that is the defendant
in a lawsuit, where it potentially could have to pay tens of millions of dollars in
damages. You should estimate the probability that this will occur and use this
probability to estimate the expected liability.
Unfunded Pension and Health Care Obligations: If a firm has significantly under
funded a pension or a health plan, it will need to set aside cash in future years to
meet these obligations. While it would not be considered debt for cost of capital
purposes, it should be subtracted from firm value to arrive at equity value.
Deferred Tax Liability: The deferred tax liability that shows up on the financial
statements of many firms reflects the fact that firms often use strategies that reduce
their taxes in the current year while increasing their taxes in the future years.
252
From Equity Value to Equity Value per share:
The Effect of Options
When there are warrants and employee options outstanding, the
estimated value of these options has to be subtracted from the value of
the equity, before we divide by the number of shares outstanding.
There are two alternative approaches that are used in practice:
One is to divide the value of equity by the fully diluted number of shares
outstanding rather than by the actual number. This approach will
underestimate the value of the equity, because it fails to consider the cash
proceeds from option exercise.
The other shortcut, which is called the treasury stock approach, adds the
expected proceeds from the exercise of the options (exercise price
multiplied by the number of options outstanding) to the numerator before
dividing by the number of shares outstanding. While this approach will
yield a more reasonable estimate than the first one, it does not include the
time value of the options outstanding.
253
Valuing Disneys options
At the end of 2003, Disney had 219 million options outstanding, with a
weighted average exercise price of $26.44 and weighted average life of
6 years.
Using the current stock price of $26.91, an estimated standard
deviation of 40, a dividend yield of 1.21%. a riskfree rate of 4% and
the Black-Scholes option pricing model we arrived at a value of
$2,129 million.
Since options expenses are tax-deductible, we used the tax rate of
37.30% to estimate the value of the employee options:
Value of employee options = 2129 (1- .373) = $1334.67 million
254
Disney: Value of Equity per Share
Subtracting out the market value of debt (including operating leases) of
$14,668.22 million and the value of the equity options (estimated to be
worth $1,334.67 million in illustration 12.10) yields the value of the
common stock:
Value of equity in common stock = Value of firm Debt Equity
Options = $38,804.48 - $14,668.22 - $1334.67 = $ 22,801.59
Dividing by the number of shares outstanding (2047.60 million), we
arrive at a value per share o $11.14, well below the market price of $
26.91 at the time of this valuation.
255
Current Cashflow to Firm
EBIT(1-t) : 1,759
- Nt CpX 481
- Chg WC 454
= FCFF $ 824
Reinvestment Rate=(481+454)/1759
= 53.18%
Expected Growth
in EBIT (1-t)
.5318*.12=.0638
6.38%
Stable Growth
g = 4%; Beta = 1.00;
Cost of capital = 7.16%
ROC= 10%
Reinvestment Rate=g/ROC
=4/ 10= 40%
Terminal Value
10
= 1,904/(.0716-.04) = 60,219
Cost of Equity
10%
Cost of Debt
(4.00%+1.25%)(1-.373)
= 3.29%
Weights
E = 79% D = 21%
Discount at Cost of Capital (WACC) = 10.00% (.79) + 3.29% (0.21) = 8.59
Op. Assets 35,373
+ Cash: 3,432
+Other Inv
- Debt 14,668
=Equity 24,136
- Options 1,335
=Equity CS 22,802
Value/Sh $11. 14
Riskfree Rate:
Riskfree Rate= 4%
+
Beta
1.2456
X
Mature market
premium
4%
Unlevered Beta for
Sectors: 1.0674
Firms D/E
Ratio: 24.77%
Disney: Valuation
Reinvestment Rate
53.18%%
Return on Capital
12%
Term Yr
3089
- 864
= 2225
Disney was trading at about
$ 26 at the time of this
valuation.
Cashflows
EBIT (1-t ) $1,871 $1,990 $2,117 $2,252 $2,396 $2,538 $2,675 $2,808 $2,934 $3,051
- Reinvestment $995 $1,058 $1,126 $1,198 $1,274 $1,283 $1,282 $1,271 $1,251 $1,220
FCFF $876 $932 $991 $1,055 $1,122 $1,255 $1,394 $1,537 $1,683 $1,831
In transition phase,
debt ratio increases to 30% and cost
of capital decreases to 7.16%
Growth drops to 4%
256
257
258
First Principles
Invest in projects that yield a return greater than the minimum
acceptable hurdle rate.
The hurdle rate should be higher for riskier projects and reflect the
financing mix used - owners funds (equity) or borrowed money (debt)
Returns on projects should be measured based on cash flows generated
and the timing of these cash flows; they should also consider both positive
and negative side effects of these projects.
Choose a financing mix that minimizes the hurdle rate and matches the
assets being financed.
If there are not enough investments that earn the hurdle rate, return the
cash to stockholders.
The form of returns - dividends and stock buybacks - will depend upon
the stockholders characteristics.
Objective: Maximize the Value of the Firm