DCF Valuation

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Valuation of firms is encountered in different situations like Mergers & Acquisitions, Leveraged Buy-outs (LBOs & MBOs), IPOs etc.

There are two common valuation approaches, the discounted cash flow (DCF) valuation method and the relative valuation method, also known as multiples. Although they are both generally applied tools for effective investment decision making, they differ in the way they estimate the value of an asset.

a. Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) Valuation

DCF valuation is based on the assumption that the value of an asset equals the present value of the expected cash flows on the asset. To do DCF valuation, analysts calculate the present value of the expected future cash flows and discount it by the cost of risk incurred by the cash flows and the life of the asset.

This valuation is based on two basic principles:
 Every asset has an intrinsic value that can be projected if cash flows, growth and risk are known.
 Markets are inefficient and assets are not priced perfectly, but they can correct themselves when new information about the asset becomes available.

The inputs for DCF valuation are the discount rate, the cash flows and the growth rate. DCF valuation can be used both for valuing equities and firms

When valuing equity, analysts use the cost of equity as a discount rate, cash flows to equity (CF to Equity) and growth in equity earnings. When valuing a firm, analysts use the cost of capital as a discount rate, cash flows to firm (CF to Firm) and growth in operating income.

In both cases, growth is used to calculate the expected cash flows. Also, the discount rate can be in nominal or real terms.

Advantage:
 By taking into consideration the intrinsic value of the asset, investors are aware of the und...

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... for wrong judgment between overvalued and undervalued securities. Even if a security is found overvalued with relative valuation, it may still be undervalued compared to the market. This happens because relative valuation assumes that although markets are inefficient, errors in pricing can be identified and corrected more easily. However, this applies for the markets in the aggregate and not for individual securities.
 The relative valuation requires fewer inputs than DCF valuation implies that for any other variable the model makes implicit assumptions, which if proved wrong, the entire model is wrong.
In conclusion, there is no better or worse valuation model. Both DCF valuation and relative valuation serve their purposes effectively. The choice between the two is subject to the valuation philosophy, the time horizon and the individual beliefs about the market.

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