Chapter 9 Stocks and Their Valuation 317
We also discussed preferred stock, which is a hybrid security that has
some characteristics of a common stock and some of a bond. Preferreds are
valued using models similar to those for perpetual and “regular” bonds.
We also discussed market equilibrium, noting that for a stock to be in
equilibrium its price must be equal to its intrinsic value as estimated by a
marginal investor, and its expected and required returns as seen by such
investors must also be equal. Finally, we noted that stocks are traded
worldwide, that U.S. markets account for less than half of the value of all
stocks, that U.S. investors can benefit from global diversification, but also
that international investing can be risky and for most individuals should be
done through mutual funds whose managers have specialized knowledge of
foreign markets.
SELF-TEST QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS
(Solutions Appear in Appendix A)
ST-1 Key terms Define each of the following terms:
ST-2
a. Proxy; proxy fight; takeover
b. Preemptive right
c. Classified stock; founders’ shares
d. Intrinsic value (Pˆ0); market price (P0)
e. Required rate of return, rs; expected rate of return, rˆs; actual, or realized, rate of
return, r-s
f. Capital gains yield; dividend yield; expected total return; growth rate, g
g. Zero growth stock
h. Normal, or constant, growth; supernormal (nonconstant) growth
i. Total company (corporate valuation) model
j. Terminal (horizon) date; horizon (terminal) value
k. Marginal investor
l. Equilibrium
m. Preferred stock
Stock growth rates and valuation You are considering buying the stocks of two compa-
nies that operate in the same industry. They have very similar characteristics except for
their dividend payout policies. Both companies are expected to earn $3 per share this
year, but Company D (for “dividend”) is expected to pay out all of its earnings as divi-
dends, while Company G (for “growth”) is expected to pay out only one-third of its
earnings, or $1 per share. D’s stock price is $25. G and D are equally risky. Which of the
following statements is most likely to be true?
a. Company G will have a faster growth rate than Company D. Therefore, G’s stock
price should be greater than $25.
b. Although G’s growth rate should exceed D’s, D’s current dividend exceeds that of
G, and this should cause D’s price to exceed G’s.
c. A long-term investor in Stock D will get his or her money back faster because D
pays out more of its earnings as dividends. Thus, in a sense, D is like a short-term
bond, and G is like a long-term bond. Therefore, if economic shifts cause rd and rs to
increase, and if the expected streams of dividends from D and G remain constant,
both Stocks D and G will decline, but D’s price should decline further.
d. D’s expected and required rate of return is rˆs ϭ rs ϭ 12%. G’s expected return will
be higher because of its higher expected growth rate.
e. If we observe that G’s price is also $25, the best estimate of G’s growth rate is
8 percent.
318 Part 3 Financial Assets
ST-3 Constant growth stock valuation Fletcher Company’s current stock price is $36, its last
ST-4 dividend was $2.40, and its required rate of return is 12 percent. If dividends are
expected to grow at a constant rate, g, in the future, and if rs is expected to remain at
12 percent, what is Fletcher’s expected stock price 5 years from now?
Nonconstant growth stock valuation Snyder Computers Inc. is experiencing rapid growth.
Earnings and dividends are expected to grow at a rate of 15 percent during the next 2
years, 13 percent the following year, and at a constant rate of 6 percent during Year 4 and
thereafter. Its last dividend was $1.15, and its required rate of return is 12 percent.
a. Calculate the value of the stock today.
b. Calculate Pˆ1 and Pˆ2.
c. Calculate the dividend and capital gains yields for Years 1, 2, and 3.
QUESTIONS
9-1 It is frequently stated that the one purpose of the preemptive right is to allow individu-
als to maintain their proportionate share of the ownership and control of a corporation.
a. How important do you suppose control is for the average stockholder of a firm
whose shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange?
b. Is the control issue likely to be of more importance to stockholders of publicly
owned or closely held (private) firms? Explain.
9-2 Is the following the correct equation for finding the value of a constant growth stock?
Explain.
Pˆ0 ϭ D0 g
rs ϩ
9-3 If you bought a share of common stock, you would probably expect to receive dividends
plus an eventual capital gain. Would the distribution between the dividend yield and the
capital gain yield be influenced by the firm’s decision to pay more dividends rather than
to retain and reinvest more of its earnings? Explain.
9-4 Two investors are evaluating GE’s stock for possible purchase. They agree on the
expected value of D1 and also on the expected future dividend growth rate. Further, they
agree on the riskiness of the stock. However, one investor normally holds stocks for 2
years, while the other holds stocks for 10 years. On the basis of the type of analysis done
in this chapter, should they both be willing to pay the same price for GE’s stock?
Explain.
9-5 A bond that pays interest forever and has no maturity is a perpetual bond. In what
respect is a perpetual bond similar to a no-growth common stock? Are there preferred
stocks that are evaluated similarly to perpetual bonds and other preferred stocks that are
more like bonds with finite lives? Explain.
PROBLEMS
Easy 9-1 DPS calculation Warr Corporation just paid a dividend of $1.50 a share (that is, D0 ϭ
Problems 1–6 $1.50). The dividend is expected to grow 7 percent a year for the next 3 years and then at
5 percent a year thereafter. What is the expected dividend per share for each of the next
5 years?
9-2 Constant growth valuation Thomas Brothers is expected to pay a $0.50 per share
dividend at the end of the year (that is, D1 ϭ $0.50). The dividend is expected to grow
at a constant rate of 7 percent a year. The required rate of return on the stock, rs, is
15 percent. What is the stock’s value per share?
9-3 Constant growth valuation Harrison Clothiers’ stock currently sells for $20 a share. It
just paid a dividend of $1.00 a share (that is, D0 ϭ $1.00). The dividend is expected to
Chapter 9 Stocks and Their Valuation 319
Intermediate 9-4 grow at a constant rate of 6 percent a year. What stock price is expected 1 year from
Problems 7–17 now? What is the required rate of return?
9-5
9-6 Nonconstant growth valuation Hart Enterprises recently paid a dividend, D0, of $1.25. It
9-7 expects to have nonconstant growth of 20 percent for 2 years followed by a constant rate
9-8 of 5 percent thereafter. The firm’s required return is 10 percent.
9-9
9-10 a. How far away is the terminal, or horizon, date?
9-11 b. What is the firm’s horizon, or terminal, value?
9-12 c. What is the firm’s intrinsic value today, Pˆ0?
9-13 Corporate value model Smith Technologies is expected to generate $150 million in free
cash flow next year, and FCF is expected to grow at a constant rate of 5 percent per year
9-14 indefinitely. Smith has no debt or preferred stock, and its WACC is 10 percent. If Smith
has 50 million shares of stock outstanding, what is the stock’s value per share?
Preferred stock valuation Fee Founders has perpetual preferred stock outstanding that
sells for $60 a share and pays a dividend of $5 at the end of each year. What is the
required rate of return?
Preferred stock rate of return What will be the nominal rate of return on a perpetual
preferred stock with a $100 par value, a stated dividend of 8 percent of par, and a cur-
rent market price of (a) $60, (b) $80, (c) $100, and (d) $140?
Preferred stock valuation Ezzell Corporation issued perpetual preferred stock with a
10 percent annual dividend. The stock currently yields 8 percent, and its par value is $100.
a. What is the stock’s value?
b. Suppose interest rates rise and pull the preferred stock’s yield up to 12 percent.
What would be its new market value?
Preferred stock returns Bruner Aeronautics has perpetual preferred stock outstanding with
a par value of $100. The stock pays a quarterly dividend of $2, and its current price is $80.
a. What is its nominal annual rate of return?
b. What is its effective annual rate of return?
Valuation of a declining growth stock Martell Mining Company’s ore reserves are being
depleted, so its sales are falling. Also, its pit is getting deeper each year, so its costs are ris-
ing. As a result, the company’s earnings and dividends are declining at the constant rate of
5 percent per year. If D0 ϭ $5 and rs ϭ 15%, what is the value of Martell Mining’s stock?
Valuation of a constant growth stock A stock is expected to pay a dividend of $0.50 at
the end of the year (that is, D1 ϭ 0.50), and it should continue to grow at a constant rate
of 7 percent a year. If its required return is 12 percent, what is the stock’s expected price
4 years from today?
Valuation of a constant growth stock Investors require a 15 percent rate of return on
Levine Company’s stock (that is, rs ϭ 15%).
a. What is its value if the previous dividend was D0 ϭ $2 and investors expect divi-
dends to grow at a constant annual rate of (1) Ϫ5 percent, (2) 0 percent, (3) 5 per-
cent, or (4) 10 percent?
b. Using data from part a, what would the Gordon (constant growth) model value be
if the required rate of return were 15 percent and the expected growth rate were
(1) 15 percent or (2) 20 percent? Are these reasonable results? Explain.
c. Is it reasonable to think that a constant growth stock could have g Ͼ rs?
Rates of return and equilibrium Stock C’s beta coefficient is bC ϭ 0.4, while Stock D’s is
bD ϭ Ϫ0.5. (Stock D’s beta is negative, indicating that its return rises when returns on
most other stocks fall. There are very few negative beta stocks, although collection
agency stocks are sometimes cited as an example.)
a. If the risk-free rate is 7 percent and the expected rate of return on an average stock
is 11 percent, what are the required rates of return on Stocks C and D?
b. For Stock C, suppose the current price, P0, is $25; the next expected dividend, D1, is
$1.50; and the stock’s expected constant growth rate is 4 percent. Is the stock in equi-
librium? Explain, and describe what would happen if the stock is not in equilibrium.
Constant growth You are considering an investment in Keller Corp’s stock, which is
expected to pay a dividend of $2 a share at the end of the year (D1 ϭ $2.00) and has a
beta of 0.9. The risk-free rate is 5.6 percent, and the market risk premium is 6 percent.
Keller currently sells for $25 a share, and its dividend is expected to grow at some constant
320 Part 3 Financial Assets
9-15 rate g. Assuming the market is in equilibrium, what does the market believe will be the
stock price at the end of 3 years? (That is, what is Pˆ3?)
9-16
9-17 Equilibrium stock price The risk-free rate of return, rRF, is 6 percent; the required rate of re-
9-18 turn on the market, rM, is 10 percent; and Upton Company’s stock has a beta coefficient of 1.5.
9-19 a. If the dividend expected during the coming year, D1, is $2.25, and if g ϭ a constant
9-20 5 percent, at what price should Upton’s stock sell?
b. Now, suppose the Federal Reserve Board increases the money supply, causing the
risk-free rate to drop to 5 percent and rM to fall to 9 percent. What would happen to
Upton’s price?
c. In addition to the change in part b, suppose investors’ risk aversion declines, and
this, combined with the decline in rRF, causes rM to fall to 8 percent. Now, what is
Upton’s price?
d. Now suppose Upton has a change in management. The new group institutes poli-
cies that increase the expected constant growth rate from 5 to 6 percent. Also, the
new management smooths out fluctuations in sales and profits, causing beta to
decline from 1.5 to 1.3. Assume that rRF and rM are equal to the values in part c.
After all these changes, what is its new equilibrium price? (Note: D1 is now $2.27.)
Nonconstant growth Microtech Corporation is expanding rapidly and currently needs to
retain all of its earnings, hence it does not pay dividends. However, investors expect
Microtech to begin paying dividends, beginning with a dividend of $1.00 coming 3 years
from today. The dividend should grow rapidly—at a rate of 50 percent per year—during
Years 4 and 5, but after Year 5 growth should be a constant 8 percent per year. If the
required return on Microtech is 15 percent, what is the value of the stock today?
Corporate valuation Dozier Corporation is a fast-growing supplier of office products.
Analysts project the following free cash flows (FCFs) during the next 3 years, after which
FCF is expected to grow at a constant 7 percent rate. Dozier’s WACC is 13 percent.
Year 0 1 2 3
FCF ($ millions) NA Ϫ$20 $30 $40
Challenging a. What is Dozier’s terminal, or horizon, value? (Hint: Find the value of all free cash
Problems 18-24 flows beyond Year 3 discounted back to Year 3.)
b. What is the firm’s value today?
c. Suppose Dozier has $100 million of debt and 10 million shares of stock outstanding.
What is your estimate of the price per share?
Nonconstant growth Mitts Cosmetics Co.’s stock price is $58.88, and it recently paid a
$2 dividend. This dividend is expected to grow by 25 percent for the next 3 years, and
then grow forever at a constant rate, g, and rs ϭ 12%. At what constant rate is the stock
expected to grow after Year 3?
Constant growth Your broker offers to sell you some shares of Bahnsen & Co. common
stock that paid a dividend of $2 yesterday. Bahnsen’s dividend is expected to grow at
5 percent per year for the next 3 years, and, if you buy the stock, you plan to hold it for
3 years and then sell it. The appropriate discount rate is 12 percent.
a. Find the expected dividend for each of the next 3 years; that is, calculate D1, D2, and
D3. Note that D0 ϭ $2.00.
b. Given that the first dividend payment will occur 1 year from now, find the present
value of the dividend stream; that is, calculate the PV of D1, D2, and D3, and then
sum these PVs.
c. You expect the price of the stock 3 years from now to be $34.73; that is, you expect
Pˆ3 to equal $34.73. Discounted at a 12 percent rate, what is the present value of this
expected future stock price? In other words, calculate the PV of $34.73.
d. If you plan to buy the stock, hold it for 3 years, and then sell it for $34.73, what is
the most you should pay for it today?
e. Use Equation 9-2 to calculate the present value of this stock. Assume that g ϭ 5%,
and it is constant.
f. Is the value of this stock dependent upon how long you plan to hold it? In
other words, if your planned holding period were 2 years or 5 years rather than
3 years, would this affect the value of the stock today, Pˆ0? Explain.
Nonconstant growth stock valuation Taussig Technologies Corporation (TTC) has been
growing at a rate of 20 percent per year in recent years. This same growth rate is
expected to last for another 2 years, then to decline to gn ϭ 6%.
Chapter 9 Stocks and Their Valuation 321
a. If D0 ϭ $1.60 and rs ϭ 10%, what is TTC’s stock worth today? What are its expected
dividend and capital gains yields at this time, that is, during Year 1?
b. Now assume that TTC’s period of supernormal growth is to last for 5 years rather
than 2 years. How would this affect the price, dividend yield, and capital gains
yield? Answer in words only.
c. What will TTC’s dividend and capital gains yields be once its period of supernormal
growth ends? (Hint: These values will be the same regardless of whether you exam-
ine the case of 2 or 5 years of supernormal growth; the calculations are very easy.)
d. Of what interest to investors is the changing relationship between dividend and
capital gains yields over time?
9-21 Corporate value model Barrett Industries invests a lot of money in R&D, and as a result
9-22 it retains and reinvests all of its earnings. In other words, Barrett does not pay any divi-
9-23 dends, and it has no plans to pay dividends in the near future. A major pension fund is
9-24 interested in purchasing Barrett’s stock. The pension fund manager has estimated
Barrett’s free cash flows for the next 4 years as follows: $3 million, $6 million, $10 mil-
lion, and $15 million. After the 4th year, free cash flow is projected to grow at a constant
7 percent. Barrett’s WACC is 12 percent, its debt and preferred stock total to $60 million,
and it has 10 million shares of common stock outstanding.
a. What is the present value of the free cash flows projected during the next 4 years?
b. What is the firm’s terminal value?
c. What is the firm’s total value today?
d. What is an estimate of Barrett’s price per share?
Corporate value model Assume that today is December 31, 2005, and the following
information applies to Vermeil Airlines:
• After-tax operating income [EBIT(1 Ϫ T), also called NOPAT] for 2006 is expected to
be $500 million.
• The depreciation expense for 2006 is expected to be $100 million.
• The capital expenditures for 2006 are expected to be $200 million.
• No change is expected in net operating working capital.
• The free cash flow is expected to grow at a constant rate of 6 percent per year.
• The required return on equity is 14 percent.
• The WACC is 10 percent.
• The market value of the company’s debt is $3 billion.
• 200 million shares of stock are outstanding.
Using the free cash flow approach, what should the company’s stock price be today?
Beta coefficients Suppose Chance Chemical Company’s management conducted a study
and concluded that if it expands its consumer products division (which is less risky than
its primary business, industrial chemicals), its beta would decline from 1.2 to 0.9. How-
ever, consumer products have a somewhat lower profit margin, and this would cause its
constant growth rate in earnings and dividends to fall from 6 percent to 4 percent. The
following also apply: rM ϭ 9%; rRF ϭ 6%; and D0 ϭ $2.00.
a. Should management expand the consumer products division?
b. Assume all the facts as given above except the change in the beta coefficient. How
low would the beta have to fall to cause the expansion to be a good one? (Hint: Set
Pˆ0 under the new policy equal to Pˆ0 under the old one, and find the new beta that
will produce this equality.)
Nonconstant growth Assume that it is now January 1, 2006. Wayne-Martin Electric Inc.
(WME) has just developed a solar panel capable of generating 200 percent more electric-
ity than any solar panel currently on the market. As a result, WME is expected to experi-
ence a 15 percent annual growth rate for the next 5 years. By the end of 5 years, other
firms will have developed comparable technology, and WME’s growth rate will slow to
5 percent per year indefinitely. Stockholders require a return of 12 percent on WME’s stock.
The most recent annual dividend (D0), which was paid yesterday, was $1.75 per share.
a. Calculate WME’s expected dividends for 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010.
b. Calculate the value of the stock today, Pˆ0. Proceed by finding the present value of
the dividends expected at the end of 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010 plus the pres-
ent value of the stock price that should exist at the end of 2010. The year-end 2010
stock price can be found by using the constant growth equation. Notice that to find
the December 31, 2010, price, you must use the dividend expected in 2011, which is
5 percent greater than the 2010 dividend.
c. Calculate the expected dividend yield, D1/P0, capital gains yield, and total return
(dividend yield plus capital gains yield) expected for 2006. (Assume that Pˆ0 = P0, and
322 Part 3 Financial Assets
recognize that the capital gains yield is equal to the total return minus the dividend
yield.) Then calculate these same three yields for 2011.
d. How might an investor’s tax situation affect his or her decision to purchase stocks of
companies in the early stages of their lives, when they are growing rapidly, versus
stocks of older, more mature firms? When does WME’s stock become “mature” for
purposes of this question?
e. Suppose your boss tells you she believes that WME’s annual growth rate will be
only 12 percent during the next 5 years and that the firm’s long-run growth rate will
be only 4 percent. Without doing any calculations, what general effect would these
growth-rate changes have on the price of WME’s stock?
f. Suppose your boss also tells you that she regards WME as being quite risky and that
she believes the required rate of return should be 14 percent, not 12 percent. Without
doing any calculations, how would the higher required rate of return affect the price
of the stock, the capital gains yield, and the dividend yield? Again, assume that the
long-run growth rate is 4 percent.
COMPREHENSIVE/SPREADSHEET
PROBLEM
9-25 Nonconstant growth and corporate valuation Rework Problem 9-20, parts a, b, and c,
using a spreadsheet model. For part b, calculate the price, dividend yield, and capital
gains yield as called for in the problem. After completing parts a through c, answer the
following additional question using the spreadsheet model.
d. TTC recently introduced a new line of products that has been wildly successful. On
the basis of this success and anticipated future success, the following free cash flows
were projected:
Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
FCF $5.5 $12.1 $23.8 $44.1 $69.0 $88.8 $107.5 $128.9 $147.1 $161.3
After the 10th year, TTC’s financial planners anticipate that its free cash flow will grow
at a constant rate of 6 percent. Also, the firm concluded that the new product caused the
WACC to fall to 9 percent. The market value of TTC’s debt is $1,200 million, it uses no
preferred stock, and there are 20 million shares of common stock outstanding. Use the
free cash flow method to value the stock.
Integrated Case
9-26 Mutual of Chicago Insurance Company
Stock valuation Robert Balik and Carol Kiefer are senior vice presidents of the Mutual of Chicago Insurance
Company. They are co-directors of the company’s pension fund management division, with Balik having
responsibility for fixed income securities (primarily bonds) and Kiefer being responsible for equity invest-
ments. A major new client, the California League of Cities, has requested that Mutual of Chicago present an
investment seminar to the mayors of the represented cities, and Balik and Kiefer, who will make the actual
presentation, have asked you to help them.
To illustrate the common stock valuation process, Balik and Kiefer have asked you to analyze the Bon
Temps Company, an employment agency that supplies word-processor operators and computer programmers
to businesses with temporarily heavy workloads. You are to answer the following questions:
Chapter 9 Stocks and Their Valuation 323
a. Describe briefly the legal rights and privileges of common stockholders.
b. (1) Write out a formula that can be used to value any stock, regardless of its dividend pattern.
(2) What is a constant growth stock? How are constant growth stocks valued?
(3) What are the implications if a company forecasts a constant g that exceeds its rs? Will many stocks
have expected g Ͼ rs in the short run (that is, for the next few years)? In the long run (that is, forever)?
c. Assume that Bon Temps has a beta coefficient of 1.2, that the risk-free rate (the yield on T-bonds) is 7 per-
cent, and that the required rate of return on the market is 12 percent. What is Bon Temps’ required rate of
return?
d. Assume that Bon Temps is a constant growth company whose last dividend (D0, which was paid yester-
day) was $2.00 and whose dividend is expected to grow indefinitely at a 6 percent rate.
(1) What is the firm’s expected dividend stream over the next 3 years?
(2) What is its current stock price?
(3) What is the stock’s expected value 1 year from now?
(4) What are the expected dividend yield, capital gains yield, and total return during the first year?
e. Now assume that the stock is currently selling at $30.29. What is its expected rate of return?
f. What would the stock price be if its dividends were expected to have zero growth?
g. Now assume that Bon Temps is expected to experience nonconstant growth of 30 percent for the next 3
years, then to return to its long-run constant growth rate of 6 percent. What is the stock’s value under
these conditions? What are its expected dividend and capital gains yields in Year 1? Year 4?
h. Suppose Bon Temps is expected to experience zero growth during the first 3 years and then to resume its
steady-state growth of 6 percent in the fourth year. What would its value be then? What would its
expected dividend and capital gains yields be in Year 1? In Year 4?
i. Finally, assume that Bon Temps’ earnings and dividends are expected to decline at a constant rate of 6
percent per year, that is, g ϭ Ϫ6%. Why would anyone be willing to buy such a stock, and at what price
should it sell? What would be its dividend and capital gains yields in each year?
j. Suppose Bon Temps embarked on an aggressive expansion that requires additional capital. Management
decided to finance the expansion by borrowing $40 million and by halting dividend payments to increase
retained earnings. Its WACC is now 10 percent, and the projected free cash flows for the next 3 years are
Ϫ$5 million, $10 million, and $20 million. After Year 3, free cash flow is projected to grow at a constant 6
percent. What is Bon Temps’ total value? If it has 10 million shares of stock and $40 million of total debt,
what is the price per share?
k. For Bon Temps’ stock to be in equilibrium, what relationship must exist between its estimated intrinsic
value and its current stock price and between its expected and required rates of return? Are the equilib-
rium intrinsic value and expected rate of return the values that management estimates or values as esti-
mated by some other entity? Explain.
l. If equilibrium does not exist, how will it be established?
m. Suppose Bon Temps decided to issue preferred stock that would pay an annual dividend of $5, and the
issue price was $50 per share. What would the expected return be on this stock? Would the expected rate
of return be the same if the preferred was a perpetual issue or if it had a 20-year maturity?
Please go to the ThomsonNOW Web site to access the
Cyberproblems.
324 Part 3 Financial Assets
Access the Thomson ONE problems though the ThomsonNOW Web site. Use the Thomson
ONE—Business School Edition online database to work this chapter’s questions.
Estimating ExxonMobil’s Intrinsic Stock Value
In this chapter we described the various factors that influence stock prices and the
approaches that analysts use to estimate a stock’s intrinsic value. By comparing these
intrinsic value estimates to the current price, an investor can assess whether it makes
sense to buy or sell a particular stock. Stocks trading at a price far below their estimated
intrinsic values may be good candidates for purchase, whereas stocks trading at prices far
in excess of their intrinsic value may be good stocks to avoid or sell.
While estimating a stock’s intrinsic value is a complex exercise that requires reliable
data and good judgment, we can use the data available in Thomson One to arrive at a
quick “back of the envelope” calculation of intrinsic value.
Discussion Questions
1. For purposes of this exercise, let’s take a closer look at the stock of ExxonMobil Cor-
poration (XOM). Looking at the COMPANY OVERVIEW we can immediately see the
company’s current stock price and its performance relative to the overall market in
recent months. What is ExxonMobil’s current stock price? How has the stock per-
formed relative to the market over the past few months?
2. Click on the “NEWS” tab to see the recent news stories for the company. Have there
been any recent events impacting the company’s stock price, or have things been rel-
atively quiet?
3. To provide a starting point for gauging a company’s relative valuation, analysts often
look at a company’s price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio. Returning to the COMPANY
OVERVIEW page, you can see XOM’s current P/E ratio. To put this number in per-
spective, it is useful to compare this ratio with other companies in the same industry
and to take a look at how this ratio has changed over time. If you want to see how
XOM’s P/E ratio stacks up to its peers, click on the tab labeled PEERS. Click on
FINANCIALS on the next row of tabs and then select KEY FINANCIAL RATIOS.
Toward the bottom of the table you should see information on the P/E ratio in the
section titled Market Value Ratios. Toward the top, you should see an item where it
says CLICK HERE TO SELECT NEW PEER SET—do this if you want to compare XOM
to a different set of firms. For the most part, is XOM’s P/E ratio above or below that
of its peers? In Chapter 4, we discussed the various factors that may influence P/E
ratios. Off the top of your head, can these factors explain why XOM’s P/E ratio differs
from its peers?
4. Now to see how XOM’s P/E ratio has varied over time—return back to the COMPANY
OVERVIEW page. Next click FINANCIALS—GROWTH RATIOS and then select
WORLDSCOPE—INCOME STATEMENT RATIOS. Is XOM’s current P/E ratio well
above or well below its historical average? If so, do you have any explanation for why
the current P/E deviates from its historical trend? On the basis of this information,
does XOM’s current P/E suggest that the stock is undervalued or overvalued? Explain.
5. In the text, we discussed using the dividend growth model to estimate a stock’s intrin-
sic value. To keep things as simple as possible, let’s assume at first that XOM’s divi-
dend is expected to grow at some constant rate over time. If so, the intrinsic value
equals D1/(rs Ϫ g), where D1 is the expected annual dividend 1 year from now, rs is the
stock’s required rate of return, and g is the dividend’s constant growth rate. To esti-
mate the dividend growth rate, it’s first helpful to look at XOM’s dividend history.
Chapter 9 Stocks and Their Valuation 325
Staying on the current Web page (WORLDSCOPE—INCOME STATEMENT RATIOS)
you should immediately find the company’s annual dividend over the past several
years. On the basis of this information, what has been the average annual dividend
growth rate? Another way to get estimates of dividend growth rates is to look at ana-
lysts’ forecasts for future dividends, which can be found on the ESTIMATES tab.
Scrolling down the page you should see an area marked “Consensus Estimates” and
a tab under “Available Measures.” Here you click on the down arrow key and select
Dividends Per Share (DPS). What is the median year-end dividend forecast? You can
use this as an estimate of D1 in your measure of intrinsic value. You can also use this
forecast along with the historical data to arrive at a measure of the forecasted divi-
dend growth rate, g.
6. The required return on equity, rs, is the final input needed to estimate intrinsic value.
For our purposes you can either assume a number (say, 8 or 9 percent), or you can
use the CAPM to calculate an estimate of the cost of equity using the data available
in Thomson One. (For more details take a look at the Thomson One exercise for
Chapter 8). Having decided on your best estimates for D1, rs, and g, you can calculate
XOM’s intrinsic value. How does this estimate compare with the current stock price?
Does your preliminary analysis suggest that XOM is undervalued or overvalued?
Explain.
7. It is often useful to perform a sensitivity analysis, where you show how your estimate
of intrinsic value varies according to different estimates of D1, rs, and g. To do so,
recalculate your intrinsic value estimate for a range of different estimates for each of
these key inputs. One convenient way to do this is to set up a simple data table in
Excel. Refer to the Excel tutorial accessed through the ThomsonNOW Web site for
instructions on data tables. On the basis of this analysis, what inputs justify the current
stock price?
8. On the basis of the dividend history you uncovered in question 5 and your assess-
ment of XOM’s future dividend payout policies, do you think it is reasonable to
assume that the constant growth model is a good proxy for intrinsic value? If not, how
would you use the available data in Thomson One to estimate intrinsic value using
the nonconstant growth model?
9. Finally, you can also use the information in Thomson One to value the entire corpora-
tion. This approach requires that you estimate XOM’s annual free cash flows. Once
you estimate the value of the entire corporation, you subtract the value of debt and
preferred stock to arrive at an estimate of the company’s equity value. Divide this
number by the number of shares of common stock outstanding, and you calculate an
alternative estimate of the stock’s intrinsic value. While this approach may take some
more time and involves more judgment concerning forecasts of future free cash flows,
you can use the financial statements and growth forecasts in Thomson One as useful
starting points. Go to Worldscope’s Cash Flow Ratios Report (which you find by click-
ing on FINANCIALS, FUNDAMENTAL RATIOS, and WORLDSCOPE RATIOS) and you
will find an estimate of “free cash flow per share.” While this number is useful, World-
scope’s definition of free cash flow subtracts out dividends per share; therefore, to
make it comparable to the measure in this text, you must add back dividends. To see
Worldscope’s definition of free cash flow (or any term), click on SEARCH FOR COM-
PANIES from the left toolbar, and select the ADVANCED SEARCH tab. In the middle
of your screen, on the right-hand side, you will see a dialog box with terms. Use the
down arrow to scroll through the terms, highlighting the term for which you would
like to see a definition. Then, click on the DEFINITION button immediately below the
dialog box.
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INVESTING IN
LONG-TERM
ASSETS: CAPITAL
BUDGETING
4P A R T
10 The Cost of Capital
11 The Basics of Capital
Budgeting
12 Cash Flow Estimation
and Risk Analysis
13 Real Options and Other
Topics in Capital Budgeting
HAPTE
10
THE COST OF CAPITAL
RC
General Electric Creating Value at GE © SHAWN BALDWIN/BLOOMBERG NEWS/LANDOV
General Electric is one of the world’s best-managed companies, and as such it
has rewarded its shareholders with outstanding returns. GE creates shareholder
value by investing in projects that earn more than the cost of the capital
invested in them. For example, if a project earns 20 percent but the capital
invested in it costs only 10 percent, then taking on the project will increase the
stock price.
Capital is obtained in three primary forms: debt, preferred stock, and com-
mon equity, with equity coming from issuing new stock and by retaining earn-
ings. The investors who provide that capital do so expecting to earn at least
their required rate of return on that capital, and the required return represents
the cost of capital to the firm.1 A variety of factors influence the cost of capital.
Some—including interest rates, state and federal tax policies, and the regula-
tory environment—are outside the firm’s control. However, financing and invest-
ment policies, especially choices related to the types of capital the firm uses
and the riskiness of the projects it undertakes, have a profound effect on its cost
of capital.
Estimating the cost of capital for a company like GE is conceptually straight-
forward. GE’s capital comes largely from debt and equity obtained by retaining
earnings, so its cost of capital depends largely on the level of interest rates in
the economy and the marginal stockholder’s required rate of return on equity.
However, GE operates many different divisions throughout the world, so it is
similar to a portfolio that contains a number of different stocks, each with a
different risk. Recall that the risk of the portfolio is a weighted average of the
1 Recall from earlier chapters that expected and required returns as seen by the marginal investor
must be equal for a security to be in equilibrium, and buying and selling forces this equality to
hold, except for short periods immediately following the release of new information. As expected
and required returns are normally equal, we use the two terms interchangeably.
Chapter 10 The Cost of Capital 329
relevant risks of the different stocks in the portfolio. Similarly, each of GE’s divi-
sions has its own level of risk, hence its own cost of capital, and GE’s overall
cost of capital is an average of its divisions’ costs. For example, GE’s NBC sub-
sidiary probably has a different cost of capital than its aircraft engine division,
and even within divisions, some projects are riskier than others. Moreover, over-
seas projects may have different risks and thus different costs of capital than
otherwise similar domestic projects.
As we will see in this chapter, estimating projects’ costs of capital is an
essential element in the capital budgeting process, and managing this process
effectively is essential to maximizing the firm’s intrinsic stock price.
Putting Things In Perspective
In the last three chapters, we explained how risk influences the prices and
required rates of return on bonds and stocks. The firm’s primary objective is
to maximize shareholder value, and a company can increase this value by
investing in projects that earn more than the cost of capital. Capital is nec-
essary to take on those projects, and like all factors of production, it has a
cost that is equal to the marginal investor’s required return. For this reason,
the cost of capital is referred to as a hurdle rate—for a project to be
accepted its expected return must exceed its hurdle rate.
Most of the formulas used in this chapter were developed in earlier
chapters, where we examined the required rates of return on bonds and
stocks. Indeed, the rates of return that marginal investors require on securi-
ties represent the costs of those securities to the firm. As we shall see,
companies estimate the required returns on their securities, obtain a
weighted average of the costs of the different types of securities they use,
and then use this average in their capital budgeting analyses.
10.1 AN OVERVIEW OF THE WEIGHTED
AVERAGE COST OF CAPITAL
Figure 10-1 shows the types of capital firms use. Debt is typically raised by issu-
ing bonds or borrowing money from a financial institution such as a bank.2
Some companies also finance with preferred stock. The third type of capital,
2 As we saw in Chapter 7, there are actually many different types of debt, and each type typically
has a somewhat different cost. For the purpose of this chapter, assume that the firm’s cost of debt is
an average of the costs of its different types of debt.
330 Part 4 Investing in Long-Term Assets: Capital Budgeting
F I G U R E 1 0 - 1 Types of Capital
Types of
Capital
Debt Preferred Common
Stock Equity
New Common Retained
Stock Earnings
common equity, is provided by the company’s common stockholders, and it is
raised in two ways: (1) by issuing new common stock and (2) by retaining earn-
ings (that is, by not paying out all of their earnings as dividends). Equity raised
by selling newly issued stock is called external equity, while retained earnings are
called internal equity. As we will discuss later, all equity has a cost, whether it is
raised internally or externally, but the cost of newly issued shares exceeds the
cost of retained earnings because of fees that must be paid to investment
bankers for helping sell the new shares.
A firm’s overall cost of capital is an average of the costs of the various
types of funds it uses. Consider Allied Food Products, the firm we’ve been fol-
lowing throughout the text. Allied uses debt with a 10 percent cost, no pre-
ferred stock, and common equity whose cost is 13.4 percent, which is the return
that stockholders require on the stock. Now assume that Allied has made the
decision to finance next year’s projects with debt. The argument is sometimes
made that the cost of capital for these projects will be 10 percent because only
debt will be used to finance them. However, this position is incorrect. If Allied
finances a particular set of projects with debt, it will be using up some of its
future capacity for borrowing. As expansion occurs in subsequent years, it will
at some point have to raise more equity to prevent the debt ratio from getting
too high.
To illustrate, suppose Allied borrows heavily at 10 percent during 2006,
using up its debt capacity in the process, to finance projects yielding 11.5 per-
cent. In 2007, it has new projects available that yield 13 percent, well above the
return on 2006 projects, but it could not accept them because they would have to
be financed with 13.4 percent equity. To avoid this problem, Allied and other firms
take a long-run view, and the cost of capital is calculated as a weighted average, or com-
posite, of the various types of funds used over time, regardless of the specific financing
used to fund projects in a given year.
Why should the cost of capital be calculated as a weighted average
of the various types of funds a firm generally uses, not the cost of
the specific financing used during a given year?
Chapter 10 The Cost of Capital 331
10.2 BASIC DEFINITIONS Capital Component
One of the types of
The items on the right side of a firm’s balance sheet—various types of debt, pre- capital used by firms to
ferred stock, and common equity—are called capital components. Any increase raise funds.
in total assets must be financed by an increase in one or more of these capital
components. The cost of each component is called the component cost of that par- Target (Optimal)
ticular type of capital; for example, if Allied can borrow money at 10 percent, its Capital Structure
component cost of debt is 10 percent.3 Throughout this chapter, we concentrate The percentages of
on the three major capital components—debt, preferred stock, and common debt, preferred stock,
equity—and the following symbols identify the cost of each: and common equity
that will maximize the
rd ϭ interest rate on the firm’s new debt ϭ before-tax component cost of firm’s stock price.
debt. Weighted Average
Cost of Capital
rd(1 Ϫ T) ϭ after-tax component cost of debt, where T is the firm’s marginal tax (WACC)
rate. rd(1 Ϫ T) is the debt cost used to calculate the weighted average A weighted average of
cost of capital. The after-tax cost of debt is lower than the before-tax the component costs of
cost because interest is deductible for tax purposes. debt, preferred stock,
and common equity.
rp ϭ component cost of preferred stock. Preferred dividends are not
deductible, hence the before and after-tax costs of preferred are equal.
rs ϭ component cost of common equity raised by retaining earnings, or
internal equity. It is identical to the rs developed in Chapters 8 and 9
and defined there as the rate of return investors require on a firm’s
common stock. Most firms, once they have become established,
obtain all of their new equity in the form of retained earnings, hence
rs is their cost of equity.
re ϭ component cost of external equity, or common equity raised by issu-
ing new stock. As we will see, re is equal to rs plus a factor that
reflects the cost of issuing new stock. Note, though, that established
firms like Allied Foods rarely issue new stock, hence re is rarely a
relevant consideration except for very young firms.
As we shall see in the chapter on capital structure, each firm has an optimal
capital structure, defined as the mix of debt, preferred, and common equity that
causes its stock price to be maximized. Therefore, a value-maximizing firm will
estimate its optimal capital structure, use it as a target, and then raise new capi-
tal in a manner designed to keep the actual capital structure on target over time.
In this chapter, we assume that the firm has identified its optimal capital struc-
ture, that it uses this optimum as the target, and that it finances so as to remain
on target.
The target proportions of debt (wd), preferred stock (wp), and common
equity (wc), along with the costs of those components, are used to calculate the
firm’s weighted average cost of capital, WACC. We assume at this point that all
new common equity is raised as retained earnings, as is true for most compa-
nies, hence the cost of common equity is rs.
% After-tax % of Cost of % of Cost of
WACC ϭ ° of ¢ ° cost of ¢ ϩ ° preferred ¢ ° preferred ¢ ϩ ° common ¢ ° common ¢
debt debt stock stock equity equity
ϭ wdrd(1 Ϫ T) ϩ wprp ϩ wcrs (10-1)
3 We will see shortly that there is both a before-tax and an after-tax cost of debt; for now, it is suffi-
cient to know that 10 percent is the before-tax component cost of debt.
332 Part 4 Investing in Long-Term Assets: Capital Budgeting
These definitions and concepts are discussed in the remainder of the chapter,
using Allied Foods for illustrative purposes. Later, in the capital structure chap-
ter, we extend the discussion to the mix of securities that minimizes the firm’s
cost of capital and maximizes its value.
Identify the firm’s three major capital structure components, and
give their respective component cost symbols.
Why might there be two different component costs for common
equity? Which is the one that is generally relevant, and for what
type of firm is the second one likely to be relevant?
After-Tax Cost of 10.3 COST OF DEBT, rd(1 Ϫ T)
Debt, rd(1 Ϫ T) The after-tax cost of debt, rd(1 Ϫ T), is used to calculate the weighted average
The relevant cost of cost of capital, and it is the interest rate on debt, rd, less the tax savings that
new debt, taking into result because interest is deductible.4
account the tax
deductibility of inter- After-tax cost of debt ϭ Interest rate Ϫ Tax savings
est; used to calculate
the WACC. ϭ rd Ϫ rdT (10-2)
ϭ rd 11 Ϫ T 2
In effect, the government pays part of the cost of debt because interest is
deductible. Therefore, if Allied can borrow at an interest rate of 10 percent and
its marginal federal-plus-state tax rate is 40 percent, then its after-tax cost of debt
will be 6 percent:
After-tax cost of debt ϭ rd 11 Ϫ T 2 ϭ 10% 11.0 Ϫ 0.4 2
ϭ 10% 10.62
ϭ 6.0%
We use the after-tax cost of debt in calculating the WACC because we are
interested in maximizing the value of the firm’s stock, and the stock price
depends on after-tax cash flows. Because we are concerned with after-tax cash
flows, and because cash flows and rates of return should be calculated on a com-
parable basis, we adjust the interest rate downward to take account of debt’s
preferential tax treatment.5
4 The federal tax rate for most large corporations is 35 percent. However, most corporations are also
subject to state income taxes, so the marginal tax rate on most corporate income is about 40 percent.
For illustrative purposes, we assume that the effective federal-plus-state tax rate on marginal
income is 40 percent. Also, note that the cost of debt is considered in isolation. The effect of debt on
the cost of equity, as well as the cost of future increments of debt, is ignored when the weighted
cost of a combination of debt and equity is derived in this chapter. However, this will be addressed
in the capital structure chapter.
5 The tax rate is zero for a firm with losses. Therefore, for a company that does not pay taxes, the
cost of debt is not reduced; that is, in Equation 10-2, the tax rate equals zero, so the after-tax cost of
debt is equal to the interest rate.
Strictly speaking, the after-tax cost of debt should reflect the expected cost of debt. While
Allied’s bonds have a promised return of 10 percent, there is some chance of default, so its bond-
holders’ expected return (and consequently Allied’s cost) is a bit less than 10 percent. For a rela-
tively strong company such as Allied, this difference is quite small. As we discuss later in the chap-
ter, Allied must also incur flotation costs when it issues debt, but like the difference between the
Chapter 10 The Cost of Capital 333
Note that the cost of debt is the interest rate on new debt, not that on already
outstanding debt. We are interested in the cost of new debt because our primary
concern with the cost of capital is to use it for capital budgeting decisions. For
example, would a new machine earn a return greater than the cost of the capital
needed to acquire the machine? The rate at which the firm has borrowed in the
past is irrelevant when answering this question—we need to know the cost of
new capital.
Why is the after-tax cost of debt rather than the before-tax cost used
to calculate the WACC?
Why is the relevant cost of debt the interest rate on new debt, not
that on already outstanding, or old, debt?
A company has outstanding long-term bonds with a face value of
$1,000, an 11 percent coupon, and an 8 percent yield to maturity. If
the company were to issue new debt, what would be a reasonable
estimate of the interest rate on that debt? If the company’s tax rate is
40 percent, what would its after-tax cost of debt be? (8.0%; 4.8%)
10.4 COST OF PREFERRED STOCK, rp
The component cost of preferred stock used to calculate the weighted average Cost of Preferred
cost of capital, rp, is the preferred dividend, Dp, divided by the current price of Stock, rp
the preferred stock, Pp. The rate of return
Component cost of preferred stock ϭ rp ϭ Dp (10-3) investors require on
Pp
the firm’s preferred
Allied does not have any preferred stock outstanding, but suppose the company
plans to issue some preferred in the future and therefore has included it in its stock. rp is calculated
target capital structure. Allied would sell this stock to a few large pension funds, as the preferred divi-
the stock would have a $10 dividend per share, and it would be priced at $97.50
a share. Therefore, Allied’s cost of preferred stock would be 10.3 percent:6 dend, Dp, divided by
the current price, Pp.
rp ϭ $10>$97.50 ϭ 10.3%
As we can see from Equation 10-3, calculating the cost of preferred stock is
generally quite simple. This is particularly true for traditional, “plain vanilla” pre-
ferred that pays a fixed dividend in perpetuity. However, in Chapter 9 we noted
that some preferred issues have a specified maturity date, and we described
how to calculate the expected return on these issues. Also, preferred stock may
include an option to convert to common stock, and that adds another layer of
complexity to calculating the cost of preferred stock. We will leave these more
(Footnote 5 continued)
promised and the expected rates of return, flotation costs for debt are generally small. Finally, note
that these two factors tend to offset one another—not including the possibility of default leads to
an overstatement of the cost of debt, but not including flotation costs leads to an understatement.
For all these reasons, rd is generally a good approximation of the before-tax cost of debt capital and
rd(1 Ϫ T) of the after-tax cost.
6 This preferred stock would be sold directly to a group of pension funds, so no flotation costs
would be incurred. If significant flotation costs were involved, then the cost of the preferred would
have to be adjusted upward like new common equity issues, as we explain in a later section.
334 Part 4 Investing in Long-Term Assets: Capital Budgeting
Funny-Named Preferred-Like
Securities
Wall Street’s “financial engineers” are constantly (1) Since the parent company gets to take the deduc-
developing new securities that will appeal to issuers tion, its cost of funds from the preferred is rp(1 Ϫ T),
and investors. One such new security is a special just as it would be if it used debt. (2) The parent gen-
type of preferred stock created by Goldman Sachs in erates a tax savings, and it can thus afford to pay a
the mid-1990s. These securities trade under a variety relatively high rate on trust-related preferred; that is,
of colorful names, including MIPS (modified income it can pass on some of its tax savings to investors to
preferred securities), QUIPS (quarterly income pre- induce them to buy the new securities. (3) The pri-
ferred securities), and QUIDS (quarterly income debt mary purchasers of the preferred are low-tax-bracket
securities). The corporation that wants to raise capital individuals and tax-exempt institutions such as pen-
(the “parent”) establishes a trust, which issues fixed- sion funds. For such purchasers, not being able to
dividend preferred stock. The parent then sells exclude the dividend from taxable income is not
bonds (or debt of some type) to the trust, and the important. (4) Due to the differential tax rates, the
trust pays for the bonds with cash raised by selling arrangement results in a net tax savings. Competition
preferred stock. At that point, the parent has the in capital markets results in a sharing of the savings
cash it needs, the trust holds debt issued by the par- between investors and corporations.
ent, and the investing public holds preferred stock
issued by the trust. The parent then makes interest A recent SmartMoney Online article argued that
payments to the trust, and the trust uses that income these hybrid securities are a good deal for individual
to make the preferred dividend payments. Because investors in low tax brackets for the reasons set forth
the parent company has issued debt, its interest pay- here and also because they are sold in small incre-
ments are tax deductible. ments—often as small as $25. However, these securi-
ties are complex, which increases their risk and
If the dividends could be excluded from taxable makes them hard to value. There is also risk to the
income by corporate investors, this preferred would issuing corporations, because the IRS has expressed
really be a great deal—the issuer could deduct the concerns about these securities, and if at some point
interest, corporate investors could exclude most of the IRS decides to disallow interest paid to the trusts,
the dividends, and the IRS would be the loser. The that would have a profound negative effect on the
corporate parent can deduct the interest paid to the issuing corporations.
trust, but IRS regulations do not allow the dividends
on these securities to be excluded from the recipi- Sources: Kerry Capell, “High Yields, Low Cost, Funny
ent’s taxable income. Names,” BusinessWeek, September 9, 1996, p. 122; and
Leslie Haggin, “SmartMoney Online: MIPS, QUIDS, and
Because there is only one deduction, why are QUIPS,” SmartMoney Interactive, April 6, 1999.
these new securities attractive? The answer is as follows:
complicated cases for advanced classes and deal only with “plain vanilla” pre-
ferred issues.
No tax adjustments are made when calculating rp because preferred dividends,
unlike interest on debt, are not deductible. Therefore, no tax savings are associ-
ated with the use of preferred stock. However, as we discuss in the accompany-
ing box, “Funny-Named Preferred-Like Securities,” some companies have devised
ways to issue securities that are similar to preferred stock but are structured in
ways that enable them to deduct the payments made on these securities.
Is a tax adjustment made to the cost of preferred stock? Why or why
not?
A company’s preferred stock currently trades at $80 per share and
pays a $6 annual dividend per share. If the company were to sell a
new preferred issue, what would the cost of that capital be? Ignore
flotation costs. (7.50%)
Chapter 10 The Cost of Capital 335
10.5 COST OF RETAINED EARNINGS, rs
The costs of debt and preferred stock are based on the returns investors require Cost of Retained
Earnings, rs
on these securities. Similarly, the cost of common equity is based on the rate of The rate of return
required by stockhold-
return investors require on the company’s common stock. Note, though, that ers on a firm’s common
stock.
new common equity is raised in two ways: (1) by retaining some of the current
Cost of New Common
year’s earnings and (2) by issuing new common stock. Equity raised by issuing Stock, re
The cost of external
stock has a somewhat higher cost than equity raised as retained earnings due to equity; based on the
cost of retained earn-
the flotation costs involved with new stock issues. Therefore, once they get ings, but increased for
flotation costs.
beyond the startup stage, firms normally obtain all of their new equity by retain-
ing earnings. We use the symbol rs to designate the cost of retained earnings
and re to designate the cost of new stock, or external equity.7
We might think that retained earnings are “free” because they represent
money that is “left over” after paying dividends. While it is true that no direct
costs are associated with capital raised as retained earnings, this capital still has
a cost. The reasoning here involves the opportunity cost principle. The firm’s after-
tax earnings belong to its stockholders. Bondholders are compensated by interest
payments and preferred stockholders by preferred dividends. All earnings
remaining after interest and preferred dividends belong to the common stock-
holders, and these earnings serve to compensate stockholders for the use of their
capital. Management can either pay out earnings in the form of dividends or
retain earnings for reinvestment in the business. If management decides to retain
earnings, there is an opportunity cost involved—stockholders could have received
the earnings as dividends and invested this money in other stocks, in bonds, in
real estate, or in anything else. Thus, the firm needs to earn on its retained earnings
at least as much as the stockholders themselves could earn on alternative investments of
comparable risk.
What rate of return can stockholders expect to earn on equivalent-risk
investments? First, recall from Chapter 9 that stocks are normally in equilibrium,
with expected and required rates of return being equal: rˆs ϭ rs. Thus, Allied’s
stockholders can expect to be able to earn rs on their money. Therefore, if the firm
cannot invest retained earnings and earn at least rs, it should pay those funds to its
stockholders and let them invest directly in assets that do provide that return.
Whereas debt and preferred stocks are contractual obligations whose costs
are clearly stated on the contracts themselves, stocks have no comparable stated
cost rate. That makes it difficult to measure rs. However, we can employ tech-
niques developed in Chapters 8 and 9 to produce reasonably good estimates of
the cost of equity. To begin, recall that if a stock is in equilibrium, its required
rate of return, rs, must be equal to its expected rate of return, rˆs. Further, its
required return is equal to a risk-free rate, rRF, plus a risk premium, RP, whereas
the expected return on the stock is its dividend yield, D1/P0, plus its expected
growth rate, g. Thus, we can write out the following equation and then estimate
rs using the left or the right term, or both:
Required rate of return ϭ Expected rate of return
rs ϭ rRF ϩ RP ϭ D1>P0 ϩ g ϭ ˆrs (10-4)
In other words, we can estimate rs as rs ϭ rRF ϩ RP or as rˆs ϭ D1/P0 ϩ g.
7 The term retained earnings can be interpreted to mean either the balance sheet item “retained earn-
ings,” consisting of all the earnings retained in the business throughout its history, or the income
statement item “addition to retained earnings.” The income statement item is used in this chapter;
for our purpose, retained earnings refers to that part of the current year’s earnings not paid as
dividends, hence available for reinvestment in the business this year.
336 Part 4 Investing in Long-Term Assets: Capital Budgeting
The CAPM Approach
The most widely used approach to the cost of common equity is the Capital
Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) as developed in Chapter 8, following these steps:
Step 1: Estimate the risk-free rate, rRF. Many analysts use the 10-year Treasury
bond rate as a measure of the risk-free rate. Others use a short-term
Treasury bill rate.
Step 2: Estimate the stock’s beta coefficient, bi, and use it as an index of the
stock’s risk. The i signifies the ith company’s beta.
Step 3: Estimate the expected market risk premium. Recall that the market risk
premium is the difference between the return that investors require to
hold an average stock and the risk-free rate.8
Step 4: Substitute the preceding values into the CAPM equation to estimate the
required rate of return on the stock in question:
rs ϭ rRF ϩ 1RPM 2 bi
ϭ rRF ϩ 1rM Ϫ rRF 2 bi (10-5)
Equation 10-5 shows that the CAPM estimate of rs is equal to the risk-free rate,
rRF, plus a risk premium that is equal to the risk premium on an average stock,
rM Ϫ rRF, scaled up or down to reflect the particular stock’s risk exposure as
measured by its beta coefficient.
Assume that in today’s market, rRF ϭ 6% and the market risk premium RPM ϭ
(rM Ϫ rRF) ϭ 5%, and Allied’s beta is 1.48. Using the CAPM approach, Allied’s
cost of equity is estimated as follows:
rs ϭ 6% ϩ 15% 2 11.48 2
ϭ 13.4%
Although the CAPM appears to yield an accurate, precise estimate of rs, sev-
eral potential problems exist. First, as we saw in Chapter 8, if a firm’s stockhold-
ers are not well diversified, they may be concerned with stand-alone risk rather
than just market risk. In that case, the firm’s true investment risk would not be
measured by its beta, and the CAPM estimate would understate the correct
value of rs. Further, even if the CAPM method is valid, it is hard to obtain accurate
estimates of the required inputs because (1) there is controversy about whether
to use long-term or short-term Treasury yields for rRF, (2) it is hard to estimate
the beta that investors expect the company to have in the future, and (3) it is dif-
ficult to estimate the proper market risk premium. As we indicated earlier, the
CAPM approach is used most often, but because of the just-noted problems,
analysts also estimate the cost of equity using other approaches.
Dividend-Yield-plus-Growth-Rate, or Discounted
Cash Flow (DCF), Approach
In Chapter 9, we saw that both the price and the expected rate of return on a
share of common stock depend, ultimately, on the stock’s expected cash flows.
For companies that are expected to go on indefinitely, the cash flows are the div-
idends, while if investors expect the firm to be acquired by some other firm or to
8 Note that your estimate of the market risk premium (RPM, or rM Ϫ rRF) depends on the measure
used for the risk-free rate. In the common situation where the yield curve is upward sloping, the
10-year Treasury bond rate will exceed the short-term Treasury bill rate—and it follows that you
will have a lower estimate of the market risk premium if you select the higher longer-term rate as
the risk-free rate.
Chapter 10 The Cost of Capital 337
be liquidated, then the cash flows would be dividends for some time plus a ter-
minal price when the firm is acquired or liquidated. For simplicity, we assume
that the firm is expected to go on indefinitely, in which case the following equa-
tion applies:
D1 D2 Dϱ
ϩ rs 2 1 ϩ rs 2 2 11 ϩ rs 2 ϱ
# # #P0 ϭ ϩ ϩ ϩ
11 11
ϭ ϱ 11 Dt (10-6)
ϩ rs 2 t
a
tϭ1
Here P0 is the current price of the stock; Dt is the dividend expected to be paid at
the end of Year t; and rs is the required rate of return. If dividends are expected
to grow at a constant rate, then, as we saw in Chapter 9, Equation 10-6 reduces
to this important formula:9
P0 ϭ D1 (10-7)
rs Ϫ g
We can solve for rs to obtain the required rate of return on common equity,
which for the marginal investor is also equal to the expected rate of return:
rs ϭ ˆr s ϭ D1 ϩ Expected g (10-8)
P0
Thus, investors expect to receive a dividend yield, D1/P0, plus a capital gain, g,
for a total expected return of rˆs, and in equilibrium this expected return is also
equal to the required return, rs. This method of estimating the cost of equity is
called the discounted cash flow, or DCF, method. Henceforth, we will assume that
equilibrium exists, and we will use the terms rs and rˆs interchangeably.
It is easy to determine the dividend yield, but it is difficult to establish the
proper growth rate. If past growth rates in earnings and dividends have been
relatively stable, and if investors appear to be projecting a continuation of past
trends, then g may be based on the firm’s historic growth rate. However, if the
company’s past growth has been abnormally high or low, either because of its own
unique situation or because of general economic fluctuations, then investors will not
project the past growth rate into the future. In this case, g must be estimated in some
other manner.
Security analysts regularly make earnings and dividend growth forecasts,
looking at such factors as projected sales, profit margins, and competition. For
example, Value Line, which is available in most libraries, provides growth rate
forecasts for 1,700 companies, and Merrill Lynch, Smith Barney, and other orga-
nizations make similar forecasts. Therefore, someone estimating a firm’s cost of
equity can obtain several analysts’ forecasts, average them, use the average as a
proxy for the growth expectations of investors in general, and then combine this
g with the current dividend yield to estimate rˆs as follows:
ˆr s ϭ D1 ϩ Growth rate as projected by security analysts
P0
9 If the growth rate is not expected to be constant, the DCF procedure can still be used to estimate rs,
but in this case it is necessary to calculate an average growth rate using the procedures described in
this chapter’s Excel model.
338 Part 4 Investing in Long-Term Assets: Capital Budgeting
Again, note that this estimate of rˆs is based on the assumption that g is expected
to remain constant in the future or else we must use an average of expected
future rates.10
Another method for estimating g involves first forecasting the firm’s average
future dividend payout ratio and its complement, the retention rate, and then
multiplying the retention rate by the company’s average expected future rate of
return on equity (ROE):
g ϭ 1Retention rate2 1ROE2 ϭ 11.0 Ϫ Payout rate2 1ROE2 (10-9)
Intuitively, we know that profitable firms that retain a larger portion of their earn-
ings for reinvestment will tend to have higher growth rates than firms that are less
profitable or else pay out a higher percentage of their earnings as dividends. Secu-
rity analysts often use Equation 10-9 when they estimate growth rates. For exam-
ple, suppose a company is expected to have a constant ROE of 13.4 percent, and it
is expected to pay out 40 percent of its earnings and to retain 60 percent. In this
case, its forecasted growth rate would be g ϭ (0.60)(13.4%) ϭ 8.0%.
To illustrate the DCF approach, suppose Allied’s stock sells for $23; its next
expected dividend is $1.24; and its expected growth rate is 8 percent. Allied’s
expected and required rate of return, hence its cost of retained earnings, would
then be 13.4 percent:
ˆr s ϭ rs ϭ $1.24 ϩ 8.0%
$23
ϭ 5.4% ϩ 8.0%
ϭ 13.4%
This 13.4 percent is the minimum rate of return that management should expect to
earn on retained earnings to justify plowing earnings back in the business rather
than paying them out to stockholders as dividends. Put another way, since
investors have an opportunity to earn 13.4 percent if earnings are paid to them as
dividends, then the opportunity cost of equity from retained earnings is 13.4 percent.
In this example, Allied’s estimated cost of equity, 13.4 percent, is the same
using both the CAPM and DCF approaches. Consequently, we would use 13.4
percent as Allied’s estimated cost of equity from retained earnings. In most
cases, however, these two approaches will not produce exactly the same esti-
mate, which requires managers to use judgment when deciding on the proper
value for rs. In some cases, an average of the two estimates will be used, while in
other cases managers will rely solely on the approach they believe is most
appropriate. For example, if a company doesn’t pay a dividend, it will probably
rely on the CAPM approach, while if it does pay steady dividends but has a beta
that appears to be out of line with other firms in its industry, it may rely prima-
rily on the DCF approach.11
10 Analysts’ growth rate forecasts are usually for five years into the future, and the rates provided
represent the average growth rate over that five-year horizon. Studies have shown that analysts’
forecasts represent the best source of growth rate data for DCF cost of capital estimates. See Robert
Harris, “Using Analysts’ Growth Rate Forecasts to Estimate Shareholder Required Rates of Return,”
Financial Management, Spring 1986.
Two organizations—IBES and Zacks—collect the forecasts of leading analysts for most larger
companies, average these forecasts, and then publish the averages. The IBES and Zacks data are
available over the Internet through online computer data services.
11 A recent survey by John Graham and Campbell Harvey indicates that the CAPM approach is
most often used to estimate the cost of equity. More than 70 percent of the surveyed firms used the
CAPM approach, whereas only about 15 percent used the DCF approach. For more details, see John
R. Graham and Campbell R. Harvey, “The Theory and Practice of Corporate Finance: Evidence from
the Field,” Journal of Financial Economics, Vol. 60, nos. 2 and 3 (May-June 2001), pp. 187–243.
Chapter 10 The Cost of Capital 339
People experienced in estimating the cost of equity recognize that both care-
ful analysis and sound judgment are required. It would be nice to pretend that
judgment is unnecessary and to specify an easy, precise way of determining the
cost of equity. Unfortunately, this is not possible—finance is in large part a mat-
ter of judgment, and we simply must face that fact.
Bond-Yield-plus-Risk-Premium Approach
In situations where reliable inputs for neither the CAPM nor the DCF approaches
are available, analysts often use a somewhat more subjective procedure to esti-
mate the cost of equity. Both surveys of portfolio managers and empirical studies
suggest that the risk premium on a firm’s stock over its own bonds generally
ranges from 3 to 5 percentage points.12 Based on this evidence, the analysts sim-
ply add a judgmental risk premium of 3 to 5 percent to the interest rate on the
firm’s own long-term debt to estimate its cost of equity. Firms with risky, low-
rated, and consequently high-interest-rate debt also have risky, high-cost equity,
and the procedure of basing the cost of equity on the firm’s readily observable
debt cost utilizes this logic. For example, given that Allied’s bonds yield 10 per-
cent, its cost of equity might be estimated as follows:
rs ϭ Bond yield ϩ Risk premium ϭ 10% ϩ 4% ϭ 14%
The bonds of a riskier company might yield 12 percent, in which case its esti-
mated cost of equity would be 16 percent:
rs ϭ 12% ϩ 4% ϭ 16%
Because the 4 percent risk premium is a judgmental estimate, the estimated
value of rs is also judgmental. Therefore, an analyst might use a range of 3 to 5
percent for the risk premium and obtain a range of 13 to 15 percent for Allied.
While this method does not produce a precise cost of equity, it should “get us
into the right ballpark.”
Why must a cost be assigned to retained earnings?
What three approaches are used to estimate the cost of common equity?
Identify some problems with the CAPM approach.
Which of the two components of the DCF formula, the dividend
yield or the growth rate, is more difficult to estimate? Why?
What’s the logic behind the bond-yield-plus-risk-premium approach?
Suppose you are an analyst with the following data: rRF ϭ 5.5%; rM Ϫ
rRF ϭ 6%; b ϭ 0.8; D1 ϭ $1.00; P0 ϭ $25.00; g ϭ 6%; rd ϭ firm’s bond
yield ϭ 6.5%. What is this firm’s cost of equity using the CAPM, DCF,
and bond-yield-plus-risk-premium approaches? Use the mid-range of
the judgmental risk premium for the bond-yield-plus-risk-premium
approach. (CAPM ϭ 10.3%; DCF ϭ 10%; Bond yield ϩ RP ϭ 10.5%)
12 Some security analysts send out questionnaires to portfolio managers asking this question: “If a
given firm’s bonds yield 8 percent, what is the minimum rate of return you would have to earn on
its equity in order to induce you to buy its common stock?” The answers are generally in the 3 to 5
percent range. The reports that we have seen were proprietary, so the studies are not generally
available. Also, analysts have calculated the historical returns on common stocks and on corporate
bonds and then used the differential as an estimate of the equity risk premium over a firm’s own
bonds. The best known of these studies is by Ibbotson Associates. The historical results vary from
year to year, but again, a range of 3 to 5 percent is quite common.
340 Part 4 Investing in Long-Term Assets: Capital Budgeting
How Much Does It Cost to Raise
External Capital?
A study by four professors provides some insights common equity if the amount raised in the IPO is
into how much it costs U.S. corporations to raise less than $10 million and about 6 percent if more
external capital. Using information from the Securi- than $500 million is raised. The data shown include
ties Data Company, they found the average flotation both utility and nonutility companies. If utilities were
cost for equity and debt as presented here. excluded, flotation costs would be somewhat higher.
Also, the debt costs are for debt raised using invest-
The common stock flotation costs are for estab- ment bankers. Most debt is actually obtained from
lished firms, not for firms raising funds in IPOs. Costs banks and other creditors, and there flotation costs
associated with IPOs are much higher—flotation are generally quite small or nonexistent.
costs are about 17 percent of gross proceeds for
Amount of Capital Raised Average Flotation Cost Average Flotation Cost
(Millions of Dollars) for Common Stock for New Debt
2–9.99 (% of Total Capital Raised) (% of Total Capital Raised)
10–19.99
20–39.99 13.28 4.39
40–59.99 8.72 2.76
60–79.99 6.93 2.42
80–99.99 5.87 1.32
100–199.99 5.18 2.34
200–499.99 4.73 2.16
500 and up 4.22 2.31
3.47 2.19
3.15 1.64
Source: Inmoo Lee, Scott Lochhead, Jay Ritter, and Quanshui Zhao, “The Costs of Raising Capital,” The Journal of
Financial Research, Vol. XIX, no. 1 (Spring 1996), pp. 59–74. Reprinted with permission.
10.6 COST OF NEW COMMON STOCK, re13
Companies generally use an investment banker when they issue common or
preferred stock, and sometimes when they issue bonds. In return for a fee, the
investment banker helps the company structure the terms and set a price for the
issue, then sells the issue to investors. The banker’s fees are called flotation costs,
and the total cost of the capital raised reflects the investors’ required return plus
the flotation costs.
For most firms at most times, flotation costs are not high enough to worry
about because (1) most equity comes from retained earnings, (2) most debt is
raised from banks and in private placements and hence involves no flotation
costs, and (3) preferred stock is rarely used. Therefore, in our discussion thus
far we have simply ignored flotation costs. However, as you can see in the
13 This section is relatively technical, but it can be omitted without loss of continuity if time
pressures necessitate.
Chapter 10 The Cost of Capital 341
accompanying box, flotation costs can be substantial, and they vary depending
on the size of the issue and the type of capital raised. We now describe two
approaches that can be used to account for these flotation costs when firms use
investment bankers to raise capital.14
Add Flotation Costs to a Project’s Cost
With the first approach we add the estimated dollar amount of flotation costs for
each project to the project’s up-front cost. In the next chapter, we will see that
capital budgeting projects typically involve an initial cash outlay followed by a
series of cash inflows. We can add any required flotation costs, found as the sum
of the flotation costs for the debt, preferred, and common stock used to finance
the project, to the initial investment cost. Because of the now-higher investment
cost, the project’s expected rate of return and NPV will be decreased. For exam-
ple, consider a one-year project with an up-front cost (not including flotation
costs) of $100 million. After one year, the project is expected to produce an
inflow of $115 million. Therefore, its expected return is $115/$100 Ϫ 1 ϭ 0.15 ϭ
15.0%. However, if the project requires the company to raise $100 million of new
capital with an estimated $2 million of flotation costs, the total up-front cost will
rise to $102 million and the expected rate of return will fall to $115/$102 Ϫ 1 ϭ
0.1275 ϭ 12.75%.
Increase the Cost of Capital
The second approach involves adjusting the cost of capital rather than increasing
the project’s cost. If the firm plans to continue using the capital in the future, as
is generally true for equity, then this second approach is theoretically better. The
adjustment process is based on the following logic. If there are flotation costs,
the issuing company receives only a portion of the capital provided by investors,
with the remainder going to the underwriter. To provide investors with their
required rate of return, given that less money is available to the company than
the amount the investors put up, then each dollar received must “work harder,”
that is, it must earn a higher rate of return than the investors required on the
funds they put up. For example, suppose investors require a 10 percent return
on their investment, but the firm actually gets to keep and invest only 90 percent
of the amount investors put up. In that case, the firm would have to earn about
11 percent on the available funds in order to provide investors with a 10 percent
return on their investment. This higher rate of return is the flotation-adjusted
cost of equity.
The DCF approach can be adapted to account for flotation costs, using the
following equation for the cost of new common stock, re:15
Cost of equity from new stock issues ϭ re ϭ D1 F2 ϩ g (10-10)
P0 11 Ϫ
Here F is the percentage flotation cost required to sell the new stock, so P0(1 Ϫ F) Flotation Cost, F
is the net price per share received by the company.
The percentage cost of
issuing new common
stock.
14 A more complete discussion of flotation cost adjustments can be found in Brigham and Daves,
Intermediate Financial Management, and other advanced texts.
15 Equation 10-10 is derived in Brigham and Daves, Intermediate Financial Management, 8th ed., p. 319.
342 Part 4 Investing in Long-Term Assets: Capital Budgeting
Assuming that Allied has a flotation cost of 10 percent, its cost of new com-
mon equity, re, is computed as follows:
re ϭ $1.24 ϩ 8.0%
$23 11 Ϫ 0.102
ϭ $1.24 ϩ 8.0%
$20.70
ϭ 6.0% ϩ 8.0% ϭ 14.0%
Investors require a return of rs ϭ 13.4% on the stock. However, because of flota-
tion costs the company must earn more than 13.4 percent on the net funds it
receives in order to give investors a 13.4 percent return on their money. Specifi-
cally, if the firm earns 14 percent on funds obtained by issuing new stock, then
earnings per share will remain at the previously expected level, the firm’s
expected dividend can be maintained, and the stock price will not decline. If the
firm earns less than 14 percent, then earnings, dividends, and growth will fall
below expectations and the stock price will decline. If the firm earns more than
14 percent, the stock price will rise.
When Must External Equity Be Used?
Retained Earnings Because of flotation costs, dollars raised by selling new stock must “work
Breakpoint harder” than dollars raised by retaining earnings. Moreover, because no flotation
The amount of capital costs are involved, retained earnings cost less than new stock. Therefore, firms
raised beyond which should utilize retained earnings to the extent possible. However, if a firm has
new common stock more good investment opportunities than can be financed with retained earn-
must be issued. ings plus debt supported by those retained earnings, it may need to issue new
common stock. The total amount of capital raised beyond which new stock must
be issued is defined as the retained earnings breakpoint, and it can be calcu-
lated as follows:
Retained earnings breakpoint ϭ Addition to retained earnings (10-11)
Equity fraction
Allied’s addition to retained earnings in 2006 is expected to be $68 million,
and its target capital structure consists of 45 percent debt, 2 percent preferred,
and 53 percent equity. Therefore, its retained earnings breakpoint is
Retained earnings breakpoint ϭ $68>0.53 ϭ $128 million
If Allied’s capital budget called for spending any amount up to $128 million,
then 0.45($128) ϭ $57.6 million would be financed with debt, 0.02($128) ϭ $2.6
million with preferred stock, and 0.53($128) ϭ $67.8 million with equity raised
from retained earnings. However, if the capital budget exceeded $128 million,
the company would have to obtain equity by issuing new, high-cost common
stock.16
16 It’s important to recognize that this breakpoint is only suggestive—it is not written in stone. For
example, rather than issuing new common stock, the company could use more debt (hence increas-
ing its debt ratio), or it might increase its additions to retained earnings by reducing its dividend
payout ratio. Both actions would change the retained earnings breakpoint. Also, breakpoints could
occur due to increases in the costs of debt and preferred. Indeed, all manner of changes could occur,
and the end result would be a large number of breakpoints. All of this is discussed in more detail in
Brigham and Daves, Intermediate Financial Management, 8th ed., Chapter 9.
Chapter 10 The Cost of Capital 343
Explain briefly the two approaches that can be used to adjust for
flotation costs.
Would firms that have many good investment opportunities be
likely to have higher or lower dividend payout ratios than firms
with few good investment opportunities? Explain.
A firm has common stock with D1 ϭ $1.50; P0 ϭ $30; g ϭ 5%; and
F ϭ 4%. If the firm must issue new stock, what is its cost of issuing
new external equity? (10.21%)
10.7 COMPOSITE, OR WEIGHTED AVERAGE,
COST OF CAPITAL, WACC
Allied’s target capital structure calls for 45 percent debt, 2 percent preferred
stock, and 53 percent common equity. Earlier we saw that Allied’s before-tax
cost of debt is 10 percent; its after-tax cost of debt is rd(1 Ϫ T) ϭ 10%(0.6) ϭ 6.0%;
its cost of preferred stock is 10.3 percent; its cost of common equity from retained
earnings is 13.4 percent; and its marginal tax rate is 40 percent. Equation 10-1,
presented earlier, can be used to calculate the WACC when all of the new com-
mon equity comes from retained earnings:
WACC ϭ wdrd(1 Ϫ T) ϩ wprp ϩ wcrs
ϭ 0.45 110% 2 10.62 ϩ 0.02 110.3% 2 ϩ 0.53 113.4% 2
ϭ 10.0%
Under these conditions, every dollar of new capital that Allied raises would
consist of 45 cents of debt with an after-tax cost of 6 percent, 2 cents of preferred
stock with a cost of 10.3 percent, and 53 cents of common equity (all from addi-
tions to retained earnings) with a cost of 13.4 percent. The average cost of each
whole dollar, or the WACC, would be 10 percent.17
As long as Allied keeps its capital structure on target, its debt has an after-
tax cost of 6 percent, its preferred stock has a cost of 10.3 percent, and its com-
mon equity comes from retained earnings at a cost of 13.4 percent, then its
WACC will be 10 percent. Each dollar raised will consist of some debt, some pre-
ferred stock, and some common equity, and the cost of the whole dollar will be
10 percent.
Our estimate of Allied’s WACC assumed that Allied’s common equity comes
exclusively from retained earnings. If Allied were to instead issue new common
stock its WACC would be slightly higher because of the additional flotation
costs. In the Web Appendix 10A we discuss in more detail the connection
between the WACC and the costs of issuing new common stock.
17 The WACC is the cost of investor-supplied capital used to finance new projects. The debt compo-
nent of the target capital structure includes only interest-bearing, investor-supplied debt—long-term
bonds and bank notes payable. It does not include accounts payable and accruals because those
items are not provided by investors.
344 Part 4 Investing in Long-Term Assets: Capital Budgeting
Write out the equation for the WACC.
Is short-term debt included in the capital structure used to calculate
WACC? Why or why not?
Why does the WACC at every amount of capital raised represent the
marginal cost of that capital?
A firm has the following data: Target capital structure of 46 percent
debt, 3 percent preferred, and 51 percent common equity; Tax rate ϭ
40%; rd ϭ 7%; rp ϭ 7.5%; and rs ϭ 11.5%. Assume the firm will not
be issuing new stock. What is this firm’s WACC? (8.02% ഠ 8%)
10.8 FACTORS THAT AFFECT THE WACC
The cost of capital is affected by a number of factors. Some are beyond a firm’s
control, but others are influenced by its financing and investment decisions.
Factors the Firm Cannot Control
The two most important factors that are beyond a firm’s direct control are inter-
est rates and tax rates. If interest rates in the economy rise, the cost of debt
increases because firms will have to pay bondholders more when they borrow.
Also, recall from our discussion of the CAPM that higher interest rates increase
the costs of common and preferred equity. In recent years inflation, and conse-
quently, interest rates, have been trending down. This has reduced the costs of
capital for all firms, and that has encouraged corporate investment.
Tax rates are used in the calculation of the component cost of debt and thus
they have an important effect on the cost of capital. Taxes also affect the cost of
capital in other less apparent ways. For example, the recent lowering of tax rates
on dividends and capital gains relative to rates on interest income makes stocks
relatively attractive, and that reduces the relative cost of equity and thus the
WACC. Also, as we will see in the capital structure chapter, lower dividend and
capital gains taxes have led to a change in the optimal capital structure—toward
less debt and more equity.
Factors the Firm Can Control
A firm can directly affect its cost of capital in three primary ways: (1) by changing
its capital structure, (2) by changing its dividend payout, and (3) by altering its capital
budgeting decision rules to accept projects with more or less risk than in the past.
Regarding capital structure, we have assumed that firms have given target
capital structures, and we used those target weights to calculate their WACCs.
However, if a firm changes its target capital structure, then the weights used to
calculate the WACC will change. Because the after-tax cost of debt is lower than
the cost of equity, an increase in the target debt ratio will tend to lower the
WACC, and vice versa if the debt ratio is lowered. However, an increase in the
use of debt will increase the riskiness of both the debt and the equity, and these
increases in component costs might offset the effects of the change in the weights
and leave the WACC unchanged or even higher. In the capital structure chapter,
we will discuss these effects in more detail.
Chapter 10 The Cost of Capital 345
GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES
Global Variations in the
Cost of Capital
For U.S. firms to be competitive in world markets, As capital markets become increasingly inte-
they must have costs of capital similar to that faced grated, cross-country differences in the costs of capi-
by their international competitors. In the past, many tal are disappearing. Today, most large corporations
experts argued that U.S. firms were at a disadvan- raise capital throughout the world, hence we are
tage. In particular, Japanese firms enjoyed lower costs moving toward one global capital market rather than
of capital, which lowered their total costs and thus distinct capital markets in each country. Although
made it harder for U.S. firms to compete. Recent government policies and market conditions can affect
events, however, have considerably narrowed cost of the costs of capital within a given country, this prima-
capital differences between U.S. and Japanese firms. rily affects smaller firms that do not have access to
In particular, despite its recent decline, the U.S. stock global capital markets, and even these differences
market has outperformed the Japanese market over are becoming less important as time goes by. What
the past decade, which has made it possible for U.S. matters most is the risk of the individual firm, not the
firms to raise equity capital. market in which it raises capital.
Dividend policy affects the amount of retained earnings available to the
firm, and thus the possible need to sell new stock and thus incur flotation costs.
This suggests that the higher the dividend payout ratio, the smaller the addition
to retained earnings and thus the higher the cost of equity and therefore the
WACC. However, investors may want the firm to pay out more dividends, and
thus a reduction in the payout ratio might lead to an increase in the required
rate of return on equity. As we will see in the chapter on dividends, the optimal
dividend policy is a complicated issue but one with a potentially important
effect on the cost of capital.
The firm’s capital budgeting decisions can also affect its cost of capital.
When we estimate the cost of capital, we use as the starting point the required
rates of return on the firm’s outstanding stock and bonds. Those cost rates reflect
the riskiness of the firm’s existing assets. Therefore, we have been implicitly
assuming that new capital will be invested in the same types of assets and with
the same degrees of risk as the existing assets. This assumption is generally cor-
rect, as most firms do invest in assets similar to those they currently operate.
However, if the firm decides to invest in an entirely new and risky line of busi-
ness, then its component costs of debt and equity, and thus the WACC, will
increase. To illustrate, ITT Corporation recently sold off its finance company and
purchased Caesar’s World, which operates gambling casinos. This dramatic shift
in corporate focus almost certainly affected ITT’s cost of capital. The effect of
investment decisions on capital costs is discussed in detail in the next section.
What two factors that affect the cost of capital are generally beyond
the firm’s control?
What are three factors under the firm’s control that can affect its cost
of capital?
Suppose interest rates in the economy increase. How would such a
change affect each component of the WACC?
346 Part 4 Investing in Long-Term Assets: Capital Budgeting
10.9 ADJUSTING THE COST OF CAPITAL
FOR RISK
As you will see in the chapters on capital budgeting that follow, the cost of capi-
tal is a key element in the capital budgeting process. Projects should be accepted
if and only if their estimated returns exceed their costs of capital. Thus, the cost
of capital is a “hurdle rate”—a project’s expected rate of return must “jump the
hurdle” for it to be accepted. Moreover, investors require higher returns on
riskier investments. Consequently, companies that are raising capital to take on
risky projects will have higher costs of capital than companies that are investing
in safer projects.
Figure 10-2 illustrates the trade-off between risk and the cost of capital. Firm
L is in a low-risk business and has a WACC of 8 percent, whereas Firm H’s busi-
ness is exposed to greater risk and consequently it has a WACC of 12 percent.
Thus, Firm L will accept a typical project if its expected return is above 8 per-
cent, whereas the corresponding hurdle rate for Firm H is 12 percent.
It is important to remember that the costs of capital at points L and H in Fig-
ure 10-2 represent the overall, or composite, WACCs for the two firms, and thus
apply to only “typical” projects for each firm. However, different projects often
have different risks, even for a given firm. Therefore, each project’s hurdle rate
should reflect the risk of the project itself, not the risk associated with the firm’s
average project as reflected in its composite WACC. For example, assume that
Firms L and H are both considering Project A. This project has more risk than a
typical Firm L project, but less risk than a typical Firm H project. As shown in
Figure 10-2, Project A has a 10.5 percent expected return. At first, we might be
F I G U R E 1 0 - 2 Risk and the Cost of Capital Acceptance Region
WACC
Rate of Return
(%) H
Rejection Region
12.0
10.5 A
10.0
9.5 B
8.0
L
0 Risk L Risk Average Risk H Risk
Chapter 10 The Cost of Capital 347
tempted to conclude that Firm L should accept Project A because its 10.5 percent
return is above L’s 8 percent WACC, while H should turn the project down
because its return is less than H’s 12 percent WACC. However, this would be
wrong. The relevant hurdle rate is the project’s WACC, which is 10 percent, as
read from the WACC line in Figure 10-2. Since the project’s return exceeds its 10
percent cost, it should be acceptable to both Firms L and H.
Next, consider Project B. It has the same risk as Project A, but its expected
return is 9.5 percent versus its 10 percent hurdle rate. Both firms should reject
Project B because its return is not high enough to justify its risk.
We see, then, that the hurdle rate applied to each project should reflect the
project’s own risk, not necessarily the firm’s overall risk as reflected in its
WACC. Empirical studies do indicate that firms take account of individual proj-
ects’ risks, but they also indicate that most firms regard most projects as having
about the same risk as the firm’s average existing assets. Therefore, the WACC is
used to evaluate most projects, but if a project has an especially high or low risk,
then the WACC will be adjusted up or down to account for this difference. We
will discuss this point in more detail in Chapter 12.
These same arguments apply to the cost of capital for multidivisional firms.
Consider Firm A in Figure 10-3. It has two divisions, L and H. Division L has rel-
atively little risk, and if it were operated as a separate firm, its WACC would be
7 percent. Division H has higher risk, and its divisional cost of capital is 13 per-
cent. If the two divisions were of equal size, Firm A’s composite WACC would
be 0.50(7%) ϩ 0.50(13%) ϭ 10.0%. However, it would be a mistake to use this 10
percent WACC for either division. To see this point, assume that Division L is
considering a relatively low-risk project with an expected return of 9 percent,
while Division H is considering a higher-risk project with an expected return of
F I G U R E 1 0 - 3 Divisional Cost of Capital
Rate of Return Division H’s WACC WACC
(%)
13.0
11.0 Project H
10.0
Composite WACC
9.0 Project L for Firm A
7.0
Division L’s WACC
0 Risk L Risk Average Risk
Risk H
348 Part 4 Investing in Long-Term Assets: Capital Budgeting
11 percent. As shown in Figure 10-3, Division L’s project should be accepted
because its return is above its risk-based cost of capital, whereas Division H’s
project should be rejected. If the 10 percent corporate WACC were used by each
division, the decision would be reversed: Division H would incorrectly accept its
project, and Division L would incorrectly reject its project. In general, failing to
adjust for differences in risk would lead the firm to accept too many risky proj-
ects and reject too many safe ones. Over time, the firm would become more
risky, its WACC would increase, and its shareholder value would suffer. Actu-
ally measuring project risk and then deciding exactly how to account for it is
discussed in Chapter 12.
Why is the cost of capital sometimes referred to as a “hurdle rate”?
How should firms evaluate projects with different risks?
Should divisions within the same firm all use the firm’s composite
WACC when considering capital budgeting projects? Explain.
10.10 SOME OTHER PROBLEMS WITH COST
OF CAPITAL ESTIMATES
A number of issues relating to the cost of capital either have not been mentioned
or were glossed over in this chapter. These topics are covered in advanced
finance courses, but they deserve mention now both to alert you to potential
dangers and to provide a preview of some matters covered in advanced courses.
1. Depreciation-generated funds. The largest single source of capital for many
firms is depreciation, yet we have not discussed the cost of funds from this
source. In brief, depreciation cash flows can either be reinvested or returned
to investors (stockholders and creditors). The cost of depreciation-generated
funds is approximately equal to the WACC from retained earnings, preferred
stock, and debt.18
2. Privately owned firms. Our discussion of the cost of equity focused on publicly
owned corporations, and we have concentrated on the rate of return required
by public stockholders. However, there is a serious question about how to
measure the cost of equity for a firm whose stock is not traded. Tax issues are
also especially important in these cases. Still, as a general rule, the same princi-
ples of cost of capital estimation apply to both privately held and publicly
owned firms, but the problems of obtaining input data are somewhat different.
3. Measurement problems. We cannot overemphasize the practical difficulties
encountered when estimating the cost of equity. It is very difficult to obtain
good input data for the CAPM, for g in the formula rˆs ϭ D1/P0 ϩ g, and for
the risk premium in the formula rs ϭ Bond yield ϩ Risk premium. As a result,
we can never be sure just how accurate our estimated cost of capital is.
4. Costs of capital for projects of differing riskiness. It is difficult to measure proj-
ects’ risks, hence to adjust costs of capital to capital budgeting projects of dif-
fering degrees of riskiness.
5. Capital structure weights. In this chapter, we took as given the target capital
structure and then used it to calculate the WACC. As we shall see in the cap-
ital structure chapter, establishing the target capital structure is a major task
in itself.
18 See Brigham and Daves, Intermediate Financial Management, 8th ed., Chapter 9, for a discussion.
Chapter 10 The Cost of Capital 349
Although this list of problems may appear formidable, the state of the art in
cost of capital estimation is really not in bad shape. The procedures outlined in
this chapter can be used to obtain cost of capital estimates that are sufficiently
accurate for practical purposes, and the problems listed here merely indicate the
desirability of refinements. The refinements are not unimportant, but the prob-
lems we have listed do not invalidate the usefulness of the procedures outlined
in the chapter.
Identify some problem areas in cost of capital analysis. Do these
problems invalidate the cost of capital procedures discussed in the
chapter?
Tying It All Together
We began this chapter by discussing the concept of the weighted average
cost of capital. We then discussed the three capital components (debt, pre-
ferred stock, and common equity) and procedures used to estimate their
component costs. Next, we calculated the WACC, which is a key element in
capital budgeting. We assumed that the target capital structure has been
specified, and we used the given target weights to calculate the WACC.
However, changes in the target capital structure can affect the WACC, so
we discuss capital structure in detail in a later chapter.
We also noted that the corporate WACC is based on the riskiness of the
entire firm, and it should be used as the hurdle rate in capital budgeting if
and only if the project under consideration has about the same risk as the
firm’s existing assets. If the project is judged to be more risky than average,
the WACC should be increased, and vice versa if the project has less than
average risk. The amount by which to increase or decrease the WACC to
adjust for differential project risk is somewhat subjective, but as we discuss
in Chapter 12, techniques are available that help us measure a project’s risk.
SELF-TEST QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS
(Solutions Appear in Appendix A)
ST-1 Key terms Define each of the following terms:
a. Capital components
b. After-tax cost of debt, rd(1 Ϫ T)
c. Cost of preferred stock, rp
d. Cost of retained earnings, rs; cost of new common stock, re
e. Target (optimal) capital structure; target weights (wd, wp, wc)
f. Weighted average cost of capital, WACC
g. Flotation cost, F; retained earnings breakpoint
350 Part 4 Investing in Long-Term Assets: Capital Budgeting
ST-2 WACC Lancaster Engineering Inc. (LEI) has the following capital structure, which it
considers to be optimal:
Debt 25%
Preferred stock 15
Common equity 60
100%
LEI’s expected net income this year is $34,285.72, its established dividend payout ratio is
30 percent, its federal-plus-state tax rate is 40 percent, and investors expect earnings and
dividends to grow at a constant rate of 9 percent in the future. LEI paid a dividend of
$3.60 per share last year, and its stock currently sells for $54 per share.
LEI can obtain new capital in the following ways:
• Preferred: New preferred stock with a dividend of $11 can be sold to the public at
a price of $95 per share.
• Debt: Debt can be sold at an interest rate of 12 percent.
a. Determine the cost of each capital component.
b. Calculate the WACC.
c. LEI has the following investment opportunities that are average-risk projects for the
firm:
Project Cost at t ϭ 0 Rate of Return
A $10,000 17.4%
B 20,000 16.0
C 10,000 14.2
D 20,000 13.7
E 10,000 12.0
Which projects should LEI accept? Why?
QUESTIONS
10-1 How would each of the following affect a firm’s cost of debt, rd(1 Ϫ T); its cost of equity,
rs; and its WACC? Indicate by a plus (ϩ), a minus (Ϫ), or a zero (0) if the factor would
raise, lower, or have an indeterminate effect on the item in question. Assume for each
answer that other things are held constant, even though in some instances this would
probably not be true. Be prepared to justify your answer, but recognize that several of
the parts have no single correct answer; these questions are designed to stimulate
thought and discussion.
a. The corporate tax rate is lowered. rd(1 ؊ T) EFFECT ON WACC
b. The Federal Reserve tightens credit. ______ rs
c. The firm uses more debt; that is, it ______ ______
______ ______
increases its debt/assets ratio. ______ ______
d. The dividend payout ratio is increased. ______ ______
e. The firm doubles the amount of ______ ______
______ ______
capital it raises during the year. ______ ______
f. The firm expands into a risky new area. ______ ______
g. The firm merges with another firm ______
whose earnings are countercyclical ______ ______ ______
both to those of the first firm and to
the stock market. ______ ______ ______
h. The stock market falls drastically, and ______ ______ ______
the firm’s stock price falls along with
the rest.
i. Investors become more risk averse.
Chapter 10 The Cost of Capital 351
rd(1 ؊ T) EFFECT ON WACC
rs
j. The firm is an electric utility with a ______ ______ ______
large investment in nuclear plants.
Several states are considering a ban on
nuclear power generation.
10-2 Assume that the risk-free rate increases. What impact would this have on the cost of
10-3 debt? What impact would it have on the cost of equity?
10-4
How should the capital structure weights used to calculate the WACC be determined?
10-5
Suppose a firm estimates its WACC to be 10 percent. Should the WACC be used to eval-
uate all of its potential projects, even if they vary in risk? If not, what might be “reason-
able” costs of capital for average-, high-, and low-risk projects?
The WACC is a weighted average of the costs of debt, preferred stock, and common
equity. Would the WACC be different if the equity for the coming year will all come in
the form of retained earnings versus some equity from the sale of new common stock?
Would the calculated WACC depend in any way on the size of the capital budget? How
might dividend policy affect the WACC?
PROBLEMS
Easy 10-1 After-tax cost of debt The Heuser Company’s currently outstanding bonds have a
Problems 1–5 10-2 10 percent coupon and a 12 percent yield to maturity. Heuser believes it could issue new
10-3 bonds at par that would provide a similar yield to maturity. If its marginal tax rate is
Intermediate 10-4 35 percent, what is Heuser’s after-tax cost of debt?
Problems 6–13
10-5 Cost of preferred stock Tunney Industries can issue perpetual preferred stock at a price
of $47.50 a share. The stock would pay a constant annual dividend of $3.80 a share.
What is the company’s cost of preferred stock, rp?
Cost of common equity Percy Motors has a target capital structure of 40 percent debt and
60 percent common equity, with no preferred stock. The yield to maturity on the com-
pany’s outstanding bonds is 9 percent, and its tax rate is 40 percent. Percy’s CFO esti-
mates that the company’s WACC is 9.96 percent. What is Percy’s cost of common equity?
Cost of equity with and without flotation Javits & Sons’ common stock currently trades
at $30 a share. It is expected to pay an annual dividend of $3.00 a share at the end of the
year (D1 ϭ $3.00), and the constant growth rate is 5 percent a year.
a. What is the company’s cost of common equity if all of its equity comes from
retained earnings?
b. If the company were to issue new stock, it would incur a 10 percent flotation cost.
What would the cost of equity from new stock be?
Project selection Midwest Water Works estimates that its WACC is 10.5 percent. The
company is considering the following capital budgeting projects:
Project Size Rate of Return
A $1 million 12.0%
B 2 million 11.5
C 2 million 11.2
D 2 million 11.0
E 1 million 10.7
F 1 million 10.3
G 1 million 10.2
Assume that each of these projects is just as risky as the firm’s existing assets, and the
firm may accept all the projects or only some of them. Which set of projects should be
accepted? Explain.
10-6 Cost of common equity The earnings, dividends, and common stock price of Carpetto
Technologies Inc. are expected to grow at 7 percent per year in the future. Carpetto’s
352 Part 4 Investing in Long-Term Assets: Capital Budgeting
common stock sells for $23 per share, its last dividend was $2.00, and it will pay a divi-
dend of $2.14 at the end of the current year.
a. Using the DCF approach, what is its cost of common equity?
b. If the firm’s beta is 1.6, the risk-free rate is 9 percent, and the average return on the
market is 13 percent, what will be the firm’s cost of common equity using the
CAPM approach?
c. If the firm’s bonds earn a return of 12 percent, what will rs be based on the bond-
yield-plus-risk-premium approach, using the midpoint of the risk premium range?
d. Assuming you have equal confidence in the inputs used for the three approaches,
what is your estimate of Carpetto’s cost of common equity?
10-7 Cost of common equity with and without flotation The Evanec Company’s next
10-8 expected dividend, D1, is $3.18; its growth rate is 6 percent; and its common stock now
10-9 sells for $36. New stock (external equity) can be sold to net $32.40 per share.
10-10 a. What is Evanec’s cost of retained earnings, rs?
10-11 b. What is Evanec’s percentage flotation cost, F?
10-12 c. What is Evanec’s cost of new common stock, re?
10-13 Cost of common equity and WACC Patton Paints Corporation has a target capital struc-
10-14 ture of 40 percent debt and 60 percent common equity, with no preferred stock. Its
before-tax cost of debt is 12 percent, and its marginal tax rate is 40 percent. The current
stock price is P0 ϭ $22.50. The last dividend was D0 ϭ $2.00, and it is expected to grow
at a constant rate of 7 percent. What is its cost of common equity and its WACC?
WACC The Patrick Company’s cost of common equity is 16 percent, its before-tax cost of
debt is 13 percent, and its marginal tax rate is 40 percent. The stock sells at book value.
Using the following balance sheet, calculate Patrick’s WACC.
Assets Liabilities and Equity
Cash $ 120 Long-term debt $1,152
Accounts receivable 240 Common equity 1,728
Inventories 360 Total liabilities and equity
Plant and equipment, net $2,880
Total assets 2,160
$2,880
Challenging WACC Klose Outfitters Inc. believes that its optimal capital structure consists of 60 per-
Problems 14–20 cent common equity and 40 percent debt, and its tax rate is 40 percent. Klose must raise
additional capital to fund its upcoming expansion. The firm will have $2 million of new
retained earnings with a cost of rs ϭ 12%. New common stock in an amount up to $6
million would have a cost of re ϭ 15%. Furthermore, Klose can raise up to $3 million of
debt at an interest rate of rd ϭ 10%, and an additional $4 million of debt at rd ϭ 12%. The
CFO estimates that a proposed expansion would require an investment of $5.9 million.
What is the WACC for the last dollar raised to complete the expansion?
WACC and percentage of debt financing Hook Industries’ capital structure consists
solely of debt and common equity. It can issue debt at rd ϭ 11%, and its common stock
currently pays a $2 dividend per share (D0 ϭ $2). The stock’s price is currently $24.75; its
dividend is expected to grow at a constant rate of 7 percent per year; its tax rate is 35
percent; and its WACC is 13.95 percent. What percentage of the company’s capital struc-
ture consists of debt?
WACC Midwest Electric Company (MEC) uses only debt and common equity. It can
borrow unlimited amounts at an interest rate of rd ϭ 10% as long as it finances at its
target capital structure, which calls for 45 percent debt and 55 percent common equity.
Its last dividend was $2, its expected constant growth rate is 4 percent, and its common
stock sells for $20. MEC’s tax rate is 40 percent. Two projects are available: Project A has
a rate of return of 13 percent, while Project B’s return is 10 percent. These two projects
are equally risky and also about as risky as the firm’s existing assets.
a. What is its cost of common equity?
b. What is the WACC?
c. Which projects should Midwest accept?
Cost of common equity with flotation Ballack Co.’s common stock currently sells for
$46.75 per share. The growth rate is a constant 12 percent, and the company has an
expected dividend yield of 5 percent. The expected long-run dividend payout ratio is
25 percent, and the expected return on equity (ROE) is 16 percent. New stock can be sold
to the public at the current price, but a flotation cost of 5 percent would be incurred.
What would the cost of new equity be?
Cost of preferred stock including flotation Trivoli Industries plans to issue a $100 par
perpetual preferred stock with an 11 percent dividend. It is currently selling for $97.00,
Chapter 10 The Cost of Capital 353
10-15 but flotation costs will be 5 percent of the market price, so the net price will be $92.15
10-16 per share. What is the cost of the preferred stock, including flotation?
10-17
10-18 WACC and cost of common equity Kahn Inc. has a target capital structure of 60 percent
common equity and 40 percent debt to fund its $10 billion in operating assets. Further-
more, Kahn Inc. has a WACC of 13 percent, a before-tax cost of debt of 10 percent, and a
tax rate of 40 percent. The company’s retained earnings are adequate to provide the com-
mon equity portion of its capital budget. Its expected dividend next year (D1) is $3 and
the current stock price is $35.
a. What is the company’s expected growth rate?
b. If the firm’s net income is expected to be $1.1 billion, what portion of its net income
is the firm expected to pay out as dividends? (Hint: Use Equation 10-9.)
Cost of common equity The Bouchard Company’s EPS was $6.50 in 2005, up from $4.42
in 2000. The company pays out 40 percent of its earnings as dividends, and its common
stock sells for $36.
a. Calculate the past growth rate in earnings. (Hint: This is a 5-year growth period.)
b. The last dividend was D0 ϭ 0.4($6.50) ϭ $2.60. Calculate the next expected dividend,
D1, assuming that the past growth rate continues.
c. What is Bouchard’s cost of retained earnings, rs?
Calculation of g and EPS Sidman Products’ common stock currently sells for $60 a
share. The firm is expected to earn $5.40 per share this year and to pay a year-end divi-
dend of $3.60, and it finances only with common equity.
a. If investors require a 9 percent return, what is the expected growth rate?
b. If Sidman reinvests retained earnings in projects whose average return is equal to the
stock’s expected rate of return, what will be next year’s EPS? [Hint: g ϭ (1 Ϫ Payout
rate)(ROE).]
WACC and optimal capital budget Adams Corporation is considering four average-risk
projects with the following costs and rates of return:
Project Cost Expected Rate of Return
1 $2,000 16.00%
2 3,000 15.00
3 5,000 13.75
4 2,000 12.50
The company estimates that it can issue debt at a rate of rd ϭ 10%, and its tax rate is 30
percent. It can issue preferred stock that pays a constant dividend of $5 per year at $49
per share. Also, its common stock currently sells for $36 per share, the next expected div-
idend, D1, is $3.50, and the dividend is expected to grow at a constant rate of 6 percent
per year. The target capital structure consists of 75 percent common stock, 15 percent
debt, and 10 percent preferred stock.
a. What is the cost of each of the capital components?
b. What is Adams’s WACC?
c. Which projects should Adams accept?
10-19 Adjusting cost of capital for risk Ziege Systems is considering the following indepen-
dent projects for the coming year.
Project Required Rate of Risk
Investment Return
A $4 million 14.0% High
B 5 million 11.5 High
C 3 million 9.5 Low
D 2 million 9.0 Average
E 6 million 12.5 High
F 5 million 12.5 Average
G 6 million 7.0 Low
H 3 million 11.5 Low
Ziege’s WACC is 10 percent, but it adjusts for risk by adding 2 percent to the WACC for
high-risk projects and subtracting 2 percent for low-risk projects.
a. Which projects should Ziege accept if it faces no capital constraints?
b. If Ziege can only invest a total of $13 million, which projects should it accept, and
what would the dollar size of its capital budget be?
354 Part 4 Investing in Long-Term Assets: Capital Budgeting
c. Suppose that Ziege can raise additional funds beyond the $13 million, but each new
increment (or partial increment) of $5 million of new capital will cause the WACC to
increase by 1 percent. Assuming Ziege uses the same method of risk adjustment, which
projects should it now accept, and what would be the dollar size of its capital budget?
10-20 WACC The following table gives Foust Company’s earnings per share for the last
10 years. The common stock, 7.8 million shares outstanding, is now (1/1/06) selling for
$65 per share, and the expected dividend at the end of the current year (12/31/06) is
55 percent of the 2005 EPS. Because investors expect past trends to continue, g may be
based on the historical earnings growth rate. (Note that 9 years of growth are reflected in
the 10 years of data.)
Year EPS Year EPS
1996 $3.90 2001 $5.73
1997 4.21 2002 6.19
1998 4.55 2003 6.68
1999 4.91 2004 7.22
2000 5.31 2005 7.80
The current interest rate on new debt is 9 percent, Foust’s marginal tax rate is 40 percent,
and its capital structure, considered to be optimal, is as follows:
Debt $104,000,000
Common equity 156,000,000
Total liabilities and equity
$260,000,000
a. Calculate Foust’s after-tax cost of debt and common equity. Calculate the cost of
equity as rs ϭ D1/P0 ϩ g.
b. Find Foust’s WACC.
COMPREHENSIVE/SPREADSHEET PROBLEM
10-21 Calculating the WACC Here is the condensed 2005 balance sheet for Skye Computer
Company (in thousands of dollars):
2005
Current assets $2,000
Net fixed assets 3,000
Total assets $5,000
Current liabilities $ 900
Long-term debt 1,200
Preferred stock 250
Common stock 1,300
Retained earnings 1,350
Total common equity $2,650
Total liabilities and equity $5,000
Skye’s earnings per share last year were $3.20, the common stock sells for $55, last year’s
dividend was $2.10, and a flotation cost of 10 percent would be required to sell new
common stock. Security analysts are projecting that the common dividend will grow at a
rate of 9 percent per year. Skye’s preferred stock pays a dividend of $3.30 per share, and
new preferred could be sold at a price to net the company $30 per share. The firm can
issue long-term debt at an interest rate (or before-tax cost) of 10 percent, and its
marginal tax rate is 35 percent. The market risk premium is 5 percent, the risk-free rate is
6 percent, and Skye’s beta is 1.516. In its cost of capital calculations, the company consid-
ers only long-term capital, hence it disregards current liabilities.
a. Calculate the cost of each capital component, that is, the after-tax cost of debt, the
cost of preferred stock, the cost of equity from retained earnings, and the cost of
newly issued common stock. Use the DCF method to find the cost of common equity.
b. Now calculate the cost of common equity from retained earnings using the CAPM
method.
c. What is the cost of new common stock, based on the CAPM? (Hint: Find the differ-
ence between re and rs as determined by the DCF method, and add that differential
to the CAPM value for rs.)
Chapter 10 The Cost of Capital 355
d. If Skye continues to use the same capital structure, what is the firm’s WACC
assuming (1) that it uses only retained earnings for equity and (2) that it expands
so rapidly that it must issue new common stock?
Integrated Case
Coleman Technologies Inc.
10-22 Cost of capital Coleman Technologies is considering a major expansion program that has been proposed by the
company’s information technology group. Before proceeding with the expansion, the company must estimate its
cost of capital. Assume that you are an assistant to Jerry Lehman, the financial vice president. Your first task is to
estimate Coleman’s cost of capital. Lehman has provided you with the following data, which he believes may be
relevant to your task.
(1) The firm’s tax rate is 40 percent.
(2) The current price of Coleman’s 12 percent coupon, semiannual payment, noncallable bonds with 15 years
remaining to maturity is $1,153.72. Coleman does not use short-term interest-bearing debt on a permanent
basis. New bonds would be privately placed with no flotation cost.
(3) The current price of the firm’s 10 percent, $100 par value, quarterly dividend, perpetual preferred stock is
$111.10.
(4) Coleman’s common stock is currently selling for $50 per share. Its last dividend (D0) was $4.19, and divi-
dends are expected to grow at a constant rate of 5 percent in the foreseeable future. Coleman’s beta is 1.2,
the yield on T-bonds is 7 percent, and the market risk premium is estimated to be 6 percent. For the bond-
yield-plus-risk-premium approach, the firm uses a risk premium of 4 percent.
(5) Coleman’s target capital structure is 30 percent debt, 10 percent preferred stock, and 60 percent common
equity.
To structure the task somewhat, Lehman has asked you to answer the following questions.
a. (1) What sources of capital should be included when you estimate Coleman’s WACC?
(2) Should the component costs be figured on a before-tax or an after-tax basis?
(3) Should the costs be historical (embedded) costs or new (marginal) costs?
b. What is the market interest rate on Coleman’s debt and its component cost of debt?
c. (1) What is the firm’s cost of preferred stock?
(2) Coleman’s preferred stock is riskier to investors than its debt, yet the preferred’s yield to investors is
lower than the yield to maturity on the debt. Does this suggest that you have made a mistake? (Hint:
Think about taxes.)
d. (1) Why is there a cost associated with retained earnings?
(2) What is Coleman’s estimated cost of common equity using the CAPM approach?
e. What is the estimated cost of common equity using the DCF approach?
f. What is the bond-yield-plus-risk-premium estimate for Coleman’s cost of common equity?
g. What is your final estimate for rs?
h. Explain in words why new common stock has a higher cost than retained earnings.
i. (1) What are two approaches that can be used to adjust for flotation costs?
(2) Coleman estimates that if it issues new common stock, the flotation cost will be 15 percent. Coleman
incorporates the flotation costs into the DCF approach. What is the estimated cost of newly issued com-
mon stock, considering the flotation cost?
j. What is Coleman’s overall, or weighted average, cost of capital (WACC)? Ignore flotation costs.
k. What factors influence Coleman’s composite WACC?
l. Should the company use the composite WACC as the hurdle rate for each of its projects? Explain.
Please go to the ThomsonNOW Web site to access the
Cyberproblems.
356 Part 4 Investing in Long-Term Assets: Capital Budgeting
Access the Thomson ONE problems though the ThomsonNOW Web site. Use the Thomson
ONE—Business School Edition online database to work this chapter’s questions.
Calculating 3M’s Cost of Capital
In this chapter we described how to estimate a company’s WACC, which is the weighted
average of its costs of debt, preferred stock, and common equity. Most of the data we
need to do this can be found in Thomson One. Here, we walk through the steps used to
calculate Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing’s (MMM) WACC.
Discussion Questions
1. As a first step we need to estimate what percentage of MMM’s capital comes from
long-term debt, preferred stock, and common equity. If we click on FINANCIALS, we
can see immediately from the balance sheet the amount of MMM’s long-term debt
and common equity (as of mid-2004, MMM had no preferred stock). Alternatively, you
can click on FUNDAMENTAL RATIOS in the next row of tabs below and then select
WORLDSCOPE’S BALANCE SHEET RATIOS. Here, you will also find a recent measure
of long-term debt as a percentage of total capital. Recall that the weights used in the
WACC are based on the company’s target capital structure. If we assume that the
company wants to maintain the same mix of capital that it currently has on its balance
sheet, what weights should you use to estimate the WACC for MMM? (In the Capital
Structure and Leverage chapter, we will see that we might arrive at different estimates
for these weights if we instead assume that MMM bases its target capital structure on
the market values of debt and equity, rather than the book values.)
2. Once again, we can use the CAPM to estimate MMM’s cost of equity. Thomson One
provides various estimates of beta—select the measure that you believe is best and
combine this with your estimates of the risk-free rate and the market risk premium to
obtain an estimate of its cost of equity. (See the Thomson One exercise for Chapter 8
for more details.) What is your estimate for the cost of equity? Why might it not make
much sense to use the DCF approach to estimate MMM’s cost of equity?
3. Next, we need to calculate MMM’s cost of debt. Unfortunately, Thomson One doesn’t
provide a direct measure of the cost of debt. However, we can use different
approaches to estimate it. One approach is to take the company’s long-term interest
expense and divide it by the amount of long-term debt. This approach only works if
the historical cost of debt equals the yield to maturity in today’s market (that is, if
MMM’s outstanding bonds are trading at close to par). This approach may produce
misleading estimates in years in which MMM issues a significant amount of new debt.
For example, if a company issues a lot of debt at the end of the year, the full amount
of debt will appear on the year-end balance sheet, yet we still may not see a sharp
increase in interest expense on the annual income statement because the debt was
outstanding for only a small portion of the entire year. When this situation occurs, the
estimated cost of debt will likely understate the true cost of debt. Another approach
is to try to find this number in the notes to the company’s annual report by accessing
the company’s home page and its Investor Relations section. Alternatively, you can go
to other external sources, such as www.bondsonline.com, for corporate bond spreads,
which can be used to find estimates of the cost of debt. Remember that you need the
after-tax cost of debt to calculate a firm’s WACC, so you will need MMM’s tax rate
(which has averaged about 37 percent in recent years). What is your estimate of
MMM’s after-tax cost of debt?
4. Putting all this information together, what is your estimate of MMM’s WACC? How
confident are you in this estimate? Explain your answer.
© AP PHOTO/TED S. WARREN HAPTER
C 11
THE BASICS OF
CAPITAL BUDGETING
Competition in the Aircraft Industry Airbus, Boeing
In early 2005 Boeing was involved in a titanic struggle with European consor-
tium Airbus SAS for dominance of the commercial aircraft industry.1 Airbus first
committed to spend $16 billion to develop the A380, the largest plane ever
built. Boeing countered by announcing that it would spend $6 billion on a
super efficient new plane, the 7E7 Dreamliner. Airbus then announced plans to
spend another $6 billion on the A350, a competitor to the 7E7. Many detailed
calculations went into these multi-billion-dollar investment decisions—development
costs were estimated, the cost of each plane was forecasted, a sales price per
plane was established, and the number of planes that would be sold through
2025 was predicted.
Both companies projected negative cash flows for 5 or 6 years, then posi-
tive cash flows for the following 20 years. Given their forecasted cash flows,
both managements decided that taking on the projects would increase their
company’s intrinsic value. Because the planes will compete with one another,
either Boeing’s or Airbus’s forecast is probably incorrect. One will probably be a
winner and the other a loser, and one set of stockholders is likely to be happy
and the other unhappy.
Projects like the A350, A380, and 7E7 receive a lot of attention, but Boeing,
Airbus, and other companies make a great many more routine investment
1 Airbus SAS is owned by European Aeronautics Defense & Space Company (EADS), which, in
turn, is owned by the French government and several large European companies. Airbus was
formed because the Europeans wanted to create an organization large enough to raise the huge
amounts of capital needed to compete with Boeing.
358 Part 4 Investing in Long-Term Assets: Capital Budgeting
decisions every year, ranging from buying new trucks or machinery to spending
millions on computer software to optimize inventory holdings. The techniques
described in this chapter are required to analyze all types and sizes of projects.
Sources: Daniel Michaels, “EADS and BAE Systems Approve Launch of Airbus’s A350 Plane,” The
Wall Street Journal, December 13, 2004, p. A6; and Carol Matlack, “Is Airbus Caught in a Down-
draft?” BusinessWeek, December 27, 2004, p. 64.
Putting Things In Perspective
Capital Budgeting In the last chapter, we discussed the cost of capital. Now we turn to invest-
ment decisions involving fixed assets, or capital budgeting. Here capital
The process of refers to long-term assets used in production, while a budget is a plan that
planning expenditures details projected expenditures during some future period. Thus, the capital
on assets whose cash budget is an outline of planned investments in long-term assets, and capital
flows are expected to budgeting is the whole process of analyzing projects and deciding which
extend beyond one ones to include in the capital budget. Boeing, Airbus, and other companies
year. use the techniques in this chapter when deciding to accept or reject pro-
posed capital expenditures.
11.1 GENERATING IDEAS
FOR CAPITAL PROJECTS
The same general concepts that are used in security valuation are also used in
capital budgeting, but there are two major differences. First, stocks and bonds
exist in the security markets and investors select from the available set, whereas
firms create capital budgeting projects. Second, most investors in the security
markets have no influence on the cash flows produced by their investments,
whereas corporations have a major influence on their projects’ results. Still, in
both security valuation and capital budgeting, we first forecast a set of cash
flows, then find the present value of those flows, and make the investment only
if the PV of the inflows exceeds the investment’s cost.
A firm’s growth, and even its ability to remain competitive and to survive,
depends on a constant flow of ideas relating to new products, actions to improve
existing products, and ways to operate more efficiently. Accordingly, well-
managed firms go to great lengths to develop good capital budgeting proposals.
For example, the executive vice president of one successful corporation told us
that his company takes the following steps to generate projects:
Our R&D department constantly searches for new products and
ways to improve existing products. In addition, our Executive Commit-
tee, which consists of senior executives in marketing, production, and
finance, identifies the products and markets in which our company
should compete, and the Committee sets long-run targets for each divi-
Chapter 11 The Basics of Capital Budgeting 359
sion. These targets, which are spelled out in the corporation’s strategic Strategic Business
business plan, provide a general guide to the operating executives who
must meet them. The operating executives then seek new products, set Plan
expansion plans for existing products, and look for ways to reduce pro-
duction and distribution costs. Since bonuses and promotions are based A long-run plan that
on each unit’s ability to meet or exceed its targets, these economic incen- outlines in broad
tives encourage our operating executives to seek out profitable invest- terms the firm’s basic
ment opportunities. strategy for the next
5 to 10 years.
While our senior executives are judged and rewarded on the basis of
how well their units perform, people further down the line are given
bonuses and stock options for suggestions that lead to profitable invest-
ments. Additionally, a percentage of our corporate profit is set aside for
distribution to nonexecutive employees, and we have an Employees’
Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) to provide further incentives. Our objec-
tive is to encourage employees at all levels to keep an eye out for good
ideas, especially those that lead to capital investments.
If a firm has capable and imaginative executives and employees, and if its incen-
tive system is working properly, many ideas for capital investment will be
advanced. Some ideas will be good ones, but others will not. Therefore, proce-
dures must be established for screening projects, the primary topic of this chapter.
How is capital budgeting similar to security valuation? How is it
different?
What are some ways firms generate ideas for capital projects?
11.2 PROJECT CLASSIFICATIONS
Analyzing capital expenditure proposals is not a costless operation—benefits can
be gained, but analysis does have a cost. For certain types of projects, a relatively
detailed analysis may be warranted; for others, simpler procedures should be
used. Accordingly, firms generally categorize projects and then analyze those in
each category somewhat differently:
1. Replacement: needed to continue current operations. One category consists of
expenditures to replace worn-out or damaged equipment required in the
production of profitable products. The only questions here are should the
operation be continued, and if so, should the firm continue to use the same
production processes? If the answers are yes, then the project will be
approved without going through an elaborate decision process.
2. Replacement: cost reduction. This category includes expenditures to replace
serviceable but obsolete equipment and thereby lower costs. These decisions
are discretionary, and a fairly detailed analysis is generally required.
3. Expansion of existing products or markets. These are expenditures to increase
output of existing products or to expand retail outlets or distribution facili-
ties in markets now being served. Expansion decisions are more complex
because they require an explicit forecast of growth in demand, so a more
detailed analysis is required. The go/no-go decision is generally made at a
higher level within the firm.
4. Expansion into new products or markets. These investments relate to new products
or geographic areas, and they involve strategic decisions that could change the
fundamental nature of the business. Invariably, a detailed analysis is required,
and the final decision is generally made at the very top level of management.
360 Part 4 Investing in Long-Term Assets: Capital Budgeting
5. Safety and/or environmental projects. Expenditures necessary to comply with
government orders, labor agreements, or insurance policy terms fall into this
category. How these projects are handled depends on their size, with small
ones being treated much like the Category 1 projects.
6. Other. This catch-all includes items such as office buildings, parking lots, and
executive aircraft. How they are handled varies among companies.
In general, relatively simple calculations, and only a few supporting documents,
are required for replacement decisions, especially maintenance investments in
profitable plants. More detailed analyses are required for cost-reduction projects,
for expansion of existing product lines, and especially for investments in new
products or areas. Also, within each category projects are grouped by their dol-
lar costs: Larger investments require increasingly detailed analysis and approval
at higher levels. Thus, a plant manager might be authorized to approve mainte-
nance expenditures up to $10,000 using a relatively unsophisticated analysis, but
the full board of directors might have to approve decisions that involve either
amounts greater than $1 million or expansions into new products or markets.
Note that the term “investments” encompasses more than buildings and
equipment. Computer software used to manage inventories and costs related to
major marketing programs are examples. These are “intangible” assets, but deci-
sions to invest in them are analyzed in the same way as decisions related to build-
ings, equipment, and other tangible assets. In the following sections we examine
the specific techniques used to evaluate proposed capital budgeting projects.
Identify the major project classification categories, and explain why
and how they are used.
Net Present Value 11.3 THE NET PRESENT VALUE
(NPV) CRITERION
(NPV) Method
The net present value (NPV) method, which estimates how much a potential
A method of ranking project will contribute to shareholder wealth, is the primary capital budgeting
investment proposals decision criterion. In this section we use the cash flow data for Projects S and L
using the NPV, which is as shown in Figure 11-1 to explain how the NPV is calculated. The S stands for
equal to the present short and the L for long: Project S is a short-term project in the sense that most of
value of future net cash its cash inflows come in sooner than L’s. We assume that the projects are equally
flows, discounted at risky and that the cash flows have been adjusted to reflect taxes, depreciation,
the cost of capital. and salvage values. Further, because many projects require an investment in
both fixed assets and working capital, the investment outlays shown as CF0
include any necessary investment in working capital.2 Finally, we assume that all
cash flows occur at the end of the year.
The NPV is a direct measure of the projects’ contribution to shareholder
wealth, and as such it is the primary criterion. It is found as follows:
1. Find the present value of each cash flow, including the cost, discounted at
the project’s cost of capital.
2. The sum of these discounted cash flows is defined as the project’s NPV.
2 The most difficult aspect of capital budgeting is estimating the relevant cash flows. For simplicity,
the net cash flows are treated as a given in this chapter, which allows us to focus on the capital
budgeting decision rules. However, in Chapter 12 we will discuss cash flow estimation in detail.
Also, note that net operating working capital is defined as the increase in current assets associated
with the project minus the associated increases in payables and accruals. Thus, in capital budgeting,
investment in working capital means the net amount that must be financed by investors.
Chapter 11 The Basics of Capital Budgeting 361
F I G U R E 1 1 - 1 Net Cash Flows for Projects S and L
EXPECTED AFTER-TAX NET
CASH FLOWS, CFt
Year (t) Project S Project L
0 Ϫ$1,000 Ϫ$1,000 (Initial cost in Year 1)
1 500 100
2 400 300
3 300 400
4 100 675
Project S 0123 4
Project L Ϫ$1,000 $500 $400 $300 $100
0123 4
Ϫ $1,000 $100 $300 $400 $675
The equation for the NPV is as follows:
CF1 CF2 CFN
11 ϩ r21 11 ϩ r22 11 ϩ r2N
# # #NPV
ϭ CF0 ϩ ϩ ϩ ϩ
ϭ N CFt (11-1)
11 ϩ r2t
a
tϭ0
Here CFt is the expected net cash flow at Time t, r is the project’s cost of capital
(or WACC), and N is its life. Cash outflows (for example, developing the product,
buying production equipment, building a factory, and stocking inventory) are
negative cash flows. For Projects S and L, only CF0 is negative, but for large projects
such as Boeing’s 7E7, outflows occur for several years before cash inflows begin.
At a 10 percent cost of capital, Project S’s NPV is $78.82:
0 r = 10% 1 2 3 4
Cash flows Ϫ1,000.00 500 400 300 100
Net present value 454.55
330.58
225.39
68.30
78.82 = NPVs
By a similar process, we find NPVL ϭ $100.40. Mutually Exclusive
If the projects were mutually exclusive, the one with the higher NPV should Projects
A set of projects where
be accepted and the other rejected. L would be ranked over S and thus accepted only one can be
accepted.
because L has the higher NPV. Mutually exclusive means that if one project is
taken on, the other must be rejected. For example, a conveyor-belt system to move
goods in a warehouse and a fleet of forklifts for the same purpose illustrates
362 Part 4 Investing in Long-Term Assets: Capital Budgeting
Independent Projects mutually exclusive projects—accepting one implies rejecting the other. Indepen-
dent projects are those whose cash flows are independent of one another. If Wal-
Projects whose cash Mart were considering a new store in Boise and another in Atlanta, those proj-
flows are not affected ects would be independent of one another. If our Projects S and L were
by the acceptance or independent, then both should be accepted because both have a positive NPV
nonacceptance of and thus add value to the firm. If they were mutually exclusive, then L should
other projects. be chosen because it has the higher NPV.
It is not hard to calculate the NPV as shown in the time line by using Equa-
tion 11-1 and a regular calculator. However, it is more efficient to use a financial
calculator. Different calculators are set up somewhat differently, but as we
discussed in Chapter 2, they all have a “cash flow register” that can be used to
evaluate uneven cash flows such as those in Projects S and L. Equation 11-1 is
programmed into the calculators, and all you have to do is enter the cash flows
(observe the correct signs), along with r ϭ I/YR (the cost of capital). Once the
entries have been made using data for Project S, this equation is in the calculator:
NPVS ϭ Ϫ1,000 ϩ 500 ϩ 400 ϩ 300 ϩ 100
11.10 2 1 11.10 2 2 11.10 2 3 11.10 2 4
There is one unknown, NPV, and when you press the NPV key the answer,
78.82, will appear on the screen.3
The rationale for the NPV method is straightforward: If NPV exceeds zero,
then the project increases the firm’s value, and if it is negative, the project
reduces shareholders’ wealth. In our example, Project L would increase share-
holders’ wealth by $100.40 and S would increase it by $78.82:
NPVL ϭ $100.40
NPVS ϭ $78.82
Viewed in this manner, it is easy to see the logic of the NPV approach, and it is
also easy to see why both projects should be accepted if they are independent
and why L should be chosen if they are mutually exclusive.
Why is the NPV regarded as being the primary capital budgeting
decision criterion?
What’s the difference between “independent” and “mutually exclu-
sive” projects?
What are the NPVs of Projects SS and LL if both have a 10 percent
cost of capital and the indicated cash flows? (NPVSS ϭ $77.61;
NPVLL ϭ $89.63)
END-OF-YEAR CASH FLOWS
0 12 3 WACC ϭ r ϭ 10%
SS Ϫ$700 $500 $300 $100
LL Ϫ700 100 300 600
Which project or projects would you recommend if they are (a) inde-
pendent or (b) mutually exclusive?
3 The keystrokes for finding the NPV are shown for several calculators in the calculator tutorials
provided on the ThomsonNOW Web site. Since many projects last for more than four years and a
number of calculations are required to develop their estimated cash flows, financial analysts often
use spreadsheets when analyzing real world capital budgeting projects. We demonstrate this usage
in Chapter 12.
Chapter 11 The Basics of Capital Budgeting 363
11.4 INTERNAL RATE OF RETURN (IRR)
When deciding on a potential investment, it is useful to know the investment’s Internal Rate of
most likely rate of return. In Chapter 7 we discussed the yield to maturity on a Return (IRR)
bond—if you invest in a bond and hold it to maturity, you will earn the YTM on The discount rate that
the money you invest. The YTM is defined as the discount rate that causes the PV forces a project’s NPV
of the cash inflows to equal the price paid for the bond. The same procedure is to equal zero.
used in capital budgeting when we calculate the internal rate of return, or IRR.
The IRR is defined as the discount rate that forces the project’s NPV to equal zero.
We simply take Equation 11-1 for the NPV and transform it to Equation 11-2 for the
IRR by replacing r in the denominator with IRR and specifying that the NPV must
equal zero. We then find the rate that forces NPV to equal zero, and that is the IRR:
CF1 CF2 CFN
11 ϩ IRR 2 1 ϩ IRR 2 2 ϩ IRR 2 N
# # #NPV ϭ CF0 ϩ ϩ ϩ ϩ 11 ϭ 0
11
ϭ N 11 CFt ϭ 0 (11-2)
ϩ IRR 2 t
a
tϭ0
Note that for a project like Boeing’s 7E7 jetliner, costs are incurred for several
years before cash inflows begin, but that does not invalidate the equation. That
simply means that we have more than one negative cash flow.
For our Project S, here’s a picture of the process:
0 IRR 1 2 3 4
Cash flows Ϫ1,000 500 400 300 100
PV of the inflows
discounted at IRR Ϫ1,000
Net present value 0 = NPVs
We have an equation with one unknown, IRR, and we can solve it to find the
IRR. Without a calculator, we would have to solve Equation 11-2 by trial-and-
error—try some discount rate, see if the equation solves to zero, if it does not,
try a different discount rate, and continue until we find the rate that forces the
equation to equal zero. That rate is the IRR. For a project with a fairly long life,
the trial-and-error calculations would be time-consuming, but with a financial
calculator we can find IRR quickly. Simply enter the cash flows into the
calculator’s cash flow register as we did to find the NPV and then press the but-
ton labeled “IRR.” Here are the IRRs for Projects S and L:4
IRRS ϭ 14.49%
IRRL ϭ 13.55%
Why is the discount rate that equates a project’s cost to the present value of
its inflows so special? The reason is straightforward: The IRR is the project’s
expected rate of return. If this return exceeds the cost of the funds used to
4 See our calculator tutorial on the ThomsonNOW Web site. Note that once the cash flows have been
entered in the cash flow register, you can immediately find both the NPV and the IRR. To find the NPV,
enter the interest rate (I/YR) and then press the NPV key. Then, with no further entries, press the IRR
key to find the IRR. Thus, once you set up the calculator to find the NPV, it is trivially easy to find the
IRR. This is one reason most companies calculate both the NPV and the IRR—if you calculate one, it is
easy to also calculate the other, and both provide information that decision makers find useful.
364 Part 4 Investing in Long-Term Assets: Capital Budgeting
finance the project, then the excess goes to the firm’s stockholders. On the other
hand, if the internal rate of return were less than the cost of capital, then stock-
holders would have to make up the shortfall, which would cause the stock price
to decline. It is this “breakeven” characteristic that makes the IRR useful.
Again, note that the internal rate of return formula, Equation 11-2, is simply
the NPV formula, Equation 11-1, solved for the particular discount rate that
forces the NPV to zero. Thus, the same basic equation is used for both methods,
but with the NPV method the discount rate is given and we find the NPV,
whereas with the IRR method the NPV is set equal to zero and the interest rate
that produces this equality is calculated.
In what sense is the IRR on a project related to the YTM on a bond?
The cash flows for projects SS and LL are shown below. What are the
projects’ IRRs, and which one would the IRR method select if the
firm has a 10 percent cost of capital and the projects are (a) indepen-
dent or (b) mutually exclusive? (IRRSS ϭ 18.0%; IRRLL ϭ 15.6%)
END-OF-YEAR CASH FLOWS
0 12 3 WACC ϭ r ϭ 10%
SS Ϫ$700 $500 $300 $100
LL Ϫ700 100 300 600
Net Present Value 11.5 COMPARISON OF THE NPV
Profile AND IRR METHODS
A graph showing the
relationship between a In many respects the NPV method is better than IRR, so it is tempting to simply
project’s NPV and the explain NPV, state that it should be used to select projects, and go on to the next
firm’s cost of capital. topic. However, the IRR is familiar to many corporate executives, it is widely
entrenched in industry, and it is useful to know the rate of return a project is
likely to produce. Also, the NPV and IRR methods can provide conflicting rec-
ommendations when used to evaluate mutually exclusive projects. Therefore, it
is important that you understand the IRR method, know how it is related to the
NPV, and know why it is sometimes better to choose a project with a relatively
low IRR over a mutually exclusive alternative with a higher IRR.
NPV Profiles
A graph that plots a project’s NPV against the discount rates used to calculate
the NPV is defined as the project’s net present value profile, and the profile for
Project S is shown in Figure 11-2. To construct the profile, we used the data on
Project S in Figure 11-1, calculated NPVs at the discount rates shown in the data
below the graph, and then plotted those values on the graph. Note that at a zero
cost of capital the NPV is simply the total of the undiscounted cash flows, or
$300. This value is plotted as the vertical axis intercept. Also, recall that the IRR is
the discount rate that causes the NPV to equal zero. Therefore, the discount rate
at which the profile line crosses the horizontal axis is the project’s IRR. When we
connect the data points, we have the net present value profile.5 These profiles
are quite useful, and we refer to them often in the remainder of the chapter.
5 Notice that the NPV profiles are curved—they are not straight lines. NPV approaches CF0, that is,
the cost of the project, as the discount rate increases without limit. The reason is that, at an infinitely
Chapter 11 The Basics of Capital Budgeting 365
F I G U R E 1 1 - 2 NPV Profile for Project S
NPV At r = 10%, NPV = 0, so
($) NPV > 0,
300 so accept IRRs = 14.49%
IRR > r = 10%,
200
so accept
100
5 10 15 20
0 Cost of Capital (%)
–100
Cost of NPVS
Capital
$300.00
IRRs ϭ 0% 180.42
5 78.82
10 0.00
14.49 Ϫ8.33
15 Ϫ83.72
20
NPV Rankings Depend on the Cost of Capital Crossover Rate
Now consider Figure 11-3, which shows the NPV profiles for both S and L. The cost of capital at
Notice that the IRRs are fixed and that S has the higher IRR regardless of the which the NPV profiles
level of the cost of capital. However, the NPV varies depending on the level of of two projects cross
the cost of capital, and the project with the higher NPV depends on the actual and, thus, at which the
cost of capital. Specifically, L has the higher NPV if the cost of capital is below projects’ NPVs are
11.97 percent, but S has the higher NPV if the cost of capital is above that rate. equal.
The discount rate at which the profile lines cross, 11.97 percent, is called the
crossover rate.6
Notice also that L’s profile has the steeper slope, indicating that increases in
the cost of capital lead to larger declines in its NPV. To see why L has the greater
sensitivity, recall first that L’s cash flows come in later than those of S. Therefore,
(Footnote 5 continued)
high cost of capital, the PVs of the inflows would all be zero, so NPV at r ϭ ϱ is simply CF0, which
in our example is Ϫ$1,000. We should also note that under certain conditions the NPV profiles can
cross the horizontal axis several times, or never cross it. This point is discussed later in Section 11.6.
6 For an explanation of how to calculate the crossover rate, see Eugene F. Brigham and Phillip R.
Daves, Intermediate Financial Management, 8th edition (Mason, OH: Thomson/South-Western, 2004),
footnote 6, p. 385.
366 Part 4 Investing in Long-Term Assets: Capital Budgeting
F I G U R E 1 1 - 3 NPV Profiles for Projects S and L
NPV L At r = 10%, Crossover rate;
($) S conflict if r is to
500 NPVL > NPVs, but the left, no conflict
5 IRRs > IRRL, so if r is to the right
400 there is a conflict
300 IRRs
200 10 20
100 15
0
IRRL
–100
Cost of Capital (%)
Cost of NPVS NPVL
Capital
$300.00 $475.00
Crossover ϭ 0% 180.42 268.21
5 78.82 100.40
IRRL ϭ 10 42.84 42.84
IRRS ϭ 11.97 15.64 0.00
13.55 0.00 Ϫ24.37
14.49 Ϫ8.33 Ϫ37.26
15 Ϫ83.72
20 Ϫ151.33
L is a long-term project, while S is a short-term project. Next, recall the equation
for the NPV:
CF1 CF2 CFN
11 ϩ r21 11 ϩ r22 11 ϩ r2N
# # #NPV ϭ CF0 ϩ ϩ ϩ ϩ
The impact of an increase in the cost of capital is much greater on distant than
on near-term cash flows as is demonstrated in the following examples:
PV of $100 due in 1 year @ r ϭ 5%: $100 ϭ $95.24
11.05 2 1
PV of $100 due in 1 year @ r ϭ 10%: $100 ϭ $90.91
11.10 2 1
Percentage decline due to higher r ϭ $95.24 Ϫ $90.91 ϭ 4.5%
$95.24
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