Valuation (finance)
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In finance, valuation is the process of determining the value of a (potential) investment, asset, or security. Generally, there are three approaches taken, namely discounted cashflow valuation, relative valuation, and contingent claim valuation.[1]
Valuations can be done for assets (for example, investments in marketable securities such as companies' shares and related rights, business enterprises, or intangible assets such as patents, data and trademarks) or for
Valuations may be needed for various reasons such as
Valuation overview
Common terms for the value of an asset or liability are market value, fair value, and intrinsic value. The meanings of these terms differ. For instance, when an analyst believes a stock's intrinsic value is greater (or less) than its market price, an analyst makes a "buy" (or "sell") recommendation. Moreover, an asset's intrinsic value may be subject to personal opinion and vary among analysts. The International Valuation Standards include definitions for common bases of value and generally accepted practice procedures for valuing assets of all types. Regardless, the valuation itself is done generally using one or more of the following approaches;[2] but see also, Outline of finance § Valuation:
- Absolute value models ("Gordon model (which, in fact, often "telescope" the former). These models rely on mathematics rather than price observation. See § Discounted cash flow valuationthere.
- Relative value models determine value based on the observation of market prices of 'comparable' assets, relative to a common variable like earnings, cashflows, book value or sales. This result will often be used to complement / revisit the intrinsic valuation. See § Relative valuation there.
- contingent claim valuation, in that the value will be contingent on some other asset; see § Contingent claim valuationthere.
Usage
In finance, valuation analysis is required for many reasons including tax assessment,
Some balance sheet items are much easier to value than others. Publicly traded stocks and bonds have prices that are quoted frequently and readily available. Other assets are harder to value. For instance, private firms that have no frequently quoted price. Additionally, financial instruments that have prices that are partly dependent on theoretical models of one kind or another are difficult to value and this generates
It is possible and conventional for financial professionals to make their own estimates of the valuations of assets or liabilities that they are interested in. Their calculations are of various kinds including analyses of companies that focus on price-to-book, price-to-earnings, price-to-cash-flow and
Valuation requires judgment and assumptions:
- There are different circumstances and purposes to value an asset (e.g., distressed firm, tax purposes, mergers and acquisitions, financial reporting). Such differences can lead to different valuation methods or different interpretations of the method results
- All valuation models and methods have limitations (e.g., degree of complexity, relevance of observations, mathematical form)
- Model inputs can vary significantly because of necessary judgment and differing assumptions
Users of valuations benefit when key information, assumptions, and limitations are disclosed to them. Then they can weigh the degree of reliability of the result and make their decision.
Business valuation
Financial statements prepared in accordance with
There are commonly three pillars to valuing business entities: comparable company analyses, discounted cash flow analysis, and precedent transaction analysis. Business valuation credentials include the Chartered Business Valuator (CBV) offered by the CBV Institute, ASA and CEIV from the American Society of Appraisers, and the CVA by the National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts.
Discounted cash flow method
This method estimates the value of an asset based on its expected future cash flows, which are discounted to the present (i.e., the present value). This concept of discounting future money is commonly known as the
In finance theory, the amount of the opportunity cost is based on a relation between the risk and return of some sort of investment. Classic economic theory maintains that people are rational and averse to risk. They, therefore, need an incentive to accept risk. The incentive in finance comes in the form of higher expected returns after buying a risky asset. In other words, the more risky the investment, the more return investors want from that investment. Using the same example as above, assume the first investment opportunity is a government bond that will pay interest of 5% per year and the principal and interest payments are guaranteed by the government. Alternatively, the second investment opportunity is a bond issued by small company and that bond also pays annual interest of 5%. If given a choice between the two bonds, virtually all investors would buy the government bond rather than the small-firm bond because the first is less risky while paying the same interest rate as the riskier second bond. In this case, an investor has no incentive to buy the riskier second bond. Furthermore, in order to attract capital from investors, the small firm issuing the second bond must pay an interest rate higher than 5% that the government bond pays. Otherwise, no investor is likely to buy that bond and, therefore, the firm will be unable to raise capital. But by offering to pay an interest rate more than 5% the firm gives investors an incentive to buy a riskier bond.
For a
Guideline companies method
This method determines the value of a firm by observing the prices of similar companies (called "guideline companies") that sold in the market. Those sales could be shares of stock or sales of entire firms. The observed prices serve as valuation benchmarks. From the prices, one calculates
Many price multiples can be calculated. Most are based on a financial statement element such as a firm's earnings (price-to-earnings) or book value (price-to-book value) but multiples can be based on other factors such as price-per-subscriber.
Net asset value method
The third-most common method of estimating the value of a company looks to the
An alternative approach to the net asset value method is the excess earnings method. (This method was first described in the U.S. Internal Revenue Service's Appeals and Review Memorandum 34,[further explanation needed] and later refined by Revenue Ruling 68-609.) The excess earnings method has the appraiser identify the value of tangible assets, estimate an appropriate return on those tangible assets, and subtract that return from the total return for the business, leaving the "excess" return, which is presumed to come from the intangible assets. An appropriate capitalization rate is applied to the excess return, resulting in the value of those intangible assets. That value is added to the value of the tangible assets and any non-operating assets, and the total is the value estimate for the business as a whole. See Clean surplus accounting, Residual income valuation.
Specialised cases
The approaches to valuation, as outlined, are generic and will be modified for the unique positioning and characteristics [4] of the business in question. [5] In the below cases, however, more specific valuation-practices have developed [6] within the investment industry. To these, more than elsewhere, real options valuation may be applied. [7]
Valuation of a suffering company
Investors in a suffering company, or in other "distressed securities", may intend (i) to restructure the business, with the valuation reflecting its potential thereafter, or (ii) to purchase the company - or its debt - at a discount, as part of an Investment Strategy aimed at realizing a profit on recovery.
Preliminary to the valuation, the
The valuation is built on this base, with any of the standard market-, income-, or asset-based approaches employed. Often these are used in combination, providing a "triangulation" or (weighted) average. Particularly in the second case above, the company may be valued using
As required, various adjustments are then made to this result, so as to reflect characteristics of the firm external to its profitability and cash flow. These adjustments consider any
Valuation of a startup company
Startup companies such as Uber, which was valued at $50 billion in early 2015, are assigned post-money valuations based on the price at which their most recent investor put money into the company. The price reflects what investors, for the most part venture capital firms, are willing to pay for a share of the firm. They are not listed on any stock market, nor is the valuation based on their assets or profits, but on their potential for success, growth, and eventually, possible profits.[10] Many startup companies use internal growth factors to show their potential growth which may attribute to their valuation. The professional investors who fund startups are experts, but hardly infallible, see Dot-com bubble.[11] Valuation using discounted cash flows discusses various considerations here.
The valuation of early-stage startups can be more nuanced due to their lack of established track records. One common approach is using comparative valuations, although this method can be less accurate given the uniqueness of each startup.[12] Some methods adjust the average pre-money valuation of pre-revenue startups based on various attributes within the same market.[13] Average pre-money valuations in a particular region or sector, obtained from recent market deals, can also serve as reference points.[14] During Series A funding rounds, the typical valuation for startups is reported to be between $10 million to $15 million[15]
Valuation of intangible assets
Valuation models can be used to value intangible assets such as for patent valuation, but also in copyrights, software, trade secrets, and customer relationships.[16] As economies are becoming increasingly informational, it is recognized that there is a need for new methods to value data, another intangible asset.
Valuations here are often necessary both for
As regards listed equity, the above techniques are most often applied in the biotech-, life sciences- and pharmaceutical sectors [18] [19] [20] (see
Valuation of mining projects
In
"CIMVal" generally applied by the Toronto Stock Exchange, is widely recognised as a "standard" for the valuation of mining projects. (CIMVal: Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum on Valuation of Mineral Properties [24]) The Australasian equivalent is VALMIN; the Southern African is SAMVAL. These standards stress the use of the cost approach, market approach, and the income approach, depending on the stage of development of the mining property or project; see [25] for further discussion and context. Real Options analysis [26] [27] is sometimes [21] [25] [26] used when there is a need to evaluate the project under different scenarios from inception.
Analyzing listed mining corporates (and other resource companies) is also specialized,[22] as the valuation requires a good understanding of the company's overall assets, its operational business model as well as key market drivers,[28] and an understanding of that sector of the stock market.[22] Re the latter, a distinction is usually made based on size and financial capabilities; see Mining § Corporate classifications.
- The price of a "Junior" mining stock, typically having one asset, will at its early stages be linked to the result of its feasibility study; later, the price will be a function of that mine's viability and value, largely applying the above techniques.
- A "Major", on the other hand, has numerous properties, and the contents of any single deposit will impact stock value in a limited fashion; this due to diversification, access to funding, and, also, since the share price inheres goodwill. Typically, then, the exposure is more to the market value of each mineral in the portfolio, than to the individual properties.
Valuing financial services firms
There are two main difficulties with valuing financial services firms. [29] [30] [31] [32] The first is that the cash flows to a financial service firm cannot be easily estimated, since capital expenditures, working capital and debt are not clearly defined: "debt for a financial service firm is more akin to raw material than to a source of capital; the notion of cost of capital and enterprise value may be meaningless as a consequence."[29] (See related discussion re. the risk management of financial- vs non-financial firms.) The second is that these firms operate under a highly regulated environment, and valuation assumptions (and model outputs) must incorporate regulatory limits, at least as "bounds".[32]
The approach taken for a DCF valuation, is to then "remove" debt from the valuation, by discounting at the
For a multiple based valuation, similarly,
- Insurance companies: embedded value and actuarial reserves
- Banking sector: net interest margin and provision for credit losses
- Wealth- and investment management firms: assets under management
- Investment banks: price to tangible book value and return on tangible equity.
Mismarking
Mismarking misleads investors and fund executives about how much the securities in a securities portfolio managed by a trader are worth (the securities' net asset value, or NAV), and thus misrepresents performance.[37][38][39]
When a rogue trader engages in mismarking, it allows him to obtain a higher bonus from the financial firm for which he works, where his bonus is calculated by the performance of the securities portfolio that he is managing.[37][38]
See also
- Appraisal (disambiguation)
- Asset price inflation
- Business valuation
- Business valuation standard
- Control premium
- Depreciation
- Earnings response coefficient
- Efficient-market hypothesis
- Enterprise value
- Equity value
- Film finance
- Fundamental analysis
- Intellectual property valuation
- Investment management
- Lipper average
- Market-based valuation
- Minority discount
- Paper valuation
- Patent valuation
- PEG ratio
- Present value
- Present value of growth opportunities
- Price discovery
- Pricing
- Real options valuation
- Real estate appraisal
- Standard cost accounting
- Stock valuation
- Sum-of-the-parts analysis
- Terminal value
- Undervalued stock
- Valuation risk
- Specific pricing models
References
- ISBN 978-0-471-41490-2. Archivedfrom the original on 27 March 2023. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
- NYUteaching note
- ^ "The Value of Data". 22 September 2017. Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
- ^ Aswath Damodaran (2014). Numbers and Narrative: Modeling, Story Telling and Investing
- ^ Aswath Damodaran (N.D.). Beyond Inputs: Choosing the right model
- ^ "International Private Equity and Venture Capital Valuation Guidelines" (PDF). IPEV. 2022.
- ^ Aswath Damodaran. Option Pricing Applications in Valuation Archived 2012-09-16 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ George Batta, Ananda Ganguly, Joshua Rosett (2012). Financial statement recasting and credit risk assessment Archived 2022-05-18 at the Wayback Machine, Accounting and Finance. Volume54, Issue1.
- ISBN 978-1-905121-31-1
- ^ Cook, Andrew. "Investing in Potential". five23.io. Archived from the original on 2017-03-16. Retrieved 2017-03-15.
- ^ Andrew Ross Sorkin (May 11, 2015). "Main Street Portfolios Are Investing in Unicorns" (Dealbook blog). The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 2, 2015. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
There is no meaningful stock market for these shares. Their values are based on what a small handful of investors—usually venture capital firms, private equity firms or other corporations—are willing to pay for a stake.
- ^ "Determining Seed-Round Valuation for Startups | Silicon Valley Bank". www.svb.com. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
- ^ "How to evaluate startups: methods for early & pre-revenue stage". InnMind: Blog for Web3 Startup Founders. 2020-08-31. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
- ^ "How do you use the scorecard method to value your startup?". www.linkedin.com. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
- ^ "Series A, B, C, D, and E Funding: How It Works". www.startups.com. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
- ^ a b Aswath Damodaran (N.D.). The Value of Intangibles Archived 2022-01-19 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Aswath Damodaran (N.D.), A decision tree valuation of a pharmaceutical company with one drug in the FDA pipeline Archived 2022-01-19 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b T. Segal (2020). Biotech vs. Pharmaceuticals Archived 2021-01-24 at the Wayback Machine, investopedia.com
- ^ Aswath Damodaran (N.D.), Valuation and price in the drug business Archived 2022-01-19 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Brian DeChesare (N.D.), Biotech Equity Research Archived 2021-09-02 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b Queen's University (2010). Project Evaluation Methods
- ^ a b c Andrew Beattie (2020). A Beginner's Guide to Mining Stocks Archived 2021-01-29 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Queen's University (2014). Project economics Archived 2023-03-08 at the Wayback Machine, minewiki.engineering.queensu.ca
- ^ "Standards and Guidelines for Valuation of Mineral Properties. Special committee of the Canadian Institute Of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum on Valuation of Mineral Properties (CIMVAL), February 2003" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-12-12. Retrieved 2013-12-05.
- ^ a b E.V. Lilford and R.C.A. Minnitt (2005). A comparative study of valuation methodologies for mineral developments Archived 2021-02-28 at the Wayback Machine, The Journal of The South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, Jan. 2005
- ^ a b Shafiee, S and Abbate, N. (2012). Now, this is the Time for Mining Companies to Choose - Real Option Valuation or Discount Cash Flow. Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy
- ^ Rudolf Zdravlje (2011). Real Options Analysis of Mining Projects
- ^ "Inside the world of the mining analyst". Archived from the original on 2021-02-28. Retrieved 2021-02-12.
- ^ a b Aswath Damodaran (2009). Valuing Financial Service Firms Archived 2019-10-20 at the Wayback Machine, Stern, NYU
- ^ Doron Nissim (2010).Analysis and Valuation of Insurance Companies Archived 2019-10-20 at the Wayback Machine, Columbia Business School
- ^ Oleg Deev (2011). "Methods of Bank Valuation: A Critical Overview" Archived 2023-06-14 at the Wayback Machine. Financial Assets and Investing. Vol.2, No.3
- ^ a b Yann Le Fur, et. al. (2022). "Putting a value on banks"
- ^ See e.g. eqexret.xls by Prof. Aswath Damodaran
- Bank of International Settlements.
- ^ Daniel Strauss (November 29, 2019). "Morgan Stanley reportedly fires or places on leave at least 4 traders while investigating millions in hidden losses | Markets Insider". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 2021-04-15. Retrieved 2020-11-15.
- ^ Eugene Ingoglia; Todd Fishman; Mark Daniels (April 22, 2020). "Amid falling markets, valuation challenges and mis-marking fraud risks rise". Investigations Insight. Archived from the original on September 28, 2020. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
- ^ a b Aziz Abdel-Qader (January 31, 2020). "Morgan Stanley Names Two New Heads for FX Options Desk; Silverman and Jeurissen are replacing Thiago Melzer, who was fired in November amid allegations of mismarking securities". Finance Magnates. Archived from the original on February 26, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
- ^ .
- ^ Kent Oz (2009). "Independent Fund Administrators As A Solution for Hedge Fund Fraud," Archived 2021-03-03 at the Wayback Machine Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law.