Absolute Valuation
A valuation approach that estimates intrinsic worth from cash flows, dividends, or assets without relying primarily on peer multiples.
Choose a subsection first. Deeper term pages live inside each subsection, which keeps large topic hubs readable.
A valuation approach that estimates intrinsic worth from cash flows, dividends, or assets without relying primarily on peer multiples.
Accredited in Business Valuation is an AICPA credential for qualified CPAs and finance professionals who perform business and intangible-asset valuation work.
Activity ratios measure how efficiently a company uses assets, receivables, inventory, or working capital to support sales.
An appraisal is a supported opinion of value for identified property or an ownership interest as of a specified date and for a defined purpose.
Multi-factor asset-pricing theory that explains expected returns through exposure to systematic risk factors.
Arbitrage Pricing Theory is a multi-factor asset-pricing model that links expected return to systematic risk exposures.
Asset coverage ratio compares adjusted asset value with specified debt or senior claims. Learn the formula, a worked example, and key limitations.
Asset turnover compares revenue with average total assets to measure sales generated by the recorded asset base.
A business valuation method that estimates equity value from adjusted asset values minus liabilities.
A cost-of-capital method that weights debt and equity return requirements to estimate a blended required return.
Before-tax cash flow measures cash generated before income taxes, often used in property, project, and business analysis.
The binomial option pricing model values an option by working backward through discrete up-and-down price paths under no-arbitrage assumptions.
Closed-form model for estimating European option value from price, strike, time, volatility, rates, and dividends.
Accounting net worth from the balance sheet, often compared with market value in equity analysis.
Per-share version of book equity used to compare accounting value with stock price.
Comparison between accounting net worth and market pricing, and why the two can diverge sharply.
Book-to-bill ratio compares orders received with billed shipments or sales, indicating demand momentum relative to current output.
The book-to-market ratio compares book equity with market value and is a common value investing and factor-analysis signal.
Brand equity is the incremental customer and economic response associated with a brand name, distinct from accounting book value.
The process of estimating a company's enterprise or equity value for investing, transactions, reporting, litigation, or planning.
The CAPE ratio compares an equity index level with ten-year average inflation-adjusted earnings.
Capital budgeting tools help finance teams compare long-term projects, cash flows, risk, hurdle rates, and value creation.
Capital expenditure is investment in long-lived operating assets, with important differences between cash spending, accounting additions, and maintenance needs.
Capital Structure covers Capital Policy, Financial Structure, and Funding Capacity, Leverage, Debt Capitalization, and Coverage Ratios, Preferred, Senior, and Hybrid Capital, …
Cash flow yield compares a defined cash-flow measure with a matching equity or enterprise-value denominator.
Cash interest coverage ratio compares a defined earnings or cash-flow numerator with interest paid or payable in cash under a stated definition.
Cash position measures cash and cash equivalents available to meet obligations, fund operations, or support investment decisions.
A relative valuation method that applies peer-company multiples to estimate a business, stock, or transaction value.
Compound growth rate connects starting and ending values through a constant rate per period; the period unit determines how the result is interpreted.
Compound interest is interest calculated on principal and accumulated interest, with the outcome shaped by rate, frequency, time, cash flows, and terms.
Compounding frequency is how often accumulated interest enters the balance used to calculate later interest, affecting effective rates and future value.
Cost of capital is the market-required return on debt, equity, or blended financing used in valuation, capital budgeting, and funding decisions.
Cost of carry combines financing, storage, income, and ownership benefits when comparing spot and forward or futures prices.
A coverage ratio compares a defined financial resource with the interest, debt service, fixed charge, dividend, or asset claim it must support.
Debt-to-EBITDA compares a defined debt balance with EBITDA, requiring consistent treatment of cash, leases, adjustments, and measurement periods.
A discount is the amount by which a price is below a reference value, such as a bond's face value or a seller's stated price.
A discount rate converts future cash flows into present value and must be matched to their timing, currency, risk, inflation basis, capital claim, and purpose.
Discounted cash flow estimates value from future cash flows, with a worked FCFF example linking terminal value, operating value, equity, and value per share.
Discounting converts future cash flows into value at an earlier date using rates matched to timing, risk, currency, inflation, and purpose.
Valuation discounts applied to ownership interests that cannot be readily sold in an active market.
Learn what makes an asset distressed, how distress differs from impairment and forced sale, and how analysts estimate recovery without assuming a bargain.
A distressed sale occurs under financial, legal, or time pressure. Learn how it differs from short sales and foreclosure, how to compare net proceeds, and what risks matter.
The dividend discount model values shares from expected future dividends, with results sensitive to dividend timing, growth, and the required equity return.
Earnings, EBITDA, valuation-multiple, and performance-ratio terms for comparing firms and interpreting operating results.
EBIAT estimates earnings before financing costs but after an assumed tax charge, supporting unlevered profitability and valuation analysis.
EBIT measures earnings before interest and income taxes, with calculation guidance, a worked example, and comparisons with operating income and EBITDA.
An earnings estimate forecasts profit or EPS; examples show how margins, consensus methods, and revisions affect earnings surprises and forward P/E.
Earnings growth tracks comparable profit or EPS over time, with worked examples of dilution, annual growth, and multi-year compounding.
Earnings momentum describes improving or deteriorating reported earnings, surprises, guidance, or analyst estimates across comparable periods.
Earnings per share measures profit attributable to common shareholders for each weighted-average share, including basic and diluted EPS.
Earnings yield divides earnings per share by share price, expressing equity valuation as the inverse of a consistently calculated P/E ratio.
Earnings, profit, liquidity, turnover, and operating-performance measures used in financial analysis.
EBITDA measures earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, but definitions and adjustments require reconciliation.
The EBITDA-to-interest coverage ratio compares EBITDA with interest expense while retaining the limits of a non-GAAP earnings proxy.
Economic income measures value creation after considering changes in economic value, not just accounting profit reported for a period.
In natural-resource finance, an economic interest links invested capital in minerals or timber to extraction income and can affect depletion and valuation.
Economic value estimates financial worth from expected benefits and costs, distinct from price, book value, and accounting fair value.
Economic Value Added measures operating profit after tax minus a charge for the capital committed to the business.
Whole-business valuation measure combining equity value with net debt and other claims on the firm.
Enterprise value-to-sales (EV/Sales) compares a company's total enterprise value with its revenue.
An equity analyst researches companies and shares, revises earnings forecasts, and explains how business developments affect valuation and investment views.
The equity premium puzzle asks why stocks historically outperformed safer government debt by more than standard consumption-based models can explain.
Equity research connects company evidence, financial forecasts, and valuation to an investment view, with explicit assumptions and downside risks.
The equity risk premium compares equity returns with a safer benchmark, with distinct expected, historical, arithmetic, and geometric measures.
EV/2P expresses an oil and gas company's enterprise value per unit of cumulative proved-plus-probable reserves, subject to major comparability limits.
EV/EBITDA compares enterprise value with operating earnings before depreciation and amortization to value businesses across capital structures.
A financial event study compares observed returns around news with a model-based benchmark to measure abnormal returns, subject to timing and inference limits.
Fair market value is the price expected in an open-market transfer between informed, willing parties who are not compelled to transact.
Fair rate of return is a regulated-utility return standard used to balance capital attraction and financial integrity with just and reasonable customer rates.
Financial adaptability describes the capacity to adjust financing, liquidity, costs, or investment plans when conditions change.
Financial forecasting estimates future revenue, profit, cash, and funding needs, with a worked example showing why profit does not guarantee liquidity.
Financial liquidity measures how readily assets can be converted to cash and how easily obligations can be met.
Financial modeling converts operating, financing, and market assumptions into linked forecasts, valuation outputs, and decision scenarios.
Learn how urgent asset sales can depress prices, amplify leverage and funding stress, and differ from forced sales, distressed assets, and ordinary liquidation.
A fixed charge is a recurring contractual or policy-driven payment that does not automatically decline when revenue or output falls.
Learn what makes a sale forced, why compulsion and limited marketing affect price, and how forced sales differ from distressed sales and fire sales.
Free cash flow to the firm estimates cash generated by operations after reinvestment but before discretionary payments to debt and equity capital providers.
Free cash flow yield compares a clearly defined free cash flow with the matching equity or enterprise value.
Free-cash-flow measures, capital investment, and valuation cash flows used to assess reinvestment and capital-provider claims.
Future value is the amount a present balance or cash-flow stream reaches at a specified date under stated rates, timing, and reinvestment assumptions.
The Gordon growth model estimates share value from constant dividend growth, with examples of dividend timing, required return, and price-implied growth.
Gross debt-to-EBITDA compares total defined debt before cash offsets with EBITDA, emphasizing contractual leverage and debt-definition choices.
Growth rate measures percentage change over time in revenue, earnings, cash flow, assets, or investment value.
The harmonic mean averages reciprocals and can aggregate positive valuation multiples when weights match the underlying investment amounts.
Heavy tails assign more weight to extreme financial outcomes; their shape affects loss estimates, model choice, and whether means and variances are finite.
An illiquid asset cannot be sold quickly at a reliable price without accepting a discount or delay.
Cost of raising a specific additional financing package, used in project approval, deal funding, and capital-structure decisions.
Discount rate that makes a project's net present value equal zero, widely used to summarize investment return.
An estimate of what an asset or security should be worth based on fundamentals rather than current market price.
Investment research methods for assessing price, cash flows, risk, and portfolio fit, then expressing the findings as a testable thesis.
Capital-budgeting process for evaluating whether a project, acquisition, or expansion is worth funding.
Earnings from international transactions involving services like insurance, banking, shipping, tourism, and accountancy.
The Inwood annuity factor values finite level income at a single yield and supports appraisal analysis of income, capital recovery, and reversion.
Ito calculus is the stochastic integration and chain-rule framework used to transform diffusion processes in derivative pricing and continuous-time finance.
Levered beta is equity's estimated market sensitivity after reflecting the company's operating risk and financial leverage.
The required return for a company after reflecting the effects of debt financing, tax shields, and capital structure.
Liquidation value estimates what assets could realize in a wind-down after considering sale timing, costs, creditor claims, and priority.
Learn how sale delay, transaction costs, limited buyers, and price impact can reduce value, and why liquidity discounts require asset-specific support.
Liquidity premium is the additional expected return investors may require for an asset that is costly, slow, or uncertain to sell near its estimated value.
Cost of the next dollar of capital, often shown as a breakpoint schedule for capital budgeting and financing decisions.
Mark to market revalues an asset, liability, or trading position using a current market-supported mark; in futures it also drives daily gains, losses, and margin cash flows.
A valuation approach that estimates value from comparable transactions, traded securities, or observable market prices.
Market capitalization measures common equity market value from share prices and outstanding shares, including separate calculations for traded share classes.
Market price is an observed transaction or available quoted price whose meaning depends on timing, order size, venue, and liquidity.
The market risk premium is the expected market return above a matching risk-free rate. Learn its formula, estimation methods, CAPM use, and limitations.
Market value is the current price an asset can command, or a market-supported estimate when no directly observable price exists.
Market-value, liquidity, mark-to-market, distressed-pricing, and fire-sale concepts that affect valuation interpretation.
Market-based royalty rates are licensing benchmarks adjusted for comparable rights, economics, and contract terms when valuing intangible assets.
The degree to which an asset, security, or ownership interest can be sold without excessive delay, restriction, or discount.
Mid-cap valuation compares medium-sized companies using peer multiples, growth expectations, liquidity, and market-cap context.
Monetary assets and liabilities are fixed or determinable cash claims and obligations that affect inflation, currency, and balance sheet analysis.
Monte Carlo simulation uses repeated random sampling to estimate financial outcomes; results depend on distributions, dependence, and valuation assumptions.
Multiple IRRs occur when nonconventional cash flows make net present value equal zero at more than one discount rate.
Relative valuation method that applies comparable market or transaction multiples to a target company's financial metric.
Natural resources are assets supplied by nature whose economic value depends on rights, recoverability, demand, costs, and responsible management.
Net assets equal assets minus liabilities and provide a balance sheet measure of residual value available to owners or stakeholders.
Net cash measures cash and cash equivalents after subtracting debt or other specified cash obligations.
A conservative deep-value metric that subtracts total liabilities from current assets and divides the result by shares outstanding.
Net debt-to-EBITDA compares debt after eligible cash offsets with EBITDA, requiring careful treatment of restricted and operating cash.
NOPLAT measures after-tax operating profit before financing effects, supporting enterprise valuation and invested-capital return analysis.
Discounted-cash-flow measure showing whether a project or investment is expected to create value after covering its required return.
Net profit margin divides net income by revenue. Learn the formula, work through an income-statement example, and understand its limitations.
Net tangible assets measure a company's assets minus liabilities and intangible assets, helping analysts focus on hard asset backing.
A deep-value stock screen that compares market value with net current asset value after subtracting total liabilities.
The no-arbitrage principle requires prices to exclude a feasible portfolio with no net investment, no possible loss, and a positive payoff in at least one state.
Nominal rate of return measures investment performance in current money before inflation adjustment and must be distinguished from real, gross, net, and pre-tax return.
Non-interest-bearing current liabilities are short-term obligations that do not accrue interest and are used in working-capital and operating asset analysis.
A non-operating asset is not required for core business operations and may be valued separately in enterprise value analysis.
Operating ratio compares operating expenses with revenue, showing how much revenue is consumed by core operating costs.
Models that estimate option value from payoff terms, volatility, time, rates, dividends, and underlying price behavior.
Theory explaining how no-arbitrage, payoff structure, volatility, time, rates, and hedging determine option value.
Organic reserve replacement measures oil and gas reserve additions generated through exploration, extensions, revisions, or improved recovery rather than acquisitions.
Overvalued describes a market price above a supportable estimate of value, subject to assumptions, growth expectations, liquidity, and security-specific risks.
Owner earnings run rate annualizes a judgment-based estimate of cash earnings after required reinvestment.
Capital-budgeting measure showing how long an investment takes to recover its initial cash outlay.
A peer group is a set of comparable companies used to benchmark valuation, performance, margins, growth, or risk.
The PEG ratio compares P/E with annual EPS growth; examples show how growth horizons, units, and forecast revisions change the result.
A perpetuity is an indefinite cash-flow stream whose present value depends on payment timing, discount rate, growth, and sustainable assumptions.
Possible reserves are additional petroleum quantities less certain to be recovered than probable reserves and included in the cumulative 3P estimate.
The implied company value immediately after a financing round, usually equal to pre-money valuation plus new investment.
The implied company value before a new financing round, used to calculate investor ownership and dilution.
Present value converts a future cash flow into today's equivalent using a discount rate matched to timing, risk, inflation, and currency.
Present value interest factor is the discount multiplier for one future amount, determined by the rate, number of periods, and compounding convention.
PVIFA is the multiplier used to calculate the present value of equal end-of-period payments at a stated rate over a finite number of periods.
Present value of an annuity measures equal, regularly timed payments at an earlier date using a rate and timing convention matched to the cash flows.
Price to tangible book value compares market price with tangible book value, often for banks, insurers, and asset-heavy companies.
The price-dividend ratio divides share price by annual dividends per share and is the inverse of dividend yield when both use consistent inputs.
Equity valuation multiple comparing market price with book value, often most useful in asset-heavy sectors.
The price-to-cash-flow ratio compares equity market value with a defined cash-flow measure, commonly operating cash flow.
The price-to-earnings ratio compares a company's share price with earnings per share for equity valuation.
Price-to-free-cash-flow compares equity market value with a clearly defined equity-consistent free cash flow.
The price-to-sales ratio compares market value with revenue and is used when earnings are negative, cyclical, or not yet mature.
A probability distribution assigns likelihoods to financial outcomes, helping distinguish expected loss, loss thresholds, and uncertainty in risk models.
Profit factor compares gross profits with gross losses, helping evaluate trading strategy efficiency and loss tolerance.
Discounted-cash-flow ratio showing value created per dollar invested, especially useful when capital is rationed.
Profitability ratios compare earnings with sales, assets, equity, or capital to assess business efficiency and return quality.
Proven reserves, formally called proved reserves in petroleum reporting, are quantities expected to be economically producible with reasonable certainty.
Purchase price is the transaction amount paid to acquire an asset, security, or business interest; scope and transaction costs determine how analysts use it.
Quality of earnings evaluates whether reported profit is repeatable, cash-generative, consistently measured, and useful for forecasting or valuation.
Real assets are physical or resource-based assets; financial assets are claims, and intangible assets are identifiable nonphysical rights or resources.
A real option is managerial flexibility to delay, stage, expand, contract, switch, or abandon a capital project as uncertainty resolves.
Real return measures investment performance after inflation; calculate exact purchasing-power growth and distinguish nominal, after-tax, and real results.
Rebate is a cash-flow or valuation concept used to estimate present value, investment economics, or financial performance.
Under IAS 36, recoverable amount is the higher of an asset's fair value less costs of disposal and its value in use.
Required rate of return is the minimum modeled return used to compensate for time and risk or to test whether expected cash flows support a price or project.
Reserve replacement ratio compares oil and gas reserve additions with production, but the result depends on which reconciliation items the numerator includes.
Residual income deducts an equity charge from earnings and links book value, profitability, and shareholder distributions in valuation.
Residual value estimates an asset's net disposal amount at the end of its useful life, lease term, or investment holding period.
Assets earmarked for specific purposes by donor-imposed restrictions.
Retention ratio measures the share of a period's earnings kept after dividends, with matched formulas, examples, growth uses, and interpretation limits.
ROACE compares operating profit with average capital employed, helping analysts separate profit growth from capital efficiency.
Return on capital compares profit with capital committed to a business, but analysts must define the profit, capital base, timing, and tax treatment.
ROCE compares operating profit with average capital employed to evaluate operating returns and capital efficiency.
After-tax operating profit relative to the capital invested in operations, including calculation choices, WACC comparison, and incremental returns.
RONA compares operating profit with average net operating assets, with definitions and adjustments made explicit.
The IAS 16 revaluation model carries a class of property, plant, and equipment at fair value less subsequent depreciation and impairment.
Discount rate adjusted for cash-flow risk, used when project, asset, or company risk differs from a baseline capital cost.
The risk-free rate is the theoretical return on a default-free investment and a baseline input for valuation, asset pricing, and risk premiums.
Risk-neutral probabilities are pricing weights that make discounted traded-asset prices consistent with no arbitrage; they are not forecasts of actual outcomes.
No-arbitrage method that prices derivatives by discounting expected payoffs under risk-neutral probabilities.
The Rule of 72 estimates how many periods a balance needs to double at a constant compound rate, but exact timing depends on the rate convention.
Sales volume measures the number of units sold, helping separate unit demand from price and revenue effects.
Scenario analysis compares financial results under coherent alternative assumptions, revealing downside exposure without treating cases as forecasts.
Sensitivity analysis tests how financial results respond to changed inputs, using one-way tests, two-way tables, or broader methods to identify key drivers.
Shareholder value added measures value created after comparing operating profit with the capital charge required by investors.
A valuation method that estimates equity value from future cash flows, cost of capital, and value-driver assumptions.
Solvency ratio measures long-term ability to meet debt and other obligations using assets, earnings, or cash flow.
A standard cash flow pattern has an initial outflow followed by inflows, simplifying investment appraisal and IRR analysis.
Stock analysis evaluates a company's shares using business fundamentals, valuation, market data, and models to test investment assumptions and risks.
A stock recommendation expresses an analyst's investment view; its rating definition, price, horizon, benchmark, and risks determine what it means.
Stock valuation estimates equity value per share from cash flows, dividends, earnings, assets, growth, risk, and comparable-market evidence.
The stock-market-cap-to-GDP ratio compares listed equity value with annual nominal output, providing market context rather than a buy-or-sell signal.
An investment appraisal approach that weighs strategic fit, intangible benefits, risk, and long-term value alongside financial returns.
A valuation method that estimates a diversified company by valuing each segment separately and adding the parts together.
Tangible book value measures book equity after excluding intangible assets and goodwill.
Tangible book value per share divides tangible common equity by shares outstanding to estimate hard asset value per share.
The concept of Target Price Range refers to a specific range within which the price of a security, typically a stock, is expected to fluctuate over a certain period.
Terminal value estimates cash flows beyond a DCF forecast, with worked examples of discounting, exit multiples, reinvestment, and sensitivity.
Time value of money compares cash flows at different dates using compounding, discounting, cash-flow timing, and a rate suited to the decision.
The times-revenue method is a financial technique used to determine the maximum value of a company by applying a multiple to its actual revenue over a set period.
Tobin's Q compares the market value of installed assets with replacement cost and requires careful treatment of debt, intangibles, and measurement scope.
Total shareholder return combines share-price changes and distributions, with reinvestment, annualization, and corporate-action conventions stated.
A toxic asset is difficult to value or sell because expected cash flows, credit quality, or market liquidity have deteriorated sharply.
An unconventional cash flow has multiple sign changes, which can complicate IRR and project evaluation.
Undervaluation describes a market price below a supportable estimate of value, subject to assumptions, uncertainty, liquidity, and security-specific risks.
Unencumbered assets are free of liens or pledged claims and can support borrowing, sale, or recovery value.
A unit of account is a function of money that provides a common measure for pricing, recording, and comparing economic value.
The required return on a company's assets before considering the effects of debt financing or capital structure.
The process of estimating what an asset, security, business, or project is worth using market evidence, cash flows, or asset values.
A valuation date is the specific date, and sometimes time, as of which an asset, liability, business, or ownership interest is valued.
Market multiples and relative-valuation ratios used to compare companies, securities, and asset groups.
Valuation risk is the possibility that a reported, modeled, or market value is materially wrong or unsuitable for the decision being made.
Value is an estimate of economic worth under a specified basis, date, unit of account, assumptions, and valuation method.
The process of increasing economic value for owners, investors, or stakeholders through returns above required capital costs.
The Vasicek model represents the instantaneous short rate as a one-factor Gaussian process with constant volatility and mean reversion.
A Wiener process, or standard Brownian motion, models continuous random shocks used in diffusion-based option, rate, and risk models.
Working ratio compares operating expenses with net sales, helping assess expense intensity and operating efficiency.