Cost of Capital, Capital Structure and Leverage, Capital Budgeting
Debt, Preferred stock, and common equity
What are the 3 sources of capital?
Notes payable and long term debt
What are two common forms of debt?
Retained earnings, new common stock
What are two forms of common equity?
Cost of Capital
The firm’s average cost of funds used to finance its operations and investments, reflecting the required return for equity and debt holders.
rd (or YTM)
Before tax cost of debt, the return investors require to purchase the firm’s bonds
rd(1-Tc)
After tax cost of debt
rps
Cost of preferred stock
rs
cost of equity
WACC
Weighted average cost of capital
Capital structure
The combination of different types of capital used by a firm
Estimate the weights- estimate the market values of each source of capital and calculate the proportion of each source in the company’s invested capital
Estimate the costs- Estimate the marginal cost of each source of capital (after tax)
Assemble the pieces- Calculate the WACC of each source using the weights and estimated marginal costs
Steps in Calculating the WACC
Optimal Capital Structure
The ideal mix of debt and equity financing that minimizes the company's overall cost of capital while maximizing its value.
Optimizes financial leverage
Combination of calculation and strategy
Key in determining a firm’s WACC
Other characteristics of Optimal Capital Structure
Use Capital Structure/optimal structure if available
Use Present Capital Structure as an estimate
Use market values NOT book values
Which weights are used to determine the relative proportions of debt and equity in the capital structure?
Weights of debt, weights of PS, weights of equity
What do you need to compute WACC?
Debt’s market value
The number of outstanding bonds times the market price of one bond
Equity’s Market Value
The number of shares of outstanding common stock times the market price of one share of common stock
A firm’s market value
________ is calculated as the sum of the market values of its debt, preferred stock, and equity.
V= D + E
The percent of value financed with debt
Wd= D/V
where D is the market value of debt and V is the total market value of the firm.
The percent of value financed with Equity
We= E/V
Where E is the market value of equity and V is the total market value of the firm
100%
What must capital structure weights add up to?
WACC weights formula
WACC= Wd + We + Wps = 100%
WACC Formula
Wd*rd(1-T) + Wsrs
Marginal Cost of Capital (MCC)
The cost of obtaining another dollar of new capital
Cost of preferred stock
The preferred dividend divided by the net issuing price
Rps= D/P
Cost of equity
The return required by equity investors given the risk of the cash flows from the firm
Can be both business risk and financial risk
CAPM
Discounted Cash flow (DCF)
Bond yield plus risk premium
What are the approaches to calculate the cost of equity?
Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) Approach
Widely used financial model that helps determine the cost of equity.
rS = rRF + βS (rM – rRF)
rRF
Risk free rate of return
rM
Market return
βs
Beta coefficient for stock S
(rM – rRF)
Risk premium for Stock S
Explicitly adjusts for systematic risk
Applicable to all companies, as long as we can estimate the beta coefficient
What are the pros of the CAPM Approach?
You have to estimate the expected market risk premium, which is known to vary over time
You have to estimate Beta, which varies over time
We are using the past to estimate the future (not always reliable)
What are some cons to the CAPM approach?
Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) Approach
A method used to estimate the value of an investment based on expected future cash flows. This model assumes constant growth.
Rs= D0(1+g) / P0 + g=D1/P0 + g
Easy to understand and use
What are the pros of using DCF approach?
Only applicable to companies currently paying dividends
Not applicable if dividends are not growing at a constant rate
Extremely sensitive to the estimated growth rate
Does not consider risk
What are some cons of using the DCF approach?
The Bond-Yield-Plus-Premium Approach
A method used to estimate the cost of equity by adding a risk premium to the yield of a firm’s long-term debt
rs= rd + risk premium
It can be used if the firm has no publicly traded stock
Easy to calculate
What are some pros of the Bond-Yield-Plus-Premium Approach ?
Very subjective
The Bond risk premium is just an estimate
It is subject to significant errorWh
What are some cons of the Bond-Yield-Plus-Premium Approach?
It shows the required rate of return for the entire company
The financial health of firm
Capital Structure- what are we financing with?
Project analysis
It is the basis for determining how a firm can finance growth
Why is WACC important?
Flotation costs
The costs associated with the issuance of new financial assets. These include any fees paid to the investment dealer or any discounts provided to investors to entice them to purchase securities.
The cost of issuing new securities will be higher than the return required by investors
What is the result of flotation costs?
Capital Structure
The mix of debt and equity that is used to finance a firm’s asset
Ratios- total debt ratio, debt/equity, debt/invested capital
Market value vs. book value
WACC
Industry Comparisons
What do we use to measure capital structure?
Business risk
Potential threats or uncertainties a company faces that could impact its ability to achieve its financial goals and objectives
Inherent risk that includes sales and operating risk.
Sales Risk
Risk where sales volume or price will impact earnings
Operating risk
Risk use of fixed operating costs relative to total operating costs will be inappropriate
Taking the standard deviation of ROIC
How do we measure Uncertainty to earnings (sales/operating risk)?
ROIC= EBIT(1-T) / Total invested capital
ROIC Formula
Competition
Uncertainty about demand (affects sales)
Uncertainty about output prices
Uncertainty about costs
Product obsolescence
Foreign risk exposure
Regulatory risk and legal exposure
Operating leverage
Drivers of business risk
Degree of operating leverage (DOL)
The relationship between operating earnings and fixed costs
Formula: DOL= Q(P-V) / Q(P-V) -F
Contribution margin
Difference between the sales price and variable operating costs
P-V
Break-Even Point
The units produced and sold at which the operating profit is zero
QB-E = FC / (P – V)
Sales risk
Volume based pricing introduces variability in the profit margin, creating _____________
Financial Risk
Risk to shareholders over and above firm’s business risk, resulting from the use of financial leverage
Higher cost of debt
Higher debt leads to ___________
Solvency
A company’s ability to meet its long-term financial obligations and sustain operations over time.
Can we pay off our debts as they are due?
Degree of Financial Leverage (DFL)
Measures the sensitivity of earnings to a change in cash flows
Formula: DFL= [Q(P-V)] - F / [Q(P-V]-F-1
When we increase the amount of debt financing, we increase the fixed interest expense
If we have a really good year, then we pay our fixed cost and have more left over to our stockholders
If we have a really bad year, we still have to pay our fixed costs and have less left over for our stockholders
What are some effects of Financial Leverage?
Leverage
____________ amplifies the variation in both EPS and ROE. A small change in leverage generates a large change in profits.
Financial Break-Even Point
Return on investment or quantity produced/sold at which a company’s ROE is zero
Formula: Qfbe= F+I / (P-V)
Indifference point
The quantity produced and sold or return on investment at which two financing strategies provide the same return on equity.
Degree of Total Leverage
Captures the leveraging effects of both the operating risk and the financial risk, using the sum total of the fixed operating costs and the fixed financing costs as the fulcrum
DTL= DOL * DFL
or [Q(P-V)] / [Q(P-V)] -F - I
Managing risk by predicting extreme events
Using the past to manage risk
Not considering advice intended to instruct what not to do
Measuring risk by standard deviation
Not factoring in human error
Seeking optimization, without considering vulnerability
Common risk management mistakes
The firm’s risk increases
Cost of debt increases
WACC increases
These altogether lead to the eventual increase in cost of equity (rs)
How does increase in debt affect the cost of equity?
The Hamada Equation
This equation attempts to quantify the increased cost of equity due to financial leverage using the firm’s unlevered beta
Formula: bL = bU[1 + (1 – T)(D/E)]
Unlevered Beta Coefficient
The firm’s business risk as if it had no debt
Minimize WACC
Maximize Stock price
Note: These yield the same results
How to determine the firm’s optimal capital structure?
Sales stability
High operating leverage
Debt ratio and debt/equity ratio
The corporate tax rate
Bankruptcy costs
Financial flexibility
Firm’s Growth Rate
Factors affecting the target capital structure:
Static Theory
The point where tax benefits from debt maximize value while minimizing WACC
Just shy of feeling the effects of financial distress
Bankruptcy
A legal status of a company that permits the company to deal with debt problems
The company commits an act of default, so creditors enforce their legal rights
-Ex: Not paying interest
The company voluntarily declares bankruptcy
How does bankruptcy occur?
Financial distress
Significant problems in meeting debt obligations
Does not mean bankruptcy
Legal and administrative costs
Causing bondholders to incur losses
Disincentive to debt financing
What are some direct costs of bankruptcy?
Larger than direct costs, but more difficult to measure and
estimate
Stockholders want to avoid a formal bankruptcy filing
Bondholders want to keep existing assets intact so they can
at least receive that money
Assets lose value as management spends time worrying
about avoiding bankruptcy instead of running the business
The firm may also lose sales, experience interrupted
operations and lose valuable employees
What are some indirect bankruptcy costs?
Modigliani-Miller Irrelevance Theory
Also known as trade off theory, states that in a perfect market the value of a firm is unaffected by its capital structure and that the cost of equity increases linearly with the fir’s debt/equity ratio.
Signaling Theory
Explains how individuals/organizations convey credible information about themselves to others. One party may have better information than the other (asymmetric information)
Financial Slack
The excess resources a company has beyond what is needed for its immediate operational requirements
Pecking order Theory
Theory that states that companies prioritize their sources of financing based on the principle of least effort or cost
This theory includes a hierarchy of how companies choose to finance investments
Debt is used more frequently than equity
Benefits: Tax deductible interest, financial leverage, increased EPS and ROE for shareholders
Detriments: you have to pay it back, can lead to distress, cash flows must cover payments
Capital Structure In Practice:
Financial Leverage Ratios
Debt ratio: Debt/Total assets
Debt-equity ratio: debt/equity
Equity Multiplier: Total assets/equity
TIE: EBIT/Interest
Cash flow to debt ratio: Cash flow from operations/debt
Altman’s Z-Score
a financial model used to predict the likelihood of a company going bankrupt
Formula: Z = 1.2X1 + 1.4X2 + 3.3X3 + 0.6X4 + 0.999X5
where
x1 is working capital divided by assets
x2 is retained earnings divided by assets
x3 is EBIT divided by assets
X4 is market values of equity divided by nonequity book liabilities
X5 is sales divided by assets
Zones of Discrimination:
Z> 2.99 is safe
1.81< Z < 2.99 is gray
Z<1.81 is distress, soon to be bankrupt
Capital Expenditure
A firm’s investment in long-lived assets (tangible or intangible)
Capital Budgeting
Long term investment decisions; what projects do we want to put our money towards?
Identify alternatives
Evaluate alternatives
Implement decisions
Monitor and evaluate implemented decisions
The capital budgeting process:
Maintenance or obsolescence
Expanding a current product/service
New product/services
Cost reduction
What is capital budgeting used for?
To increase firm value
What is the primary role of financial manger?
Comparative Advantage
The ability of a company to produce a product at a lower cost than its competitors
Competitive advantage
Any strategy or company action that reduces the competition that the company experiences
Bottom up analysis
The idea that a company is simply a set or portfolio of capital investment decisions
Top-Down analysis
Focuses on the strategic decisions about which industries or products the company should be involved in
Percent of Sales Technique
Delphi Method
Casual Models
Regression and Time Series
Forecasting models
Projected (Pro Forma) Financial Statements
Projection into the future using defined assumptions
Horizon
Projecting the asset requirements for the planning period
Operations
Projecting the funds that will be generated under normal conditions
Additional Funds needed to support operations
Calculated by subtracting the projected liabilities and equity from the required assets
Forecast the income statement
Forecast the Balance sheet
Raise additional funds needed
Process of Pro-Forma Statements
Income statement assumptions
Sales forecasted to grow 10% for next year
Costs vary directly with sales (constant PM)
Depreciation and interest may not vary directly with sales (nonconstant PM)
Dividends are a management decision and do not vary with sales