HOW TO VALUE A COMPANY

What Is a Valuation of a Company?

A company valuation, also known as a business valuation, is the process of determining the economic value of a company. During the valuation process, all areas of a business are analyzed to determine its worth and the worth of its departments or units.

A company valuation can be used to determine the fair value of a business for a variety of reasons, including sale value, establishing shareholder ownership and  taxation.The valuation of a business is the process of determining the current worth of a business, using objective measures, and evaluating all aspects of the business.

A business valuation might include an analysis of the company's management, its capital structure, its future earnings prospects or the market value of its assets. 

Methods of Valuation

There are numerous ways a company can be valued. You'll learn about several of these methods below.

1. Market Capitalization

Market capitalization is the simplest method of business valuation. It is calculated by multiplying the company’s share price by its total number of shares outstanding. For example, as of January 20, 2023, Reliance Ind. traded at Rs. 2442.7 with a total number of shares outstanding of 6.64 billion, the company could then be valued at Rs.2442.7 x 6.64 billion = Rs.16219.528 billion.

2. Times Revenue Method

Under the times revenue business valuation method, a stream of revenues generated over a certain period of time is applied to a multiplier which depends on the industry and economic environment. For example, a tech company may be valued at 5x revenue, while a service firm may be valued at 1x revenue.

3. Earnings Multiplier

Instead of the times revenue method, the earnings multiplier may be used to get a more accurate picture of the real value of a company, since a company’s profits are a more reliable indicator of its financial success than sales revenue is. The earnings multiplier adjusts future profits against cash flow that could be invested at the current interest rate over the same period of time. In other words, it adjusts the current P/E ratio to account for current interest rates.

4. Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) Method

The DCF method of business valuation is similar to the earnings multiplier. This method is based on projections of future cash flows, which are adjusted to get the current market value of the company. The main difference between the discounted cash flow method and the profit multiplier method is that it takes inflation into consideration to calculate the present value.

5. Book Value

This is the value of shareholders’ equity of a business as shown on the balance sheet statement. The book value is derived by subtracting the total liabilities of a company from its total assets.

6. Liquidation Value

Liquidation value is the net cash that a business will receive if its assets were liquidated and liabilities were paid off today.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of the business valuation methods in use today. Other methods include replacement value, breakup value, asset-based valuation and still many more.

In our next blog we will try to understand Valuation Analysis.

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