Musings on Markets

JANUARY 5, 2024

That year, I computed these industry-level statistics for five variables that I found myself using repeatedly in my valuations, and once I had them, I could not think of a good reason to keep them secret. After all, I had no plans on becoming a data service, and making them available to others cost me absolutely nothing. Beta & Risk 1.

Valuation 98

Valuation Financial Analysis Analyzing Data Profit and Loss 98

CFO News Room

JANUARY 7, 2023

Data: Trickle to a Flood! It is perhaps a reflection of my age that I remember when getting data to do corporate financial analysis or valuation was a chore. Check rules of thumb : Investing and corporate finance are full of rules of thumb, many of long standing.

Marketing 130

Marketing Valuation Corporate Finance Financial Analysis 130

Musings on Markets

JANUARY 9, 2021

To illustrate, consider a practice in valuation, where analysts are trained to add a small cap premium to discount rates for smaller companies, on the intuition that they are riskier than larger companies. It is very likely that these rules of thumb were developed from data and observation, but at a different point in time.

Valuation 52

Valuation Currencies Numbers Corporate Finance 52

Musings on Markets

JANUARY 6, 2023

It is perhaps a reflection of my age that I remember when getting data to do corporate financial analysis or valuation was a chore. Thus, without a sense of what comprises a high or low profit margin for a firm, or what the cost of capital is for the typical company, it is easy to create "fairy tale" valuations and analyses.

Valuation 52

Valuation Corporate Finance Financial Analysis Leverage 52

Musings on Markets

AUGUST 15, 2023

In every introductory finance class, you begin with the notion of a risk-free investment, and the rate on that investment becomes the base on which you build, to get to expected returns on risky assets and investments. Why does the risk-free rate matter? and the reverse will occur, when risk-free rates drop.

Investments 80

Investments Currencies Treasury Hurdle Rate 80