Musings on Markets

JANUARY 11, 2024

I balked at teaching this motley collection of topics and wanted to teach a class on valuation, but I was told that there was not enough stuff in valuation to fill a class. In the fall of 1986, I taught a valuation class in my security analyst slot, and with no cameras in the classroom or complaints from students, no one was any wiser.

Corporate Finance 145

Corporate Finance Valuation Finance Investments 145

Musings on Markets

JUNE 2, 2025

Consequences for valuation and investment analysis While the immediate economic and financial consequences of a downgrade from Aaa to Aa1 will be small, there are implications for analysts around the world.

Marketing 116

Marketing Currencies Treasury Economics 116

CFO News Room

JANUARY 25, 2023

During my teaching lifetime, I have taught a wide swath of classes, ranging from banking to equity instruments, but in the last twenty years, my focus has been on three classes, c orporate finance, valuation and investment philosophies , with the last one taught only online.

Marketing 130

Marketing Corporate Finance Valuation Finance 130

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. By the same token, it is impossible to use a pricing metric (PE or EV to EBITDA), without a sense of the cross sectional distribution of that metric at the time.

Marketing 130

Marketing Valuation Corporate Finance Financial Analysis 130

Musings on Markets

DECEMBER 21, 2022

Starting in late January 2023, I will be back in the classroom, teaching valuation and corporate finance to the MBAs and valuation to the undergraduates, and these classes will continue through May 2023.

Valuation 99

Valuation Corporate Finance Finance Financial Analysis 99

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. Valuation Pricing Growth & Reinvestment Profitability Risk Multiple s 1. Historical Growth in Revenues & Earnings 1.

Valuation 107

Valuation Financial Analysis Analyzing Data Numbers 107

CFO Talks

JANUARY 30, 2025

His approach involves working backward from desired outcomes, such as an EBITDA goal or exit valuation, and breaking these down into actionable steps and KPIs. For instance, if the goal is to grow and exit, we work backward from the desired valuation. What EBITDA profitability does the company need at the expected valuation multiple?

Communication 52

Communication CFO Valuation Manufacturing 52

Fpanda Club

JULY 24, 2022

From the FP&A standpoint, which may also lack that entrepreneurial perspective, the use of the traditional tools of financial analysis based on the discounted cash flows not only perfectly supports this kind of behavior, but also justifies it. Sources: Warren E. Buffett, Chairman’s Letter to the Shareholders.

Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) 130

Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) Profit and Loss Benchmarking Valuation 130

Musings on Markets

DECEMBER 15, 2021

During my teaching lifetime, I have taught a wide swath of classes, ranging from banking to equity instruments, but in the last twenty years, my focus has been on three classes, c orporate finance, valuation and investment philosophies , with the last one taught only online.

Corporate Finance 74

Corporate Finance Valuation Finance Investments 74

Fpanda Club

SEPTEMBER 2, 2021

Planning, budgeting and forecasting are linked together forming financial planning processes. Financial analysis is a type of economic analysis based on the financial data and focused on the assessment of stability and evaluation of profitability of a company, business or project.

Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) 130

Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) Corporate Finance Communication Forecasting 130

VCFO

MAY 17, 2024

How can you be sure the decisions you are making are taking valuation in the right direction? v360 goes beyond traditional financial analysis and simple snapshots. Maximizing shareholder value supports many business objectives, including equity-based acquisitions, incenting talent, raising funds, and positioning for exit.

Benchmarking 78

Benchmarking Leadership Strategic Planning Valuation 78

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

E78 Partners

AUGUST 21, 2023

Macro Investment Market Challenges a Headwind for Private Equity Valuations Private Equity Sponsors are facing their most challenging valuation market since the great recession of 2008-09. Heightened inflation and interest rates will continue to be valuation headwinds.

Planning 52

Planning Valuation Restructuring Leverage 52

CFA Institute

JANUARY 13, 2025

Discounted cash flow valuation offers a tempting sense of numerical clarity, but 80% of that “value” can rest on uncertain terminal assumptions. Fragile, indeed.

Valuation 52

Valuation Financial Analysis Risk Management Economics 52

Musings on Markets

FEBRUARY 18, 2025

For those of you who are not finance professionals, but rely on them for advice, I hope this is a cautionary note on taking these professionals (consultants, appraisers, bankers) at their word.

Marketing 52

Marketing Profit and Loss Investments Accounting 52

Future CFO

JULY 18, 2021

She explained that these days it is about integrating the experience of governance, valuation, reporting, products, and reinsurance to deliver value for shareholders. Kim Yeoh , CFO for Sun Life Asia, explained that the role of the CFO is no longer just about accounting. Unique to insurance.

Marketing 52

Marketing CFO Finance Leadership 52

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

AUGUST 15, 2023

After the rating downgrade, my mailbox was inundated with questions of what this action meant for investing, in general, and for corporate finance and valuation practice, in particular, and this post is my attempt to answer them all with one post.

Investments 98

Investments Currencies Treasury Hurdle Rate 98

Future CFO

DECEMBER 7, 2020

ST: I’m reporting to the CEO and board of directors, providing leadership in all aspects of business and finance, including strategic planning, annual business plan, rolling forecast, financial management, treasury, regulatory reporting, internal controls, taxation, and procurement.

CFO 52

CFO Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) Leadership Finance 52

CFA Institute

DECEMBER 22, 2019

"What makes us uncomfortable about disruption is the uncertainty it brings into every number that we measure," says Aswath Damodaran.

Numbers 52

Numbers Performance Measuring Financial Analysis Valuation 52

CFA Institute

NOVEMBER 19, 2018

What do swimming scallops have to do with investing in Asia? A lot, according to S. Joyce Li, CFA.

Investments 52

Investments Financial Analysis Valuation 52

CFO News Room

JANUARY 24, 2023

A few of these variables are macro variables, but only those that I find useful in corporate finance and valuation, and not easily accessible in public data bases. Rather than replicate that data, my macroeconomic datasets relate to four key variables that I use in corporate finance and valuation.

Marketing 130

Marketing Valuation Corporate Finance Currencies 130

Musings on Markets

JANUARY 8, 2022

A few of these variables are macro variables, but only those that I find useful in corporate finance and valuation, and not easily accessible in public data bases. Rather than replicate that data, my macroeconomic datasets relate to four key variables that I use in corporate finance and valuation.

Valuation 99

Valuation Corporate Finance Currencies Numbers 99

Musings on Markets

JULY 25, 2023

Risk Scores The advantage of default spreads is that they provide an observable measure of risk that can be easily incorporated into discount rates or financial analysis. The disadvantage is that they are focused on just default risk, and do not explicitly factor in the other risks that we enumerated in the last section.

Currencies 52

Currencies Hurdle Rate Valuation Marketing 52

Barry Ritholtz

JUNE 13, 2023

And so we go back to the basics of what our job should be, risk underwriting, risk assessment, asset prices are different from asset valuation. I mean the valuation is the future cash flow discounted at a risk-free rate plus a risk premium. RITHOLTZ: So let’s talk a little bit about valuations relative to risk and reward.

Investments 58

Investments Banking Entertainment Marketing 58

Barry Ritholtz

DECEMBER 17, 2024

And then, then I real, I decided to leave investment banking, which I, or I learned a tremendous amount, especially the, you know, putting, you know, the strategic nature of looking at industries and companies, and of course all of the, the financial acumen, the rigor of, of doing very intensive financial analysis. I 100% agree.

Technology 52

Technology Investments Numbers Concentration 52