Today we'll do a simple run through of a valuation method used to estimate the attractiveness of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) as an investment opportunity by taking the expected future cash flows and discounting them to today's value. We will take advantage of the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model for this purpose. It may sound complicated, but actually it is quite simple!
We would caution that there are many ways of valuing a company and, like the DCF, each technique has advantages and disadvantages in certain scenarios. For those who are keen learners of equity analysis, the Simply Wall St analysis model here may be something of interest to you.
See our latest analysis for Western Digital
What's The Estimated Valuation?
We use what is known as a 2-stage model, which simply means we have two different periods of growth rates for the company's cash flows. Generally the first stage is higher growth, and the second stage is a lower growth phase. To begin with, we have to get estimates of the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.
A DCF is all about the idea that a dollar in the future is less valuable than a dollar today, so we need to discount the sum of these future cash flows to arrive at a present value estimate:
10-year free cash flow (FCF) estimate
| 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 | 2030 | 2031 | 2032 |
Levered FCF ($, Millions) | US$897.0m | US$772.5m | US$747.5m | US$734.9m | US$730.6m | US$731.8m | US$736.9m | US$744.8m | US$754.7m | US$766.1m |
Growth Rate Estimate Source | Analyst x1 | Analyst x2 | Est @ -3.23% | Est @ -1.68% | Est @ -0.6% | Est @ 0.17% | Est @ 0.7% | Est @ 1.07% | Est @ 1.33% | Est @ 1.51% |
Present Value ($, Millions) Discounted @ 8.6% | US$826 | US$655 | US$584 | US$528 | US$484 | US$446 | US$414 | US$385 | US$359 | US$336 |
("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)
Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = US$5.0b
The second stage is also known as Terminal Value, this is the business's cash flow after the first stage. The Gordon Growth formula is used to calculate Terminal Value at a future annual growth rate equal to the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield of 1.9%. We discount the terminal cash flows to today's value at a cost of equity of 8.6%.
Terminal Value (TV)= FCF2032 × (1 + g) ÷ (r – g) = US$766m× (1 + 1.9%) ÷ (8.6%– 1.9%) = US$12b
Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= US$12b÷ ( 1 + 8.6%)10= US$5.1b
The total value is the sum of cash flows for the next ten years plus the discounted terminal value, which results in the Total Equity Value, which in this case is US$10b. In the final step we divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Compared to the current share price of US$32.7, the company appears around fair value at the time of writing. The assumptions in any calculation have a big impact on the valuation, so it is better to view this as a rough estimate, not precise down to the last cent.
NasdaqGS:WDC Discounted Cash Flow September 28th 2022
Important Assumptions
We would point out that the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate and of course the actual cash flows. If you don't agree with these result, have a go at the calculation yourself and play with the assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Western Digital as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 8.6%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.569. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business.
Next Steps:
Although the valuation of a company is important, it ideally won't be the sole piece of analysis you scrutinize for a company. The DCF model is not a perfect stock valuation tool. Rather it should be seen as a guide to "what assumptions need to be true for this stock to be under/overvalued?" For instance, if the terminal value growth rate is adjusted slightly, it can dramatically alter the overall result. For Western Digital, we've compiled three further factors you should look at:
- Financial Health: Does WDC have a healthy balance sheet? Take a look at our free balance sheet analysis with six simple checks on key factors like leverage and risk.
- Future Earnings: How does WDC's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart.
- Other Solid Businesses: Low debt, high returns on equity and good past performance are fundamental to a strong business. Why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals to see if there are other companies you may not have considered!
PS. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every American stock every day, so if you want to find the intrinsic value of any other stock just search here.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
今天,我們將簡單介紹一種估值方法,該方法利用預期的未來現金流並將其折現為今天的價值,來評估西部數據公司(CDC:WDC)作為投資機會的吸引力。為此,我們將利用貼現現金流(DCF)模型。這聽起來可能很複雜,但實際上很簡單!
我們要提醒的是,對一家公司進行估值的方法有很多種,與貼現現金流一樣,每種方法在某些情況下都有優缺點。對於那些熱衷於學習股票分析的人來説,這裏的Simply Wall St.分析模型可能會讓你感興趣。
查看我們對西部數據的最新分析
估計的估價是多少?
我們使用所謂的兩階段模型,也就是説,公司的現金流有兩個不同的增長率。一般來説,第一階段是較高增長階段,第二階段是較低增長階段。首先,我們必須對未來十年的現金流進行估計。在可能的情況下,我們使用分析師的估計,但當這些估計不可用時,我們會根據上次估計或報告的價值推斷先前的自由現金流(FCF)。我們假設,自由現金流萎縮的公司將減緩收縮速度,而自由現金流增長的公司在這段時間內的增長速度將放緩。我們這樣做是為了反映出,增長在最初幾年往往比後來幾年放緩得更多。
貼現現金流就是這樣一種想法,即未來一美元的價值低於現在的一美元,因此我們需要對這些未來現金流的總和進行貼現,以得出現值估計:
10年自由現金流(FCF)估計
| 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 | 2030 | 2031 | 2032 |
槓桿式FCF(百萬美元) | 8.97億美元 | 7.725億美元 | 7.475億美元 | 7.349億美元 | 7.306億美元 | 7.318億美元 | 7.369億美元 | 7.448億美元 | 7.547億美元 | 7.661億美元 |
增長率預估來源 | 分析師x1 | 分析師x2 | Est@-3.23% | Est@-1.68% | Est@-0.6% | Est@0.17% | Est@0.7% | Est@1.07% | Est@1.33% | Est@1.51% |
現值(美元,百萬)貼現@8.6% | 826美元 | 655美元 | 584美元 | 528美元 | 484美元 | 446美元 | 414美元 | 385美元 | 359美元 | 336美元 |
(“EST”=Simply Wall St.預估的FCF成長率)
10年期現金流現值(PVCF)=50億美元
第二階段也被稱為終端價值,這是企業在第一階段之後的現金流。戈登增長公式用於計算終端價值,其未來年增長率等於10年期政府債券收益率1.9%的5年平均水平。我們以8.6%的權益成本將終端現金流貼現到今天的價值。
終端值(TV)=FCF2032×(1+g)?(r-g)=7.66億美元×(1+1.9%)?(8.6%-1.9%)=120億美元
終值現值(PVTV)=TV/(1+r)10=120億美元?(1+8.6%)10=51億美元
總價值是未來十年的現金流之和加上貼現的終端價值,這導致總股權價值,在本例中為100億美元。在最後一步,我們用股本價值除以流通股的數量。與目前32.7美元的股價相比,該公司在撰寫本文時似乎接近公允價值。任何計算中的假設都會對估值產生很大影響,因此最好將其視為粗略估計,而不是精確到最後一分錢。
NasdaqGS:WDC貼現現金流2022年9月28日
重要假設
我們要指出,貼現現金流最重要的投入是貼現率,當然還有實際現金流。如果你不同意這些結果,你可以自己試一試計算,並玩弄一下假設。DCF也沒有考慮一個行業可能的週期性,也沒有考慮一家公司未來的資本要求,因此它沒有給出一家公司潛在業績的全貌。鑑於我們將西部數據視為潛在股東,股權成本被用作貼現率,而不是佔債務的資本成本(或加權平均資本成本,WACC)。在這個計算中,我們使用了8.6%,這是基於槓桿率為1.569的測試值。貝塔係數是衡量一隻股票相對於整個市場的波動性的指標。我們的貝塔係數來自全球可比公司的行業平均貝塔係數,強制限制在0.8到2.0之間,這是一個穩定業務的合理範圍。
接下來的步驟:
儘管一家公司的估值很重要,但理想情況下,它不會是你為一家公司仔細審查的唯一一項分析。貼現現金流模型並不是一個完美的股票估值工具。相反,它應該被視為“什麼假設需要成立才能讓這隻股票被低估或高估”的指南。例如,如果終端價值增長率稍有調整,可能會極大地改變整體結果。對於西部數據,我們收集了另外三個因素,你應該看看:
- 財務狀況:WDC是否有健康的資產負債表?看看我們的自由資產負債表分析,對槓桿和風險等關鍵因素進行了六項簡單的檢查。
- 未來收益:與同行和更廣泛的市場相比,WDC的增長率如何?通過與我們的免費分析師增長預期圖表互動,更深入地挖掘分析師對未來幾年的共識數字。
- 其他穩固的企業:低債務、高股本回報率和良好的過去業績是強勁業務的基礎。為什麼不探索我們具有堅實商業基本面的股票的互動列表,看看是否有其他您可能沒有考慮過的公司!
PS.Simply Wall St.每天更新每隻美國股票的貼現現金流計算,所以如果你想找出任何其他股票的內在價值,只需搜索此處。
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本文由Simply Wall St.撰寫,具有概括性。我們僅使用不偏不倚的方法提供基於歷史數據和分析師預測的評論,我們的文章並不打算作為財務建議。它不構成買賣任何股票的建議,也沒有考慮你的目標或你的財務狀況。我們的目標是為您帶來由基本面數據驅動的長期重點分析。請注意,我們的分析可能不會將最新的對價格敏感的公司公告或定性材料考慮在內。Simply Wall St.對上述任何一隻股票都沒有持倉。