Corporate Valuation Holthausen Pdf 17 Apr 2026

In the long run, competition drives excess returns to zero. Therefore, the terminal period should assume that the firm’s converges to its Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) . If RONIC equals WACC, further growth adds no value — it is “value-neutral” growth. If RONIC persistently exceeds WACC, the firm enjoys a competitive advantage, and a higher terminal multiple is justified, but such advantages rarely last forever.

This formulation forces the analyst to be explicit about the long-term profitability of new investments — a step many practitioners skip, leading to overvaluation. Holthausen and Zmijewski systematically warn against several errors: corporate valuation holthausen pdf 17

As Holthausen and Zmijewski emphasize, terminal value often represents . Small changes in TV assumptions can produce massive valuation errors, making this chapter one of the most critical in the valuation process. The Two Dominant Approaches to Terminal Value Chapter 17 systematically evaluates the two primary methods for estimating TV: 1. The Perpetuity Growth Method (Gordon Growth Model) This method assumes that after the explicit forecast period, the firm’s free cash flows grow at a constant, perpetual rate ( g ). The formula is straightforward: In the long run, competition drives excess returns to zero