Simulation discounted cash flow valuation for internet companies

Discounted cash flow (DCF) is the most accepted approach for company valuation. It is well grounded in theory and practice. However, the DCF approach, which is commonly used for traditional companies valuation, presents a number of serious weaknesses within the Internet companies' context. One of these weaknesses is tackling the uncertainty that characterize future cash flows of these companies. Specifically DCF assumes that future cash flow streams are highly predictable. The effects of uncertainty are therefore tackled implicitly by discounting the expected value of the cash flows at a risk-adjusted interest rate. However, under uncertainty, future cash flows of these companies can no longer be characterized by a single value but rather by a range of values of its possible consequences. This paper looks at the way in which uncertainty can be incorporated into the traditional DCF approach so that the latter, which is otherwise conceptually sound, becomes relevant. This is done b...

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2010
• Where: IJBIS
• Authors: Maged Ali, Ramzi El-Haddadeh, Tillal Eldabi, Ebrahim Mansour
• Keywords: Cash Flow, DCF Approach, Future Cash Flows, IJBIS 2010