Musings on Markets

FEBRUARY 8, 2025

In the first five posts, I have looked at the macro numbers that drive global markets, from interest rates to risk premiums, but it is not my preferred habitat. The second set of inputs are prices of risk, in both the equity and debt markets, with the former measured by equity risk premiums , and the latter by default spreads.

Risk Premium 75

Risk Premium Beta Start-ups Equity 75

Musings on Markets

JANUARY 17, 2024

To capture the market's mood, I back out the expected return (and equity risk premium) that investors are pricing in, through an implied equity risk premium: Put simply, the expected return is an internal rate of return derived from the pricing of stocks, and the expected cash flows from holding them, and is akin to a yield to maturity on bonds.

Risk Premium 82

Risk Premium Start-ups Equity Dividends 82

Musings on Markets

JANUARY 5, 2024

I have also developed a practice in the last decade of spending much of January exploring what the data tells us, and does not tell us, about the investing, financing and dividend choices that companies made during the most recent year. Beta & Risk 1. Dividends and Potential Dividends (FCFE) 1. Equity Risk Premiums 2.

Dividends 107

Dividends Risk Premium Equity Book Value 107

Musings on Markets

JANUARY 20, 2021

Note that nothing that I have said so far is premised on modern portfolio theory, or any academic view of risk premiums. It is true that economists have researched risk aversion for centuries and concluded that investors are collectively risk averse, and that the level of risk aversion varies across age groups, income levels and time.

Risk Premium 52

Risk Premium Risk-free Rate Equity Dividends 52

Musings on Markets

FEBRUARY 8, 2022

Relative Risk Measures Before we embark on how to measure relative risk, where there can be substantial disagreement, let me start with a statement on which there should be agreement. By the same token, Embraer and TCS are global firms that happen to be incorporated in Brazil and India, respectively.

Risk Premium 93

Risk Premium Beta Start-ups Equity 93

Musings on Markets

MAY 6, 2022

Equity Risk Premium Path : The equity risk premium of 5.24%, estimated at the start of May 2022, is at the high end of historical equity risk premiums , but we have seen higher premiums, either in crises (end of 2008, first quarter of 2020) or when inflation has been high (the late 1970s).

Risk Premium 103

Risk Premium Treasury Start-ups Equity 103

Musings on Markets

JULY 17, 2023

Exacerbating the pain, corporate default spreads rose during the course of 2022: While default spreads rose across ratings classes, the rise was much more pronounced for the lowest ratings classes, part of a bigger story about risk capital that spilled across markets and asset classes.

Marketability 98

Marketability Risk Premium Start-ups Treasury 98

Musings on Markets

JANUARY 6, 2023

When valuing or analyzing a company, I find myself looking for and using macro data (risk premiums, default spreads, tax rates) and industry-level data on profitability, risk and leverage. I do report on a few market-wide data items especially on risk premiums for both equity and debt. Goodwill & Impairment 4.

Risk Premium 52

Risk Premium Dividends Start-ups EBITDA 52

Reynolds Holding

OCTOBER 22, 2024

Moreover, we show that close relationships between PE sponsors and law firms result in weaker creditor protections, as evidenced by fewer covenants and a reduced likelihood of dividend restrictions being imposed. However, concerns of PE sponsors or law firms about damage to their reputations can help mitigate these effects.

Equity 45

Equity Risk Premium Banking Private Equity Firm 45

Andrew Stolz

MARCH 20, 2020

The formula implies the return an investor expects from a risk-free investment plus the return from the stock in relation to market volatility. The market risk premium is calculated from a market rate of return less a risk-free rate. The formula is expressed in the following.

Beta 52

Beta Capital Structure Risk-free Rate Weighted Average Cost of Capital 52

Chris Mercer

MARCH 7, 2024

Expected economic benefits associated with the subject interest, which come from interim benefits (dividends or distributions) and a terminal cash flow when the investment is sold or liquidated. Interest-level benefits may be affected by such factors as: (1) The history of dividends or distributions, including both timing and amounts. (2)

Dividends 52

Dividends Appraisal Terminal Value Business Valuation 52

Musings on Markets

NOVEMBER 9, 2021

In this post , I argued that one of the key dividing lines between the two groups was flexibility , with companies with more flexible investing, financing and dividend policies winning out over companies with more rigidity on those dimensions. for mature markets.

Start-ups 101

Start-ups Dividends Marketability Market Capitalization 101

Musings on Markets

JANUARY 9, 2021

The macro variables that I track on my site relate to the price of risk, a key input into valuation, in both equity and debt markets: US Equity Risk Premiums : The equity risk premium is the price of risk in equity markets.

Risk Premium 52

Risk Premium Market Capitalization Equity Start-ups 52

Musings on Markets

JANUARY 31, 2024

In my last three posts, I looked at the macro (equity risk premiums, default spreads, risk free rates) and micro (company risk measures) that feed into the expected returns we demand on investments, and argued that these expected returns become hurdle rates for businesses, in the form of costs of equity and capital.

Equity 83

Equity Book Value Start-ups Corporate Finance 83

Valutico

FEBRUARY 13, 2025

Market Risk-Free Rate: Beta calculations often involve comparing the asset’s returns to a risk-free rate, such as the yield on a government bond with a similar maturity. The risk-free rate serves as the baseline return with no market risk and provides context for assessing an asset’s risk premium.

Beta 52

Beta Covariance Risk-free Rate Specific Risk 52

Equilest

MARCH 17, 2022

We note that the higher the expected rate (in other words, the greater the risk is perceived as necessary, to the point of requiring a substantial "risk premium"), the lower the multiple that will apply and therefore the lower valuation: we buy cheaper which is less safe. 11% per year. 10% per year. around 1.5%). -

Business Valuation 40

Business Valuation EBIT Discounted Cash Flow EBITDA 40

Musings on Markets

JANUARY 12, 2021

Thus, you and I can disagree about whether beta is a good measure of risk, but not on the principle that no matter what definition of risk you ultimately choose, riskier investments need higher hurdles than safer investments.

Corporate Finance 52

Corporate Finance Start-ups Finance Marketability 52

Musings on Markets

JANUARY 19, 2022

When you augment this price change with the dividends on the index during 2021, the total return on the S&P 500 for 2021 was 28.47%. With equities, the cash flows take the form of dividends and buybacks, and in addition to estimating them using future growth rates, you have to assume that they continue in perpetuity.

Risk Premium 99

Risk Premium Risk-free Rate Start-ups Equity 99

Musings on Markets

JANUARY 28, 2024

Risk Differences across Countries In this final section, I will look risk differences across countries, both in terms of why risk varies across, as well as how these variations play out as equity risk premiums.

Risk Premium 122

Risk Premium Beta Start-ups Equity 122

Musings on Markets

JANUARY 8, 2022

Most of the variables that I report are micro variables, relating to company choices on investing, financing and dividend policies, or to data that may be needed to value these companies. I extend my equity risk premium approach to cover other countries, using sovereign default spreads as my starting point, at this link.

Risk Premium 99

Risk Premium Start-ups Market Capitalization Corporate Finance 99

Musings on Markets

MAY 11, 2021

The Taxation of Investment Income In much of the world, income from investments (interest, dividends) is treated differently than earned income (salary, wages), by the tax code, and the reasons for the divergence are both practical and political: 1.

Dividends 52

Dividends Start-ups Risk Premium Treasury 52

Musings on Markets

JANUARY 17, 2025

In the graph below, I look at returns (inclusive of dividends) on the S&P 500 every year from 1928 to 2024. Historical Context To assess stock returns in 2024, it makes sense to step back and put the year's performance into historical perspective.

Equity 129

Equity Risk Premium Treasury Start-ups 129

Musings on Markets

MAY 3, 2025

Risk and Co-movement Early in April, I argued that the one number that would track the balance between greed and fear in markets would be the price of risk in markets, and I resolved to estimate that price every day, through April, for both equity and bond markets.

Marketability 96

Marketability Start-ups Treasury Risk Premium 96

Musings on Markets

APRIL 20, 2025

Instead, you will have to revalue the company, with adjustments to expected cash flows and risk premiums, given the crisis, and if that value exceeds the price, you should buy the stock. Contrarian Investing: The Psychological Tests! In the abstract, it is easy to understand the appeal of contrarian investing.

Start-ups 137

Start-ups Price to Book Marketability Equity 137

Musings on Markets

FEBRUARY 23, 2025

Equity is cheaper than debt: There are businesspeople (including some CFOs) who argue that debt is cheaper than equity, basing that conclusion on a comparison of the explicit costs associated with each interest payments on debt and dividends on equity.

Equity 78

Equity EBITDA Risk Premium Gross Debt 78

Musings on Markets

MARCH 15, 2025

Thus, my estimates of equity risk premiums, updated every month, are not designed to make big statements about markets but more to get inputs I need to value companies. In the table below, I show my estimates of the implied equity risk premium for the S&P 500 at the start of every month, since January 2024, and on March 14, 2025.

Start-ups 132

Start-ups Risk Premium Marketability Equity 132