Walmart Case Answers.Final
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ESTIMATING WALMART’S COST OF CAPITAL
1)
What is the cost of capital? Why do Dale and Lee care about the cost of capital?
Cost of capital represents the return a company needs to achieve in order
to justify the cost of a capital project. Includes the cost of equity and debt.
They want to know the cost of capital is because we want to know what hurdle rate Walmart should use for its annual investments in capital projects, which represent billions of dollars each year.
2)
How should Dale and Lee go about estimating the cost of long-term debt? What about short term debt?
The yield to maturity (YTM) on outstanding long-term debt is often used as a measure of cost of long-term debt. As stated in the case, the cost of long-term debt is estimated to be the average YTM of 3.53%
Short-term debt is a firm's financial obligations that are expected to be paid off within a year. To calculate short term debt, we deduct long term debt from current liabilities. Another way is using the three-month commercial paper average of 2.73%, stated in the case.
3)
If Walmart had preferred shares, or planned to issue preferred shares how
would Dale and Lee deal with them? If there were preferred shares, they would need to be incorporated into the WACC formula. To estimate the cost of preferred shares, the dividend rate is divided by the market price per share. Additionally, they would need to calculate the dividend rate and also add it to their calculations. 4)
How might Dale and Lee go about estimating the cost of equity?
Cost of equity is estimated using CAPM = Risk-Free Rate (Rf) + Beta (β) * (Rm - Rf)
Rf = 2.65% (10-year US Treasury bonds)
β = 0.71 (adjusted beta)
Rm = 12.98% (geometric avg of the S&P500 returns between 2009 to 2018)
CAPM= 2.65 + 0.71(10.33) = 9.98%
5)
What is the overall weighted average cost of capital (WACC)?
WACC = w
d
k
d
(1-T) + w
s
k
s
Samuel, Sunil and Victoria
2
ESTIMATING WALMART’S COST OF CAPITAL
w
d
= D/V = 52,260,000 / 353,239,000 = 0.15
k
d
= 3.53 (YTM)
T = 0.21
w
s
= Es/V = 300,979,000 / 353,239,000 = 0.85
k
s
= 9.98 (CAPM)
V = D + Es
D = 52,260,000 (*avg of short-term & long-term debt b/w 2018-19)
Es = 300,979,000 (2,945,000 outstanding shares @ $102.20 market price)
V = 353,239,000
WACC = 0.15*3.53*(1-0.21) + 0.85*9.98 = 8.91%
6)
How does all of this relate to hurdle rates that Walmart might use? A hurdle rate is the minimum rate of return required on a project or investment. The riskier the project the higher the hurdle rate needs to be.
WACC can be used to determine hurdle rates when evaluating the IRR or NPV of a project/investment (riskier projects add a premium on WACC). The IRR of the project should be higher than the WACC in order to accept the project. (Walmart should use 8.91% as the WACC when determining hurdle rates).
An example of a hurdle rate would be the WACC + Project Risk Premium.
Samuel, Sunil and Victoria
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what comment can be made on this or what can be added to it?
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b.Explain how the firm can use this cost in the investment decision-making process.
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How should the capital structure weights used to calculate the WACC be determined?
Suppose a firm estimates its WACC to be 10%. Should the WACC be used to evaluate all of its potential projects, even if they vary in risk? If not, what might be “reasonable” costs of capital for average-, high-, and low-risk projects?
If Congress increased the personal tax rate on interest, dividends, and capital gains but simultaneously reduced the rate on corporate income, what effect would this have on the average company’s capital structure?
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B. True or False
When evaluating a project in which a firm might invest, the size but not the timing of the cash flows is important.
Capital structure determines the level of current assets that is required to maintain the firm's operational level.
Determining when a supplier should be paid is a capital structure decision.
Determining the amount of money to borrow in order to finance a 10-year project is a capital structure decision.
Deciding if a new project should be accepted is a working capital decision.
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What is opportunity cost and why is it an important concept in the capital budgeting process? The opportunity cost concept applies to almost every financial decision we make as individuals. Can you give an example from your own experience?
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Give an example of a strength and a weakness of the accounting rate of return approach.
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Part One
Companies use capital investment analysis to evaluate long-term investments. Capital investment evaluation methods that use present values are (1) Net present value method (NPV) and (2) Internal rate of return (IRR) method.
Methods That Use Present Values
Of the two capital investment evaluation methods, a defining characteristic NPV and IRR is that they
the time value of money. This means that money tomorrow is worth
money today. And, that cash invested today has the potential to earn income and
in value over time.
True or False: When making an investment decision between two mutually exclusive projects, the project with the greatest return on investment should be chosen.
Feedback
Review the definition of Methods that use present value by rolling your mouse over the underlined item.
Review the definition of Mutually Exclusive Projects by rolling your mouse over the underlined…
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Read the following selected quotes from senior executives and explain the role of capital investment analysis for these companies.
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Chairman of Amgen Inc. (a biotech company): “You cannot really run the numbers, do net present value calculations, because the uncertainties are really gigantic. … You decide on a project you want to run, and then you run the numbers [as a reality check on your assumptions]. Success in a business like this is much more dependent on tracking rather than on predicting, much more dependent on seeing results over time, tracking and adjusting and readjusting, much more dynamic, much more flexible.”
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The WACC is used as the discount rate to evaluate various capital budgeting projects. However, it is important to realize that the WACC
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find the weighted average cost of capital for Jack in the Box Inc. (JACK).
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Please the question in its entirety!
3. Understanding the IRR and NPV
The net present value (NPV) and internal rate of return (IRR) methods of investment analysis are interrelated and are sometimes used together to make capital budgeting decisions.
Consider the case of Cold Goose Metal Works Inc.:
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Agree or disagree with post
In essence, capital budgeting is the method used by businesses to determine if a significant project or investment is worthwhile. This could include releasing a product, constructing a new facility, or purchasing new equipment. With the use of methods like Net Present Value (NPV) or Internal Rate of Return (IRR), the objective is to anticipate future cash flows and determine whether the project will benefit the business. One really important factor to consider when doing capital budgeting is opportunity costs. Opportunity cost means the value of the next best alternative you give up when you choose to invest in a particular project. For example, if a company owns land that it could sell or rent out, but decides to use it for building a factory instead, the money it could have made from selling or renting that land is an opportunity cost. The project's cash flow analysis should account for this lost prospective income even though no money may be moving…
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