Yahoo Finance Calculating The Fair Value Of comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ:SCOR)
Key Insights
comScore's estimated fair value is US$15.71 based on 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity
With US$15.40 share price, comScore appears to be trading close to its estimated fair value
Analyst price target for SCOR is US$22.00, which is 40% above our fair value estimate
Does the March share price for comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ:SCOR) reflect what it's really worth? Today, we will estimate the stock's intrinsic value by projecting its future cash flows and then discounting them to today's value. We will take advantage of the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model for this purpose. Believe it or not, it's not too difficult to follow, as you'll see from our example!
We generally believe that a company's value is the present value of all of the cash it will generate in the future. However, a DCF is just one valuation metric among many, and it is not without flaws. If you want to learn more about discounted cash flow, the rationale behind this calculation can be read in detail in the Simply Wall St analysis model.
View our latest analysis for comScore
Step By Step Through The Calculation
We're using the 2-stage growth model, which simply means we take in account two stages of company's growth. In the initial period the company may have a higher growth rate and the second stage is usually assumed to have a stable growth rate. In the first stage we need to estimate the cash flows to the business over the next ten years. Seeing as no analyst estimates of free cash flow are available to us, we have extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the company's last reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.
Generally we assume that a dollar today is more valuable than a dollar in the future, so we need to discount the sum of these future cash flows to arrive at a present value estimate:
10-year free cash flow (FCF) estimate
2024 | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 | 2030 | 2031 | 2032 | 2033 | |
Levered FCF ($, Millions) | US$7.08m | US$5.73m | US$5.00m | US$4.59m | US$4.35m | US$4.23m | US$4.17m | US$4.16m | US$4.19m | US$4.23m |
Growth Rate Estimate Source | Est @ -28.35% | Est @ -19.16% | Est @ -12.72% | Est @ -8.22% | Est @ -5.07% | Est @ -2.86% | Est @ -1.31% | Est @ -0.23% | Est @ 0.52% | Est @ 1.05% |
Present Value ($, Millions) Discounted @ 7.5% | US$6.6 | US$5.0 | US$4.0 | US$3.4 | US$3.0 | US$2.7 | US$2.5 | US$2.3 | US$2.2 | US$2.1 |
("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)
Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = US$34m
After calculating the present value of future cash flows in the initial 10-year period, we need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all future cash flows beyond 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 2.3%. We discount the terminal cash flows to today's value at a cost of equity of 7.5%.
Terminal Value (TV)= FCF2033 × (1 + g) ÷ (r – g) = US$4.2m× (1 + 2.3%) ÷ (7.5%– 2.3%) = US$84m
Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= US$84m÷ ( 1 + 7.5%)10= US$41m
The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is US$75m. The last step is to then divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Compared to the current share price of US$15.4, the company appears about fair value at a 2.0% discount to where the stock price trades currently. 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.
Important Assumptions
Now the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate, and of course, the actual cash flows. Part of investing is coming up with your own evaluation of a company's future performance, so try the calculation yourself and check your own 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 comScore 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 7.5%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.123. 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.
SWOT Analysis for comScore
Strength
Debt is not viewed as a risk.
Weakness
Shareholders have been diluted in the past year.
Opportunity
Expected to breakeven next year.
Has sufficient cash runway for more than 3 years based on current free cash flows.
Good value based on P/S ratio and estimated fair value.
Significant insider buying over the past 3 months.
Threat
No apparent threats visible for SCOR.
Looking Ahead:
Although the valuation of a company is important, it shouldn't be the only metric you look at when researching a company. It's not possible to obtain a foolproof valuation with a DCF model. Rather it should be seen as a guide to "what assumptions need to be true for this stock to be under/overvalued?" For example, changes in the company's cost of equity or the risk free rate can significantly impact the valuation. For comScore, we've put together three fundamental elements you should consider:
Risks: We feel that you should assess the 2 warning signs for comScore we've flagged before making an investment in the company.
Future Earnings: How does SCOR'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 High Quality Alternatives: Do you like a good all-rounder? Explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing!
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.
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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.
