It’s a crucial question for any entrepreneur, business owner, employee, or potential investor—regardless of company size. Understanding your company’s value becomes increasingly important as the business grows, especially if you want to raise capital, sell a portion of the business, or borrow money. And, like most complex mathematical problems, understanding your company’s value depends on a number of factors, such as its vertical market and industry performance, proprietary technology or commodity, and stage of growth. Discover how to value a company based on revenue, the usual formula for calculating stock, and high-quality tools to assist you with the arithmetic in this post.
What is a Business Valuation?
A business valuation, also known as a company valuation, is the process of evaluating the economic value of a business or company. During the valuation process, all aspects of a corporation are examined to evaluate its value as well as the value of its departments or units.
How to Value a Company Based on Revenue
The revenue of the company is only one factor that affects valuation based on revenue. Let’s look at how to value a company based on revenue, which is the most important method for determining the worth of revenue-based businesses.
#1. Company Size
Company size is a commonly used factor when valuing a company. Typically, the larger the company, the higher the valuation. This is because smaller companies have less market power and are more negatively impacted by the loss of key leaders. Furthermore, larger businesses are more likely to have a well-developed product or service and, as a result, more readily available capital.
#2. Profitability
Is your company earning a profit? If so, this is a good sign because businesses with higher profit margins will be valued higher than those with low margins or profit loss. Understanding your sales and revenue data is the primary strategy for valuing your business based on profitability.
Value a Company Based On Sales and Revenue
When valuing a company based on sales and revenue, you subtract operating expenses and multiply the result by an industry multiple. Your industry multiple is an average of what businesses in your industry sell for, so if your multiple is two, companies typically sell for twice their annual sales and revenue.
#3. Market Traction and Growth Rate
When valuing a company based on market traction and growth rate, your business is compared to your competitors. Investors want to know how big your industry’s market share is, how much of it you control, and how quickly you can capture a portion of it. The sooner you enter the market, the higher the valuation of your company.
#4. Long-Term Competitive Advantage
What distinguishes your product, service, or solution from the competitors? With this method, the way you provide value to customers must set you apart from the competition. If you find it difficult to maintain this competitive advantage over time, it may have a negative impact on the value of your company.
A sustainable competitive advantage allows your company to gain and keep an advantage over competitors or copycats in the future, allowing you to charge more than your competitors because you have something unique to offer.
#5. Prospects for Future Growth
Is it anticipated that your market or industry will expand? Or is there a chance to expand the company’s product line in the future? These and other factors will increase the value of your company. If investors believe your company will grow in the future, the company’s valuation will rise.
Public Company Valuation
For public companies, valuation is known as market capitalization (which we’ll discuss below), and the value of the company equals the total number of outstanding shares multiplied by the share price.
Public companies can also trade on book value, which is the sum of assets minus liabilities on your company balance sheet. The value is based on the asset’s original cost less any depreciation, amortization, or impairment costs.
Private Company Valuation
Private companies are frequently more difficult to value because there is less public information available, a limited track record of performance, and financial results that are either unavailable or have not been audited for accuracy. Let’s look at how to value a company based on revenue in three stages of entrepreneurial growth.
#1. Ideation Stage
Startups in the ideation stage are businesses that have an idea, a business plan, or a concept for how to gain customers, but are still in the early stages of putting it into action. Without any financial results, the valuation is based on either the founders’ track record or the level of innovation that potential investors perceive in the idea.
A startup with no financial track record is valued at a negotiable amount. The majority of startups I’ve reviewed that were founded by a first-time entrepreneur have a valuation of $1.5 to $6 million.
The entire value is based on the expectation of future growth. If the goal is to have multiple funding rounds, it is not always in the entrepreneur’s best interest to maximize its value at this stage. Early-stage company valuation can be difficult due to these factors.
#2. Conceptual Proof
The proof of concept stage comes next. This is when a company has a small number of employees and actual operating results. At this stage, the rate of sustainable growth becomes the most crucial factor in valuation. The business process’s execution is proven, and comparisons are simplified by the availability of financial data.
Companies that reach this stage are either valued based on their revenue growth rate or the rest of the industry. Other considerations include comparing peer performance and how well the company executes in comparison to its plan. Depending on the company and the industry, the company will trade as a multiple of revenue or EBITDA.
#3. Business Model Proof
Proof of the business model is the third stage of startup valuation. This is the point at which a company has proven its concept and begins to scale because it has a viable business model.
At this point, the company has several years of actual financial results, one or more product shipping, sales statistics, and product retention numbers.
There are several formulas you can use to value your company, depending on its size.
How to Value a Company Formula
Let’s look at some examples of how to value a company formula:
#1. Market Capitalization Formula
Market capitalization is a measure of a company’s value based on stock price and shares outstanding. Here is the formula you would use based on your business’s specific numbers:
Market Capitalization = Share Price x Total Number of Shares
#2. Multiplier Method Formula
If you want to value your company based on specific figures such as revenue and sales, you should use this formula method. Here is the formula:
Business value = Industry coefficient x Annual Revenue
#3. Discounted Cash Flow Method
Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) is a valuation technique based on future growth potential. This strategy forecasts the potential return on investment in your company. Due to the large number of variables required, it is the most difficult mathematical formula on this list. Here is the formula:
Discounted Cash Flow = Terminal Cash Flow / (1 + Cost of Capital) # of Years in the Future
This method, like the others on this list, necessitates precise math calculations. A calculator tool may be useful to ensure you’re on the right track. We’ll recommend some high-quality options below.
Business Valuation Calculators
You can use the business valuation calculators listed below to estimate the value of your company.
#1. CalcXML
This calculator computes a valuation based on your company’s current earnings and expected future earnings. Other business elements considered by the calculator include the levels of risk involved (e.g., business, financial, and industry risk) and the marketability of the company.
#2. EquityNet
EquityNet’s business valuation calculator considers a variety of factors to determine the value of your company.
#3. ExitAdviser
The discounted cash flow (DCF) method is used by ExitAdviser’s calculator to determine a business’s value. “It takes the expected future cash flows and ‘discounts’ them back to the present day to determine the valuation.”
How to Value a Company Stock
Several metrics can be used to estimate the value of a stock or a company, with some metrics being more appropriate for certain types of companies than others.
The most common way to value a stock is to compute the company’s price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio. The P/E ratio is calculated by dividing the stock price of the company by its most recently reported earnings per share. A low P/E ratio indicates that an investor purchasing the stock is receiving a desirable amount of value.
#1. Price-to-earnings ratio (P/E)
It gives you an idea of how much you’ll pay for a company’s future earnings. It compares a company’s most recent earnings per share (EPS) to its market price. The P/E ratio is frequently expressed as a multiple of the company’s earnings.
When comparing competing companies in the same industry, this is the best time to use it. Investors believe that a stock with a lower P/E ratio is less expensive and likely undervalued. For example, if Publix had a P/E of 25 and Kroger had a P/E of 12, Kroger would be considered the better value.
Keep an eye out for when the P/E ratio skyrockets. This could indicate that investors overestimated the company’s actual earnings. Investors can get caught up in the market hype, anticipating significant growth, and push the stock price to the point where it’s overvalued and due for a correction.
How it’s calculated.
Look for EPS figures on a company’s website. To calculate the P/E, divide the current share price by the EPS. If the company has adjusted EPS figures, use those instead — any one-time large expense could have an impact on EPS.
#2. Price/earnings-to-growth ratio (PEG)
Considers the earnings growth of a company. Find the estimated earnings per share for the next year in the most recent report.
When to use it. To compare the performance of companies in the same industry against their peers.
What to look out for. There is no set PEG ratio that is considered a certain “buy” signal, but some may consider a stock with a PEG ratio less than one to be undervalued.
How it’s calculated.
Divide the P/E ratio by the increase in earnings per share.
#3. Price-to-book ratio (P/B)
What it is. a glimpse of the value of a company’s assets.
When to use it. The closer the P/B ratio is to one (or below), the higher the perceived value of the stock. P/B is typically employed for mature companies with limited growth or companies whose objective is to accumulate assets rather than sell things.
How it’s calculated.
Divide the current share price by the stock’s book value. Then divide by the total number of shares issued. The book value is worked out from the balance sheet as total assets minus total liabilities (or costs) . The balance sheet with these statistics may be seen in the company’s most recent earnings report on its website.
#4. Free cash flow (FCF)
What it is. A way for investors to assess how much money is still available after all expenses have been paid. FCF eliminates much of the complication of accounting and provides a clear picture of how well the organization creates value.
When to use it. Compare it as a raw number or as a ratio of FCF divided by total revenue to see what percentage of every dollar of income is profit.
How it’s calculated.
FCF is defined as net cash from operating activities less capital expenditures.
Businesses produce value and make money in a variety of ways, therefore valuation ratios frequently vary by company and industry.
How do I calculate the value of my company?
The formula is straightforward: business value = assets minus liabilities.
What is the simplest way to value a company?
Market capitalization is one of the most basic measures of a publicly traded company’s value. It is determined by dividing the total number of shares by the current share price.
How much is a business worth with $1 million in sales?
The actual value of a company with $1 million in sales is determined by its profitability and assets. In general, a company is valued one to five times its yearly sales. In this example, the company is worth between $1 million and $5 million.
What are the 7 steps of valuing process?
These stages are as follows: (1) freely choosing; (2) choosing among alternatives; (3) choosing after careful study of the consequences of each possibility; (4) cherishing and valuing; (5) affirming; (6) acting on choices; and (7) repeating.
How do you value a private company?
Comparable company analysis (CCA) is the most frequent method for estimating the value of a private company.
What are the four basic ways to value a company?
Most common business valuation methods:
- Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) Analysis.
- Multiples Method.
- Market Valuation.
- Comparable Transactions Method.
Related Articles
- PROPERTY VALUATION: Methods For Valuing Investment Properties
- What Is Business Valuation and How Do You Calculate It?
- BUSINESS VALUE: Meaning & How to Calculate It!!!
- FAIR VALUE ACCOUNTING: Definition & Benefits of Fair Value Accounting
- Price To Earnings Ratio (P/E Ratio) Formula & Usage
References
