During 2003, 87% of the companies in the S&P 500 created value, compared to just 17% in 2002. The market value of the 500 companies in 2003 was $10.1 trillion, compared to $7.9 trillion in 2002. The top shareholder value creators in 2003 were Intel, Cisco, Citigroup, General Electric and Exxon....

In this paper, we quantify shareholder value creation for 276 American companies. We provide the created shareholder value for each and every company for years 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001. The market value of the 276 companies was 8,716 billion dollars in 2001 and 9,729 billion dollars in 2000. We...

Equity premium designates four different concepts: Historical Equity Premium (HEP); Expected Equity Premium (EEP);Required Equity Premium (REP); and Implied Equity Premium (IEP). We highlight the confusing message conveyed in the literature regarding equity premium and its evolution. The...

The average Market Risk Premium (MRP) used in 2008 by professors in the United States (6.5%) was higher than the one used by their colleagues in Europe (5.3%), Canada (5.4%), the United Kingdom (5.6%) and Australia (5.9%). The dispersion of the MRP was high. 15% ofthe professors decreased their...

This paper contains a collection and a classification of 75 errors seen in company valuations performed by financial analysts, investment banks and financial consultants. The author had access to most of the valuations that are referred to in this paper when consulting in purchases, sales and...

The value of tax shields depends only on the nature of the stochastic process of the net increases of debt. The value of tax shields in a world with no leverage cost is the tax rate times the current debt plus the present value of the net increases of debt. By applying this formula to specific...

This paper contains a classified collection of 110 errors seen in company valuations performed by financial analysts, investment banks and financial consultants. The author had access to most of the valuations referred to in this paper in his capacity as a consultant in company acquisitions,...

2002 was a bad year for the shareholders of the companies in the Euro Stoxx 50: the shareholder value destruction of the companies in the Euro Stoxx 50 was 958,968 million euros. In 2002 only Eni created value (3,374 million euros). The remaining 49 companies destroyed value and had negative...

The market risk premium is one of the most important but elusive parameters in finance. It is also called equity premium, market premium and risk premium. The term 'market risk premium' is difficult to understand because it is used to designate three different concepts: 1) Required market risk...

A company's profit after tax (or net income) is quite an arbitrary figure, obtained after assuming certain accounting hypotheses regarding expenses and revenues. On the other hand, its cash flow is an objective measure, a single figure that is not subject to any personal criterion. In general,...