DCF Valuation Calculator
Discounted cash flow valuation projects free cash flow over a forecast period, discounts each year to present value, and adds a terminal value for everything beyond. The output is enterprise value at today's date.
The DCF formula
Free cash flow is operating cash flow minus capital expenditure. WACC is weighted average cost of capital. Terminal value usually accounts for 60-80% of total enterprise value in a typical DCF, which is both the most powerful and the most dangerous feature of the method.
Why terminal value matters so much
Most companies don't stop existing in year five or ten. The terminal value captures everything afterward. The Gordon growth formulation collapses an infinite stream of perpetually-growing cash flows into one number; small changes in g or WACC produce large changes in TV. With WACC at 9% and growth at 2%, TV multiple is 1/(0.09−0.02) ≈ 14.3×; bumping growth to 3.5% pushes the multiple to 18.2×, lifting EV by a quarter. Always sanity-check TV by computing the implied exit multiple (TV / final-year EBITDA) and asking if it's defensible.
What goes into FCF
This is the unlevered free cash flow used in enterprise-value DCFs. Use levered free cash flow (subtract interest expense) only if you're discounting at cost of equity, not WACC.
Worked example
A profitable mid-market services business projects FCF of $1.2M, $1.45M, $1.7M, $2.0M, and $2.3M over five years. WACC is 11%, terminal growth is 2.5%. PV of forecast period: roughly $5.95M. TV: $2.3M × 1.025 / (0.11 − 0.025) = $27.74M, discounted back five years = $16.46M. EV: $22.4M. With $1M of net debt, equity value is $21.4M. Note that 73% of EV comes from terminal value — typical, but worth pressure-testing.
What DCF doesn't account for
- Forecast accuracy. Five-year projections are mostly storytelling. Use scenarios (base/bull/bear) rather than single-point forecasts.
- Synergies. Strategic buyers may pay above DCF value because they can extract revenue or cost synergies; financial buyers usually cannot.
- Capital structure changes. Constant-WACC DCFs assume the debt-equity mix stays the same; if you're modeling a leveraged buyout, use APV.
- Negative terminal growth. The Gordon formula breaks for declining businesses. Use an exit multiple approach instead.