DCF Calculator
Discount projected free cash flows to estimate enterprise value, equity value, and fair value per share
Valuation Inputs
Most recent full-year free cash flow (any consistent unit, e.g. millions)
Weighted Average Cost of Capital used to discount future cash flows
Must be lower than the discount rate; often set near long-run GDP growth
Total debt minus cash and equivalents (enter negative for net cash)
Valuation Results
Fair Value Per Share
$16.16
Based on $1,615.82 equity value / 100M shares
Enterprise Value
$1.82K
Equity Value
$1.62K
PV of Explicit FCFs
$473.38
PV of Terminal Value
$1.34K
Terminal Value Weight
Terminal value makes up 73.9% of enterprise value. This is a typical split between the explicit forecast and the terminal period.
| Year | FCF | Discount Factor | PV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | $108.00 | 0.9091 | $98.18 |
| Year 2 | $116.64 | 0.8264 | $96.40 |
| Year 3 | $125.97 | 0.7513 | $94.64 |
| Year 4 | $136.05 | 0.6830 | $92.92 |
| Year 5 | $146.93 | 0.6209 | $91.23 |
| Terminal Value | $2,162.01 | 0.6209 | $1,342.44 |
Complete Guide to DCF Valuation
What is DCF Valuation?
Discounted cash flow (DCF) valuation estimates what a business is worth today based on the cash it is expected to generate in the future. Because a dollar received in five years is worth less than a dollar today, each future free cash flow is discounted back to present value using a rate that reflects the riskiness of those cash flows — usually the weighted average cost of capital (WACC).
DCF is the foundation of intrinsic valuation: rather than pricing a company off comparable multiples, it builds value up from first principles. It pairs well with the NPV Calculator for individual project decisions, or the Profit Margin Calculator to sanity-check the underlying profitability assumptions feeding your cash flow forecast.
Formula
Enterprise Value:
EV = Σ [FCF_t / (1+WACC)^t] + TV / (1+WACC)^n
Where: FCF_t = free cash flow in year t, WACC = discount rate, n = number of projection years, TV = terminal value
Terminal Value (Gordon Growth Model):
TV = FCF_n x (1+g) / (WACC - g)
Where: g = perpetuity growth rate, which must be lower than WACC
Equity Value and Fair Value Per Share:
Equity Value = Enterprise Value - Net Debt
Fair Value Per Share = Equity Value / Shares Outstanding
Benefits
Intrinsic, not relative
Built from a company's own projected cash flows, not from how the market is pricing comparable companies.
Transparent assumptions
Every driver — growth, discount rate, terminal value — is explicit and can be stress-tested individually.
Works across market cycles
Unlike multiples, DCF does not depend on the current mood of the market being reasonable.
Two terminal value methods
Switch between Gordon Growth and an exit multiple to see how sensitive the valuation is to that single assumption.
Tips
Tip 1: Run the model at a few different WACC and terminal growth rates rather than trusting a single point estimate — DCF output is highly sensitive to both.
Tip 2: Cross-check the implied exit multiple from your Gordon Growth terminal value against real trading multiples for similar companies to catch unrealistic assumptions.
Tip 3: Keep the explicit growth rate and terminal growth rate consistent with the company's actual maturity — high growth for 3-5 years, then fading toward GDP-level growth, is more realistic than a single flat rate for a decade.
Common Mistakes
Terminal growth too close to WACC
As terminal growth approaches the discount rate, the Gordon Growth denominator shrinks toward zero and terminal value explodes toward an unrealistic number.
Ignoring net debt
Enterprise value belongs to both debt and equity holders — forgetting to subtract net debt overstates the equity value and the resulting per-share price. See the Cash Flow Calculator to model the operating and free cash flow figures that feed this forecast.
Overstating near-term growth
Extending a high growth rate for the entire explicit period instead of fading it toward a sustainable level inflates both the explicit cash flows and the terminal value that is built on the final year's number.
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OpenFrequently Asked Questions
What is a DCF (discounted cash flow) valuation?
A DCF valuation estimates a company's intrinsic value by projecting its future free cash flows and discounting them back to today's dollars using a discount rate (usually the weighted average cost of capital, or WACC). The sum of those present values, plus a terminal value for cash flows beyond the forecast period, equals the enterprise value.
How is DCF value calculated?
Enterprise Value = the sum of each year's forecasted free cash flow divided by (1+WACC) raised to that year's power, plus a terminal value discounted the same way. Terminal value can be estimated with the Gordon Growth Model (final-year FCF x (1+g) / (WACC-g)) or an exit multiple applied to the final year's FCF.
How does this compare to the NPV Calculator?
The NPV Calculator discounts a fixed set of project cash flows against a known initial investment to decide whether to accept or reject a single project. This DCF tool models a growing free cash flow stream plus a terminal value to estimate a company's total enterprise and equity value — the same math family, applied to company valuation instead of project appraisal. See the NPV Calculator for the project-level version.
What are common mistakes when building a DCF model?
The three biggest errors are: setting the terminal growth rate higher than or too close to the discount rate (which inflates terminal value toward infinity), using an unrealistically high FCF growth rate for too many years, and forgetting to subtract net debt when converting enterprise value to equity value per share.
Is DCF valuation used differently across regions or industries?
The core math is identical worldwide, but discount rates and terminal growth assumptions vary by market: WACC is typically higher in emerging markets to reflect country risk, and terminal growth is usually capped near the long-run nominal GDP growth of the company's home market. High-growth or cyclical industries often lean on exit multiples instead of the Gordon Growth Model because a single stable growth rate is a poor fit.
Worked example?
A company with $100M base free cash flow growing 8%/year for 5 years, a 10% WACC, and a 3% terminal growth rate produces about $473M in present value of explicit cash flows plus about $1,342M in present value of terminal value, for a $1,816M enterprise value. Subtracting $200M of net debt gives a $1,616M equity value, or about $16.16 per share across 100M shares outstanding.