Publications

August 2000 (Revised July 2002)
Background Note

Fundamental Enterprise Valuation: Free Cash Flow

By: Carliss Y. Baldwin

A technical note that defines free cash flow (FCF). View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Valuation; Cash Flow

January 1989
Background Note

Cash Flow Analyzer

By: John E. Bishop

Keywords: Cash Flow

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August 2013
Background Note

A Simple Free Cash Flow Valuation Model

By: William A. Sahlman

Explores some of the issues involved in valuing cash flow streams. A simple model is presented that reveals the effect on value of changing assumptions about the appropriate discount rate, the level of profitability, the growth rate of sales, the asset intensity ratio,... View Details

Keywords: Cash Flow; Valuation

01 Jun 2005
News

Better than Cash

Boston Teamwork: From left, Chuck Eisenberg (MBA ’78), Arjuna Costa (MBA ’01), John Flanagan (AMP 96, 1985), Tom White (MBA ’69), Mark Alston-Follansbee, Marco Bitran (MBA ’03), and Charles Cassidy (MBA ’83). When Mark Alston-Follansbee, executive director of the... View Details

Keywords: Margie Kelley; CAP; HBS; nonprofits; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services; Social Assistance; Health, Social Assistance; Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations; Personal Services

June 2007
Supplement

Metro Cash & Carry

By: Tarun Khanna

Research Summary

Conditional Cash Transfers in Brazil

(with Leonardo Bursztyn and Daniel Carvalho)
Conditional Cash Transfer programs are becoming increasingly popular throughout the developing world. Brazil alone spends close to $1Bn every year on such programs. These programs aim to alleviate poverty through two... View Details

14 Jan 2021
News

Better Than Cash

financial history. Ruth Goodwin-Groen (MBA 2001) is on a mission to change that. “Our job will not be done until all people—old or young, rich or poor, male or female—are able to make and receive payments in a way that works for them,” says Goodwin-Groen, managing... View Details

August 1976 (Revised October 1976)
Background Note

Cash Flow and the Time Value of Money

With the use of charts and examples, gives a detailed description of cash flows, the time value of money, and discounted cash flow analysis. View Details

Keywords: Cash Flow; Value

December 1998
Background Note

Cash Management Practices in Small Companies

By: H. Kent Bowen, Andrew R. Jassy, Laurence E. Katz, Kevin E. Kelly and Baltej Kochar

Most small business managers claim that cash management is their leading concern. Often walking a tightrope between growth and illiquidity, small business managers face different cash management challenges than their counterparts in larger companies. Compared to larger... View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Working Capital; Management Practices and Processes; Organizational Design; Cash; Forecasting and Prediction; Policy; Business Strategy

November 1994 (Revised December 1994)
Case

Cash America International, Inc.

By: Leonard A. Schlesinger, Jamie O'Connell and Dena Votroubek

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February 1996
Exercise

Free Cash Flow Valuation Problem Set

By: William A. Sahlman and Andrew S. Janower

Free cash flow valuation problems: 1) build a simple pro forma, 2) value a public company's stock, and 3) evaluate a proposed LBO. View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Cash Flow; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Valuation

Web

Cash House | About

Cash House James I. Cash, James E. Robison Professor of Business Administration, Emeritus Cash House is named to honor the legacy and contributions of James I. Cash, James E. Robison Professor of Business... View Details

2010
Working Paper

Valuation When Cash Flow Forecasts Are Biased

By: Richard S. Ruback

This paper focuses adaptations to the discount cash flow (DCF) method when valuing forecasted cash flows that are biased measures of expected cash flows. I imagine a simple setting where the expected cash flows equal the forecasted cash flows plus an omitted downside.... View Details

Keywords: Forecasting and Prediction; Cash Flow; Cost of Capital; Performance Expectations; Prejudice and Bias; Valuation

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October 1997 (Revised June 2000)
Exercise

Capital Budgeting: Discounted Cash Flow Analysis

By: Thomas R. Piper

This exercise comprises seven problems that collectively allow students to work through each type of cash flow that is encountered in capital budgeting. The instructor can also address such issues as product cannibalization and real options. View Details

Keywords: Capital Budgeting; Cash Flow

December 1994 (Revised September 2012)
Background Note

Note on Valuing Equity Cash Flows

By: Timothy A. Luehrman

A technical note for advanced students on the topic of valuing highly-levered equity. Introduces the "equity cash flow" valuation methodology, shows how to use it, discusses the sources and signs of its built-in biases, and provides some guidance about when to use it. View Details

Keywords: Cash Flow; Equity; Valuation

September 2002 (Revised April 2004)
Background Note

Valuing Cash Flows in an International Context

Addresses the question of how to value cash flows in an international context. Focuses on entrepreneurial ventures, but its content applies to finance issues that arise in established multinational enterprises. Addresses cash flows, discount rates, country risk... View Details

Keywords: International Finance; Valuation; Cash Flow

November 2009
Case

METRO Cash & Carry in China, 2008

By: Tarun Khanna

In April 2008, the country head for METRO AG's Cash & Carry wholesaling operations is considering the most appropriate model for expansion in China, where METRO has operated stores for small business professionals for eight years. In addition, METRO is actively... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Emerging Markets; Distribution Channels; Partners and Partnerships; Competitive Strategy; Expansion; Retail Industry; China