Dividend Discount Model - DDM

  

Well, it's a technique used to value companies. Or at least it was…in the stone age. The 50s, maybe.

It basically says that a company’s value is fully contained in the cash dividends it distributes back to investors.

This model is only useful for its historical relevance. Back in the old-timey caveman days, when there was essentially no research of real merit being done on the performance of investments of whatever flavor, the dividend discount model was the best thing investors had to value and investment in a company.

And remember: in those days, companies paid real dividends that were a meaningful percentage of the total value of the company.

Example:

A company pays a dollar a share this year in dividends. Historically, it has raised dividends at 3% a year. The dividend discount model discounts back to present value. A few odd things are worth noting in this horse-and-buggy-era formula. The Dividend Discount Model ignores the terminal, or end value, of the company. Like...say 20 years from now, the company is sold. The dividends are all that are really focused on. Seem strange? Well, maybe...but let’s say the discount rate is 10%, and the risk-free rate is 4%, for a total of 14% a year discounted back to the present. Doing the math, just looking at the terminal value of, say, $100M in a sale to be made 20 years from now, you take 1.14, put it to the 20th power to reflect 20 years of discounted valuation…and you say 1.14 to the 20th power is about 13.7. So to get the present value of $100M 20 years from now using this discount rate, you would divide the $100M by 13.7…and that means that the $100M is roughly $7.3M of value today.

Yeah, that’s a big haircut.

The formula focuses a lot on near-term dividend distribution, and it’s really more interesting as a relic of original financial research than anything directly useful today.

And if you find this interesting, then...we may have a gig for you here at Shmoop Finance Central.

Related or Semi-related Video

Finance: What is the Dividend Discount M...2 Views

00:00

Finance allah shmoop what is the dividend discount model Well

00:07

it's a technique used to value companies or at least

00:11

it wass in the stone age And yet in the

00:14

nineteen fifties maybe which basically says that a company's value

00:17

is fully contained in the cash dividends it distributes back

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to invest doors This model is only useful really for

00:25

its historical relevance We we just don't use that much

00:28

these days Yeah back in the old timey cave man

00:30

days when there was essentially no research of real merit

00:33

being done on the performance of investments of whatever flavor

00:37

the dividend discount model was the best thing investors had

00:40

to value an investment in a company And remember in

00:43

those days companies paid rial dividends that were a meaningful

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percentage of the total value of the company Unless so

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a company pays a dollar a share this year in

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dividends Historically it's raised dividends at about three percent a

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year like paid a dollar last you'd expect two dollars

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three next year in dollars six and change the next

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so well The dividend discount model discounts backto present value

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And yes we have an opus on what president value

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Means but here's the logline definition present value of all

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future cash flows discounted for risk in time Back to

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cars Yeah that thing well a few odd things are

01:18

worth noting in this horse and buggy era formula The

01:21

dividend discount model ignores the terminal or end value of

01:25

the company Like say twenty years from now the company

01:28

is sold for cash The dividends are all that are

01:31

really focused on though in our model that seem strange

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to you Well maybe But let's say the discount rate

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is ten percent in the risk free rate is four

01:40

percent for a total of fourteen percent a year discounted

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back to the present So doing the math just looking

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at the terminal value of say a hundred million bucks

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in a sale to be made twenty years from now

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Let's figure out what that's worth today Well you take

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the one point one four Put it to the twentieth

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power to reflect twenty years of discounted valuation compounding And

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you say one point one four forty twenty powers about

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thirteen point seven So to get the present value of

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one hundred million bucks twenty years from now using this

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discount rate Will you divide the hundred million by thirteen

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point seven and that means that the one hundred million

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dollars twenty years from now today is worth only seven

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point three million bucks And yeah that's ah big haircut

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kind of like this guy Well the formula focuses ah

02:23

lot on near term dividend distribution and it's Really more

02:27

interesting is a relic of original financial research in theory

02:30

than anything directly useful today And if you find this

02:33

interesting while then we may have a gig for you

02:36

here at shmoop finance central Yeah come on down We 00:02:39.715 --> [endTime] need writers good ones not like me

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