Businesses, unlike debt instruments, do not have contractual cash flows. As a result, they cannot be as precisely valued as bonds.
In Security Analysis Benjamin Graham and David Dodd discussed the concept of a range of value:
- the value is adequate – e.g., to protect a bond or to justify a stock purchase – or
- else that the value is considerably higher or considerably lower than the market price.
Graham frequently performed a calculation known as net working capital per share, a back-of-the-envelope estimate of a company’s liquidation value. His use of this rough approximation was a tacit admission that he was often unable to ascertain a company’s value more precisely.
Benjamin Graham knew how hard it is to pinpoint the value of businesses and thus of equity securities that represent fractional ownership of those businesses.
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