The Dark Side of Valuation

Suddenly, technology companies represent nearly 30% of the S&P 500, more than triple their representation just six years before. Investors and analysts concerned with valuing them face unprecedented challenges: many firms have limited histories, a shifting business mix, a highly volatile stock price, and massive uncertainty over the ultimate size of their markets. In this book, one of the world's leading experts in valuation reviews every approach, demonstrating exactly how to adapt traditional techniques to minimize technology company valuation risks – and maximize returns. Aswath Damodaran reviews how investors and analysts have responded to the massive market shift towards technology stocks, then identifies key valuation principles and techniques through five representative case studies: Motorola, Cisco, Amazon, Ariba, and a new IPO-ready startup. He shows how to adapt traditional valuation techniques to technology stocks with limited histories, shifting business mixes, and volatile stock prices. He identifies key limitations of the accounting definitions in measuring tech company cash flows; then develops superior processes for estimating future revenues, earnings, and cash flows. And, finally, Damodaran carefully evaluates the extraordinary claims that have been made for technology companies, and considers how valuation impacts the way technology companies are managed.