Tool

DCF calculator

A company is worth the cash it will produce in the future, shrunk back to today's dollars. Move the sliders and see how sensitive "value" is to your assumptions.

Starting yearly cash flow ($B)

Shares outstanding (millions)

Net cash ($B) · cash − debt

Current share price ($)

Growth, years 1–5

Growth, years 6–10

Growth after year 10 (forever)

Discount rate

Value per share

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Total equity value

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PV of cash flows + net cash

Growth needed for today's price

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years 1–5, other inputs fixed

Years 1–10 Terminal value Net cash

Year-by-year

Sensitivity: value per share

Rows: discount rate. Columns: growth years 1–5. Your current setting is highlighted.

How this works

Project cash flow for 10 years using your two growth rates.
Discount each year back to today. $100 received in 5 years at a 9% discount rate is worth $100 ÷ 1.09⁵ ≈ $65 today.
Add a terminal value for everything after year 10, assuming slow growth forever.
Add net cash, then divide by shares.

Value = Σ CFₜ ÷ (1+r)ᵗ + Terminal ÷ (1+r)¹⁰ + Net cash

Key idea Look at the bar above. For most companies, the terminal value, everything after year 10, is more than half the total. A DCF is mostly a bet on the long-term future. That's why small changes in assumptions swing the answer so much.

Simplifications This uses net income as a stand-in for free cash flow for Costco and NVIDIA, which is rough. Real analysts build free cash flow from the cash flow statement, and treat stock-based pay, leases and debt more carefully. Level 3 covers this. The growth presets are examples, not forecasts.