Calculating The Fair Value Of ASML Holding N.V. (AMS:ASML)

Key Insights

• ASML Holding's estimated fair value is €678 based on 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity
• Current share price of €626 suggests ASML Holding is potentially trading close to its fair value
• Our fair value estimate is 19% lower than ASML Holding's analyst price target of €842

Today we will run through one way of estimating the intrinsic value of ASML Holding N.V. (AMS:ASML) by taking the forecast future cash flows of the company and discounting them back to today's value. Our analysis will employ the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. It may sound complicated, but actually it is quite simple!

Companies can be valued in a lot of ways, so we would point out that a DCF is not perfect for every situation. If you still have some burning questions about this type of valuation, take a look at the Simply Wall St analysis model.

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Crunching The Numbers

We use what is known as a 2-stage model, which simply means we have two different periods of growth rates for the company's cash flows. Generally the first stage is higher growth, and the second stage is a lower growth phase. To begin with, we have to get estimates of the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.

Generally we assume that a dollar today is more valuable than a dollar in the future, so we discount the value of these future cash flows to their estimated value in today's dollars:

10-year free cash flow (FCF) estimate

	2025	2026	2027	2028	2029	2030	2031	2032	2033	2034
Levered FCF (€, Millions)	€6.43b	€9.89b	€11.8b	€14.1b	€15.5b	€16.6b	€17.4b	€18.1b	€18.7b	€19.2b
Growth Rate Estimate Source	Analyst x13	Analyst x12	Analyst x4	Analyst x1	Analyst x1	Est @ 6.74%	Est @ 5.11%	Est @ 3.97%	Est @ 3.18%	Est @ 2.62%
Present Value (€, Millions) Discounted @ 7.1%	€6.0k	€8.6k	€9.6k	€10.7k	€11.0k	€11.0k	€10.8k	€10.5k	€10.1k	€9.7k

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)
Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = €98b

We now need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all the future cash flows after this ten year period. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a country's GDP growth. In this case we have used the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield (1.3%) to estimate future growth. In the same way as with the 10-year 'growth' period, we discount future cash flows to today's value, using a cost of equity of 7.1%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF₂₀₃₄ × (1 + g) ÷ (r – g) = €19b× (1 + 1.3%) ÷ (7.1%– 1.3%) = €336b

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)¹⁰= €336b÷ ( 1 + 7.1%)¹⁰= €169b

The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is €267b. In the final step we divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Relative to the current share price of €626, the company appears about fair value at a 7.8% discount to where the stock price trades currently. Remember though, that this is just an approximate valuation, and like any complex formula - garbage in, garbage out.

Important Assumptions

The calculation above is very dependent on two assumptions. The first is the discount rate and the other is the cash flows. You don't have to agree with these inputs, I recommend redoing the calculations yourself and playing with them. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at ASML Holding as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 7.1%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.338. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business.

See our latest analysis for ASML Holding

SWOT Analysis for ASML Holding

Moving On:

Although the valuation of a company is important, it ideally won't be the sole piece of analysis you scrutinize for a company. The DCF model is not a perfect stock valuation tool. Preferably you'd apply different cases and assumptions and see how they would impact the company's valuation. For example, changes in the company's cost of equity or the risk free rate can significantly impact the valuation. For ASML Holding, we've compiled three fundamental items you should assess:

1. Risks: Take risks, for example - ASML Holding has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.
2. Management:Have insiders been ramping up their shares to take advantage of the market's sentiment for ASML's future outlook? Check out our management and board analysis with insights on CEO compensation and governance factors.
3. Other High Quality Alternatives: Do you like a good all-rounder? Explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing!

PS. The Simply Wall St app conducts a discounted cash flow valuation for every stock on the ENXTAM every day. If you want to find the calculation for other stocks just search here.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.