Crunching the numbers
I’m using the 2-stage growth model, which simply means we take in account two stages of company’s growth. In the initial period the company may have a higher growth rate and the second stage is usually assumed to have perpetual stable growth rate. In the first stage we need to estimate the cash flows to the business over the next five years. Where possible I use analyst estimates, but when these aren’t available I have extrapolated the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the year before. For this growth rate I used the average annual growth rate over the past five years, but capped at a reasonable level. I then discount the sum of these cash flows to arrive at a present value estimate.
5-year cash flow estimate
| 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |
| Levered FCF ($, Millions) | $1,326.22 | $1,428.55 | $1,497.09 | $1,568.92 | $1,644.19 |
| Source | Analyst x9 | Analyst x5 | Extrapolated @ (4.8%) | Extrapolated @ (4.8%) | Extrapolated @ (4.8%) |
| Present Value Discounted @ 9.71% | $1,208.86 | $1,186.91 | $1,133.79 | $1,083.04 | $1,034.56 |
Present Value of 5-year Cash Flow (PVCF)= $5,647
We now need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all the future cash flows after the five years. The Gordon Growth formula is used to calculate Terminal Value at an annual growth rate equal to the 10-year government bond rate of 2.5%. We discount this to today’s value at a cost of equity of 9.7%.
Terminal Value (TV) = FCF2022 × (1 + g) ÷ (r – g) = $1,644 × (1 + 2.5%) ÷ (9.7% – 2.5%) = $23,276
Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV) = TV / (1 + r)5 = $23,276 / ( 1 + 9.7%)5 = $14,646
The total value is the sum of cash flows for the next five years and the discounted terminal value, which results in the Total Equity Value, which in this case is $20,293. In the final step we divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. If the stock is an depositary receipt (represents a specified number of shares in a foreign corporation) or ADR then we use the equivalent number. This results in an intrinsic value of $97.38, which, compared to the current share price of $137.22, we find that Fiserv is quite expensive at the time of writing.
Important assumptions
Now the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate, and of course, the actual cash flows. If you don’t agree with my result, have a go at the calculation yourself and play with the assumptions. Because we are looking at Fiserv as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighed average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation I’ve used 9.7%, which is based on a levered beta of 0.961. This is derived from the Bottom-Up Beta method based on comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business.
Next Steps:
Whilst important, DCF calculation shouldn’t be the only metric you look at when researching a company. What is the reason for the share price to differ from the intrinsic value? For FISV, there are three essential aspects you should further research:
1. Financial Health: Does FISV have a healthy balance sheet? Take a look at our free balance sheet analysis with six simple checks on key factors like leverage and risk.
2. Future Earnings: How does FISV’s growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart.
2. Other High Quality Alternatives: Are there other high quality stocks you could be holding instead of FISV? 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 for every stock on the NASDAQ every 6 hours. If you want to find the calculation for other stocks just search here.