Discounted cash flow

Money receivable in the future is worth less than money received immediately. If you have £1 now and could invest it at an interest rate of 5% in one year you would have £1.05. This means that the 'future value' of £1 in one year is £1.05.

Put it the other way around and the 'present value' of £1 received in one year is £0.952. This is because £0.952 is the amount that would grow to £1, if invested at 5%. The interest rate assumed is known as the discount rate.

MoneyWeek

Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE

Get 6 issues free

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/mw70aro6gl1676370748.jpg

Sign up to Money Morning

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Discounted cash flow is simply a method of working out how much a share is fundamentally worth based on the present or discounted value of expected future cash flows. This is obviously fraught with difficulty given the nature of forecasting but the simplest version of the calculation is the dividend discount model where the real value of a share is considered to be the present value of the sum of all its future dividends.

See Tim Bennett's video tutorial: Five ways companies can cook cash flow.

MoneyWeek is written by a team of experienced and award-winning journalists, plus expert columnists. As well as daily digital news and features, MoneyWeek also publishes a weekly magazine, covering investing and personal finance. From share tips, pensions, gold to practical investment tips - we provide a round-up to help you make money and keep it.