The Cost of Capital Overview
A critical component in developing the firm's capital plan is determining what the cost of capital is. This reading will provide you with an introduction to this topic.
Learning Objectives |
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The cost of capital is the rate of return that a firm must supply to its investors. If a corporation doesn't provide enough return, market forces will decrease the prices of their stock and bonds to restore the balance. The cost of capital acts as a link between a firm's long-run and short-run financial decisions because it ties long-run returns with current costs. We should undertake only projects where the return is greater than the associated cost.
Flotation Costs
Flotation costs are the costs of issuing and selling a security. Typical costs include both underwriting and administrative costs. Administrative costs are any expenses incurred by the issuer of the security including legal, accounting, etc. Underwriting costs are payment to investment bankers for selling the security. When we discuss the cost of capital we are discussing the net proceeds from the sale of any security (bond, stock, or any other security). So net proceeds are the total amount received minus any of the above-described flotation costs.
Components of WACC
There are several components to the cost of capital for a firm. These are:
- Cost of debt
- Cost of preferred stock
- Cost of common stock
Together these three components are then "weighted" based on the percentages they are used in the company.
Key Takeaways |
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The cost of capital is the return a company must earn on its investment projects to maintain its market value.
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Exercises |
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Source: https://2012books.lardbucket.org/books/finance-for-managers/s12-01-the-cost-of-capital-overview.html
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