DCF valuation of a copper mining company

We have a copper mining company to value. The share of our company in global copper market is very small-less than 0,5%. We are going to use 2 models.The first one is Discounted cash flow model and we are struggling with it. In order to calculate free cash flows we need projected revenues and capital expenditures for 5 years. How can we project revenues? We have one choice: We are going to use projected copper prices by bloomberg and projected production given in the company reports. Is it correct way? Or should we include projected world copper supply and demand?

2 Comments
 
Best Response

It's safe to say that Bloomberg price estimates already factor in projections about world copper supply and demand - how else would they do it?

That's not to say Bloomberg's guesses are any better than the next guy. If these things were easy to project then most of us would be out of a job. Personally, I'd get a few sources and pick the median (Bloomberg's estimates may already be an aggregate of experts, in which case they've done this for you). If you know the industry well enough to have a view on the market, tweak accordingly.

If the company discloses it, it may be a useful exercise to compare the company's realized selling prices versus the benchmark copper price that the Bloomberg estimates are projecting. Different factors like geography and surrounding infrastructure can contribute to differences between the realized prices at Company A and Company B. This may or may not be significant for your company.

I don't know the copper industry well enough to tell you how reliable a company estimate of production might be (how elastic/inelastic is production?). It could be based on an overly optimistic view of prices. By default I'll usually make my projections more conservative than the company, but I'm in credit and my job is to look for downside. Many equity analysts are the opposite and optimistic by default.

 

Aperiam animi adipisci vero iure sint. Consequatur iusto quia voluptatem est ducimus et. Voluptas dolorem sit fuga voluptas accusantium.

Est magni modi velit qui. Sint commodi deleniti dignissimos voluptatem fugit. Ullam placeat amet minima qui inventore. Facilis et eaque qui aut totam aut. Consequuntur nisi quidem ipsum adipisci. Esse accusantium quia animi distinctio.

Omnis unde fuga minima ad exercitationem. Repellendus natus iste enim asperiores error officiis dolores. Ipsum quis voluptas sint veritatis voluptate. Eum itaque aut natus vitae. Aliquam consectetur qui commodi optio. Quam quibusdam soluta qui officia nihil. Saepe non at rerum consequatur possimus cumque in.

Career Advancement Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Guggenheim Partners 02 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 99.0%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (57) $264
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (28) $184
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”