Damodaran vs McKinsey Valuation

Does anyone have any opinion about which of the books is better generally? Or if that is too vague, if one book offers more practical knowledge? I know Damodaran is well respected as an academic but are the methods presented in his text also practical? Or if there is a better valuation book, I would also appreciate hearing about that as well. Thanks!

8 Comments
 

I have one of Damodaran's books and have had a great success with it. The problems in the book, along with the solutions on the website help build you up from scratch if you have no past financial experience or classes. I cannot compare it to the McKinsey book though but my understanding is that the McKinsey book is more of a CEO's Valuation for Dummies book while Damodaran is more of a pracitioner's guide.

 

Hmm, for some reason, I had been thinking that McKinsey's was the more practical one while Damodaran's is more theoretical.

Just to be clear, I am thinking of Damodaran's "Investment Valuation." Given that I know a fair bit about valuation already but would be happy to have a book that does it all, would that be the best choice among Damodaran's offerings?

 

I think Damodaran is far superior to the McKinsey book, especially for ibanking purposes. His latest is Damodaran on valuation 2nd edition (2006). That's the one I'd recommend. I believe the latest McKinsey version is the 4th. There's one other valuation book you might want to consider. The author is Enrique Arzac. A new version was recently published. While not a great book (it is less readable than the others) and less comprehensive, it is the valuation book that comes closest to what you do in banking, IMO.

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