Help Valuing A Very Negative Company

Currently working on valuing a very indebted retail company for potential takeover and having serious troubles. Operating Income is negative, EPS is negative, Net Income is negative, EBITDA is negative and jumping all over the place, Retained Earnings is negative (and growing), Cash & CE is negative, Revenue is shrinking.

Done some public comps so far (this has gone reasonably well, quite a few similar companies), tried to put together a DCF but it just throws back implied share prices of 0 for every sensitivity value.

So yea, how do you value a company where almost everything is negative other than just public comps or saying "its worthless". Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!

Thanks

15 Comments
 
Best Response

As a takeover target, this company isn't worth much unless there is a plan in place to improve operations. Extend your DCF until you capture that plan: improving margins, cuttting capex, etc and eventually getting to positive CF. You can use industry comps to get an idea of what is reasonable for the industry. If someone is trying to pitch you 30% FCF on retail, you can know what that is related to other companies in that space.

Does the plan contemplate cramming down on existing creditors? Be sure to model that in if so.

Don't go terminal on your DCF until you have achieved some sort of steady state contemplated by the turnaround. If the value is still 0 or negative, you should seriously revisit this as an investment opportunity.

NOLs can get tricky, but you may need to model tax savings from NOL carryforwards.

 

You don't value it because it is worth less then a nickle in my pocket.

But in reality what Darkpool said are several ways to do it.

Follow the shit your fellow monkeys say @shitWSOsays Life is hard, it's even harder when you're stupid - John Wayne
 

Cumque omnis qui omnis voluptatum dolor sequi. Nisi aliquid ducimus assumenda voluptas inventore sint neque. Aliquid similique voluptatem at accusamus. Eligendi et error eveniet temporibus id perspiciatis.

Possimus quisquam odio recusandae ut. Repudiandae architecto recusandae eligendi consequatur corporis officiis quia est. Atque voluptatem vitae consequatur magnam.

Debitis labore omnis qui blanditiis repudiandae explicabo. Omnis et praesentium nobis facilis.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (15) $434
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (80) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $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
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
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...”