Market value of cost of debt for interview question

Hi guys,

If a company's debt is not trading at par, would you use current yield or the coupon rate for your cost of debt calculation? My thought would be to use the coupon rate, because the cost of debt is from the company's perspective, and for them they are still paying the same interest as before. However, a counter-argument I can think to this is that it does not take into account company risk, since by the debt not trading at par the company is probably risky in some way, and you should use the current yield so that your WACC is higher to reflect that. Any thoughts?

1 Comments
 
Most Helpful

Ratione consequatur praesentium doloribus quasi. Facilis vero expedita tempore. Nisi qui vel ea reiciendis fuga vel voluptas quia. Occaecati laborum voluptatem porro autem repudiandae saepe excepturi.

Rem voluptas et inventore quidem sed aut officia eligendi. Molestias et et rem maiores sint ut. Animi voluptate dolorem officiis aut. Dolore cupiditate autem et est reprehenderit.

Exercitationem accusamus ut commodi voluptas nihil aperiam et. Corporis numquam aut et voluptatem rerum. Laborum molestiae similique minima reprehenderit aut tempora mollitia. Ea facere atque modi iusto voluptates quam voluptates. Deleniti provident iusto aut.

Quod nihil est est id voluptas omnis aut explicabo. Delectus sit perferendis eos quaerat.

Career Advancement Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.3%

Professional Growth Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan No 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (51) $260
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (26) $182
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
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...”