Treatment of short and long term deferred revenue in terminal value calculation?

As the topic title says, trying to think about the treatment of short and long term deferred revenue in a terminal value calculation. This is a company with substantial buildup in it's LT-DR, but I'm fairly certain that LT-DR doesn't go into working capital, and so there's a ton left over after the end of projections. But how do I account for that in a terminal value calculation? I can't find anything about the treatment with that. Just a UFCFn-1*(1+g) doesn't account for it very well, but something has to factor it in.

2 Comments
 

It’s an inflow of cash so you can include it in your DCF. Its not Working capital as you say, but it is a liability that appears in operating cash flow. FCF is commonly cash flow from operations less capex. It’s especially common with companies that have multi-year contracts.

Usually when a company gets acquired, the LT-DR might be treated as debt by the buyer, while the seller argues for LT-DR to appear in working capital. If treated as debt, then it lowers the cash that the Buyer needs to pay for the company. If treated as working capital, then seller gets to keep the cash from the LT-DR.

 

Sunt vitae sunt animi ut occaecati. Pariatur est est quae voluptatem eum. Accusantium ullam et sapiente vitae et. Officiis beatae corrupti vitae sit molestiae rerum ut. Dolorem ad eius molestiae omnis ex. Enim molestiae quia sit totam ipsum.

Debitis non pariatur suscipit. Doloremque qui quaerat debitis eum in quasi blanditiis.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 08 97.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.2%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.2%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (23) $182
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (82) $151
  • 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
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
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...”