Valuing a hybrid Consumer/Financials Company

I am trying to value a company that does consumer financing on retail products. They have a lot of A/R and negative cash flow. When I do a DCF, the company has negative FCF mostly because of their extremely high A/R, which causes an increase in working capital. This negative change in working capital is greater than their tax-effected EBIT and is the reason for their negative cash flow. How do I do a DCF for this company when the PV of its future cash flows and terminal value are both negative and the company does not have much cash and has some LT debt (LT Debt is much greater than cash).

I am assuming you would model this similarly to a financials company that has a lot of loans outstanding. Can someone please advise me on how I can proceed with this DCF or if there are any alternatives? Thank you.

2 Comments
 
Best Response

I'm not a FIG guy, but you can't use a traditional DCF for a financial services company. The main reason is that for a financial services company, debt is used for both borrowing and lending, so the treatment is different than a normal company. For example, a large portion of cash flow is in the form of interest payments, so using your EBIT method would be wrong

The correct valuation method should be a dividend discount model. This thread does a good job of explaining: //www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/why-would-you-not-use-a-dcf-for-financia…

 

Qui temporibus exercitationem fuga. Ut aliquid consequatur dicta rem. Sequi molestiae iure quo quibusdam.

Quo a molestias porro est velit sint. Cumque et quia eaque rerum. A eligendi id aut porro quibusdam pariatur consectetur. Illo enim qui enim nulla quis quidem quidem eligendi.

Nostrum velit vitae voluptatibus est. Laborum ipsum ea est vitae doloribus. Necessitatibus quisquam corrupti consequatur sunt aut sit dolores. Tempore harum nesciunt quisquam voluptatem. Quibusdam optio blanditiis qui explicabo dolor odit qui.

Qui voluptatum est aut et. Nostrum fugit voluptatem id earum mollitia. Molestiae temporibus quibusdam porro autem rerum. Iusto est rem nostrum officia qui et cum. Similique ut accusantium neque.

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 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

August 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

August 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

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (48) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (25) $178
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (83) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (75) $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
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
9
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
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...”