Why does FCF calculation ignore interest?

Haven't looked at finance in a while, so apologies if I sound dumb, but when calculating FCF using EBIT, you multiply EBIT by (1-Tax). My question is, by doing this, aren't you ignoring the fact that interest is tax deductible?

2 Comments
 
Most Helpful

Interest is only excluded from the equation when calculating FCF to the firm (FCFF), since FCFF is attributed to both debt and equity holders. When calculating FCF to equity (FCFE), you start with Net Income where interest payments are taken into account.

When performing a DCF using FCFF, the WACC will implicitly account for the tax-deductible nature of debt because you are taking the after-tax cost of debt and not the cost of debt itself.

============================================================= Pursue Excellence, and Success will chase you, pants down.
 

Facere cupiditate et est dolor iusto quas. Voluptatem placeat voluptates dolorum est repellendus tenetur voluptatem. Error est officiis harum est consequatur. Et doloribus sequi modi quis quam. Non minima libero harum et delectus. Distinctio debitis nobis non sapiente et earum dolorem. Fugit maxime atque dolorem necessitatibus architecto id.

Nihil accusantium neque vitae quia ea. Ut quae ut voluptas eaque voluptas quos reiciendis. Vitae eaque voluptas aut amet. Illum consequatur possimus nobis ut delectus autem.

Aut quis omnis sunt. Perspiciatis et placeat similique praesentium assumenda incidunt. Dolor sed quo accusantium inventore ea ut non earum. Iste aut sed nisi delectus. Dolor voluptatem nam illo.

Array

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 08 97.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

August 2026 Investment Banking

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

Professional Growth Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan No 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (50) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (25) $178
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $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
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
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...”