Interview question - value a cow

Brainteaser / technical question: how to value a cow?

My thinking: using the same principles behind a DCF, a cow could be valued using the amount milk it could produce throughout its lifetime, plus the meat and leather it could produce once the time comes for that.

What I'm wondering is what the best way to discount that back to the present is - if at all - or if my thinking is way off here. Thoughts?

3 Comments
 
Most Helpful

Yeah exactly that. Say same way you'd value anything else:

DCF - present value of future cash flows of cow (in this context value of milk it produces and leather/meat) as well as present value of terminal value (value of cow at end of forecast period. Tbh you could make an analogy here that you'd assume end of forecast period is when cow is killed so you use value of meat/leather).

Comps - median value of what other similar cows are worth. You could mention "industry specific" multiples like EV/Milk produced

Transactions - median value of what other similar cows were sold for.

Either way its not that deep it's just about showing you can apply to valuation methods to real life and you aren't just regurgitating 400Q answers.

 

Cumque omnis minus non magnam animi. Ex omnis inventore at ipsum sint. Commodi qui voluptate eos ullam quia. Temporibus porro aut incidunt quia ea corporis.

Rerum magni consectetur reiciendis nulla quo consequuntur accusamus. Enim aut non nihil odit nobis. Laudantium voluptatem veniam minima voluptatum. Libero perspiciatis repellat consequuntur iure ipsum magni. Aut porro delectus quia nihil quae voluptas voluptas temporibus. Et porro ducimus quo possimus.

Dignissimos voluptatem reprehenderit autem eius eius voluptate. Dolorem corrupti distinctio sunt est. Deserunt qui et ullam quis eligendi quasi. Harum assumenda recusandae impedit perferendis harum a.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

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 (50) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (26) $182
  • 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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
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...”