The net present value (NPV) rule is considered one of the most common and preferred criteria that generally lead to good investment decisions. Consider this case: Suppose Hungry Whale Electronics is evaluating a proposed capital budgeting project (project Beta) that will require an initial investment of $3,000,000. The project is expected to generate the following net cash flows: Year Cash Flow Year 1 $300,000 Year 2 $425,000 Year 3 $500,000 Year 4 $475,000 Hungry Whale Electronics’s weighted average cost of capital is 7%, and project Beta has the same risk as the firm’s average project. Based on the cash flows, what is project Beta’s NPV? -$1,152,891 -$1,814,575 -$1,577,891 -$4,577,891 Making the accept or reject decision Hungry Whale Electronics’s decision to accept or reject project Beta is independent of its decisions on other projects. If the firm follows the NPV method, it should project Beta. Suppose your boss has asked you to analyze two mutually exclusive projects—project A and project B. Both projects require the same investment amount, and the sum of cash inflows of Project A is larger than the sum of cash inflows of project B. A coworker told you that you don’t need to do an NPV analysis of the projects because you already know that project A will have a larger NPV than project B. Do you agree with your coworker’s statement? No, the NPV calculation will take into account not only the projects’ cash inflows but also the timing of cash inflows and outflows. Consequently, project B could have a larger NPV than project A, even though project A has larger cash inflows. No, the NPV calculation is based on percentage returns, so the size of a project’s cash flows does not affect a project’s NPV. Yes, project A will always have the largest NPV, because its cash inflows are greater than project B’s cash inflows.
Net Present Value
Net present value is the most important concept of finance. It is used to evaluate the investment and financing decisions that involve cash flows occurring over multiple periods. The difference between the present value of cash inflow and cash outflow is termed as net present value (NPV). It is used for capital budgeting and investment planning. It is also used to compare similar investment alternatives.
Investment Decision
The term investment refers to allocating money with the intention of getting positive returns in the future period. For example, an asset would be acquired with the motive of generating income by selling the asset when there is a price increase.
Factors That Complicate Capital Investment Analysis
Capital investment analysis is a way of the budgeting process that companies and the government use to evaluate the profitability of the investment that has been done for the long term. This can include the evaluation of fixed assets such as machinery, equipment, etc.
Capital Budgeting
Capital budgeting is a decision-making process whereby long-term investments is evaluated and selected based on whether such investment is worth pursuing in future or not. It plays an important role in financial decision-making as it impacts the profitability of the business in the long term. The benefits of capital budgeting may be in the form of increased revenue or reduction in cost. The capital budgeting decisions include replacing or rebuilding of the fixed assets, addition of an asset. These long-term investment decisions involve a large number of funds and are irreversible because the market for the second-hand asset may be difficult to find and will have an effect over long-time spam. A right decision can yield favorable returns on the other hand a wrong decision may have an effect on the sustainability of the firm. Capital budgeting helps businesses to understand risks that are involved in undertaking capital investment. It also enables them to choose the option which generates the best return by applying the various capital budgeting techniques.
|
Year
|
Cash Flow
|
|---|---|
| Year 1 | $300,000 |
| Year 2 | $425,000 |
| Year 3 | $500,000 |
| Year 4 | $475,000 |
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