Net Operating Losses in a DCF Analysis

In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to factor in Net Operating Losses (NOLs) in a DCF analysis, including why it’s almost always a bad idea to build a separate schedule for NOLs.
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Table of Contents:
2:29 How to Build an NOL Schedule into a DCF
9:02 Why an NOL Schedule is Probably a Bad Idea
12:42 Recap and Summary
“How do you factor in Net Operating Losses when building a DCF analysis?”
“Do you have to create a separate schedule that shows the book vs. cash taxes and how the NOLs reduce the company’s taxes over time?”
The Short Answer
It’s almost always a bad idea to build a separate schedule - it’s much easier simply to add NOLs as non-core-business Assets when moving from Implied Enterprise Value to Implied Equity Value in the analysis itself.
There are two ways to include income and expense line items in a DCF: Either factor them into Free Cash Flow directly, or include their corresponding Assets or Liabilities at the end when calculating Implied Equity Value.
If you include something in FCF, you should NOT include the corresponding Assets and Liabilities at the end; if you exclude something, you DO include the corresponding Assets and Liabilities.
How to Build an NOL Schedule
But if you want, you can set up a schedule to model the impact of NOLs.
If the company has negative taxable income (just Operating Income here), add it to the NOL balance and make sure it pays no Cash Taxes.
Companies don’t get “refunds” when their taxable income is negative; they simply pay 0 and get to reduce their taxable income in the future.
If the company has positive taxable income, apply the lesser of its remaining NOL balance or its taxable income to reduce its taxable income. So if its taxable income is $100 and it has $200 of NOLs, reduce it to $0; if its taxable income is $300, reduce it to $100.
Then, you calculate the NOL-Adjusted Taxable Income by taking the normal figure and subtracting the NOLs applied.
You then calculate Book Taxes based on Taxable Income * Tax Rate and Cash Taxes based on MAX(NOL-Adjusted Taxable Income, 0) * Tax Rate. The MAX(0 function ensures that the company pays taxes only if its NOL-Adjusted Taxable Income is positive.
When you calculate NOPAT, you link to Cash Taxes if you’re factoring in the NOLs within FCF, and Book Taxes if you’re only counting the NOLs at the end in the Implied Enterprise Value to Implied Equity Value calculation.
The Impact of Both Methods
Both methods of factoring in NOLs produce similar results, but there will be a bigger difference with larger NOL balances that get applied over many years.
The Implied Share Price will be lower when you include NOLs in FCF because of the time value of money; the tax savings are worth more if you count them as an upfront item today rather than spreading them over many years into the future.
Why Not Set Up These Schedules?
First, if the NOLs have not been fully utilized by the end of the projection period, you’ll have to add the tax savings from the remaining NOL balance at that point to the Terminal Value.
This addition isn’t “hard,” but it does create extra work and makes the analysis less intuitive.
Also, it does take extra time and effort to set up this schedule, and anyone looking at your model will have a harder time understanding it.
It’s questionable how much this treatment adds because the Balance Sheet value of NOLs already reflects their expected future tax savings.
So you’d do this mainly if the company is expected to have very low or negative taxable income in the future, and if it might, therefore, accumulate new NOLs or never end up paying much in taxes as a result of its NOLs.
It’s usually not worth building a whole separate schedule for companies with relatively low NOL balances that get used up quickly in the projection period.
RESOURCES:
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Пікірлер: 38

  • @marcomenichini3213
    @marcomenichini32136 жыл бұрын

    Very nice video, thank you. Just one question: if we add up the tax savings from NOLs at the end, to calculate Implied Equity Value, we get a higher valuation due to the time value of money. Isn't it possible to add the PV of tax savings? This would eliminate the distortion due to the time value of money.

  • @financialmodeling

    @financialmodeling

    6 жыл бұрын

    It is possible but extremely time-consuming because you would have to project the company's statements, estimate te taxable income each year, and estimate how much of the NOL can be used each year and when the entire NOL balance runs out... and account for the fact that new NOLs may be created. In the end, you would spend a lot of time on a detail that makes a very small impact in most cases. So it is probably not worth it unless the company's NOL balance is massive or there are other special circumstances.

  • @salahzemrag5302
    @salahzemrag53023 жыл бұрын

    great work Brian ! I have an addtional question please: when adding NOLs to Entreprise value at the end of a DCF analysis, should'nt we discount them as well and therefore adding back the PV of NOLs ??

  • @financialmodeling

    @financialmodeling

    3 жыл бұрын

    No, because you only count the NOLs on the company's Balance Sheet as of today's date, or the valuation date, not some future date.

  • @Bertztuful
    @Bertztuful5 жыл бұрын

    Great work Brian. I have two questions 1)What about DTA and DTL that arise due to temporary differences ? should an adjustment me made if they are not built into DCF ? 2) I valued a commercial bank using the adjusted dividend discount model which you have a tutorial on. Although there is no EV for a bank , Tax savings from NOL's should be an add on the equity value from the DDM if the tax savings are not projected explicitly , correct ? Thanks

  • @financialmodeling

    @financialmodeling

    5 жыл бұрын

    1) No, generally not, because temporary differences get reversed quickly and barely make an impact in most cases. 2) Yes.

  • @vincentnguyen6833
    @vincentnguyen68333 жыл бұрын

    For the more simpler option of subtracting NOL when going from Equity Value to EV, would we need to find the off-balance sheet NOL in the DTA break-down of the annual report? If so are we assuming that NOLs are the only non-operating asset within DTA? Cheers

  • @financialmodeling

    @financialmodeling

    3 жыл бұрын

    Yes and yes.

  • @nathanielmontero9444
    @nathanielmontero9444Ай бұрын

    Hey Brian, this is great work. Thanks for sharing! I was wondering if you could help me figure out the stock value of the NOLs that Contexlogic has (2.7 billion). I am having trouble trying to determine the true value of the NOL, can you help out?

  • @financialmodeling

    @financialmodeling

    Ай бұрын

    Sorry, but we don't offer 1-on-1 help for company analysis in these KZread comments. Happy to review Excel files, filings, or your own work and provide feedback if you have previously purchased a course or coaching service.

  • @lawjef
    @lawjef7 жыл бұрын

    Very clear and insightful video, as always. I have a conceptual question for you: shouldn't the source of the NOLs determine whether you can even include it in the DCF? If, for example, the NOLs include tax deductions for prior interest expense, aren't we being inconsistent by pairing future unlevered FCF with past levered FCF? (i.e. tax on NOPAT versus tax on EBT) We do not add the tax shield of future interest expense in a DCF valuation (assuming we are not running an APV), so why are NOLs treated differently to the future interest tax shield?

  • @financialmodeling

    @financialmodeling

    7 жыл бұрын

    Yes, in theory you are correct, but the problem is that it's almost impossible to determine the source of the NOLs because most companies don't disclose that. So in practice, the best you can usually do is to assume that the NOLs apply to any future positive taxable income.

  • @lawjef

    @lawjef

    7 жыл бұрын

    If we continue with your Steel Dynamics example, its pre-tax interest expense for fiscal 2015 was $153 million. The 2015 10K provides changes in NOLs in Note 4. So we know that its NOL balance increased from $33 million in 2014 to $61 million in 2015. In other words, without the interest deduction it is unlikely that Steel Dynamics would have generated an NOL in 2015. At least half (but probably more) of the current NOL balance is attributable to interest.

  • @financialmodeling

    @financialmodeling

    7 жыл бұрын

    OK? I'm not sure what your point is. In this specific case, yes, maybe you could make an argument for treating them differently. But in most cases, companies have accumulated NOLs from events far in the past. The point of this tutorial was to explain the basic concept and why it's not a great idea to factor in NOLs the way that some people recommend.

  • @mohammadjonaid8232
    @mohammadjonaid82324 ай бұрын

    Hi, quick question about where to get the NOLs. I am looking at a company that has "Net operating losses carrywards" mentioned under their DTA of $484MM, and then in the explanation right below the table, it says "for federal and state tax reporting purposes we have $2.5B available to reduce future taxable income." When I create the NOL schedule, should I use the loss carrywards under DTAs of $484MM or the $2.5B the company says it has to reduce its future taxes?

  • @financialmodeling

    @financialmodeling

    4 ай бұрын

    The number in the DTA represents approximately Total Net Operating Losses * Tax Rate. The Off-Balance Sheet one represents Total NOLs. So, if you are forecasting NOL usage actively in a projection, use the total number, but remember that the total tax savings from NOLs should equal roughly the on-BS number within the DTA.

  • @fullcircletrader
    @fullcircletrader7 жыл бұрын

    Dear Team, I want to see all the tutorials right from the scratch (basics), but not the getting the proper list, all the videos are jumbled, please help

  • @financialmodeling

    @financialmodeling

    7 жыл бұрын

    There isn't an easy way to do that, but maybe go here and start with Accounting and move up through the other topics sequentially: kzread.infoplaylists

  • @jasonlin3255
    @jasonlin32556 жыл бұрын

    Question: doesnt NOL turn into DTA? what you are doing here is pretty much creating future DTA and adding to EV. If thats the case, shouldnt the DTA value be NOL multiply by company tax rate?

  • @financialmodeling

    @financialmodeling

    6 жыл бұрын

    No. NOLs are off-Balance Sheet and reflect the full amount by which the company can offset its taxable income. For example, if the company has $500 in NOLs, it can reduce its taxable income by $500 in the future. The portion in the DTA represents roughly Off-Balance Sheet NOLs * Effective Tax Rate. It represents how much in tax savings the company can realize from the NOLs. So if the tax rate is 20%, the portion of the DTA that corresponds to NOLs would be $100 in this case. If you multiplied the DTA by the tax rate, you would be double counting.

  • @jesusalbertoperezdet3771
    @jesusalbertoperezdet3771Ай бұрын

    Thanks for the video, I just have one question. When using the short method all I have to do is take de NOL directly from the DTA breakdown and multiply it by the tax rate (that's how you came out with the 61.1) correct?. This number (61.1) should be the same when doing the long approach and calculate the value of Annual tax savings? thanks

  • @financialmodeling

    @financialmodeling

    Ай бұрын

    The DTA already lists the total amount * the tax rate (roughly). So you don't multiply by the tax rate again. You can just use the amount in the DTA in the bridge directly. It should roughly equal the expected tax savings over time if you model it out, but won't always be the same due to expirations, tax rate changes, etc.

  • @jesusalbertoperezdet3771

    @jesusalbertoperezdet3771

    Ай бұрын

    @@financialmodeling I understand, thank you. another question. when doing DCF valuation, what is the correct treatment for DTA and DTL shown in the balance sheet? or is DTA already included when we calculate NOLs? but how about DTL?

  • @financialmodeling

    @financialmodeling

    Ай бұрын

    @@jesusalbertoperezdet3771 The DTA and DTL do not factor into the analysis directly, only the NOLs do. Either count the NOLs in the Cash Tax calculation directly in the DCF or include the total NOL balance as a bridge item when calculating Implied Equity Value at the end.

  • @coryireland8870
    @coryireland88702 жыл бұрын

    Would having a large NOL ever impact the Tax Rate used in a WACC calculation?

  • @financialmodeling

    @financialmodeling

    2 жыл бұрын

    No, probably not, because NOLs eventually get used up, and WACC is supposed to represent the tax rate into perpetuity.

  • @myungsanglee9123
    @myungsanglee91235 жыл бұрын

    If you build a NOL schedule and factor in NOLs over time in DCF, NOLs will increase FCFs and therefore implied EV. But in the video, you rather subtract NOLs from Equity Value, resulting in lower EV. Shouldn't you add it to Equity Value rather than subtracting it? I would greatly appreciate it if you could provide me an explanation. Thanks!

  • @financialmodeling

    @financialmodeling

    5 жыл бұрын

    We only subtract NOLs when calculating the Current Enterprise Value starting with the Current Equity Value. That is because NOLs are non-operating assets. Enterprise Value excludes non-operating assets, so you subtract NOLs in the calculation. But NOLs increase a company's *implied* Enterprise Value by reducing the company's tax burden in future years, which boosts its implied value. So it just depends on whether you're calculating the current market value or what you think the company is worth.

  • @haz3931
    @haz39318 ай бұрын

    Shouldn't taxable income be EBT? Why do we use EBIT?

  • @financialmodeling

    @financialmodeling

    8 ай бұрын

    In a 3-statement model, yes, but this is an Unlevered DCF, which means we ignore the company's capital structure and the net interest expense arising from it. In an Unlevered DCF, therefore, EBIT * (1 - Tax Rate) = NOPAT and we calculate UFCF from there.

  • @bromaro
    @bromaroАй бұрын

    What discount rate to use for NOLs, and if one company were to buy another company’s NOLs

  • @financialmodeling

    @financialmodeling

    Ай бұрын

    There is some debate/disagreement about that, but most people would say WACC if you're valuing an NOL on the basis of future tax savings from it. It would normally be the buyer's WACC in an M&A deal.

  • @bromaro

    @bromaro

    Ай бұрын

    @@financialmodeling why WACC? I’ve heard people say cost of equity, in between cost of equity and cost of debt, and even the RF rate, but never WACC. Interested to hear your perspective

  • @financialmodeling

    @financialmodeling

    Ай бұрын

    @@bromaro NOLs benefit all investors, not just equity or debt investors, because their future usage increases cash flows and makes it easier to pay for interest/principal on a cash basis and issue dividends. But they are only useful if the core business continues to perform well, i.e., generate positive Taxable Income that NOLs can offset.

  • @bromaro

    @bromaro

    Ай бұрын

    @@financialmodeling but even if the core business doesn’t do well, wouldn’t you still be able to sell it off (business shuts down) which would only benefit equity investors

  • @financialmodeling

    @financialmodeling

    Ай бұрын

    @@bromaro If a company sells the entire company, the value of the NOLs will only benefit the shareholders because the lenders just get back their owed principal. But the key question is who benefits from the NOLs while the company is operating as it normally does. You don't normally look at a shutdown scenario to decide on the proper discount rate. And note that NOLs may actually be written down completely in some deals, depending on the structure (especially in asset sales).