In general, the WACC can be calculated with the following formula:[3]

where is the number of sources of capital (securities, types of liabilities); is the

required rate of return for security ; and is the market value of all outstanding

securities .
In the case where the company is financed with only equity and debt, the average cost of capital
is computed as follows:

where is the total debt, is the total shareholder's equity, is the cost of debt,

and is the cost of equity. The market values of debt and equity should be used when
computing the weights in the WACC formula.[4]

Weighted average cost of capital

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The weighted average cost of capital (WACC) is the rate that a company is expected to pay on
average to all its security holders to finance its assets. The WACC is commonly referred to as the
firm's cost of capital. Importantly, it is dictated by the external market and not by management.
The WACC represents the minimum return that a company must earn on an existing asset base
to satisfy its creditors, owners, and other providers of capital, or they will invest elsewhere.[1]
Companies raise money from a number of sources: common stock, preferred stock,
straight debt, convertible debt, exchangeable debt, warrants, options, pension
liabilities, executive stock options, governmental subsidies, and so on. Different securities, which
represent different sources of finance, are expected to generate different returns. The WACC is
calculated taking into account the relative weights of each component of the capital structure.
The more complex the company's capital structure, the more laborious it is to calculate the
WACC.
Companies can use WACC to see if the investment projects available to them are worthwhile to
undertake.[2]

Contents

 1Calculation
o 1.1Tax effects
 2Components
o 2.1Debt
o 2.2Equity
 3Marginal cost of capital schedule
 4See also
 5References
 6External links
Calculation[edit]
In general, the WACC can be calculated with the following formula:[3]

where is the number of sources of capital (securities, types of liabilities); is the

required rate of return for security ; and is the market value of all outstanding

securities .
In the case where the company is financed with only equity and debt, the average cost of capital
is computed as follows:

where is the total debt, is the total shareholder's equity, is the cost of debt,

and is the cost of equity. The market values of debt and equity should be used when
computing the weights in the WACC formula.[4]
Tax effects[edit]
Tax effects can be incorporated into this formula. For example, the WACC for a company

financed by one type of shares with the total market value of and cost of equity and

one type of bonds with the total market value of and cost of debt , in a country with

corporate tax rate , is calculated as:

This calculation can vary significantly due to the existence of many plausible proxies for each
element. As a result, a fairly wide range of values for the WACC of a given firm in a given year
may appear defensible.[5]

Components[edit]
Debt[edit]
Advantages:

 no loss of control (voting rights)

 upper limit is placed on share of profits
 flotation costs are typically lower than equity
 interest expense is tax deductible
Disadvantages:

 legally obliged to make payments no matter how tight the funds on hand are
 in the case of bonds, full face value comes due at one time
 taking on more debt = taking on more financial risk (more systematic risk) requiring higher
cash flows

The firm's debt component is stated as kd and since there is a tax benefit from interest payments
then the after tax WACC component is kd(1-T); where T is the tax rate.
Equity[edit]
Advantages:

 no legal obligation to pay (depends on class of shares)

 no maturity
 lower financial risk
 it could be cheaper than debt, with good prospects of profitability
Disadvantages:

 new equity dilutes current ownership share of profits and voting rights (control)
 cost of underwriting equity is much higher than debt
 too much equity = target for a leveraged buy-out by another firm
 no tax shield, dividends are not tax deductible, and may exhibit double-taxation
3 ways of calculating KKe:

1. Capital Asset Pricing Model

2. Dividend Discount Method
3. Bond Yield Plus Risk Premium Approach
Cost of new equity should be the adjusted cost for any underwriting fees terme flotation costs (F)
Ke = D1/P0(1-F) + g; where F = flotation costs, D1 is dividends, P0 is price of the stock, and g is the
growth rate.
Weighted average cost of capital equation:
WACC= (W d)[(Kd)(1-t)]+ (Wpf)(Kpf)+ (W ce)(Kce)

Marginal cost of capital schedule