Chap 7

Chapter 7
Investment
Decision Rules
Chapter Outline
7.1 NPV and Stand-Alone Projects

7.2 The Internal Rate of Return Rule
7.3 The Payback Rule
7.4 Choosing Between Projects
7.5 Project Selection with Resource
Constraints
Copyright ©2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 7-2

Learning Objectives
1. Define net present value, payback period,

internal rate of return, profitability index,
and incremental IRR.
2. Describe decision rules for each of the
tools in objective 1, for both stand-alone
and mutually exclusive projects.
3. Given cash flows, compute the NPV,
payback period, internal rate of return,
and profitability index for a given project,
and the incremental IRR for a pair of
projects.
Learning Objectives
4. Compare each of the capital

budgeting tools above, and tell why
NPV always gives the correct decision.
5. Discuss the reasons IRR can give a
flawed decision.
6. Describe situations in which
profitability index cannot be used to
make a decision.

7.1 NPV and Stand-Alone
Projects
• Consider a take-it-or-leave-it investment

decision involving a single, stand-alone
project for Fredrick’s Feed and Farm (FFF).
– The project costs $250 million and is expected
to generate cash flows of $35 million per year,
starting at the end of the first year and lasting
forever.

NPV Rule
• The NPV of the project is calculated as:

35
NPV   250 
r
• The NPV is dependent on the discount rate.

Figure 7.1 NPV of Fredrick’s
Fertilizer Project
• If FFF’s cost of capital is 10%, the NPV is $100 million and they
should undertake the investment.
Alternative Rules Versus the NPV
Rule
• Sometimes alternative investment rules

may give the same answer as the NPV rule,
but at other times they may disagree.
– When the rules conflict, the NPV decision rule
should be followed.

7.2 The Internal Rate of Return
Rule
• Internal Rate of Return (IRR)

Investment Rule
– Take any investment where the IRR exceeds the
cost of capital. Turn down any investment whose
IRR is less than the cost of capital.

The Internal Rate of Return Rule
(cont'd)
• The IRR Investment Rule will give the same
answer as the NPV rule in many, but not all,
situations.
• In general, the IRR rule works for a stand-
alone project if all of the project’s negative
cash flows precede its positive cash flows.
– In Figure 7.1, whenever the cost of capital is
below the IRR of 14%, the project has a positive
NPV and you should undertake the investment.

Applying The IRR Rule
• In other cases, the IRR rule may disagree

with the NPV rule and thus be incorrect.
– Situations where the IRR rule and NPV rule may
be in conflict:
• Delayed Investments
• Nonexistent IRR
• Multiple IRRs

Applying The IRR Rule (cont'd)
– Assume you have just retired as the CEO of a
successful company. A major publisher has
offered you a book deal. The publisher will pay
you $1 million upfront if you agree to write a
book about your experiences. You estimate that
it will take three years to write the book. The
time you spend writing will cause you to give up
speaking engagements amounting to $500,000
per year. You estimate your opportunity cost to
be 10%.

– Should you accept the deal?
• Calculate the IRR.
– The IRR is greater than the cost of capital. Thus,

the IRR rule indicates you should accept the
deal.

Financial Calculator Solution
1000000 CFj
-500000 CFj
3 Gold Nj
Gold IRR 23.38

– Should you accept the deal?
500, 000 500, 000 500, 000

NPV  1,000,000   2
 3
  $243,426
1.1 1.1 1.1
– Since the NPV is negative, the NPV rule indicates

you should reject the deal.

Figure 7.2 NPV of Star’s $1 Million
Book Deal
• When the benefits of an investment occur before the costs, the NPV
is an increasing function of the discount rate.

• Multiple IRRs
– Suppose Star informs the publisher that it needs
to sweeten the deal before he will accept it. The
publisher offers $550,000 advance and
$1,000,000 in four years when the book is
published.
– Should he accept or reject the new offer?

• Multiple IRRs
– The cash flows would now look like:
– The NPV is calculated as:
500, 000 500, 000 500, 000 1, 000, 000

NPV  550,000 - - - 
1  r (1  r ) 2
(1  r ) 3
(1  r ) 4

• Multiple IRRs
– By setting the NPV equal to zero and solving for
r, we find the IRR. In this case, there are two
IRRs: 7.164% and 33.673%. Because there is
more than one IRR, the IRR rule cannot be
applied.

Figure 7.3 NPV of Star’s Book Deal
with Royalties

• Multiple IRRs
– Between 7.164% and 33.673%, the book deal
has a negative NPV. Since your opportunity cost
of capital is 10%, you should reject the deal.

• Nonexistent IRR
– Finally, Star is able to get the publisher to
increase his advance to $750,000, in addition to
the $1 million when the book is published in four
years. With these cash flows, no IRR exists;
there is no discount rate that makes NPV equal
to zero.

Figure 7.4 NPV of Star’s Final Offer
• No IRR exists because the NPV is positive for all values of the
discount rate. Thus the IRR rule cannot be used.

• IRR Versus the IRR Rule

– While the IRR rule has shortcomings for making
investment decisions, the IRR itself remains
useful. IRR measures the average return of the
investment and the sensitivity of the NPV to any
estimation error in the cost of capital.

Textbook Example 7.1

Textbook Example 7.1 (cont’d)

Figure 7.5 NPV Profiles for Example
7.1
While the IRR Rule works for project A, it fails for
each of the other projects.

7.3 The Payback Rule
• The payback period is amount of time it

takes to recover or pay back the initial
investment. If the payback period is less
than a pre-specified length of time, you
accept the project. Otherwise, you reject
the project.
– The payback rule is used by many companies
because of its simplicity.


Textbook Example 7.2 (cont'd)

Alternative Example 7.2
• Problem
– Projects A, B, and C each have an expected life
of 5 years.
– Given the initial cost and annual cash flow
information below, what is the payback
period for each project?
A B C
Cost $80 $120 $150
Cash Flow $25 $30 $35

• Solution
– Payback A
• $80 ÷ $25 = 3.2 years
– Project B
• $120 ÷ $30 = 4.0 years
– Project C
• $150 ÷ $35 = 4.29 years

The Payback Rule (cont’d)
• Pitfalls:
– Ignores the project’s cost of capital and time
value of money.
– Ignores cash flows after the payback period.
– Relies on an ad hoc decision criterion.

7.4 Choosing Between Projects
• Mutually Exclusive Projects

– When you must choose only one project among
several possible projects, the choice is mutually
exclusive.
– NPV Rule
• Select the project with the highest NPV.
– IRR Rule
• Selecting the project with the highest IRR may lead
to mistakes.



• Problem
– A small commercial property is for sale near your university.
Given its location, you believe a student-oriented business
would be very successful there. You have researched several
possibilities and come up with the following cash flow
estimates (including the cost of purchasing the property).
Which investment should you choose?
Initial First-Year Growth Cost of

Project
Investment Cash Flow Rate Capital
Used Book Store $250,000 $55,000 4% 7%
Sandwich Shop $350,000 $75,000 4% 8%
Hair Salon $400,000 $120,000 5% 8%
Clothing Store $500,000 $125,000 8% 12%

Alternative Example 7.3 (cont’d)
• Solution
– Assuming each business lasts indefinitely, we can compute
the present value of the cash flows from each as a constant
growth perpetuity. The NPV of each project is
$55,000
NPV (Used Book Store) = -$250,000 +  $1,583,333
7%  4%
$75,000
NPV (Sandwich Shop) = -$350,000 +  $1,525, 000
8%  4%
$120,000
NPV (Hair Salon) = -$400,000 +  $2, 600, 000
8%  5%
$125,000
NPV (Clothing Store) = -$500,000 +  $2, 625, 000
12%  8%
– Thus, all of the alternatives have a positive NPV. But
because we can only choose one, the clothing store is the
best alternative.
IRR Rule and Mutually Exclusive
Investments: Differences in Scale
• If a project’s size is doubled, its NPV will

double. This is not the case with IRR. Thus,
the IRR rule cannot be used to compare
projects of different scales.

Investments: Differences in Scale (cont’d)
– Consider two of the projects from Example 7.3
Coffee Shop
Bookstore
Initial Investment $300,000 $400,000
Cash FlowYear 1 $63,000 $80,000
Annual Growth Rate 3% 3%
Cost of Capital 8% 8%
IRR 24% 23%
NPV $960,000 $1,200,000

Investments: Timing of Cash Flows
• Another problem with the IRR is that it can be

affected by changing the timing of the cash flows,
even when the scale is the same.
– IRR is a return, but the dollar value of earning a given
return depends on how long the return is earned.
• Consider again the coffee shop and the music store

investment in Example 7.3. Both have the same
initial scale and the same horizon. The coffee shop
has a lower IRR, but a higher NPV because of its
higher growth rate.

Investments: Differences in Risk
• An IRR that is attractive for a safe project

need not be attractive for a riskier project.
• Consider the investment in the electronics
store from Example 7.3. The IRR is higher
than those of the other investment
opportunities, yet the NPV is the lowest.
• The higher cost of capital means a higher
IRR is necessary to make the project
attractive.

The Incremental IRR Rule
• Incremental IRR Investment Rule

– Apply the IRR rule to the difference between the
cash flows of the two mutually exclusive
alternatives (the increment to the cash flows of
one investment over the other).




Problem
Suppose your firm is considering two different projects,
one that lasts one year and another that lasts five years.
The cash flows for the two projects look like this:
What is the IRR of each proposal? What is the

incremental IRR? If your firm’s cost of capital is 10%,
what should you do?
Solution
We can compute the IRR of Project L using the

annuity calculator:
NPER RATE PV PMT FV Excel formula
Given 5 -100 0 200
Solve 14.87% =RATE(5,0,-100,200)
for rate

Solution
We can compute the IRR of Project S using the

annuity calculator:
Given 1 -100 0 125
Solve 25% =RATE(1,0,-100,125)
for rate

Solution
We can calculate the incremental IRR this way:

Project 0 1 2 3 4 5
L -100 200
S -100 125
Difference 0 -125 200

Given 4 -125 0 200
Solve 12.47% =RATE(4,0,-125,200)
for rate

Solution
Because the 12.47% incremental IRR is bigger
than the cost of capital of 10%, the long-term
project is better than the short-term project, even
though the short-term project has a higher IRR.

The Incremental IRR Rule
(cont'd)
• Shortcomings of the Incremental IRR Rule

– The incremental IRR may not exist.
– Multiple incremental IRRs could exist.
– The fact that the IRR exceeds the cost of capital
for both projects does not imply that either
project has a positive NPV.
– When individual projects have different costs of
capital, it is not obvious which cost of capital the
incremental IRR should be compared to.

7.5 Project Selection
with Resource Constraints
• Evaluation of Projects with Different Resource

Constraints
– Consider three possible projects with a $100
million budget constraint
Table 7.1 Possible Projects for a $100 Million Budget

Profitability Index
• The profitability index can be used to

identify the optimal combination of projects
to undertake.
Value Created NPV

Profitability Index  
Resource Consumed Resource Consumed
– From Table 7.1, we can see it is better to take

projects II & III together and forego project I.



• Problem
– Suppose your firm has the following five positive NPV
projects to choose from. However, there is not enough
manufacturing space in your plant to select all of the
projects. Use profitability index to choose among the
projects, given that you only have 100,000 square feet of
unused space.
Project NPV Square feet needed
Project 1 100,000 40,000
Project 2 88,000 30,000
Project 3 80,000 38,000
Project 4 50,000 24,000
Project 5 12,000 1,000
Total 330,000 133,000
• Solution
– Compute the PI for each project.
Project NPV Square feet Profitability Index

needed (NPV/Sq. Ft)
Project 1 100,000 40,000 2.5
Project 2 88,000 30,000 2.93
Project 3 80,000 38,000 2.10
Project 4 50,000 24,000 2.08
Project 5 12,000 1,000
12.0
Total 330,000 133,000

• Solution
– Rank order them by PI and see how many
projects you can have before you run out of
space.
Project NPV Square Profitability Cumulative total
feet Index space used
needed (NPV/Sq. Ft)
Project 5 12,000 1,000 2.5 1,000
Project 2 88,000 30,000 2.93 31,000
Project 1 100,000 40,000 2.5 71,000
Project 3 80,000 38,000 2.11
Project 4 50,000 24,000 2.08

Shortcomings of the Profitability
Index
• In some situations the profitability Index
does not give an accurate answer.
– Suppose in Example 7.4 that NetIt has an
additional small project with a NPV of only
$120,000 that requires 3 engineers. The
profitability index in this case is
0.1 2/ 3 = 0.04, so this project would appear at
the bottom of the ranking. However, 3 of the
190 employees are not being used after the first
four projects are selected. As a result, it would
make sense to take on this project even though
it would be ranked last.

Shortcomings of the Profitability
Index (cont'd)
• With multiple resource constraints, the

profitability index can break down
completely.

Discussion of Data Case Key
Topic
• On February 9, 2006, XM Satellite announced a
three-year, $55 million deal with Oprah Winfrey.
The announcement stated that “Oprah & Friends,”
a new channel on XM, would begin broadcasting in
September 2006. What was the change in XM’s
market value from January 30, 2006 through
February 10, 2006? Does the $55 million
investment appear to have been a good idea?
– http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11252743/

Chapter Quiz
1. Explain the NPV rule for stand-alone projects.

2. If the IRR rule and the NPV rule lead to different
decisions for a stand-alone project, which should you
follow? Why?
3. For mutually exclusive projects, explain why picking one
project over another because it has a larger IRR can
lead to mistakes.
4. Explain why ranking projects according to their NPV
might not be optimal when you evaluate projects with
different resource requirements.
5. How can the profitability index be used to identify
attractive projects when there are resource constraints?

Homeworks
• 22,28,30,32 Chap 7

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Chapter 7

7.1 NPV and Stand-Alone Projects

Copyright ©2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 7-2

1. Define net present value, payback period,

4. Compare each of the capital

Copyright ©2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 7-4

• Consider a take-it-or-leave-it investment

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• The NPV of the project is calculated as:

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• Sometimes alternative investment rules

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• Internal Rate of Return (IRR)

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• In other cases, the IRR rule may disagree

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– The IRR is greater than the cost of capital. Thus,

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Gold IRR 23.38

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500, 000 500, 000 500, 000

– Since the NPV is negative, the NPV rule indicates

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– The NPV is calculated as:

500, 000 500, 000 500, 000 1, 000, 000

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• IRR Versus the IRR Rule

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• The payback period is amount of time it

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• Mutually Exclusive Projects

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Initial First-Year Growth Cost of

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• If a project’s size is doubled, its NPV will

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– Consider two of the projects from Example 7.3

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• Another problem with the IRR is that it can be

• Consider again the coffee shop and the music store

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• An IRR that is attractive for a safe project

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• Incremental IRR Investment Rule

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