Damodaran on Capital and Operating Leases
Dealing with Operating Leases in Valuation Aswath Damodaran Stern School of Business 44 West Fourth Street New York, NY 10012 adamodar@stern.nyu.edu
Abstract
Most firm valuation models start with the after-tax operating income as a measure of the operating income on a firm and reduce it by the reinvestment rate to arrive at the free cash flow to the firm. Implicitly, we assume that the operating expenses do not include any financing expenses (such as interest expense on debt). While this assumption, for the most part, is true, there is a significant exception. When a firm leases an asset, the accounting treatment of the expense depends upon whether it is categorized as an operating or a capital lease. Operating lease expenses are treated as part of the operating expenses, but we will argue that they really represent financing expenses. Consequently, the operating income, capital, profitability and cash flow measures for firms with operating leases have to be adjusted when operating lease expenses get categorized as financing expenses. This can have significant effects not just on valuation model inputs, but also on some multiples such as Value/EBITDA ratios that are widely used in valuation.
The operating income is a key input into every firm valuation model, and it is often obtained from an accounting income statement. In using this measure of earnings, we implicitly assume that operating expenses include only those expenses designed to create revenue in the current period, and that they do not include any financing expenses. For the most part, accounting statements separate out financing expenses such as interest expense and show them after operating income. There is one significant exception to this rule, and that is created by the accounting treatment of operating lease expenses, which are categorized as operating expenses to arrive at operating income. We will make the argument in this paper that these expenses are really financing expenses, and that
Abstract
Most firm valuation models start with the after-tax operating income as a measure of the operating income on a firm and reduce it by the reinvestment rate to arrive at the free cash flow to the firm. Implicitly, we assume that the operating expenses do not include any financing expenses (such as interest expense on debt). While this assumption, for the most part, is true, there is a significant exception. When a firm leases an asset, the accounting treatment of the expense depends upon whether it is categorized as an operating or a capital lease. Operating lease expenses are treated as part of the operating expenses, but we will argue that they really represent financing expenses. Consequently, the operating income, capital, profitability and cash flow measures for firms with operating leases have to be adjusted when operating lease expenses get categorized as financing expenses. This can have significant effects not just on valuation model inputs, but also on some multiples such as Value/EBITDA ratios that are widely used in valuation.
The operating income is a key input into every firm valuation model, and it is often obtained from an accounting income statement. In using this measure of earnings, we implicitly assume that operating expenses include only those expenses designed to create revenue in the current period, and that they do not include any financing expenses. For the most part, accounting statements separate out financing expenses such as interest expense and show them after operating income. There is one significant exception to this rule, and that is created by the accounting treatment of operating lease expenses, which are categorized as operating expenses to arrive at operating income. We will make the argument in this paper that these expenses are really financing expenses, and that