The projected fair value for DexCom is US$106 based on 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity
With US$110 share price, DexCom appears to be trading close to its estimated fair value
The US$150 analyst price target for DXCM is 41% more than our estimate of fair value
Today we will run through one way of estimating the intrinsic value of DexCom, Inc. (NASDAQ:DXCM) by estimating the company's future cash flows and discounting them to their present value. Our analysis will employ the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. Models like these may appear beyond the comprehension of a lay person, but they're fairly easy to follow.
We generally believe that a company's value is the present value of all of the cash it will generate in the future. However, a DCF is just one valuation metric among many, and it is not without flaws. If you still have some burning questions about this type of valuation, take a look at the Simply Wall St analysis model.
Crunching The Numbers
We use what is known as a 2-stage model, which simply means we have two different periods of growth rates for the company's cash flows. Generally the first stage is higher growth, and the second stage is a lower growth phase. In the first stage we need to estimate the cash flows to the business over the next ten years. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.
A DCF is all about the idea that a dollar in the future is less valuable than a dollar today, so we discount the value of these future cash flows to their estimated value in today's dollars:
10-year free cash flow (FCF) forecast
2024
2025
2026
2027
2028
2029
2030
2031
2032
2033
Levered FCF ($, Millions)
US$672.7m
US$877.8m
US$1.14b
US$1.41b
US$1.72b
US$1.95b
US$2.14b
US$2.31b
US$2.45b
US$2.57b
Growth Rate Estimate Source
Analyst x4
Analyst x6
Analyst x4
Analyst x2
Analyst x2
Est @ 13.31%
Est @ 10.03%
Est @ 7.73%
Est @ 6.13%
Est @ 5.00%
Present Value ($, Millions) Discounted @ 6.8%
US$630
US$770
US$936
US$1.1k
US$1.2k
US$1.3k
US$1.4k
US$1.4k
US$1.4k
US$1.3k
("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St) Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = US$11b
The second stage is also known as Terminal Value, this is the business's cash flow after the first stage. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a country's GDP growth. In this case we have used the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield (2.4%) to estimate future growth. In the same way as with the 10-year 'growth' period, we discount future cash flows to today's value, using a cost of equity of 6.8%.
Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= US$60b÷ ( 1 + 6.8%)10= US$31b
The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is US$42b. In the final step we divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Relative to the current share price of US$110, the company appears around fair value at the time of writing. The assumptions in any calculation have a big impact on the valuation, so it is better to view this as a rough estimate, not precise down to the last cent.
NasdaqGS:DXCM Discounted Cash Flow June 26th 2024
Important Assumptions
The calculation above is very dependent on two assumptions. The first is the discount rate and the other is the cash flows. Part of investing is coming up with your own evaluation of a company's future performance, so try the calculation yourself and check your own assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at DexCom as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 6.8%, which is based on a levered beta of 0.959. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business.
SWOT Analysis for DexCom
Strength
Earnings growth over the past year exceeded the industry.
Debt is not viewed as a risk.
Balance sheet summary for DXCM.
Weakness
Expensive based on P/E ratio and estimated fair value.
Shareholders have been diluted in the past year.
Opportunity
Annual earnings are forecast to grow faster than the American market.
Threat
Revenue is forecast to grow slower than 20% per year.
What else are analysts forecasting for DXCM?
Next Steps:
Although the valuation of a company is important, it shouldn't be the only metric you look at when researching a company. The DCF model is not a perfect stock valuation tool. Instead the best use for a DCF model is to test certain assumptions and theories to see if they would lead to the company being undervalued or overvalued. If a company grows at a different rate, or if its cost of equity or risk free rate changes sharply, the output can look very different. For DexCom, there are three essential aspects you should further research:
Risks: To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with DexCom .
Future Earnings: How does DXCM's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart.
Other Solid Businesses: Low debt, high returns on equity and good past performance are fundamental to a strong business. Why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals to see if there are other companies you may not have considered!
PS. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every American stock every day, so if you want to find the intrinsic value of any other stock just search here.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content?Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com
