decrease the price-to-earnings multiple不应该是表示P/E减小,那对公司是好事,表示将来看好这个公司,但是这里不是在说研发费用的支出将来会对公司带来负面效果,那就是说将来对公司不好,对公司是不利的,这样不应该是要增加P/E吗?再者对公司不好,那earning下降,肯定P/E也是增加的啊,为什么答案选了减小P/E。
题目:
Based on his financial forecast for Archway, French estimates a terminal value using a valuation multiple based on the company’s average price-to-earnings multiple (P/E) over the past five years. Wright discusses with French how the terminal value estimate is sensitive to key assumptions about the company’s future prospects. Wright asks French:
Q. The most appropriate response to Wright’s question about the technological development is to:
A. increase the required return.
B. decrease the price-to-earnings multiple.
C. decrease the perpetual growth rate.
Solution
B is correct. If the future growth or profitability of a company is likely to be lower than the historical average (in this case, because of a potential technological development), then the target multiple should reflect a discount to the historical multiple to reflect this difference in growth and/or profitability. If a multiple is used to derive the terminal value of a company, the choice of the multiple should be consistent with the long-run expectations for growth and required return. French tells Wright he believes that such a technological development may have an adverse impact on Archway beyond the forecast horizon.