Stock Screener

Valuator

Education

Pricing

Community

Home

Stock Screener

Valuator

Education

Pricing

Community

Education

Learn the methods behind every number.

Valuations

Due Diligence

Key Financial Ratios

Verify Our Math

ROI Calculator

Institutional-grade investment tools for everyone. Built in Sweden.

Platform

Stock Screener

Valuator

Investment Score

Community

Education

Company

About

Pricing

Contact

Legal

Cookie Policy

DCF Verification

How to Verify Our DCF Valuation

This walkthrough shows you how to replicate InvestViable's DCF output in your own spreadsheet using the same inputs and the same methodology. Every formula is documented. Each step says where its inputs come from: the platform or the company's annual filing. If the numbers match, you know the analytical engine is sound. The guide covers the DCF (Cash Flow Valuation) method step by step. For EBITDA Multiple and Earnings Fair Value, concept-level overviews are included with links to the relevant Education sections. This guide assumes you know what a DCF is and have built one before.

The verification steps

How Does the DCF Verification Work?

Open a spreadsheet alongside the platform. Pick any stock. Note the base DCF fair value displayed under "Cash Flow Value." Then follow the four steps on the right. At each step, you compare your spreadsheet number to the platform's output. Use a large-cap stock (AAPL, MSFT, GOOGL) for your first verification.

Calculate Historical Free Cash Flow

Pull Operating Cash Flow and Capital Expenditures from the company's most recent annual filing and the year five years prior. Free Cash Flow = Operating Cash Flow minus Capital Expenditures. These two data points (CF_0 and CF_5) are your anchors. Take them from the company's annual filings. The stock page shows annual operating cash flow and the 5-year cash flow growth rate, so you can check your figures against it.

Discount to Present Value

Discount each projected cash flow by the expected rate of return: CF_N / (1 + r) ^ N. Calculate the terminal value using the perpetual growth model, then discount it back to present value: Terminal Value / (1 + r) ^ 5. The expected rate of return (r) is displayed on the valuation tool page. The perpetual growth rate is 2% in the base model.

Add the Cash Basis and Compare

Add the Cash Basis (Cash plus Short Term Investments) to the total present value. Debt is not subtracted: the free cash flow is already after interest, so subtracting debt would count it twice. Divide by the latest fiscal year's weighted-average diluted shares. Compare your per-share value to the Base Cash Flow Valuation (DCF) on the stock page. Within 5% using the same inputs means the methodology matches. Take cash, short-term investments and the share count from the same annual filing as your free cash flow.

Common Differences

Why Might Your Number Differ?

If you followed every step and your final number differs from the platform's output, these are the most common reasons. None of them indicate an error in the methodology. If your number is within 5% of ours using the same inputs, the methodology matches. If it diverges by more than 10%, work backwards through the steps. Check the inputs first, then the assumptions, then the Cash Basis components. If you find a genuine error in our calculations, contact us. We want to know.

Data Timing

Invest Viable uses data from Financial Modeling Prep (FMP), which updates on its own schedule tied to SEC filing dates. If you are pulling from Yahoo Finance, Morningstar, or directly from EDGAR, the data may reflect a different filing or a different reporting period.

Rounding and Precision

The platform carries full precision through all eight calculation steps and rounds only at display. If your spreadsheet rounds at each intermediate step, small differences compound. A 1-3% variance in the final output from rounding alone is normal.

What This Proves

What Does a Matching Result Tell You?

If you followed the steps and your spreadsheet matches the platform's output, you have verified the analytical engine behind every valuation on Invest Viable. The same methodology runs across 3,000+ US stocks simultaneously.

Methodology Confidence

When the numbers match your spreadsheet, you know the platform uses the same methodology you would build yourself. Trust earned through verification, not marketing.

Time Savings

The verification proves the output is equivalent to your manual work. Every future analysis can use the platform instead of rebuilding from scratch.

Full Transparency

Every formula is documented, and every input traces to the platform or the company's filing. No black boxes. The platform shows the same math you would do, not a proprietary algorithm you cannot inspect.

Error Detection

If you find a genuine discrepancy not explained by data timing, rounding, or Cash Basis components, contact us. Our credibility depends on the math being right.

Other Methods

Extending the Verification to EBITDA and Graham

EBITDA Multiple Verification

The EBITDA Multiple formula is simpler: Enterprise Value = EBITDA x Multiple. Then subtract net debt (Long Term Debt + Short Term Debt minus the Cash Basis) and divide by the same share count. The key variable is the EBITDA multiple, visible on the valuation tool. Unlike the DCF, this method subtracts debt, because EBITDA is before interest. If your EBITDA figure matches and you use the same multiple, the output should match within rounding.

Earnings Fair Value

The base version uses a multi-step normalized EPS calculation designed to smooth cyclical fluctuations, one-time charges, and accounting anomalies. The normalized EPS is then applied to Graham's intrinsic value formula. This is more involved to replicate, but the same verification logic applies: match each input, check each intermediate step, and identify where any divergence occurs. See the Earnings Fair Value Education section for the full methodology.

Education

Learn the methods behind every number.

Education

Learn the methods behind every number.

How to Verify Our DCF Valuation

How Does the DCF Verification Work?

Calculate Historical Free Cash Flow

Compute Growth Rate and Project Forward

Discount to Present Value

Add the Cash Basis and Compare

How is the DCF Fair Value Calculated?

Why Might Your Number Differ?

Data Timing

Rounding and Precision

What Does a Matching Result Tell You?

Methodology Confidence

Time Savings

Full Transparency

Error Detection

Extending the Verification to EBITDA and Graham

EBITDA Multiple Verification

Earnings Fair Value

Share Count

Fiscal Year Alignment

Cash Basis Components