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Valuation in a Rising vs. Falling Interest Rate Environment

Valuation • Beginner Investing • 8 min

What this lesson is about

The same discount-rate math that values a bond explains why growth stocks get hit hardest when rates rise, and why they often rebound hardest when rates fall.

2 parts · a quick check after each · then the quiz

Part 1 of 2

You, know, that, a, DCF's, discount, rate, reflects, the, risk-free, interest, rate., Raising, this, rate, reduces, the, present, value, of, future, cash, flows., But, this, effect, isn't, the, same, for, every, stock., It, heavily, depends, on, when, a, company’s, cash, flows, actually, arrive., A, "growth, stock", has, small, or, negative, current, profits,, with, most, of, its, expected, value, far, in, the, future., It, acts, like, a, long-duration, bond:, its, present, value, is, very, sensitive, to, the, discount, rate, because, many, years, of, compounding, discount, apply, to, reach, today's, value., In, contrast,, a, "value, stock", is, a, mature,, profitable, company, that, generates, most, of, its, cash, flow, now., It, behaves, more, like, a, short-duration, bond:, less, sensitive,, since, there's, less, time, for, the, discount, rate, to, compound, against.

What you pay for the earningsA multiple is a number of years of profit. Move it and see how many.

Quick check

In a discounted cash flow model, what happens to the present value of a company's future cash flows when the discount rate rises, all else equal?

Part 2 of 2

2022, showed, this, mechanic, clearly., The, Federal, Reserve, raised, its, benchmark, rate, aggressively, that, year., It, went, from, near, zero, in, March, to, over, 4%, by, December,, fighting, inflation, that, had, hit, about, 9%., That, was, the, highest, in, around, four, decades., This, fast-rising, discount, rate, affected, growth-heavy, indices, much, more, than, value-oriented, ones., The, Nasdaq, Composite,, with, its, heavy, weighting, toward, growth, and, technology, stocks,, fell, about, a, third, that, year., This, decline, was, much, steeper, than, what, more, value-tilted, benchmarks, saw, during, the, same, period.

Insider, Angle:, This, is, exactly, why, the, terminal, value's, large, share, of, total, DCF, value, matters, so, much., For, a, growth, company,, most, of, its, estimated, worth, lies, in, that, far-future, terminal, value, component., This, part, is, most, sensitive, to, the, discount, rate., So,, a, rate, change, that, barely, affects, a, value, stock’s, valuation, can, significantly, reprice, a, growth, stock., The, mechanic, works, the, other, way, too., When, rates, fall,, the, discount, rate, drops,, lifting, long-duration, growth, stocks', present, values, the, most., Their, far-off, cash, flows, suddenly, become, more, valuable, today., That's, why, growth, stocks, often, benefit, more, during, falling-rate,, easing, cycles., Rates, aren’t, the, only, factor, in, growth, versus, value, performance, each, year., Company-specific, fundamentals, and, sentiment, also, matter., Still,, the, structural, sensitivity, from, discount-rate, math, is, real, and, worth, understanding.
Try, This:, Using, FV, =, PV, ×, (1, +, r)^n, solved, for, PV,, calculate, how, much, a, single, $1,000, cash, flow, arriving, 10, years, from, now, is, worth, today, at, a, 6%, discount, rate., Then, do, the, same, for, a, 9%, discount, rate., Next,, repeat, this, process, for, a, $1,000, cash, flow, arriving, just, 2, years, from, now,, at, the, same, two, rates., Which, cash, flow's, present, value, dropped, by, a, bigger, percentage, when, the, rate, rose?

Quick check

Why are 'growth stocks', companies whose expected profits sit mostly many years in the future, often compared to long-duration bonds when discussing interest rate sensitivity?

Quiz

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