The WACC of Appen Ltd (APX.AX) is 9.4%.
| Range | Selected | |
| Cost of equity | 8.20% - 11.10% | 9.65% |
| Tax rate | 3.30% - 11.30% | 7.30% |
| Cost of debt | 4.00% - 4.60% | 4.30% |
| WACC | 8.0% - 10.8% | 9.4% |
| Category | Low | High |
| Long-term bond rate | 4.0% | 4.5% |
| Equity market risk premium | 5.1% | 6.1% |
| Adjusted beta | 0.82 | 0.99 |
| Additional risk adjustments | 0.0% | 0.5% |
| Cost of equity | 8.20% | 11.10% |
| Tax rate | 3.30% | 11.30% |
| Debt/Equity ratio | 0.05 | 0.05 |
| Cost of debt | 4.00% | 4.60% |
| After-tax WACC | 8.0% | 10.8% |
| Selected WACC | 9.4% | |
The Cost of Equity reflects the return a company needs to deliver to shareholders to justify the risk of investing in its shares. It’s computed using the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM), which blends the risk-free rate, the stock’s beta, and the market risk premium.
This method evaluates the stock’s risk compared to a safe investment and the market’s overall volatility.
Here’s how we figure out the cost of equity for APX.AX:
cost_of_equity (9.65%) = risk_free_rate (4.25%) + equity_risk_premium (5.60%) * adjusted_beta (0.82) + risk_adjustments (0.25%)
We include the risk adjustments, which range from 0% to 1%, to keep our WACC conservatives, especially for companies traded in developing markets.