The WACC of Clearfield Inc (CLFD) is 7.9%.
| Range | Selected | |
| Cost of equity | 6.40% - 9.50% | 7.95% | 
| Tax rate | 21.50% - 22.20% | 21.85% | 
| Cost of debt | 7.00% - 7.00% | 7.00% | 
| WACC | 6.4% - 9.4% | 7.9% | 
| Category | Low | High | 
| Long-term bond rate | 3.9% | 4.4% | 
| Equity market risk premium | 4.6% | 5.6% | 
| Adjusted beta | 0.55 | 0.83 | 
| Additional risk adjustments | 0.0% | 0.5% | 
| Cost of equity | 6.40% | 9.50% | 
| Tax rate | 21.50% | 22.20% | 
| Debt/Equity ratio | 0.01 | 0.01 | 
| Cost of debt | 7.00% | 7.00% | 
| After-tax WACC | 6.4% | 9.4% | 
| Selected WACC | 7.9% | |
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 CLFD:
cost_of_equity (7.95%) = risk_free_rate (4.15%) + equity_risk_premium (5.10%) * adjusted_beta (0.55) + 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.