The WACC of Cornerstone OnDemand Inc (CSOD) is 8.2%.
| Range | Selected | |
| Cost of equity | 6.90% - 9.90% | 8.40% | 
| Tax rate | 9.70% - 29.30% | 19.50% | 
| Cost of debt | 6.60% - 13.10% | 9.85% | 
| WACC | 6.7% - 9.7% | 8.2% | 
| Category | Low | High | 
| Long-term bond rate | 3.2% | 3.7% | 
| Equity market risk premium | 4.2% | 5.2% | 
| Adjusted beta | 0.87 | 1.09 | 
| Additional risk adjustments | 0.0% | 0.5% | 
| Cost of equity | 6.90% | 9.90% | 
| Tax rate | 9.70% | 29.30% | 
| Debt/Equity ratio | 0.31 | 0.31 | 
| Cost of debt | 6.60% | 13.10% | 
| After-tax WACC | 6.7% | 9.7% | 
| Selected WACC | 8.2% | |
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 CSOD:
cost_of_equity (8.40%) = risk_free_rate (3.45%) + equity_risk_premium (4.70%) * adjusted_beta (0.87) + 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.