The WACC of LendingClub Corp (LC) is 11.4%.
| Range | Selected | |
| Cost of equity | 10.50% - 15.70% | 13.10% |
| Tax rate | 12.90% - 24.10% | 18.50% |
| Cost of debt | 5.00% - 23.90% | 14.45% |
| WACC | 5.0% - 17.8% | 11.4% |
| Category | Low | High |
| Long-term bond rate | 3.9% | 4.4% |
| Equity market risk premium | 4.6% | 5.6% |
| Adjusted beta | 1.45 | 1.93 |
| Additional risk adjustments | 0.0% | 0.5% |
| Cost of equity | 10.50% | 15.70% |
| Tax rate | 12.90% | 24.10% |
| Debt/Equity ratio | 7.69 | 7.69 |
| Cost of debt | 5.00% | 23.90% |
| After-tax WACC | 5.0% | 17.8% |
| Selected WACC | 11.4% | |
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 LendingClub:
cost_of_equity (13.10%) = risk_free_rate (4.15%) + equity_risk_premium (5.10%) * adjusted_beta (1.45) + 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.