The WACC of National Grid PLC (NG.L) is 9.3%.
| Range | Selected | |
| Cost of equity | 6.90% - 9.40% | 8.15% |
| Tax rate | 23.60% - 25.50% | 24.55% |
| Cost of debt | 4.00% - 24.00% | 14.00% |
| WACC | 5.0% - 13.5% | 9.3% |
| Category | Low | High |
| Long-term bond rate | 4.0% | 4.5% |
| Equity market risk premium | 6.0% | 7.0% |
| Adjusted beta | 0.48 | 0.63 |
| Additional risk adjustments | 0.0% | 0.5% |
| Cost of equity | 6.90% | 9.40% |
| Tax rate | 23.60% | 25.50% |
| Debt/Equity ratio | 0.93 | 0.93 |
| Cost of debt | 4.00% | 24.00% |
| After-tax WACC | 5.0% | 13.5% |
| Selected WACC | 9.3% | |
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 NG.L:
cost_of_equity (8.15%) = risk_free_rate (4.25%) + equity_risk_premium (6.50%) * adjusted_beta (0.48) + 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.