The WACC of Sun Life Financial Inc (SLF.TO) is 8.0%.
| Range | Selected | |
| Cost of equity | 7.70% - 11.50% | 9.60% |
| Tax rate | 14.60% - 16.30% | 15.45% |
| Cost of debt | 5.00% - 5.00% | 5.00% |
| WACC | 6.7% - 9.4% | 8.0% |
| Category | Low | High |
| Long-term bond rate | 3.2% | 3.7% |
| Equity market risk premium | 5.1% | 6.1% |
| Adjusted beta | 0.9 | 1.2 |
| Additional risk adjustments | 0.0% | 0.5% |
| Cost of equity | 7.70% | 11.50% |
| Tax rate | 14.60% | 16.30% |
| Debt/Equity ratio | 0.41 | 0.41 |
| Cost of debt | 5.00% | 5.00% |
| After-tax WACC | 6.7% | 9.4% |
| Selected WACC | 8.0% | |
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 SLF.TO:
cost_of_equity (9.60%) = risk_free_rate (3.45%) + equity_risk_premium (5.60%) * adjusted_beta (0.9) + 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.