The WACC of Valero Energy Corp (VLO) is 5.2%.
| Range | Selected | |
| Cost of equity | 4.70% - 6.00% | 5.35% |
| Tax rate | 20.80% - 22.30% | 21.55% |
| Cost of debt | 4.50% - 4.70% | 4.60% |
| WACC | 4.6% - 5.8% | 5.2% |
| Category | Low | High |
| Long-term bond rate | 3.9% | 4.4% |
| Equity market risk premium | 4.6% | 5.6% |
| Adjusted beta | -0.25 | -0.16 |
| Additional risk adjustments | 2.0% | 2.5% |
| Cost of equity | 4.70% | 6.00% |
| Tax rate | 20.80% | 22.30% |
| Debt/Equity ratio | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Cost of debt | 4.50% | 4.70% |
| After-tax WACC | 4.6% | 5.8% |
| Selected WACC | 5.2% | |
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 VLO:
cost_of_equity (5.35%) = risk_free_rate (4.15%) + equity_risk_premium (5.10%) * adjusted_beta (-0.25) + risk_adjustments (2.25%)
We include the risk adjustments, which range from 0% to 1%, to keep our WACC conservatives, especially for companies traded in developing markets.