Aswath Damodaran - The Value of a User

While traditional business valuations have treated cash flow as the ultimate metric for gauging success, many of today's companies focus more on the size of their user community than their bottom line. Responding to evolving perspectives, newer valuation models attempt to assign value to individual consumers, but these models involve a series of assumptions and generalizations that do not always withstand scrutiny. Using Uber as a case study, this session will compare and contrast user-based valuation models with more traditional discounted cash flow (DCF) models, identifying where they converge and diverge.
Aswath Damodaran holds the Kerschner Family Chair in Finance Education and is a Professor of Finance at New York University Stern School of Business. He received a B.A. in Accounting from Madras University, an M.S. in Management from the Indian Institute of Management, and an M.B.A. and Ph.D. in Finance from the University of California. He has been voted “Professor of the Year” by the graduating M.B.A. class five times during his career at NYU. In addition, Professor Damodaran is the author of several highly-regarded and widely-used academic texts on Valuation, Corporate Finance, and Investment Management. Professor Damodaran currently teaches Corporate Finance and Equity Instruments & Markets. His research interests include Information and Prices, Real Estate, and Valuation.
The L2 Digital Leadership Academy, led by faculty from NYU Stern, Kellogg School of Management, Harvard Business School, and L2 researchers, is a two-day conference rooted in business fundamentals coupled with tactical sessions on digital topics.

[@ruchiraramachandra5403]

his thinking is so clear

[@johnng5016]

Can’t believe this valuable information is free

[@rafaelmartins188]

Insane, best content I watched this year by far. Everyone should watch this.

[@Mr.SourPatchMan]

I love how informative this is. Thank you.

[@edwardkasimir8016]

This was a real treat for me.

[@pmahoney87]

Great session - he touched briefly on "mixed model" companies - I'd love to understand his perspective there.

[@mayare1919]

He broke it down with his original, signature model/approach and not once mentioned lifetime customer value

[@gurusukh]

Wonderful video from the guru of valuation. I think SHOP has it to become the next big thing in tech with all it's SMB as well as enterprise level merchants. This is one of those rare gems that doesn't get talked often due to their existence away from silicon valley.

[@mcfadden139]

In hindsight, this is spot on. Well done

[@gurusukh]

@@mcfadden139 Thanks. I still think Shopify is on the path to become one of the largest publicly traded companies over the coming decade. Although the path won't be that easy as it was over the past 5 years.

[@rudybig]

The G.O.A.T

[@vijaysarathi]

Will not sleep in such a teacher's class.. no wonder why these kind of teachers are in so high demand even for a hour of lectures

[@mgbonuzuroland394]

Great stuff-thanks for sharing

[@Saad_TheGod]

Great Vid!

[@gibranregiste-charles3847]

Amazing!! Does anyone know where I can get a copy of Aswath's presentation?

[@JohnnyBoiProductions]

Better than dancing cats. Much better.

[@klam77]

nice.

[@jeffreycohen7139]

Aswath, what about the user value for their data itself? Do you price in the user information sold to marketers or industry specialists as predictive information?

[@CalWillify]

I just got his book "Investment Valuation" (university edition) in the mail. It's phat.

[@DavidAxelrodP]

How can I get a ticket to the next conference??

[@LilacButterfly]

I would like to know what the guesstimates are now that they have expanded into food delivery

[@chongkokpeng9832]

I just wished he was my university lecturer....how different things would be?

[@chewie1355]

I like that he wipes out the BS

[@Martin65252]

This was informative. Is there any way we could get the slides?

[@KshitijPatil1]

Yes. Screenshot.

[@SuperKillaki]

You should value uber based on its CAC : CLV ratio and the strategic value of its data assets.

[@londonice5556]

Mr. Damodaran, I don´t understand why, in Backing into OperatingExpenses, youadd Net Revenues to Operating losses. Could you please explain me?. Thanks in advance

[@suhasjamdar7024]

He is bringing the hidden bullshit in tech companies out in open. Kudos

[@Dragon-ue7dm]

I wonder How many VCs tried to make him partner!

[@sp1xa]

an user*

[@sp1xa]

@@ritishsachdeva2570 after a year of consideration, i believe the former was correct

[@rajaking2789]

Users are money making tools, company has to take Care of them

[@gregorybattis9588]

4 stupid investment bankers disliked this video.

[@adrianbezler956]

He missed the point of replacing drivers with autonomous vehicles which will make UBERs numbers A LOT better.

[@wanderingsoul.654]

It can never happen as the uber itself does not own any vehicle so, the person who owns it has the power to automate the vehicle or not .as for automation in general for car sector it might possible that in future car become totally automated but the uber is not in car service business but it is car ride service business so automated car will no use to the uber . The revenue would be depend on no. Of users and on no. Of drivers as the cut for drivers are same of high as the automated car could have more maintenance charge than present one.

[@harrybrown6014]

Exactly why the stock is so trading much higher than his evaluation: Many people think that a driverless car taking you from point A to point B is somehow going to happen in reality.

[@teksitoe]

Strange, SAC/LTV/NFX is nothing new yet he never mentions those terms and peddles this as novel research after talking to an old friend, yet every concept he mentions is exactly that and reworded.

[@manubhatt3]

Mr. Aswath Damodaran got it all prioritized wrong. The real value of users/subscribers in the new age or 21st century is of data! We don't even know how much useful information we will be able to extract from that much data in future, and it's not that we are realizing our potential regarding that, even at present!

[@Futtkepup]

No