Shareholder value

Shareholder value is the value, or wealth, enjoyed by shareholders.

Maximising long-term value for shareholders is a fundamental principle of corporate governance.

The term 'shareholder value' describes the general trend away from historical accounts-based measures of performance, and toward economic value-based measures.

In simple terms, shareholder value is added or created when the return from the firm's investments exceeds its cost of capital.

In other words, when the Internal rate of return from investment projects exceeds the appropriately risk-adjusted Weighted average cost of capital.

Shareholder value management emphasises the consequences of management decision-making in terms of resulting market values, rather than in terms of purely accounting-based measures such as accounting profits or earnings per share.

Shareholder value calculations take account of:

(i) The market value of shares;

(ii) Dividends paid out to the shareholders;

(iii) Capital introduced by the shareholders; and

(iv) Capital returned to the shareholders.

See also

• Corporate finance
• Corporate governance
• Corporate value
• Cost of capital
• Dilution
• Earnings per share
• Economic value added
• Internal rate of return
• Market value
• Market value added
• Metric
• Multiples valuation
• Shareholder value analysis
• Total shareholder return
• Value driver
• VBM
• Weighted average cost of capital