What is a DCF valuation?

A discounted cash flow valuation estimates a company's value by forecasting future free cash flows and discounting them back to today using a required return or WACC.

What inputs do I need?

You need a starting free cash flow, a forecast growth rate, discount rate, terminal growth rate, net debt, and shares outstanding. You can also edit each forecast year directly.

How is terminal value calculated?

This model uses the Gordon Growth method: terminal value equals final forecast-year free cash flow multiplied by one plus terminal growth, divided by discount rate minus terminal growth.

Can I export the DCF model?

Yes. You can download the completed DCF valuation as PNG or PDF, and you can save the model to your Chartcrate dashboard.

DCF Valuation Model

Forecast free cash flow, discount it, estimate terminal value, and calculate implied value per share.

Company / case

Your name (optional)

Best for Estimating intrinsic company value from future free cash flow assumptions.

Use when You need a structured valuation for equity research, case work, investment analysis, or scenario planning.

Output includes Forecast cash flows, present values, terminal value, enterprise value, equity value, and implied value per share.

Currency symbol

Current free cash flow

Use the latest annual unlevered free cash flow. Values can be in millions or billions if used consistently.

Forecast FCF growth (%)

Applied to generate the forecast. You can edit each forecast year afterward.

Discount rate / WACC (%)

Terminal growth (%)

Must be below the discount rate for a valid Gordon Growth terminal value.

Net debt

Debt minus cash. Use a negative number for net cash.

Diluted shares outstanding

Use the same scale as cash flows. Example: millions of shares with cash flows in millions.

DCF Valuation

Implied value / share

Enterprise value

Equity value

Terminal value share

DCF model detail

Year	Free cash flow	Discount factor	PV of FCF
PV of explicit FCF			-
PV of terminal value			-

Valuation bridge

Adjust the assumptions to update the valuation.

How this DCF works

The model forecasts five years of free cash flow, discounts each year back to today, then estimates terminal value with the Gordon Growth method.

Enterprise value = PV of forecast free cash flows + PV of terminal value.

Equity value = Enterprise value - net debt. Implied value per share = equity value / diluted shares.

Watch outs

Small changes to discount rate and terminal growth can move valuation materially.
Use unlevered free cash flow if your discount rate is WACC.
Terminal growth should usually be conservative and below long-run nominal GDP growth.

Pair with related tools

Build the valuation alongside supporting analysis:

Company Financials Analyzer — pull historical fundamentals before forecasting.
NPV & IRR Calculator — evaluate standalone project cash flows.
Monte Carlo Simulator — stress-test uncertain assumptions.