4. 12.1 The Cost of Equity Capital Invest in project Firm with excess cash Shareholderâs Terminal Value Pay cash dividend Shareholder invests in financial asset Because stockholders can reinvest the dividend in risky financial assets, the expected return on a capital-budgeting project should be at least as great as the expected return on a financial asset of comparable risk. A firm with excess cash can either pay a dividend or make a capital investment
15. Operating Leverage Sales $ Fixed costs Total costs ï EBIT ï Sales Operating leverage increases as fixed costs rise and variable costs fall. Fixed costs Total costs
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34. Liquidity and the Cost of Capital Cost of Capital Liquidity An increase in liquidity ( i.e ., a reduction in trading costs) lowers a firmâs cost of capital.