We are pleased to release our thirteenth edition of the ValueTrust DACH Capital Market Study. The study was carried out by ValueTrust in cooperation with finexpert and the Financial Accounting and Auditing Group at the WU Vienna. With this study, we provide a data compilation of the capital market parameters which enable an enterprise valuation in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. It has the purpose to serve as an assistant and data source as well as to show trends in the analyzed parameters.

In this study, we analyze the relevant parameters to calculate the costs of capital based on the Capital Asset Pricing Model (risk-free rate, market risk premium and beta). Additionally, we determine implied as well as historical market and sector returns. Moreover, this study includes capital structure-adjusted implied sector returns, which serve as an indicator for the unlevered cost of equity. The relevered cost of equity can be calculated by adapting the company specific debt situation to the unlevered cost of equity. This procedure serves as an alternative to the CAPM.

Furthermore, we provide an analysis of empirical (ex-post) costs of equity in the form of total shareholder returns which consist of capital gains and dividends. The total shareholder returns can be used as a plausibility check of the implied (ex-ante) returns. Lastly, trading multiples frame the end of this study.