Calculator
Business valuation calculator
Estimate enterprise and equity value two ways — an EBITDA multiple applied to normalised earnings, and a discounted cash flow with an explicit forecast period and terminal value. Everything is calculated in your browser; nothing is uploaded or stored unless you choose to email yourself the result.
Written by CA Pranay Bhansali, Founder & Principal, Volaxi — Chartered Accountant (ICAI), former senior buy-side research analyst.
Last reviewed September 2026 · LinkedIn
The arithmetic is the easy part. Whether EBITDA is genuinely normalised, whether the comparable set is comparable, and whether the projection is supportable are the questions that determine the answer.
Inputs
Enter monetary values in any consistent currency unit (thousands or millions) and rates as percentages.
Multiple approach
Net debt
Discounted cash flow
Terminal value
Indicative value
- Enterprise value — multiple
- 90,000
- Enterprise value — DCF
- 90,612
- Less: net debt
- (13,500)
Equity value
- Multiple approach
- 76,500
- Discounted cash flow
- 77,112
- PV of forecast period
- 28,363
- PV of terminal value
- 62,249
- Terminal value as % of EV
- 69%
- DCF implied EV / EBITDA
- 7.6x
Indicative only. Not a valuation opinion and not advice.
Discounted cash flow schedule
| Year | Free cash flow | Discount factor | Present value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6,890 | 0.901 | 6,207 |
| 2 | 7,303 | 0.812 | 5,928 |
| 3 | 7,742 | 0.731 | 5,661 |
| 4 | 8,206 | 0.659 | 5,406 |
| 5 | 8,698 | 0.593 | 5,162 |
| Terminal value | 104,893 | 0.593 | 62,249 |
| Enterprise value | 90,612 |
01
How the two methods differ
A multiple prices the business against what the market is currently paying for comparable earnings streams. A discounted cash flow prices it against the cash it is expected to generate. Both produce enterprise value on a cash-free, debt-free basis, which is why the same net debt deduction applies to each. Where they diverge materially, the divergence is the finding — either the projection is more optimistic than the market view, or the comparable set is not comparable.
Normalisation drives the multiple
A half-turn of multiple is worth less than a correctly identified add-back. Earnings quality work precedes multiple selection.
Cash flow, not accounting profit
Unlevered free cash flow is EBIT less cash tax, plus depreciation and amortisation, less capital expenditure and the movement in working capital.
Discount rate consistency
Unlevered cash flows are discounted at WACC. Discounting equity cash flows at WACC double counts the benefit of leverage.
Terminal value discipline
Where terminal value exceeds three quarters of enterprise value, the explicit forecast is doing too little work. Cross-check Gordon growth against an exit multiple.
Enterprise to equity
Net debt here is a simplification. A completion bridge covers debt-like items and the working capital adjustment line by line.
02
Common questions
How is a business valued using an EBITDA multiple?
Normalised EBITDA is multiplied by a multiple observed in trading comparables or precedent transactions to give enterprise value. Equity value is then derived by adding cash and cash-like items and deducting debt and debt-like items. The quality of the answer depends far more on how EBITDA was normalised than on the multiple selected.
What is a discounted cash flow valuation?
A discounted cash flow discounts projected unlevered free cash flow, plus a terminal value, back to present value at the weighted average cost of capital. The result is enterprise value on the same cash-free, debt-free basis as a multiple-derived value, so the two can be compared directly.
How is terminal value calculated?
This calculator supports both conventions. The Gordon growth method divides the final year's free cash flow, grown one further year, by the discount rate less the perpetual growth rate. The exit multiple method applies an EBITDA multiple to terminal-year EBITDA. Cross-checking one against the other is standard review practice.
How do you move from enterprise value to equity value?
Add cash and cash-like items, deduct debt and debt-like items, and adjust for any difference between working capital delivered at completion and the agreed peg. The full line-by-line schedule is set out in the equity bridge calculator.
Is this calculator a valuation?
No. It is an indicative arithmetic model. A defensible valuation requires normalised earnings, a supportable projection, a cost of capital built from observable inputs, and comparables screened for genuine comparability. Those are judgment calls that sit outside any tool.
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