What is meant by weighted average cost of capital WACC?
James Williams
Updated on February 09, 2026
The weighted average cost of capital (WACC) is a calculation of a firm’s cost of capital in which each category of capital is proportionately weighted. All sources of capital, including common stock, preferred stock, bonds, and any other long-term debt, are included in a WACC calculation.
What is weighted average cost of capital WACC and why is it used in capital budgeting?
What is WACC used for? The Weighted Average Cost of Capital serves as the discount rate for calculating the Net Present Value (NPV) of a business. It is also used to evaluate investment opportunities, as it is considered to represent the firm’s opportunity cost. Thus, it is used as a hurdle rate by companies.
Is cost of capital the same as WACC?
Cost of capital typically encompasses the cost of both equity and debt, weighted according to the company’s preferred or existing capital structure, known as the weighted average cost of capital (WACC).
What does it mean to have a 10% cost of capital?
If the cost of capital is 10%, the net present value of the project (the value of the future cash flows discounted at that 10%, minus the $20 million investment) is essentially break-even—in effect, a coin-toss decision.
What do you mean by weighted average cost of capital?
WACC is the average after-tax cost of a company’s various capital sources, including common stock , preferred stock, bonds, and any other long-term debt. In other words, WACC is the average rate a company expects to pay to finance its assets.
Which is an example of a WACC calculator?
Investors use a WACC calculator to compute the minimum acceptable rate of return. If their return falls below the average cost, they are either losing money or incurring opportunity costs. Let’s take a look at an example. Assume the company yields an average return of 15% and has an average cost of 5% each year.
What does WACC stand for in financial statements?
In other words, WACC is the average rate a company expects to pay to finance its assets. Since a company’s financing is largely classified into two types – debt and equity – WACC is the average cost of raising that money, which is calculated in proportion to each of the sources.
How to calculate weighted average cost of capital for Starbucks?
Assuming that you are comfortable with the basic WACC examples, let us take a practical example to calculate WACC of Starbucks. Please note that Starbucks has no preferred shares and hence, WACC formula to be used is as follows – Market Value of Equity = Number of shares outstanding x current price.