The WACC of South32 Ltd (S32.AX) is 9.3%.
| Range | Selected | |
| Cost of equity | 8.40% - 11.50% | 9.95% |
| Tax rate | 34.60% - 43.20% | 38.90% |
| Cost of debt | 5.10% - 6.30% | 5.70% |
| WACC | 7.9% - 10.8% | 9.3% |
| Category | Low | High |
| Long-term bond rate | 4.0% | 4.5% |
| Equity market risk premium | 5.1% | 6.1% |
| Adjusted beta | 0.85 | 1.07 |
| Additional risk adjustments | 0.0% | 0.5% |
| Cost of equity | 8.40% | 11.50% |
| Tax rate | 34.60% | 43.20% |
| Debt/Equity ratio | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Cost of debt | 5.10% | 6.30% |
| After-tax WACC | 7.9% | 10.8% |
| Selected WACC | 9.3% | |
The Cost of Equity reflects the return a company needs to deliver to shareholders to justify the risk of investing in its shares. It’s computed using the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM), which blends the risk-free rate, the stock’s beta, and the market risk premium.
This method evaluates the stock’s risk compared to a safe investment and the market’s overall volatility.
Here’s how we figure out the cost of equity for S32.AX:
cost_of_equity (9.95%) = risk_free_rate (4.25%) + equity_risk_premium (5.60%) * adjusted_beta (0.85) + risk_adjustments (0.25%)
We include the risk adjustments, which range from 0% to 1%, to keep our WACC conservatives, especially for companies traded in developing markets.