Methodology
Trefis analyzes how a company's products impact its stock price. Using mathematical models to forecast a company's future revenues, costs and cash profits then discounting them to the present, Trefis comes up with a Trefis Price. The Trefis Price is an estimate of the fair or intrinsic value of the company's present stock price.
The selection process
The Trefis tool currently covers 200+ symbols. In building its coverage Trefis selected companies using the following criteria:
- Companies with high interest among retail investors were more likely to be selected. Interest among retail investors was judged by percentage of retail ownership, overall volume of news flow, as-well-as general awareness in the marketplace.
- Market cap/size: Larger cap companies are more popular and cater to the interests of a larger set of investors/finance site visitors, and as-such were more likely to be selected.
- Sector-wise coverage build-out: Trefis also selected to cover companies in the same market, at the same time. For example, when Trefis started covering Apple, covering other companies like Hewlett Packard and Dell in the mobile, and notebooks/desktop markets was a natural next step.
Trefis initially started out covering companies in technology, media and telecom sectors. Since then it has expanded coverage to consumer, automotive, financial services and energy. Trefis is currently building out more coverage within industrials and will be moving into health care over the next year. Trefis also builds out coverage selectively on smaller companies that have high growth potential as well as companies that are in the process of going public and attract interest from finance site visitors and investors.
Trefis does not favor any companies, except follow the selection mechanism outlined above to guide its judgment.
The Trefis tool limitations:
- The Trefis price estimate may not converge with market price: The Trefis price estimate is an estimate of the intrinsic value of a company; just like a price estimate that any other Wall Street firm might come up with. Trefis understands that multiple factors, some quantifiable, and some not so easily tackled, influence a company's stock price. Though the Trefis view is a very detailed fundamental model of the business, it is still just a model - an artificial representation of the real company, which is much more complex.
- No user modification of structure: While Trefis allows users to modify forecasts for any of the drivers in its analysis of a company; it currently does not allow users to change the structure by adding or removing drivers or divisions.
The Trefis Tool Key assumptions
- The Trefis price includes forecasts of a company's fundamental drivers (examples: pricing, units, market share of a company's product lines), which are then factored into the Trefis price estimate for the company's stock.
- In addition, Trefis discounts a company's cash flows at a company-specific discount rate. Cash flows beyond the explicit forecast period are accounted for using a terminal growth rate.
IMPORTANT: The projections or other information generated by the Trefis price estimate tool regarding the likelihood of various investment outcomes are hypothetical in nature, do not reflect actual investment results and are not guarantees of future results. Results will vary with each use and over time.