Definition of Discount

Discount

Referring to the selling price of a bond, a price below its par value. Related: premium.

Discount

The percentage amount at which bonds sell below their par value. Also the percentage amount at which a currency sells on the forward market below its current rate on the spot market.

ADF (annuity discount factor)

the present value of a finite stream of cash flows for every beginning $1 of cash flow.

DLOC (discount for lack of control)

an amount or percentage deducted from a pro rata share of the value of 100% of an equity interest in a business, to reflect the absence of some or all of the powers of control.

DLOM (discount for lack of marketability)

an amount or percentage deducted from an equity interest to reflect lack of marketability.

discount rate

the rate of return on investment that would be required by a prudent investor to invest in an asset with a specific level risk. Also, a rate of return used to convert a monetary sum, payable or receivable in the future, into present value.

fractional interest discount

the combined discounts for lack of control and marketability. g the constant growth rate in cash flows or net income used in the ADF, Gordon model, or present value factor.

QMDM (quantitative marketability discount model)

model for calculating DLOM for minority interests r the discount rate

Accretion (of a discount)

In portfolio accounting, a straight-line accumulation of capital gains on discount
bond in anticipation of receipt of par at maturity.

Bank discount basis

A convention used for quoting bids and offers for treasury bills in terms of annualized
yield , based on a 360-day year.

Cash discount

An incentive offered to purchasers of a firm's product for payment within a specified time
period, such as ten days.

Deep-discount bond

A bond issued with a very low coupon or no coupon and selling at a price far below par
value. When the bond has no coupon, it's called a zero coupon bond.

Discount bond

Debt sold for less than its principal value. If a discount bond pays no interest, it is called a
zero coupon bond.

Discount factor

Present value of $1 received at a stated future date.

Discount period

The period during which a customer can deduct the discount from the net amount of the bill
when making payment.

Discount rate

The interest rate that the Federal Reserve charges a bank to borrow funds when a bank is
temporarily short of funds. Collateral is necessary to borrow, and such borrowing is quite limited because the
Fed views it as a privilege to be used to meet short-term liquidity needs, and not a device to increase earnings.

Discount securities

Non-interest-bearing money market instruments that are issued at a discount and
redeemed at maturity for full face value, e.g. U.S. Treasury bills.

Discount window

Facility provided by the Fed enabling member banks to borrow reserves against collateral
in the form of governments or other acceptable paper.

Discounted basis

Selling something on a discounted basis is selling below what its value will be at maturity,
so that the difference makes up all or part of the interest.

Discounted cash flow (DCF)

Future cash flows multiplied by discount factors to obtain present values.

Discounted dividend model (DDM)

A formula to estimate the intrinsic value of a firm by figuring the
present value of all expected future dividends.

Discounted payback period rule

An investment decision rule in which the cash flows are discounted at an
interest rate and the payback rule is applied on these discounted cash flows.

Discounting

Calculating the present value of a future amount. The process is opposite to compounding.

Dividend discount model (DDM)

A model for valuing the common stock of a company, based on the
present value of the expected cash flows.

Documented discount notes

Commercial paper backed by normal bank lines plus a letter of credit from a
bank stating that it will pay off the paper at maturity if the borrower does not. Such paper is also referred to as
LOC (letter of credit) paper.

Forward discount

A currency trades at a forward discount when its forward price is lower than its spot price.

Original issue discount debt (OID debt)

Debt that is initially offered at a price below par.

Pure-discount bond

A bond that will make only one payment of principal and interest. Also called a zerocoupon
bond or a single-payment bond.

Discounted cash flow (DCF)

A method of investment appraisal that discounts future cash flows to present value using a discount rate, which is the risk-adjusted cost of capital.

Purchase discounts

A contra account that reduces purchases by the amount of the discounts taken for early payment.

Sales discounts

A contra account that offsets revenue. It represents the amount of the discounts for early payment allowed on sales.

discounted cash flow (DCF)

Refers to a capital investment analysis technique
that discounts, or scales down, the future cash returns from an
investment based on the cost-of-capital rate for the business. In essence,
each future return is downsized to take into account the cost of capital
from the start of the investment until the future point in time when the
return is received. Present value (PV) is the amount resulting from discounting
the future returns. Present value is subtracted from the entry
cost of the investment to determine net present value (NPV). The net
present value is positive if the present value is more than the entry cost,
which signals that the investment would earn more than the cost-ofcapital
rate. If the entry cost is more than the present value, the net
present value is negative, which means that the investment would earn
less than the business’s cost-of-capital rate.

Continuous Discounting

The process of calculating the present value of a stream of future
cash flows by discounting over a continuous period of time

Discount Rate

The rate of interest used to calculate the present value of a stream
of future cash flows

Discounting

The process of calculating the present value of a stream of future
cash flows

ad hoc discount

a price concession made under competitive pressure (real or imagined) that does not relate to quantity purchased

discounting

the process of reducing future cash flows to present value amounts

discount rate

the rate of return used to discount future cash
flows to their present value amounts; it should equal or
exceed an organization’s weighted average cost of capital

risk-adjusted discount rate method

a formal method of adjusting for risk in which the decision maker increases the rate used for discounting the future cash flows to compensate for increased risk

Discount curve

The curve of discount rates vs. maturity dates for bonds.

Discounted cash flow

A technique that determines the present value of future cash
flows by applying a rate to each periodic cash flow that is derived from the cost of
capital. Multiplying this discount by each future cash flow results in an amount that
is the present value of all the future cash flows.

Sales discount

A reduction in the price of a product or service that is offered by the
seller in exchange for early payment by the buyer.

constant-growth dividend discount model

Version of the dividend discount model in which dividends grow at a constant rate.

discount factor

Present value of a $1 future payment.

discount rate

Interest rate used to compute present values of future cash flows.

dividend discount model

Computation of today’s stock price which states that share value equals the present value of all expected future dividends.

Discount Bond

A bond with no coupons, priced below its face value; the return on this bond comes from the difference between its face value and its current price.

Discounting

Calculating the present value of a future payment.

Discount Rate

The interest rate at which the Fed is prepared to loan reserves to commercial banks.

Discount Window

The Federal Reserve facility at which reserves are loaned to banks at the discount rate.

Non-Smoker Discount

In October 1996 it was announced in the international news that scientists had finally located the link between cigarette smoking and lung cancer. In the early 1980's, some Canadian Life Insurance Companies had already started recognizing that non-smokers had a better life expectancy than smokers so commenced offering premium discounts for life insurance to new applicants who have been non-smokers for at least 12 months before applying for coverage. Today, most life insurance companies offer these discounts.
Savings to non-smokers can be up to 50% of regular premium depending on age and insurance company. Most life insurance companies offering non-smoker rates insist that the person applying for coverage have abstained from any form of tobacco or marijuana for at least twelve months, some companies insist on longer periods, up to 15 years.
Tobacco use is generally considered to be cigarettes, cigarillos, cigars, pipes, chewing tobacco, nicorette gum, snuff, marijuana and nicotine patches. In addition to these, if anyone tests positive to cotinine, a by-product of nicotine, they are also considered a smoker. There are some insurance companies which allow moderate or occasional use of cigars, cigarillos or pipes as acceptable for non-smoker status. Experienced brokers are aware of how to locate these insurance companies and save you money.
Special care should be taken by applicants for coverage who qualify for non-smoker rates by virtue of having ceased a smoking habit for the required period before application, but for some reason, fall back into the smoking habit some time after obtaining coverage. While contractually, the insurance company is still bound to a non-smoking rate, the facts of the applicant's smoking hiatus may become vague over the subsequent years of the resumed habit and at time of death claim, the insurance company may decide to contest the original non-smoking declaration. The consequence is not simply a need to back pay the difference between non-smoker and smoker rates but in reality the possibility of denial of death claim. It is therefore, important to advise the servicing broker as well as the insurance company of the change in smoking habits to make certain that sufficient evidence is documented to track the non-smoking period.

Discount Rate

A rate of return used to convert a monetary sum, payable or receivable in the future, into present value.

Discounted Cash Flow

Techniques for establishing the relative worth of a future investment by discounting (at a required rate of return) the expected net cash flows from the project.

Discounting

The process of finding the present value of a series of future cash flows. discounting is the reverse of compounding.

Discounting of Accounts Receivable

Short-term financing in which accounts receivable are used as collateral to secure a loan. The lender does not buy the accounts receivable but simply uses them as collateral for the loan. Also called pledging of accounts receivable.

Supplier Discount

An amount deducted from an invoice by a supplier in exchange for quick payment (a typical example might be a 2% discount if paid in 10 days or the full amount of the invoice in 30 days).

economic components model

Abrams’ model for calculating DLOM based on the interaction of discounts from four economic components.
This model consists of four components: the measure of the economic impact of the delay-to-sale, monopsony power to buyers, and incremental transactions costs to both buyers and sellers.

log size model

Abrams’ model to calculate discount rates as a function of the logarithm of the value of the firm.

PV (present value of cash flows)

the value in today’s dollars of cash flows that occur in different time periods.
present value factor equal to the formula 1/(1 - r)n, where n is the number of years from the valuation date to the cash flow and r is the discount rate.
For business valuation, n should usually be midyear, i.e., n = 0.5, 1.5, . . .

All equity rate

The discount rate that reflects only the business risks of a project and abstracts from the
effects of financing.

Attribute bias

The tendency of stocks preferred by the dividend discount model to share certain equity
attributes such as low price-earnings ratios, high dividend yield, high book-value ratio or membership in a
particular industry sector.

Banker's acceptance

A short-term credit investment created by a non-financial firm and guaranteed by a
bank as to payment. Acceptances are traded at discounts from face value in the secondary market. These
instruments have been a popular investment for money market funds. They are commonly used in
international transactions.

Basic IRR rule

Accept the project if IRR is greater than the discount rate; reject the project is lower than the
discount rate.

Commission

The fee paid to a broker to execute a trade, based on number of shares, bonds, options, and/or
their dollar value. In 1975, deregulation led to the creation of discount brokers, who charge lower
commissions than full service brokers. Full service brokers offer advice and usually have a full staff of
analysts who follow specific industries. discount brokers simply execute a client's order -- and usually do not
offer an opinion on a stock. Also known as a round-turn.

Constant-growth model

Also called the Gordon-Shapiro model, an application of the dividend discount
model which assumes (1) a fixed growth rate for future dividends and (2) a single discount rate.

Corporate taxable equivalent

Rate of return required on a par bond to produce the same after-tax yield to
maturity that the premium or discount bond quoted would.

Cost of limited partner capital

The discount rate that equates the after-tax inflows with outflows for capital
raised from limited partners.

DCF

See: discounted cash flows.

Debt swap

A set of transactions (also called a debt-equity swap) in which a firm buys a country's dollar bank
debt at a discount and swaps this debt with the central bank for local currency that it can use to acquire local
equity.

Deferred futures

The most distant months of a futures contract. A bond that sells at a discount and does not
pay interest for an initial period, typically from three to seven years. Compare step-up bond and payment-inkind
bond.

Dividend reinvestment plan (DRP)

Automatic reinvestment of shareholder dividends in more shares of a
company's stock, often without commissions. Some plans provide for the purchase of additional shares at a
discount to market price. Dividend reinvestment plans allow shareholders to accumulate stock over the Long
term using dollar cost averaging. The DRP is usually administered by the company without charges to the
holder.

Eligible bankers' acceptances

In the BA market, an acceptance may be referred to as eligible because it is
acceptable by the Fed as collateral at the discount window and/or because the accepting bank can sell it
without incurring a reserve requirement.

Internal rate of return

Dollar-weighted rate of return. discount rate at which net present value (NPV)
investment is zero. The rate at which a bond's future cash flows, discounted back to today, equals its price.

Intrinsic value of a firm

The present value of a firm's expected future net cash flows discounted by the
required rate of return.

Investment trust

A closed-end fund regulated by the Investment Company Act of 1940. These funds have a
fixed number of shares which are traded on the secondary markets similarly to corporate stocks. The market
price may exceed the net asset value per share, in which case it is considered at a "premium." When the
market price falls below the NAV/share, it is at a "discount." Many closed-end funds are of a specialized
nature, with the portfolio representing a particular industry, country, etc. These funds are usually listed on US
and foreign exchanges.

Market capitalization rate

Expected return on a security. The market-consensus estimate of the appropriate
discount rate for a firm's cash flows.

Net period

The period of time between the end of the discount period and the date payment is due.

NPV profile

A graph of NPV as a function of the discount rate.

Poison pill

Anit-takeover device that gives a prospective acquiree's shareholders the right to buy shares of the
firm or shares of anyone who acquires the firm at a deep discount to their fair market value. Named after the
cyanide pill that secret agents are instructed to swallow if capture is imminent.

Price risk

The risk that the value of a security (or a portfolio) will decline in the future. Or, a type of
mortgage-pipeline risk created in the production segment when loan terms are set for the borrower in advance
of terms being set for secondary market sale. If the general level of rates rises during the production cycle, the
lender may have to sell his originated loans at a discount.

Rights offering

Issuance of "rights" to current shareholders allowing them to purchase additional shares,
usually at a discount to market price. Shareholders who do not exercise these rights are usually diluted by the
offering. Rights are often transferable, allowing the holder to sell them on the open market to others who may
wish to exercise them. Rights offerings are particularly common to closed end funds, which cannot otherwise
issue additional common stock.

Settlement rate

The rate suggested in Financial Accounting Standard Board (FASB) 87 for discounting the
obligations of a pension plan. The rate at which the pension benefits could be effectively settled off the
pension plan wished to terminate its pension obligation.

Three-phase DDM

A version of the dividend discount model which applies a different expected dividend
rate depending on a company's life-cycle phase, growth phase, transition phase, or maturity phase.

True interest cost

For a security such as commercial paper that is sold on a discount basis, the coupon rate
required to provide an identical return assuming a coupon-bearing instrument of like maturity that pays
interest in arrears.

Value manager

A manager who seeks to buy stocks that are at a discount to their "fair value" and sell them at
or in excess of that value. Often a value stock is one with a low price to book value ratio.

Zero coupon bond

Such a debt security pays an investor no interest. It is sold at a discount to its face price
and matures in one year or longer.

NET SALES (revenue)

The amount sold after customers’ returns, sales discounts, and other allowances are taken away from
gross sales. (Companies usually just show the net sales amount on their income statements, omitting returns, allowances, and the like.)

Internal rate of return (IRR)

A discounted cash flow technique used for investment appraisal that calculates the effective cost of capital that produces a net present value of zero from a series of future cash flows and an
initial capital investment.

Net present value (NPV)

A discounted cash flow technique used for investment appraisal that calculates the present value of future cash flows and deducts the initial capital investment.

internal rate of return (IRR)

The precise discount rate that makes the
present value (PV) of the future cash returns from a capital investment
exactly equal to the initial amount of capital invested. If IRR is higher
than the company’s cost-of-capital rate, the investment is an attractive
opportunity; if less, the investment is substandard from the cost-ofcapital
point of view.

present value (PV)

This amount is calculated by discounting the future
cash returns from a capital investment. The discount rate usually is the
cost-of-capital rate for the business. If PV is more than the initial amount
of capital that has to be invested, the investment is attractive. If less,
then better investment alternatives should be found.

revenue-driven expenses

Operating expenses that vary in proportion to
changes in total sales revenue (total dollars of sales). Examples are sales
commissions based on sales revenue, credit card discount expenses, and
rents and franchise fees based on sales revenue. These expenses are one
of the key variables in a profit model. Segregating these expenses from
other types of expenses that behave differently is essential for management
decision-making analysis. (These expenses are not disclosed separately
in externally reported income statements.)

weighted-average cost of capital

Weighted means that the proportions of
debt capital and equity capital of a business are used to calculate its
average cost of capital. This key benchmark rate depends on the interest
rate(s) on its debt and the ROE goal established by a business. This is a
return-on-capital rate and can be applied either on a before-tax basis or
an after-tax basis. A business should earn at least its weighted-average
rate on the capital invested in its assets. The weighted-average cost-ofcapital
rate is used as the discount rate to calculate the present value
(PV) of specific investments.

Internal Rate of Return (IRR)

The discount rate that equates the present value of the net cash
inflows with the present value of the net cash outflows
(investments). The IRR measures the profitability (rate of return) of
an investment in a project or security.

Present Value (PV)

The dollar value at the present time (year zero) of a single cash
flow or a stream of future cash flows. The present value is
calculated by discounting the future cash flows.

Zero-coupon Bond

A security that makes no interest payments; it is sold at a discount
at issue and then repaid at face value at maturity

internal rate of return (IRR)

the expected or actual rate of
return from a project based on, respectively, the assumed
or actual cash flows; the discount rate at which the net
present value of the cash flows equals zero

net present value method

a process that uses the discounted
cash flows of a project to determine whether the
rate of return on that project is equal to, higher than, or
lower than the desired rate of return

purchasing cost

the quoted price of inventory minus any
discounts allowed plus shipping charges

reinvestment assumption

an assumption made about the rates of return that will be earned by intermediate cash flows from a capital project; NPV and PI assume reinvestment at the discount rate; IRR assumes reinvestment at the IRR

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