The Corporate Cost of Capital and the Return on Corporate Investment

CRSP Working Paper

31 Pages Posted: 11 Aug 1998

See all articles by Eugene F. Fama

Eugene F. Fama

University of Chicago - Finance

Kenneth R. French

Dartmouth College - Tuck School of Business; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Date Written: April 1998

Abstract

We estimate two internal rates of return for the non-financial corporate sector: (i) the return on the initial market values of the securities issued by firms, and (ii) the return on the cost of their investments. The return on cost is the return delivered by firms on investment outlays. The return on value is an estimate of the overall corporate cost of capital, that is, the return on investment required by the capital market. The estimate of the corporate cost of capital for 1950-96 is 10.72 percent. The return on cost is larger, 12.11 percent, so on average corporate investment seems to be profitable. A byproduct of calculating these returns is information about the history of corporate earnings, investment, and financing decisions that is perhaps more interesting than the returns themselves.

JEL Classification: G30

Suggested Citation

Fama, Eugene F. and French, Kenneth R., The Corporate Cost of Capital and the Return on Corporate Investment (April 1998). CRSP Working Paper, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=75999 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.75999

Eugene F. Fama (Contact Author)

University of Chicago - Finance ( email )

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Chicago, IL 60637
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Kenneth R. French

Dartmouth College - Tuck School of Business ( email )

Hanover, NH 03755
United States

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

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