本研究的目的在於探討企業的財務結構決策是否攸關市場價值。根據加權平均資金成本與企業評價模式相關文獻基礎，產生下列三個假設：(1)資本結構與平均資金成本存有關聯性；(2)最適資本結構必須存在，以使平均資金成本達到最低；(3)平均資金成本與企業價值也存有關聯性。故本研究之實證議題探討：(1)平均資金成本與資本結構的關聯性以及最佳資本結構是否存在(2)加權平均資金成本、權益資金成本與企業價值的關聯性(3)資本結構與平均資金成本之關聯性對企業價值的影響。 本研究使用民國80年至88年台灣證交所股票上市公司作為樣本資料，主要的實證結果如下。財務結構與平均資金成本具有顯著的負向關係，故實證結果並不支持M-M 的槓桿無關論。在十八個產業中，大約半數的產業存在最適資本結構。此外，相對於平均資金成本而言，權益資金成本與股價報酬呈現顯著的負向關係，且具有較高的解釋力；這個結果強調了權益資金成本在解釋股價報酬上的重要性。 本研究亦發現，企業經理人無法透過財務結構的調整來極大化企業的價值，經理人應該考量其他方式來極大化公司的價值。 / The purpose of this thesis is to investigate whether financial structure decisions of a firm are relevant to its market value. Three assumptions underlie the literature on weighted average cost of capital and firm valuation models. First, the linkage exists between the capital structure and the average cost of capital. Second, in order to minimize the average cost of capital, the presence of optimal capital structure is required. And third, the relationship exists between the average cost of capital and firm values. The empirical issues explored in this thesis therefore include: (1) The relationship between the average cost of capital and the capital structure and the presence of optimal capital structure; (2) The association between weighted average cost of capital, cost of equity capital and firm values; and (3) The influence of capital structure-average cost of capital relationship on firm values. Using the listed companies on Taiwan Stock Exchange over the period of 1991 to 1999 as the sample, major empirical findings are as follows. The empirical evidence indicates that financial structure is significantly negatively associated with the average cost of capital, which in turn may imply the M-M leverage irrelevance proposition is not supported by the sample firms examined. About half of the 18 industries examined in this study suggest the presence of optimal capital structure. Furthermore, compared to the average cost of capital, the cost of equity capital is found to be significantly and negatively associated with stock returns and has better explanatory power. This emphasizes the importance of the cost of equity capital in interpreting the behavior of stock returns. In addition, this thesis also finds that managers’ influence of maximizing firms’values through adjusting their firms’financial structures is limited. Managers may have to find avenues other than financial structure decisions to maximize the values of their firms.

本研究旨在探討管理當局自願性盈餘預測與權益資金成本之關聯性，檢視管理當局發布盈餘預測頻率之影響是否反應於權益資金成本上，並進一步檢視管理當局之聲譽是否為影響權益資金成本的因素之一。 在本研究的實證分析結果中，發現管理當局發布自願性盈餘預測之頻率與權益資金成本呈顯著負相關，表示管理當局發布盈餘預測的次數越多時，權益資金成本越低。 在管理當局聲譽對於權益資金成本的影響，本研究實證分析結果發現，管理當局之聲譽與權益資金成本亦呈顯著負相關，管理當局聲譽以管理當局預測誤差和分析師預測誤差來衡量，當管理當局的盈餘預測誤差小於分析師盈餘預測誤差時，投資人認為管理當局對盈餘的預測有效且值得信賴，此時管理當局聲譽提高，投資人認為取得有用的資訊，進而降低企業權益資金成本。 / The primary objective of this thesis is to explore whether the frequency of management forecasts is related to the cost of equity capital. In addition, I further examine whether the association is stronger when management has better reputation. Basing on a sample of S&P 500 listed firms during 2000-2009, I find that, consistent with my prediction, cost of firm’s equity capital decreases with the frequency of management earning forecasts after controlling for other determinants well-documented to be related to cost of equity capital. Second, I find that cost of equity capital is negatively related to the reputation of management; however, I do not find that the association between cost of equity capital and the frequency of management systematically vary with the reputation of management.

Il lavoro stima il costo del capitale delle banche italiane alla luce di due antitetici comportamenti di investimento: diversificazione internazionale di portafoglio e concentrazione proprietaria volta alla detenzione di pacchetti azionari rilevanti. L'integrazione dei mercati finanziari e l'adozione della moneta unica determinano la necessità di allargare all'area valutaria il correlato empirico al portafoglio di mercato indicato dal CAPM. La verifica condotta su un campione di banche italiane evidenzia la riduzione dei Beta e del costo del capitale proprio a causa del limitato contributo fornito al rischio sistematico del portafoglio riferito all'area valutaria da parte del mercato azionario nazionale e delle banche italiane. La detenzione del potere decisionale consente agli azionisti rilevanti di ottenere, in termini di private benefits, un sovra-rendimento che giustifica strategie volte alla concentrazione di ricchezza. Questo genera per le banche italiane un incremento del costo del capitale. / This work analyses the techniques to assess the cost of equity of Italian banks in the light of two antithetical investment policies: international portfolio diversification and ownership concentration directed to hold large blocks of shares. Financial market integration and European Monetary Union involve using a broader index, referred to the Euro area, as the proxy for the market portfolio pointed out by CAPM. The analysis carried out on a sample of Italian banks shows this change brings about a reduction of both the estimated Beta and the cost of equity. This is due to the limited contribution that domestic market index makes to the systematic risk of the Euro portfolio. The control of the decision-making process enables the holders of large blocks of shares to extract private benefits and to obtain extra returns compared with other investors. This can explain an investment policy directed to wealth concentration. That causes a higher equity cost of equity.

我國庫藏股制度於民國八十九年開始實施，當上市櫃公司宣告買回庫藏股後，造成了公司資產的重分配，其股東、債權人等利害關係人會以預期心理來評估自身權益所受到的影響，並將其反應在所要求的必要報酬率上，因此公司對股東所負擔的權益資金成本及對債權人所負擔的負債資金成本都將產生變動。 當公司宣告買回庫藏股後，實證結果顯示：(1)其負債資金成本將上升，而權益資金成本將會下降。(2)預定買回股份佔資本比愈大時，其負債資金成本增加愈多。(3)買回前獲利能力之不同，並未發現其會對宣告買回公司之負債資金成本有顯著影響。(4)依目的三買回將使該公司負債資金成本增加數小於依目的一或目的二買回之負債資金成本增加數、並使權益資金成本減少數大於依目的一或目的二買回之權益資金成本減少數。(5)公司內部人持股比率於宣告前一年淨增加愈多則權益資金成本降低程度愈大。(6)資訊愈對稱的公司其權益資金成本下降的程度愈少。 / Share repurchase system was formally implemented in Taiwan in 2000 , when the TSEC & OTC listed companies announce that they will repurchase shares , it changes the composition of assets held by the firm , revising the ownership proportions of each of their shareholders and interests of each of their creditors. Thus, their cost of equity capital and debt capital may change . When companies announce to repurchase shares , results show that : (1)their cost of debt capital will increase and their cost of equity capital will decrease. (2)the more percentage of shares companies expect to repurchase , the more their cost of debt capital increase. (3)the different profitability before announcement has no significant effect to companies’ cost of debt capital. (4)repurchase in order to conserve companies’ credibility and shareholders’ equity will increase less cost of debt capital and decrease more cost of equity capital than that in order to reach other two purposes .(5) the more increase of percentage of shares companies’ insiders’ hold before announce, the more their cost of equity capital decrease. (6) the more symmetrical information companies obtain , the less their cost of equity capital decrease.

L’objectif de cette thèse est d’étudier le rôle que joue la concurrence sur le marché des biens et services dans la prise des décisions ainsi que sur la valeur de la firme. En particulier, elle met l’accent sur l’impact de la pression concurrentielle sur le choix de la source de la dette, l’efficience des décisions d’investissement dans le capital humain, et le coût des fonds propres. Cette thèse est organisée en trois essais.Dans un premier essai, nous nous intéressons à l’effet de la concurrence sur le marché des biens et services sur la prise des décisions de financement, et particulièrement le choix de la source de la dette. À partir d’un échantillon de 3 831 entreprises américaines cotées au cours de la période 2001-2013 et en utilisant une nouvelle mesure de concurrence reflétant les menaces concurrentielles qui pèsent sur les entreprises, nous constatons que les entreprises faisant face à une concurrence accrue ont moins tendance à recourir à la dette bancaire. Ce résultat soutient l’hypothèse que la concurrence joue un rôle de gouvernance efficace qui, par conséquent, peut être substitutif à la fonction de surveillance et de contrôle des prêteurs bancaires. De plus, nos résultats montrent que l’impact négatif de la concurrence sur le recours à la dette bancaire est plus important pour les entreprises qui sont plus susceptibles d’être sensibles à la pression disciplinaire exercée par le marché, particulièrement les entreprises exposées à la pression concurrentielles et les entreprises ayant de sévères contraintes financières.Le deuxième essai examine l’impact de la concurrence sur le marché des biens et services sur l’efficience des décisions d’investissement des entreprises, et particulièrement l’investissement dans le capital humain, un sujet qui a été largement ignoré par les recherches antérieures. L’analyse empirique se base sur un échantillon de 18 957 observations durant la période 1998-2001. Les résultats montrent que l’intensification de la concurrence sur le marché des biens et services est négativement liée à l’efficience de l’investissement dans le capital humain. De plus, nous constatons que ce lien est plus important pour les entreprises risquées ainsi que les entreprises ayant des coûts importants associés à l’investissement dans le capital humain. Dans l’ensemble, nos résultats suggèrent que la concurrence sur le marché des biens et services augmente le risque de défaut des entreprises qui, par conséquent, réduisent leurs activités d’investissement, conduisant à un problème de sous-investissement dans le capital humain.Dans le troisième essai, nous examinons si la concurrence sur le marché des biens et services pourrait influencer la valeur de l’entreprise à travers son impact sur le taux de rentabilité exigé par les actionnaires, ou le coût des fonds propres. L’utilisation d’un large échantillon d’entreprises américaines cotées en bourse durant la période 1998-2013 montre que la concurrence sur le marché des biens et services a un effet négatif sur le taux de rentabilité exigé par les actionnaires. Les analyses additionnelles ont montré que cet effet négatif est particulièrement significatif dans les entreprises qui souffrent principalement d’une mauvaise gouvernance. Ce résultat suggère que la concurrence joue un rôle de gouvernance qui permet de discipliner le comportement discrétionnaire des dirigeants, notamment en les incitant à fournir plus d’effort pour protéger leur entreprise contre le risque de faillite. Par conséquent, ce rôle de gouvernance améliore les attentes des investisseurs à l’égard des perspectives futures de l’entreprise et réduit ainsi le taux de rentabilité exigé ou le coût des fonds propres. / This dissertation investigates the effect of product market competition on corporate decisions and firm valuation. It is a collection of three essays. The first one examines the role of competition in driving the choice of debt source. Using a large sample of U.S. listed firms over the period 2001-2013, we show that product market competitive pressure is negatively associated with bank debt financing. This result is consistent with the view that competition plays an effective governance role that disciplines managers, and hence substitutes for the need to bank strict monitoring. In further analysis, we also show that the negative impact of competition on bank debt financing is stronger for firms with a higher exposure to competition and tighter financial constraints as they are more sensitive to external market discipline.The second essay explores whether product market competition matters for investment decisions, and more specifically labor investment decisions. To test our research hypotheses, we consider a large sample of U.S. listed firms over the 1998-2013 period and provide strong evidence that product market competitive pressure distorts labor investment efficiency. This result highlights the risk-increasing effect of competition. To the extent that firms in competitive industries have lower profit margins and higher bankruptcy risk, they are more willing to under-invest in labor in order to reduce labor costs and avoid further earnings declines. In addition, our cross-sectional tests show that the negative impact of competition on labor investment efficiency is intensified for firms with a higher exposure to competition, tighter financial constraints, and higher labor unionization rates.The third essay further investigates the implications of product market competition by examining its impact on the cost of equity capital which is viewed as one of the key considerations for managers in their investment and financing decisions. We employ a large panel of U.S. listed firms from 1998 to 2013 and find that firms facing intense competitive pressure have a lower cost of equity financing. Additionally, we show that the role of competition in reducing equity financing costs is more pronounced for firms with a higher exposure to competition and firms with poorer governance quality. Taken together, our findings suggest that product market competition serves as an external disciplinary mechanism that improves investors’ beliefs in the stock market, hence leading to a lower cost of equity capital.

The aim of the thesis is to analyse the capital structure of company SCHOTT Flat Glass CR, s.r.o. using the tools of financial analysis. Will be implemented in particular horizontal and vertical analysis of financial statements. On the basic of the analysis of capital structures will be designed to optimise actual capital structure.

In the field of sustainable finance, Environmental-, Social- and Governance-ratings (ESG) have become an acknowledged measurement of a firm's sustainability performance. The increased awareness of sustainability issues in today's society is undeniable. However, based upon contradicting results from previous research, it was uncertain if investors were rewarding a firm’s sustainability efforts in the form of a lower cost of equity. The purpose of this thesis has therefore been to examine the relationship between sustainability, risk and valuation as well as stock-price behavior in times of crisis regarding large firms publicly listed in the Nordic countries. In order to fulfil the purpose, various multiple regression models have been conducted on quarterly data from the period between 2011 to 2020. The approach chosen to examine if ESG has a relation to the cost of equity has been to calculate the implied cost of equity inferred from consensus forecasts of future financial development and stock price at each point in time, also known as the ex-ante cost of equity. Since the independent variable ESG-score was not likely to be the sole variable to affect the independent variables in our multivariate regression models, we have followed previous studies in the choice of control variables. The empirical results of this study showed a significantly negative relationship between a firm’s ESG-score and the cost of equity. In addition, our results showed a significantly positive relationship between a firm’s ESG-score and both the price-to-earnings ratio as well as the price-to-book ratio while no significant relationship between a firm’s ESG-score and the enterprise value to earnings before interest and taxes ratio could be established. Finally, the results of this thesis showed that firms with a greater ESG-score generated excess returns during the latest market turmoil of 2020 caused by the Covid-19 outbreak. This thesis challenges the value-destruction view of ESG-efforts since our results indicate that investors are pricing sustainability risk with a negative risk premium in line with the value creation approach. No causality test has been performed during this study, however several possible mechanisms by which ESG impacts the valuation and crisis resistance have been discussed based upon previous research and the theoretical framework. We argue for the reduced cost of equity to reflect diminished information asymmetry, a larger investor base, improved growth and cash-flow opportunities as well as reduced risk for litigations as aconsequence of a more sustainable business conduct. To the best of our knowledge, no previous study on the topic has been conducted on the Nordic markets. This study fills thus a research gap on the relation between sustainability, risk andequity market valuation and we sincerely hope to have contributed to academia with new approaches.

Náklady vlastního kapitálu, jež jsou ovlivňovány řadou interních a externích činitelů, významným faktorem ovlivňujícím rozhodovací procesy v podnikové sféře. Cílem této disertační práce je na základě primárních a sekundárních dat formulovat původní metodiku řízení nákladů vlastního kapitálu. Zdrojem sekundárních dat je rozsáhlá literární rešerše zahrnující zahraniční a tuzemské vědecké studie a databáze. Primární data, na základě nichž byl zkoumán vztah mezi teoretickými přístupy řízení nákladů vlastního kapitálu a podnikovou praxí, byla získána formou dotazníkového šetření od finančních manažerů působících v podnicích se sídlem na území ČR. Data byla zpracována s využitím statistických metod. Výsledky disertační práce přispívají k hlubšímu porozumění vztahu mezi náklady vlastního kapitálu a jejich determinantů a odhalují rozdíly mezi teorií a manažerskou praxí. Navrhovaná metodika řízení nákladů vlastního kapitálu je určená k použití v podnikové praxi a lze předpokládat její další rozvíjení v rámci navazujících výzkumných aktivit.

Titel: Kapitalkostnadsberäkning för investeringar - En kvantitativ studie av svenska börsnoterade bolag Frågeställningar: Hur beräknas kapitalkostnad primärt i svenska börsnoterade bolag? Skiljer sig beräkningen av kapitalkostnad i svenska börsnoterade bolag beroende på faktorer som  företagsstorlek, sektor och företagsmognad? Syfte: Syftet med undersökningen är att få svar på hur beräkning av kapitalkostnad faktiskt går till i börsnoterade bolag i Sverige och huruvida beräkningen varierar i förhållande till faktorerna företagsstorlek, sektor och företagsmognad.  Metod: Genom att använda av de nämnda faktorerna kunde företags olikheter lyftas på ett bra sätt. Det studerade urvalet bestod av 25 respondenter som besvarade en enkät. Med hjälp av enkätsvaren kunde hypoteser formas och testas. Slutsats: Undersökningen visar att det finns vissa statistiskt signifikanta samband mellan kapitalkostnadsberäkning och företagsstorlek samt en studerad sektor. Vidare lyfter studien vissa olikheter i riskhantering mellan olika företagsstorlekar. Studien presenterar också vilka metoder som används mest för beräkning av kapitalkostnad, kostnad för eget kapital samt kostnad för lånefinansiering i Sverige. De är Weighted average cost of capital, Capital asset pricing model respektive genomsnittlig kostnad. / Title: Cost of capital calculation for investments - A quantitative study of Swedish listed companies Research questions:  How is cost of capital generally calculated in Swedish listed companies? Are there any differences in cost of capital calculation methods in Swedish listed companies depending on company size, sector and company maturity? Purpose: This quantitative study intends to highlight how capital cost calculations are made in Swedish companies. Another part of the aim is to investigate connections between cost of capital calculation and the factors company size, sector and company maturity.  Method: By using the factors, different company disparities could be projected in a useful way. The examined sample of 25 companies answered a survey. With these answers hypotheses were formed and tested. Conclusion: This study shows that there are some statistically significant connections between cost of capital calculation and company size and one examined sector. Furthermore, the study also highlights the differences in consideration of risk in different company sizes. This study also presents a result about the most common methods for calculating cost of capital,cost of equity and cost of debt in Sweden. These are Weighted average cost of capital, Capital asset pricing model respectively average cost.

[pt] Este trabalho busca analisar a divergência observada, quanto à aplicabilidade do prêmio de risco por tamanho, entre a proposta apresentada pela TBG – Transportadora Gasoduto Bolívia-Brasil e a resposta da ANP - Agência Nacional de Petróleo para estimação do custo de capital próprio que balizará a tarifa máxima de transporte de gás natural para a empresa regulada. Tanto a TBG quanto a ANP adotaram o Capital Asset Price Model – CAPM como modelo para estimação do custo de capital próprio, no entanto, a proposta da TBG considerou o prêmio de risco por tamanho, ao passo que a resposta da Agência Reguladora não acatou a inclusão desse prêmio, conforme consta na nota técnica nº 007/2018-SIM de 16 de julho de 2018. Para analisar a divergência em relação ao prêmio de risco por tamanho, foi o utilizado modelo de três fatores de Fama e French (1993), que considera, além do risco sistemático adotado no CAPM, os fatores tamanho e índice B/M (book-to-market) para mensuração do custo de capital próprio. Os resultados encontrados, com base no modelo de três fatores de Fama e French (1993), não indicam aplicabilidade do prêmio de risco por tamanho para estimação do custo de capital próprio no mercado regulado de transporte de gás natural, pois os coeficientes dos fatores small minus big (SMB) e high minus low (HML) não apresentaram resultados com significância estatística para diversas das carteiras analisadas. Adicionalmente, as empresas de menor porte (small) e de alto índice B/M (high) apresentaram, entre julho de 2009 e junho de 2018, retornos médios inferiores às empresas maiores (big) e de baixo índice B/M (low), não evidenciando a existência de prêmios de risco por tamanho e por valor. / [en] The purpose of this study is to analyze the divergence observed regarding the applicability of the size risk premium, between the proposal presented by TBG - Brazilian Transporter Gasoduto Bolívia-Brasil and the response of ANP - National Petroleum Agency, in the estimation of the cost of equity that will define the maximum rate for the transport of natural gas to the regulated company. Both TBG and ANP adopted the Capital Asset Price Model (CAPM) model, however, TBG proposal considered the size risk premium while ANP response did not accept the inclusion of this premium as stated in technical note no. 007/2018-SIM of July 16, 2018. To analyze this divergence was used the Fama and French three factor model (1993) that considers, besides the systematic risk adopted in the CAPM, the factors size and B/M (book-to-market) index for measuring the cost of equity. The results obtained, based on Fama and French three factors model (1993), do not indicate the applicability of the size risk premium for estimative of the cost of equity in the regulated natural gas transportation market, since the small minus big (SMB) and high minus low (HML) factor s coefficients did not present statistical significant results for some of the analyzed portfolios. In addition, smaller and high B/M companies presented, between July 2009 and June 2018, lower average returns than bigger and low B/M companies, not evidencing the existence of size and value risk premiums.