Payback methods, IRR, and Right Discount Rate

Payback Methods

8-2 Suppose that a thirty-year U.S. Treasury bond offers a 4 percent coupon rate, paid semiannually. The market price of the bond is $1,000, equal to its par value.

a. What is the payback period for this bond?
b. With such a long payback period, is the bond a bad investment?
c. What is the discounted payback period for the bond, assuming its 4 percent coupon rate is the required return? What general principle does this example illustrate regarding a project's life, its discounted payback period, and its NPV?

Internal Rate of Return

8-9 For each of the projects shown in the following table, calculate the internal rate of return (IRR).

Project A Project B Project C Project D
Initial Cash
Outflow (CF) $72,000 $440,000 $18,000 $215,000
Year (t)
1 $16,000 $135,000 $7,000 $108,000
2 $20,000 $135,000 $7,000 $90,000
3 $24,000 $135,000 $7,000 $72,000
4 $28,000 $135,000 $7,000 $54,000
5 $32,000 ? $7,000 ?

Choosing the Right Discount Rate

10-1a Intel Corp. (INTC) has a capital structure consisting almost entirely of equality.
a. If the beta of INTC stock equals 1.6, the risk-free rate equals 6 percent, and the expected return on the market portfolio equals 11 percent, what is INTC's cost of equity?

10-3 In its 2006 annual report, The Coca-Cola Company reported sales of $24.09 billion for fiscal year 2006 and $23.10 billion for fiscal year 2005. The company also reported operating income (roughly equivalent) to EBIT) of $6.31 billion, and $6.09 billion in 2005 and 2006, respectively. Meanwhile, arch-rival PEPsi Co, Inc. reported sales of $35.14 billion in 2006 and #32.56 billion in 2005. PepsiCo's operating profit was $6.44 billion in 2006 and $5.92 billion in 2005. Based on these figures, which company had higher operating leverage?