20-05-2025
Nestlé (Malaysia) Berhad's (KLSE:NESTLE) Intrinsic Value Is Potentially 26% Below Its Share Price
The projected fair value for Nestlé (Malaysia) Berhad is RM59.85 based on 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity
Current share price of RM80.80 suggests Nestlé (Malaysia) Berhad is potentially 35% overvalued
The RM84.47 analyst price target for NESTLE is 41% more than our estimate of fair value
In this article we are going to estimate the intrinsic value of Nestlé (Malaysia) Berhad (KLSE:NESTLE) by projecting its future cash flows and then discounting them to today's value. Our analysis will employ the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. It may sound complicated, but actually it is quite simple!
Companies can be valued in a lot of ways, so we would point out that a DCF is not perfect for every situation. If you still have some burning questions about this type of valuation, take a look at the Simply Wall St analysis model.
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We use what is known as a 2-stage model, which simply means we have two different periods of growth rates for the company's cash flows. Generally the first stage is higher growth, and the second stage is a lower growth phase. In the first stage we need to estimate the cash flows to the business over the next ten years. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.
Generally we assume that a dollar today is more valuable than a dollar in the future, and so the sum of these future cash flows is then discounted to today's value:
2025
2026
2027
2028
2029
2030
2031
2032
2033
2034
Levered FCF (MYR, Millions)
RM580.9m
RM666.4m
RM730.1m
RM724.0m
RM767.0m
RM797.3m
RM827.9m
RM859.1m
RM891.1m
RM923.9m
Growth Rate Estimate Source
Analyst x5
Analyst x5
Analyst x4
Analyst x1
Analyst x1
Est @ 3.95%
Est @ 3.84%
Est @ 3.77%
Est @ 3.72%
Est @ 3.68%
Present Value (MYR, Millions) Discounted @ 8.3%
RM536
RM568
RM574
RM525
RM514
RM493
RM472
RM452
RM433
RM415
("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = RM5.0b
The second stage is also known as Terminal Value, this is the business's cash flow after the first stage. The Gordon Growth formula is used to calculate Terminal Value at a future annual growth rate equal to the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield of 3.6%. We discount the terminal cash flows to today's value at a cost of equity of 8.3%.
Terminal Value (TV)= FCF2034 × (1 + g) ÷ (r – g) = RM924m× (1 + 3.6%) ÷ (8.3%– 3.6%) = RM20b
Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= RM20b÷ ( 1 + 8.3%)10= RM9.1b
The total value is the sum of cash flows for the next ten years plus the discounted terminal value, which results in the Total Equity Value, which in this case is RM14b. In the final step we divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Compared to the current share price of RM80.8, the company appears potentially overvalued at the time of writing. Remember though, that this is just an approximate valuation, and like any complex formula - garbage in, garbage out.
The calculation above is very dependent on two assumptions. The first is the discount rate and the other is the cash flows. If you don't agree with these result, have a go at the calculation yourself and play with the assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Nestlé (Malaysia) Berhad as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 8.3%, which is based on a levered beta of 0.800. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business.
View our latest analysis for Nestlé (Malaysia) Berhad
Strength
Debt is well covered by earnings and cashflows.
Weakness
Earnings declined over the past year.
Dividend is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the Food market.
Expensive based on P/E ratio and estimated fair value.
Opportunity
Annual earnings are forecast to grow faster than the Malaysian market.
Threat
Dividends are not covered by earnings.
Annual revenue is forecast to grow slower than the Malaysian market.
Valuation is only one side of the coin in terms of building your investment thesis, and it shouldn't be the only metric you look at when researching a company. The DCF model is not a perfect stock valuation tool. Preferably you'd apply different cases and assumptions and see how they would impact the company's valuation. For instance, if the terminal value growth rate is adjusted slightly, it can dramatically alter the overall result. What is the reason for the share price exceeding the intrinsic value? For Nestlé (Malaysia) Berhad, there are three further factors you should consider:
Risks: Every company has them, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for Nestlé (Malaysia) Berhad you should know about.
Future Earnings: How does NESTLE's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart.
Other High Quality Alternatives: Do you like a good all-rounder? Explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing!
PS. The Simply Wall St app conducts a discounted cash flow valuation for every stock on the KLSE every day. If you want to find the calculation for other stocks just search here.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
