Price-To-Book: Are Intangibles Safe? Not Netflix

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Rupert Hargreaves
Published on
Updated on

The price-to-book ratio is for the most part a completely useless valuation method. Indeed, unless calculated personally, with a keen eye for detail and rigorous analysis of company finances, the ratio can be highly misleading. Reasons for wrong price-to-book valuation There are basically three main reasons why the price-to-book valuation is wrong. Firstly, the valuation includes items like goodwill and patents, intangible items that have no intrinsic value. The value of these items can quickly disappear. For value investors who use the price-to-book valuation method on the basis that the downside is limited if the company is trading at a…

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Sign up now and get our in-depth FREE e-books on famous investors like Klarman, Dalio, Schloss, Munger Rupert is a committed value investor and regularly writes and invests following the principles set out by Benjamin Graham. He is the editor and co-owner of Hidden Value Stocks, a quarterly investment newsletter aimed at institutional investors. Rupert owns shares in Berkshire Hathaway. Rupert holds qualifications from the Chartered Institute For Securities & Investment and the CFA Society of the UK. Rupert covers everything value investing for ValueWalk