Intrinsic Value
How much money a company can earn in the future, discounted to today’s value—that is intrinsic value
📌 Concept Explanation
Intrinsic value = all cash a company can generate over its remaining lifetime, discounted to present value.
You have an apple tree producing 100 jin of apples annually worth 100 yuan, expected to produce for 30 more years. How much is this tree “worth”? Not what it sells for today in the market, but summing up 30 years of future income and considering money loses value over time—discounted to today’s price—that’s intrinsic value. A stock’s intrinsic value is this apple tree’s price, unrelated to whether anyone wants to buy it today.
💡 Core Understanding
1. Intrinsic value isn’t calculated—it’s “roughly estimated”—the difficulty lies in understanding companies, not applying formulas.
The difficulty is in understanding companies to arrive at approximately correct intrinsic value. Anyone who tries to precisely calculate intrinsic value using discounted future cash flow formulas “shows they don’t really understand what they’re doing.” Rough estimation is necessary—otherwise it’s gambling.
2. Intrinsic value has nothing to do with market prices—prices fluctuate around value, but value itself isn’t affected by market.
Being listed or not has nothing to do with intrinsic value, but often relates to price. Even if a company never goes public, its intrinsic value doesn’t change. Mr. Market’s daily quoted prices are just his daily mood—not what company truly worth.
3. Intrinsic value is the only standard for buy/sell decisions—cheapness is relative to intrinsic value.
So-called “cheap” doesn’t mean low stock price but stock price having discount relative to intrinsic value. “Perhaps you need to distinguish between low price and below value.” This is foundation of margin of safety and starting point of buying logic.
4. Intrinsic value is a way of thinking, not a number—“this is the only point you must believe in so-called value investing.”
Asset value depends on (net) cash flows it can generate in future. Prices fluctuate around value, so prices are determined by value. This point is very useful at critical moments—if you don’t truly believe this deep down, you’re not yet a true “value” investor.
🛠 How to Practice
Intrinsic value cannot be precisely calculated but can be “roughly estimated”:
- First ask: Will this company still exist 10 years from now? If uncertain, no need to calculate—intrinsic value can’t be estimated for companies with uncertain survival.
- Then ask: Approximately how much can it earn each year? No precision needed—just rough magnitude judgment: 1 billion or 10 billion per year? Fast or slow growth?
- Finally ask: Is current price expensive or cheap relative to this estimate? If clearly cheap (has margin of safety), consider buying. If uncertain, don’t buy.
⚠️ Common Misconceptions
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❌ “Intrinsic value can be precisely calculated with formulas” — “Intrinsic value isn’t calculated.” Anyone trying to use formulas for precise calculation “shows they don’t really understand what they’re doing.” Intrinsic value is thinking framework requiring deep company understanding; rough estimation is correct approach; precise calculation is actually misconception. (Source: Investment Logic, 2011-01-27)
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❌ “Low stock price means cheap, high stock price means expensive” — “Perhaps you need to distinguish between low price and below value.” Cheapness is always relative to intrinsic value. A 1 yuan stock may be far more expensive than a 100 yuan stock—if former’s intrinsic value is only 0.5 yuan while latter’s is 200 yuan. (Source: Investment Logic, 2013-06-27)
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❌ “Unlisted companies have no value” — “Being listed or not relates nothing to intrinsic value, but often relates to price.” Duan’s own company (BBK) long unlisted but intrinsic value always existed. Value comes from company’s ability to generate cash flow, not market recognition. (Source: Investment Logic, 2011-01-28)
💬 Original Quotes
“So-called intrinsic value is discounting future profits. If you can’t estimate discounted value, what are you buying? Rough estimation is necessary—otherwise it’s gambling.” — Duan Yongping (Source: Investment Logic, 2010-05-11)
“Company intrinsic value is its future free cash flow discounting; current net worth should be included within future cash flows. Future cash flow discounting is just a concept or way of thinking.” — Duan Yongping (Source: Investment Logic, 2011-01-27)
“Prices fluctuate around value, so prices are determined by value. This is the only point you must believe in so-called value investing—very useful at critical moments.” — Duan Yongping (Source: Investment Logic, 2013-02-01)
“Intrinsic value is a very important concept providing the only logical means for evaluating relative attractiveness of investments and enterprises.” — Buffett (quoted by Duan, Source: Investment Logic, 2012-07-28)
🔗 Related Nodes
Upstream concepts (prerequisites for understanding this concept): Buying Stocks is Buying Companies · Discounted Future Cash Flow
Downstream concepts (conclusions derived from this): Margin of Safety · Rough Estimation · Buying Logic · Mr. Market · Value Investing
Related Company Cases NetEase (bought when intrinsic value severely undervalued) · Apple (estimating intrinsic value after deducting net cash)
Related People Duan Yongping · Buffett · Munger
内在价值
公司未来能赚多少钱，折算成今天值多少——这就是内在价值
📌 概念解析
内在价值 = 一家公司在其余下寿命中可以产生的所有现金，折算成今天的价值。
你有一棵果树，每年结100斤苹果，能卖100块钱，预计还能结30年。这棵树”值多少钱”？不是看它今天在市场上卖多少，而是把未来30年的收入加起来，再考虑到钱放着会贬值，折算成今天的价格——这就是内在价值。股票的内在价值，就是这棵果树的价格，和今天有没有人愿意买它无关。
💡 核心理解
1. 内在价值不是算出来的，是”毛估估”出来的——难在认识公司，而不是套公式。
难是难在认识公司，从而得出大体正确的内在价值。任何人只要试图用未来现金流折现的计算公式去精确计算公司的内在价值时，“就说明其实他还不太懂他在干什么”。毛估估是必须的，不然就是赌博。
2. 内在价值与市场价格无关——价格围绕价值波动，但价值本身不受市场影响。
上不上市和内在价值本无关，但经常和价格有关系。一家公司即使永远不上市，其内在价值也不会因此改变。市场先生每天报出的价格，只是他当天的情绪，不是公司真正值多少钱。
3. 内在价值是判断买卖的唯一标准——便宜与否，是相对于内在价值而言的。
所谓”便宜”不是股价低，而是股价相对于内在价值有折扣。“也许你需要分清低价格和低于价值的区别。“这是安全边际的基础，也是买入逻辑的起点。
4. 内在价值是一个思考方式，不是一个数字——“这点就是所谓价值投资里的 you must believe 的唯一的一点”。
资产的价值取决于其能够产生的未来（净）现金流。价格围绕价值上下波动，所以价格是由价值决定的。这一点关键时刻往往很管用——不是骨子里信这点的人，其实都还不是真正的“价值”投资者。
🛠 如何实践
内在价值无法精确计算，但可以”毛估估”：
- 先问：这家公司10年后还在吗？ 如果不确定，就不用算了——连存续都不确定的公司，内在价值无从估算。
- 再问：未来每年大概能赚多少钱？ 不需要精确，只需要大体判断量级——是每年赚10亿还是100亿？增速是快还是慢？
- 最后问：现在的价格相对于这个估算，是贵还是便宜？ 如果明显便宜（有安全边际），就可以考虑买入。如果不确定，就不买。
⚠️ 常见误区
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❌ “内在价值可以用公式精确算出来” — “内在价值不是算出来的。“任何人只要试图用公式精确计算，“就说明其实他还不太懂他在干什么”。内在价值是一个思考框架，需要对公司有深刻理解，毛估估是正确姿势，精确计算反而是误区。（来源：投资逻辑篇，2011-01-27）
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❌ “股价低就是便宜，股价高就是贵” — “也许你需要分清低价格和低于价值的区别。“便宜与否，永远是相对于内在价值而言的。一只股价1块钱的股票，可能比一只股价100块的股票贵得多——如果前者的内在价值只有0.5块，后者的内在价值有200块。（来源：投资逻辑篇，2013-06-27）
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❌ “公司不上市就没有价值” — “上不上市和内在价值本无关，但经常和价格有关系。“段永平自己的公司（步步高）长期未上市，但内在价值一直存在。价值来自公司产生现金流的能力，不来自市场的认可。（来源：投资逻辑篇，2011-01-28）
💬 原文金句
“所谓内在价值就是未来利润的折现。如果不能估算折现的话，你买的是什么呢？毛估估是一定要的，不然就是赌博了。” — 段永平（来源：投资逻辑篇，2010-05-11）
“公司的内在价值就是其未来自由现金流的折现，所谓现在公司的净值应该是被包括在未来现金流里面的。未来现金流折现只是一个概念或思考方式。” — 段永平（来源：投资逻辑篇，2011-01-27）
“价格围绕价值上下波动，所以价格是由价值决定的。这一点就是所谓价值投资里的 you must believe 的唯一的一点，关键时刻往往很管用。” — 段永平（来源：投资逻辑篇，2013-02-01）
“内在价值是一个非常重要的概念，它为评估投资和企业的相对吸引力提供了唯一的逻辑手段。” — 巴菲特（段永平引用，来源：投资逻辑篇，2012-07-28）
🔗 关联节点
上游概念（理解这个概念的前提）： 买股票就是买公司 · 未来现金流折现
下游概念（由此推导出的结论）： 安全边际 · 毛估估 · 买入逻辑 · 市场先生 · 价值投资