AT&T: Twenty Years of Change Net Present Value (NPV) / MBA Resources

Introduction to Net Present Value (NPV) - What is Net Present Value (NPV) ? How it impacts financial decisions regarding project management?

NPV solution for AT&T: Twenty Years of Change case study

At Oak Spring University, we provide corporate level professional Net Present Value (NPV) case study solution. AT&T: Twenty Years of Change case study is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study written by Andrew C. Inkpen. The AT&T: Twenty Years of Change (referred as “Distance 1984” from here on) case study provides evaluation & decision scenario in field of Organizational Development. It also touches upon business topics such as - Value proposition, .

The net present value (NPV) of an investment proposal is the present value of the proposal’s net cash flows less the proposal’s initial cash outflow. If a project’s NPV is greater than or equal to zero, the project should be accepted.

NPV = Present Value of Future Cash Flows LESS Project’s Initial Investment

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Case Description of AT&T: Twenty Years of Change Case Study

This is a Thunderbird Case Study.AT&T once dominated virtually all U.S. telecommunications sectors. In 1984, AT&T was broken up into a new AT&T and seven operating companies, known as RBOCs (regional Bell operating companies) or Baby Bells. This case focuses on the period from 1984 to 2000, during which time AT&T went through a series of tumultuous changes. AT&T acquired, and then divested, the computer company NCR. AT&T bought McCaw Cellular Communications Inc. for almost $12 billion. AT&T spun off its equipment division into a new company called Lucent. AT&T invested more than $100 billion to acquire various cable television assets. Finally, in 2000, AT&T announced a sweeping restructuring plan that would break the company up into separates wireless, broadband, business long distance, and consumer long distance companies.

Case Authors : Andrew C. Inkpen

Topic : Organizational Development

Related Areas :

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 6% for AT&T: Twenty Years of Change Case Study

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 6 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10029810)	-10029810	-	-
Year 1	3444134	-6585676	3444134	0.9434	3249183
Year 2	3968600	-2617076	7412734	0.89	3532040
Year 3	3946192	1329116	11358926	0.8396	3313299
Year 4	3224998	4554114	14583924	0.7921	2554500
TOTAL			14583924		12649022

The Net Present Value at 6% discount rate is 2619212

In isolation the NPV number doesn't mean much but put in right context then it is one of the best method to evaluate project returns. In this article we will cover -

Different methods of capital budgeting

What is NPV & Formula of NPV,
How it is calculated,
How to use NPV number for project evaluation, and
Scenario Planning given risks and management priorities.

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Capital Budgeting Approaches

Methods of Capital Budgeting

There are four types of capital budgeting techniques that are widely used in the corporate world –

1. Profitability Index
2. Internal Rate of Return
3. Payback Period
4. Net Present Value

Apart from the Payback period method which is an additive method, rest of the methods are based on Discounted Cash Flow technique. Even though cash flow can be calculated based on the nature of the project, for the simplicity of the article we are assuming that all the expected cash flows are realized at the end of the year.

Discounted Cash Flow approaches provide a more objective basis for evaluating and selecting investment projects. They take into consideration both –

1. Magnitude of both incoming and outgoing cash flows – Projects can be capital intensive, time intensive, or both. Distance 1984 shareholders have preference for diversified projects investment rather than prospective high income from a single capital intensive project.
2. Timing of the expected cash flows – stockholders of Distance 1984 have higher preference for cash returns over 4-5 years rather than 10-15 years given the nature of the volatility in the industry.

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Formula and Steps to Calculate Net Present Value (NPV) of AT&T: Twenty Years of Change

NPV = Net Cash In Flowt1 / (1+r)t1 + Net Cash In Flowt2 / (1+r)t2 + … Net Cash In Flowtn / (1+r)tn
Less Net Cash Out Flowt0 / (1+r)t0

Where t = time period, in this case year 1, year 2 and so on.
r = discount rate or return that could be earned using other safe proposition such as fixed deposit or treasury bond rate. Net Cash In Flow – What the firm will get each year.
Net Cash Out Flow – What the firm needs to invest initially in the project.

Step 1 – Understand the nature of the project and calculate cash flow for each year.
Step 2 – Discount those cash flow based on the discount rate.
Step 3 – Add all the discounted cash flow.
Step 4 – Selection of the project

Why Organizational Development Managers need to know Financial Tools such as Net Present Value (NPV)?

In our daily workplace we often come across people and colleagues who are just focused on their core competency and targets they have to deliver. For example marketing managers at Distance 1984 often design programs whose objective is to drive brand awareness and customer reach. But how that 30 point increase in brand awareness or 10 point increase in customer touch points will result into shareholders’ value is not specified.

To overcome such scenarios managers at Distance 1984 needs to not only know the financial aspect of project management but also needs to have tools to integrate them into part of the project development and monitoring plan.

Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 15%

After working through various assumptions we reached a conclusion that risk is far higher than 6%. In a reasonably stable industry with weak competition - 15% discount rate can be a good benchmark.

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 15 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10029810)	-10029810	-	-
Year 1	3444134	-6585676	3444134	0.8696	2994899
Year 2	3968600	-2617076	7412734	0.7561	3000832
Year 3	3946192	1329116	11358926	0.6575	2594685
Year 4	3224998	4554114	14583924	0.5718	1843903
TOTAL					10434319

The Net NPV after 4 years is 404509

(10434319 - 10029810 )

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 20%

If the risk component is high in the industry then we should go for a higher hurdle rate / discount rate of 20%.

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 20 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10029810)	-10029810	-	-
Year 1	3444134	-6585676	3444134	0.8333	2870112
Year 2	3968600	-2617076	7412734	0.6944	2755972
Year 3	3946192	1329116	11358926	0.5787	2283676
Year 4	3224998	4554114	14583924	0.4823	1555265
TOTAL					9465025

The Net NPV after 4 years is -564785

At 20% discount rate the NPV is negative (9465025 - 10029810 ) so ideally we can't select the project if macro and micro factors don't allow financial managers of Distance 1984 to discount cash flow at lower discount rates such as 15%.

Acceptance Criteria of a Project based on NPV

Simplest Approach – If the investment project of Distance 1984 has a NPV value higher than Zero then finance managers at Distance 1984 can ACCEPT the project, otherwise they can reject the project. This means that project will deliver higher returns over the period of time than any alternate investment strategy.

In theory if the required rate of return or discount rate is chosen correctly by finance managers at Distance 1984, then the stock price of the Distance 1984 should change by same amount of the NPV. In real world we know that share price also reflects various other factors that can be related to both macro and micro environment.

In the same vein – accepting the project with zero NPV should result in stagnant share price. Finance managers use discount rates as a measure of risk components in the project execution process.

Sensitivity Analysis

Project selection is often a far more complex decision than just choosing it based on the NPV number. Finance managers at Distance 1984 should conduct a sensitivity analysis to better understand not only the inherent risk of the projects but also how those risks can be either factored in or mitigated during the project execution. Sensitivity analysis helps in –

What can impact the cash flow of the project.

Understanding of risks involved in the project.

What are the uncertainties surrounding the project Initial Cash Outlay (ICO’s). ICO’s often have several different components such as land, machinery, building, and other equipment.

What are the key aspects of the projects that need to be monitored, refined, and retuned for continuous delivery of projected cash flows.

What will be a multi year spillover effect of various taxation regulations.

Some of the assumptions while using the Discounted Cash Flow Methods –

Projects are assumed to be Mutually Exclusive – This is seldom the came in modern day giant organizations where projects are often inter-related and rejecting a project solely based on NPV can result in sunk cost from a related project.

Independent projects have independent cash flows – As explained in the marketing project – though the project may look independent but in reality it is not as the brand awareness project can be closely associated with the spending on sales promotions and product specific advertising.

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Negotiation Strategy of AT&T: Twenty Years of Change

References & Further Readings

Andrew C. Inkpen (2018), "AT&T: Twenty Years of Change Harvard Business Review Case Study. Published by HBR Publications.