Medium in 2015: A New Form of Networked Publishing 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 Medium in 2015: A New Form of Networked Publishing case study

At Oak Spring University, we provide corporate level professional Net Present Value (NPV) case study solution. Medium in 2015: A New Form of Networked Publishing case study is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study written by Robert E. Siegel, Robert A. Burgelman, Tim Hsia. The Medium in 2015: A New Form of Networked Publishing (referred as “Medium Content” from here on) case study provides evaluation & decision scenario in field of Technology & Operations. It also touches upon business topics such as - Value proposition, Social platforms.

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 Medium in 2015: A New Form of Networked Publishing Case Study

The Medium Corporation seeks to change how people author, consume and engage with content on the Internet. Founded by Ev Williams, co-founder of Blogger and Twitter, the company developed a digital publishing platform and set of social network tools that allow people to spend substantive time with weighty issues facing society, business and politics. Fighting the trend of quick engagement with short-form content on the Internet, Medium wrestles with how to deliver an experience that advances important topics with ease, flexibility and meaning, while working to build a large and successful company. The challenges of building a successful digital media company, balancing tool development with content curation, and organizing a firm in the 21st century are at the core topics facing the firm's leadership team.

Case Authors : Robert E. Siegel, Robert A. Burgelman, Tim Hsia

Topic : Technology & Operations

Related Areas : Social platforms

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 6% for Medium in 2015: A New Form of Networked Publishing Case Study

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 6 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10013896)	-10013896	-	-
Year 1	3460672	-6553224	3460672	0.9434	3264785
Year 2	3958122	-2595102	7418794	0.89	3522714
Year 3	3968352	1373250	11387146	0.8396	3331905
Year 4	3244435	4617685	14631581	0.7921	2569896
TOTAL			14631581		12689301

The Net Present Value at 6% discount rate is 2675405

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

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Formula and Steps to Calculate Net Present Value (NPV) of Medium in 2015: A New Form of Networked Publishing

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 Technology & Operations 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 Medium Content 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 Medium Content 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	(10013896)	-10013896	-	-
Year 1	3460672	-6553224	3460672	0.8696	3009280
Year 2	3958122	-2595102	7418794	0.7561	2992909
Year 3	3968352	1373250	11387146	0.6575	2609256
Year 4	3244435	4617685	14631581	0.5718	1855016
TOTAL					10466461

The Net NPV after 4 years is 452565

(10466461 - 10013896 )

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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	(10013896)	-10013896	-	-
Year 1	3460672	-6553224	3460672	0.8333	2883893
Year 2	3958122	-2595102	7418794	0.6944	2748696
Year 3	3968352	1373250	11387146	0.5787	2296500
Year 4	3244435	4617685	14631581	0.4823	1564639
TOTAL					9493728

The Net NPV after 4 years is -520168

At 20% discount rate the NPV is negative (9493728 - 10013896 ) so ideally we can't select the project if macro and micro factors don't allow financial managers of Medium Content 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 Medium Content has a NPV value higher than Zero then finance managers at Medium Content 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 Medium Content, then the stock price of the Medium Content 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 Medium Content 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 will be a multi year spillover effect of various taxation regulations.

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.

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 Medium in 2015: A New Form of Networked Publishing

References & Further Readings

Robert E. Siegel, Robert A. Burgelman, Tim Hsia (2018), "Medium in 2015: A New Form of Networked Publishing Harvard Business Review Case Study. Published by HBR Publications.