Our recent round tables exploring modernization of balance sheets and valuation methodology have produced consensus that intangibles can be valuable assets of a company.
In support of this conclusion, I just read two reports in the Wall Street Journal.
One was that the stock of Morgan Stanley, Bank of America and Citigroup trade at levels still below their market valuation in 2007, before the 2008 collapse of credit markets.
Badly wounded by the 2008 crisis, Morgan Stanley and Bank of America switched business models to lessen their dependency on trading and investment banking revenue and bring in wealth management clients. Those changes in their business model – an intangible aspect of governance – did lead to increases in their stock prices. An analyst’s comment was that “some people” still put a discount on their valuation, given their line of business.
Another comment by John D. Stoll pointed out that the valuation of Peloton, a maker of exercise bikes, depended on its being able to bill itself as a “tech” company because it includes an internet feature on its stationary bikes. The company – like Uber and WeWork – sought a tech aspect to its goods which would differentiate it from the competition when “tech” companies are given higher multiples on earnings by market speculators. Thus, the intellectual property, along with access to its creators and maintainers of a program for internet access to others also using the bikes has important value for Peloton.