On paper, it seems rather obvious that the best way to optimize your retirement is to delay claiming Social Security for as long as possible. Must Read According to the Social Security Administration, taking your benefits as early as possible (age 62 for those born after 1960) could result in lower monthly payments. At age 67, you qualify for full benefits, but if you delay your claim until age 70 you could enjoy a 24% total boost to monthly benefits. At 70 your monthly benefit stops increasing. With th ...

Definitions - The term "discount rate" has two different meanings [1] - It can refer to the interest rate the Federal Reserve charges banks for short-term loans [1] - It is also used in future cash flow analysis [1]

Model Assumptions & Inputs - The DCF model defaults to a discount rate of the current 10-year Treasury rate plus 6%, currently at 11% [1] - Earnings per share (EPS) is used as a default input to estimate future earnings in the reverse DCF model [2] - Free cash flow and adjusted dividend models are available as options [2] Reverse DCF Model Analysis - The reverse DCF model determines the growth rate needed to justify the current stock price [3] - For Brown, the model suggests a future growth rate of 1948% per year for the next 10 years to justify the current stock price [3] - Brown's average EPS growth over the last 10 years was 2220% [3] - The expected growth is smaller than the past growth, suggesting it is potentially achievable, but relies on assumptions [4] Key Considerations - The business needs to be predictable and consistent in the future [5] - Future growth should be similar to past growth [5] - Changes to the discount rate can significantly impact the valuation [5] - Future interest rates and the length of the growth stage are unknown assumptions [5] - Both DCF and reverse DCF models rely on numerous assumptions [1][5]