Price-to-Book (P/B) Ratio in Evaluating Companies

Written By

Dan Buckley

Updated

Sep 4, 2022

The price-to-book ratio (P/B) is the ratio of a company’s market value to its book value.

What Does Book Value Mean?

Book value is an accounting term that refers to the value of a company’s assets minus its liabilities. Book value can be thought of as a company’s “net worth”.

A company’s book value is important because it gives traders and investors an idea of what the company is actually worth, and how much they would get if they were to liquidate the company.

It can also be used to compare companies within the same industry.

When looking at a company’s book value, it is important to keep in mind that it is only one metric, and should not be used as the sole basis for investment decisions. Other factors such as earnings, cash flow, and market trends should also be considered.

What is the Book Value of a Company?

The book value of a company is calculated by subtracting its liabilities from its assets. This number can be found on a company’s balance sheet.

Assets are anything that a company owns that has monetary value.

This includes cash, investments, inventory, property, and equipment. Liabilities are anything that a company owes money on, such as loans, bonds, or leases.

The book value equation can be simplified to:

Book Value = Assets – Liabilities

For example, let’s say Company XYZ has $100 million in assets and $50 million in liabilities. The book value of Company XYZ would be $100 million – $50 million, or $50 million.

It’s important to keep in mind that the book value of a company is only a snapshot in time. It can change rapidly, depending on the value of the company’s assets and liabilities.

What is the Difference Between Book Value and Market Value?

The book value of a company is not the same as its market value. The market value is what investors are actually willing to pay for the company’s equity. It can be higher or lower than the book value, depending on a number of factors.

For example, let’s say Company XYZ from our previous example has a market value of $75 million. This means that investors are willing to pay $75 million for the company, even though its book value is only $50 million.

This can happen for a number of reasons. Perhaps investors believe that the company’s assets are undervalued, or they expect the company to grow and increase in value over time.

On the other hand, the market value of a company can also be lower than its book value. This usually happens when the market is bearish on a particular stock, or when the company is experiencing financial difficulties.

Why is market value usually higher than book value?

The market value of a company is usually higher than its book value for a number of reasons.

Intangible assets

First, the market value takes into account the “intangible” assets of a company, such as its brand name or customer base. These assets can be difficult to quantify, but they still have real value.

For instance, many people buy Apple or Nike products simply because of the brand itself.

Brand is often synonymous with reputation. It’s analogous to a popular business person who can raise money quickly relative to someone who isn’t well-known and would have great difficulty doing so.

For example, if Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, or Sergey Brin wanted to raise money quickly for a new project they had in mind, they could very easily do it even without a well-hashed business plan.

Future growth prospects

Second, the market value reflects the expectations of future growth. Investors are willing to pay more for a stock if they believe that the company will be worth more in the future.

Finally, it’s important to remember that the book value is only a snapshot in time. The market value can change rapidly, depending on the current market conditions and the mean dollar-weighted investor opinion.

What are the Limitations of Book Value?

The book value of a company can be a helpful metric, but it is important to keep in mind that it has its limitations.

Only takes into account assets and liabilities

First of all, the book value only takes into account the value of a company’s assets and liabilities. It does not take into account things like earnings, cash flow, or market trends.

This means that it should not be used as the sole basis for investment decisions.

Does not reflect the true value of a company’s assets

The book value can be misleading because it does not always reflect the true value of a company’s assets.

This is commonly true with real estate, buildings, and other assets that were bought long ago and are still listed at their old values rather than their current market values.

For example, let’s say a company owns a factory that is worth $100 million.

The factory was purchased 10 years ago for $50 million. The book value of the factory would still be $50 million, even though its market value has increased to $100 million.

This can make it difficult to compare companies within the same industry, because some companies may have assets that are undervalued while others may have assets that are overvalued.

Can change rapidly

Another limitation of book value is that it can change rapidly. This is because it is based on the value of a company’s assets and liabilities, which can fluctuate frequently.

For example, let’s say a company has $100 million in assets and $50 million in liabilities. The book value of the company would be $50 million.

Now let’s say the company gets hit by a lawsuit that requires a $10 million payout. The book value would then decrease to $40 million ($100 million in assets – $10 million cash payout – $50 million in liabilities).

This can make it difficult to use book value as a long-term investment metric.

The book value per share is calculated by dividing the book value of a company by the number of shares outstanding.

For example, let’s say Company XYZ has a book value of $100 million and 10 million shares outstanding. This would give the company a book value per share of $10.

This metric can be useful for comparing companies within the same industry, because it provides insight into how much each share would be worth if the company was liquidated and its assets were sold off.

Price-to-Book Ratio

The price-to-book ratio (P/B ratio) is a metric that is used to compare the market value of a company to its book value.

It is calculated by dividing the market value per share by the book value per share.

For example, let’s say Company XYZ has a market value per share of $20 and a book value per share of $10. This would give the company a P/B ratio of 2x ($20 market value per share / $10 book value per share).

A higher P/B ratio typically indicates that the market is expecting future growth from the company.

A lower P/B ratio may (or may not) indicate that the stock is undervalued.

Limitations of P/B

The P/B ratio can be a helpful metric, but it is important to keep in mind that it has its limitations.

One limitation is that it only takes into account the book value of a company’s assets. This means that it does not take into account things like profits, operating cash flow, or cyclical or secular trends impacting its revenue, margins, or other aspects of the company.

Another limitation is that the P/B ratio can be affected by accounting choices.

For example, let’s say Company XYZ decides to write down the value of one of its factories.

This would decrease the book value of the company, and consequently increase the P/B ratio.

This could make the stock look more expensive than it actually is.

It is important to remember that the P/B ratio is just one metric that should be considered when making investment decisions. It is not a perfect measure, and it should not be used as the sole basis for investment decisions.

What does a price-to-book ratio of 1x mean?

A price-to-book ratio of 1x means that the market value of a company is equal to its book value.

This usually occurs when a company is not expected to grow or generate any additional value for shareholders.

It can also occur when a company’s stock is undervalued by the market, such as when a company is misunderstood, markets get out of whack due to liquidity purposes, and so on.

Why do banks usually trade at a price-to-book value of less than 1x?

Banks usually trade at a price-to-book value of less than 1x because they are required to hold a certain amount of capital relative to their assets.

This means that their book value is usually higher than their market value.

However, this is not always the case. There have been periods in history when banks have traded at a price-to-book ratio of greater than 1x.

This usually occurs when the market is expecting future growth from the bank.

Price to Book Ratio Explained (P/B)

Price-to-Book and Value Investing

Value investors often use measures like price-to-book (P/B) to find companies that may be undervalued by the market. P/B is calculated by dividing a company’s share price by its book value per share or its market equity value by its book equity value.

Since book value is an accounting term that refers to the value of a company’s assets minus its liabilities, a company with a higher P/B ratio might be seen as more expensive than one with a lower ratio, but this isn’t always the case.

Sometimes, a high P/B can be a sign that a company is overvalued, but much more evidence needs to be used in order to ascertain the circumstances leading to such metrics being what they are.

Other times, a low P/B can be a sign that a company is undervalued.

This is often the case when a company is going through some sort of financial trouble and its stock price has dropped as a result. In this situation, investors may see the low P/B as an opportunity to buy shares at a discount.

Investors should be aware that there are many factors that can impact a company’s book value, so P/B should only be used as one metric in an overall analysis.

Companies in different industries will have different average P/Bs due to the nature of their businesses, so it’s important to compare companies within the same sector.

Book Value – FAQs

What is a “good” price-to-book value?

There is no definitive answer to this question. The appropriate P/B ratio depends on a number of factors, including the industry, the company’s growth prospects, and the overall market conditions.

Generally speaking, a higher P/B ratio indicates that the market is expecting future growth from the company. A lower P/B ratio may indicate that the stock is undervalued.

What other financial metrics are good to consider outside price-to-book?

Other metrics include P/E, ROE, and Debt-to-Equity.

P/E is the price-earnings ratio, which measures the market value of a company’s stock divided by its earnings per share.

ROE is the return on equity, which measures how much profit a company generates with the money that shareholders have invested.

Debt-to-equity is a measure of a company’s financial leverage. It is calculated by dividing a company’s total liabilities by its shareholder equity.

What are some companies that have high P/B ratios?

Some companies that have high P/B ratios include Meta (META), Amazon (AMZN), and Alphabet (GOOGL).

This is because these companies are fast-growing and have so-called asset-lite business models because so much of their value is not in their plant, property, and equipment (PP&E) or capital, but in the code that goes into their assets, such as Facebook, Instagram, AWS, and Google search.

What are some companies that have low P/B ratios?

Some companies that have low P/B ratios include Ford (F), JPMorgan (JPM), and ExxonMobil (XOM).

This is because these companies have large, mature businesses with a lot of PP&E or capital on their balance sheets due to the industries they’re in. They also tend to be more cyclical, which means their stock prices are more sensitive to economic downturns.

Summary – Price-to-Book (P/B) Ratio

The book value of a company is the difference between its assets and liabilities. It is important to keep in mind that the book value is only a snapshot in time and can change rapidly.

Price-to-book compares a company’s market equity value to its book equity value (an accounting concept).

The price-to-book ratio is just one metric that value investors use to find undervalued companies. Others include the price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio, the enterprise value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, and more.

When analyzing a company, it’s important to use a variety of metrics in order to get a well-rounded picture of its true value. P/B is just one tool that can be used in the valuation process.

It is also important to note that the book value does not take into account earnings, cash flow, or broader market trends or fundamentals. For these reasons, it should not be used as the only basis for investment decisions.

However, the book value can be a useful metric when combined with other financial ratios and used in conjunction with an overall analysis of everything about the business.