Company comps are companies that are comparable with or peers of the company you are valuing.
Criteria used to generate an initial list of comps may include one or more of the following:
- Industry classification (products or services offered)
- Geography (location)
- Size (e.g. revenue, number of employees, assets, market capitalization)
Once you've generated an initial list of comparable companies, you can then further refine this list by using criteria such as growth rate or profitability, using financial multiples, averages, ratios and benchmarks.
Both FactSet and Bloomberg will automatically generate a list of comps for you. Use your judgment and critically evaluate these default lists because:
- Some companies included in these default lists may NOT be relevant;
- Some companies may NOT be included in these lists but SHOULD BE; and
- PRIVATE companies are typically excluded from default comp lists.
