1. Porter Analysis
P.V. Viswanath
Valuation of the Firm

2. Before Valuation
A key part of Valuation is forecasting the future cashflows of the firm.
For that, it’s important to have a good understanding of what the firm is, its strengths, where it is, who its competitors and their strengths.
A firm does not operate in a vacuum.
Forecasting cashflows is impossible without knowing the environment.

3. Porter Analysis
Porter’s Five Forces model Analysis is a systematic way of analyzing the industry environment in which the firm finds itself.
Following this, it is necessary to do a SWOT-type analysis to evaluate the firm within this environment.

4. Five Forces model of Porter
Ease of entry of competitors
How easy or difficult is it for new entrants to start to compete, which barriers do exist?
Threat of substitutes
How easily can the product or service be substituted, especially cheaper?
Bargaining power of buyers
How strong is the position of buyers, can they work together to order large volumes?
Bargaining power of suppliers
How strong is the position of sellers, are there many or only few potential suppliers, is there a monopoly?
Rivalry among the existing players
Is there a strong competition between the existing players, is one player very dominant or all all equal in strength/size?
Government Intervention
Can government policies be used to the advantage of the firm?
From

5. Porter: Five Strategic Forces
www-mime.eng.utoledo.edu/people/faculty/rbennett/engineering_management/Powerpoint%20Slides/ch09.ppt

6. New Entrants: Barriers to Entry
Economies of Scale
To the extent that there are economies of scale, it will be difficult for a new firm to come in and compete with established firms.
Product Differentiation
To the extent that the firm’s products are distinct and non-copiable, new firms won’t be able to come in and take away customers.
Brand Identification
To the extent that there is brand identification, customers will remember the firm’s product and will resist switching.
Switching Cost
If it is costly for the customer to switch, new entrants won’t be able to convince them to do so.

7. New Entrants: Barriers to Entry
Access to Distribution Channels
If the firm has preferential or monopolistic access to distribution channels, it is more resistant to competition.
Capital Requirements
If capital requirements are high, new under-capitalized firms won’t be able to enter the industry.
Access to Latest Technology
If technology is important in the industry, new firms are less likely to have access to them, which is good for established firms.
Experience and Learning Effects
If experience is necessary for a firm to figure out how to operate efficiently, established firms have a distinct advantage.

8. Barriers to Entry: Examples
Regulatory restrictions (e.g. banking license)
brand names (e.g. Xerox, McDonalds – can develop customer loyalty; hard to develop and/or imitate)
patents (illegal to exploit without ownership; e.g. new drugs – cf. also RIM)
A small co., NTP, had a patent on crucial technology that RIM used for its Blackberry
unique know-how (e.g. WalMart’s “hot docking” technique of logistics management)
Accumulated experience (cf. learning curve)

9. New Entrants/ Industry Competition: Government Action
Industry Protection
Industry Regulation
Consistency of Policies
Capital Movement Amongst Countries
Custom Duties
Foreign Exchange
Foreign Ownership
Assistance Provided to Competitors

10. Industry Competition: Rivalry Among Competitors
Concentration and Balance among Competitors
To the extent that there is no single large competitor, the firm is better off
Industry Growth
If the industry is growing, there’s more room for everybody; less pressure on the firm
Fixed Cost
The higher the operating leverage, the more competitors are going to be hungry for revenue – downside risks are greater
Product Differentiation
If products are differentiated, markets are in a sense, segmented, and there are no competitors

11. Industry Competition: Rivalry Among Competitors
Intermittent Overcapacity
The extent to which firms have overcapacity from time to time, leading them to find additional sources of orders to keep resources fully employed.
Switching Costs
The extent to which it’s easy for customers to switch from this firm to other firms’ products will also determine how much other firms will exert themselves to get them to switch
Corporate Strategic Stakes
If the strategic stakes are high – for example, if there is only room for a few players, then firms will fight harder

12. Industry Competition: Barriers to Exit
Asset Specialization
If assets are specialized, firms will not want to exit – quitting the industry can be costly in terms of lower prices for assets no longer in use.
One-time Cost of Exit
For example, if businesses are required to pay for any environmental costs before they exit or if they have to set aside funds to pay for potential future lawsuits, they are less likely to exit a business
Strategic Interrelationships with Other Businesses
Emotional Barriers
Government and Social Restrictions

13. Bargaining Power of Suppliers
Number of Important Suppliers
The fewer the number of important suppliers, the more power they have over the firm, and the greater their ability to extract producer surplus.
Availability of Substitutes for the Suppliers’ Products
This would reduce supplier power
Differentiation or Switching Costs of Suppliers’ Products
If it’s difficult for the firm to switch to other suppliers, the current suppliers can charge more
Suppliers’ Threat of Forward Integration
To the extent that suppliers might potentially themselves become competitors, they are less reliable and need to be looked at strategically

14. Bargaining Power of Suppliers
Industry Threat of Forward Integration
To what extent is it possible that the entire supplier industry might integrate forward?
Suppliers’ Contribution to Quality or Service of the Industry Products
How crucial are suppliers in the maintenance of the quality of industry products? Clearly, this will determine supplier power. Also, if this is an important factor, then the supplier industry might be more important, and might integrate forward.
Total Industry Cost Contributed by Suppliers
This goes to the same issue as above, but from a more quantitative perspective.
Importance of the Industry to Suppliers’ Profits

15. Bargaining Power of Customers
Number of Important Buyers
The greater the number of important buyers, the less power does the firm have to manipulate prices
Availability of Substitutes for the Industry Products
The impact of this on price elasticity of demand for the industry’s products is obvious.
Buyer’s Switching Costs
This is relevant both in terms of switching to competitors’ products and switching to products manufactured by other industries.
Buyer’s Threat of Backward Integration
The buyer might choose to integrate backward and manufacture his input goods, himself. This means that buyers have to be looked at strategically; they also have more power over the prices they are charged.

16. Bargaining Power of Customers
Industry Threat of Backward Integration
The entire buyer industry might integrate backward.
Contribution to Quality or Service of Buyer’s Products
The greater the contribution of the firm’s product to the quality of the product, the greater the power of the firm. On the other hand, this might also impel the buyer to integrate backward.
Total Buyer’s Cost Contributed by the Industry
This is similar to the previous point, but in a more quantitative fashion.
Buyer’s Profitability
The more profitable buyers are, the more amenable they are to paying more for their input products.

17. Substitutes
Some of these points have already been addressed in looking at buyers/suppliers. However, it’s useful to consider it again from the product perspective, rather than from the perspective of other economic actors.
Availability of Close Substitutes
User’s Switching Costs
Substitute Producer’s Profitability and Aggressiveness
Where is the substitute product located on the Price/Value dimensions?

18. Porter Model Applied: Pharmaceutical Industry 1990s
Barriers to Entry – Very Attractive
Steep R&D experience curve effects
Large economies-of-scale barriers in R&D
Critical Mass in R&D and marketing required global scale
Significant R&D and marketing costs
High Risk inherent in the drug development process
Increasing threat of new entries from biotechnology companies

19. Porter Model Applied: Pharmaceutical Industry 1990s
Bargaining Power of Suppliers
Mostly Commodities
Individual Scientists may have some personal leverage

20. Porter Model Applied: Pharmaceutical Industry 1990s
Bargaining Power of Buyers: Mildly Unattractive
Buying Process is price sensitive – the consumer did not pay and the buyer did not pay
Large power of buyers – plan sponsors with an incentive to contain costs
Mail-order pharmacies obtain large discounts on volume drugs
Large aggregated buyers – hospital suppliers, large distributors, government institutions

21. Porter Model Applied: Pharmaceutical Industry 1990s
Threat of Substitutes: Mildly Unattractive
Generic drugs weakening branded drugs
More than half the patent life spent on product development and approval process
Technological development is making imitation easier – reverse engineering
Consumer aversion to chemical substances erodes the appeal for pharmaceutical drugs

22. Porter Model Applied: Pharmaceutical Industry 1990s
Intensity of Rivalry: Attractive
Global Competition Concentrated Amongst fifteen large companies
Most companies focus on certain types of disease therapy
Competition amongst incumbents limited by patent protection
Competition based on price and product differentiation
Government intervention increases rivalry
Strategic alliances establish collaborative agreements among industry players
Very profitable industry, but declining margins

23. Resource-based Views of the Firm: Tangible Assets
Tangible assets are the easiest to value, and often are the only resources that appear on a firm’s balance sheet.
They include real estate, production facilities, and raw materials, among others.
Although tangible resources may be essential to a firm’s strategy, due to their standard nature, they rarely are a source of competitive advantage.
Source: David Collis and Cynthia Montgomery

24. Resource-based Views of the Firm: Intangible Assets
Intangible assets include such things as
company reputations,
brand names,
cultures,
technological knowledge,
patents and trademarks, and
accumulated learning and experience.

25. Firm Resources: Organizational Capabilities
Organizational capabilities are not factor inputs like tangible and intangible assets
they are complex combinations of assets, people, and processes that organizations use to transform inputs into outputs.
Includes a set of abilities describing efficiency and effectiveness: low cost structure, “lean” manufacturing, high quality production, fast product development.

26. Putting things together
Now that we have looked at the firm’s environment and its assets, we need to look at the firm’s strategy within this environment and how this relates to the other parties identified in the “five forces model.”
We must keep in mind, however, that our objective is not to craft new strategy for the firm, but rather to appreciate its current and potential strategy in
forecasting future cashflows
Evaluating investment risks
A useful place to find relevant information is the firm’s 10-K filing, particularly the “Risk Factors section.”