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Microlesson · 5-min read

Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC / Ko) and Marginal Cost of Capital (MCC)

## Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC / Ko)

A company rarely raises all its funds from one source — it uses a mix. So the overall cost of capital is the weighted average of the costs of the individual sources, weighted by their proportion in the capital structure.

  • WACC is the overall cost of capital; it depends on the company's capital structure.
  • It represents the minimum rate of return at which the company creates value for its investors.

### Steps to compute WACC

1. Total capital = Long-term debt + Preference capital + Equity capital + Retained earnings. (Exclude short-term debt.)

2. Compute the proportion (weight) of each source to total capital.

3. Multiply each weight by that source's cost (Ke, Kd, Kp, Kr).

4. Aggregate the weighted costs → WACC.

$$WACC = (w_e K_e) + (w_d K_d) + (w_p K_p) + (w_r K_r)$$

### Choice of weights — Book Value vs Market Value

  • Book Value (BV) weights: operationally easy and convenient.
  • Market Value (MV) weights: more correct — represent the firm's true capital structure.

## Marginal Cost of Capital (MCC)

The MCC is the cost of raising an additional rupee of capital — the cost of new funds.

  • Computed exactly like WACC, but only on the new funds raised.
  • Use marginal weights: the proportion in which the firm intends to raise the new funds, applied to the marginal component costs.

Worked example

### Example 1

WACC: Capital structure — Equity ₹6,00,000 (Ke 16%), Debt ₹4,00,000 (Kd 8%). Weights: equity 0.60, debt 0.40. WACC = 0.60×16% + 0.40×8% = 9.6% + 3.2% = 12.8%.

⚠️ Common exam mistakes

  • Including short-term debt / creditors in the total capital base for WACC.
  • Treating Book Value weights as more accurate — Market Value weights better reflect the true capital structure.
  • For MCC, applying existing (average) capital structure weights instead of the intended marginal financing proportions.
  • Computing MCC on total capital rather than only on the newly raised funds.
Reference:
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