Case Questions
Case #5 – Marriott Corporation: The Cost of Capital
1. Are the four components of Marriott’s financial strategy consistent with its growth objective?
2. How does Marriott use its estimate of its cost of capital? Does this make sense?
3. What is the weighted average cost of capital for Marriott Corporation?
a. What risk free rate and risk premium did you use to calculate the cost of equity?
b. How did you measure Marriott’s cost of debt?
4. If Marriott used a single corporate hurdle rate for evaluating investment opportunities in each of its lines of business, what would happen to the company over time?
5. What is the cost of capital for the lodging and restaurant divisions of Marriott?
a. What risk free rate and risk premium did you use in calculating the cost of equity for each division? Why did you choose these numbers?
b. How did you measure the cost of debt for each division? Should the debt cost differ across divisions? Why?
c. How did you measure the beta of each division?
Case Hints and Suggestions
The primary objective of this case is to show students how the CAPM is used to compute the cost of capital. Students learn to calculate beta based on comparable companies and to lever betas to adjust for capital structure. Students are asked to determine the appropriate risk-less rate and market risk premium. This case also encourages students to focus on the choice of time period to estimate expected returns and the difference between the geometric and the arithmetic a ...