Skip to ContentGo to accessibility pageKeyboard shortcuts menu
OpenStax Logo
Principles of Finance

15.3 The Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM)

Principles of Finance15.3 The Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM)

Menu
Table of contents
  1. Preface
  2. 1 Introduction to Finance
    1. Why It Matters
    2. 1.1 What Is Finance?
    3. 1.2 The Role of Finance in an Organization
    4. 1.3 Importance of Data and Technology
    5. 1.4 Careers in Finance
    6. 1.5 Markets and Participants
    7. 1.6 Microeconomic and Macroeconomic Matters
    8. 1.7 Financial Instruments
    9. 1.8 Concepts of Time and Value
    10. Summary
    11. Key Terms
    12. Multiple Choice
    13. Review Questions
    14. Video Activity
  3. 2 Corporate Structure and Governance
    1. Why It Matters
    2. 2.1 Business Structures
    3. 2.2 Relationship between Shareholders and Company Management
    4. 2.3 Role of the Board of Directors
    5. 2.4 Agency Issues: Shareholders and Corporate Boards
    6. 2.5 Interacting with Investors, Intermediaries, and Other Market Participants
    7. 2.6 Companies in Domestic and Global Markets
    8. Summary
    9. Key Terms
    10. CFA Institute
    11. Multiple Choice
    12. Review Questions
    13. Video Activity
  4. 3 Economic Foundations: Money and Rates
    1. Why It Matters
    2. 3.1 Microeconomics
    3. 3.2 Macroeconomics
    4. 3.3 Business Cycles and Economic Activity
    5. 3.4 Interest Rates
    6. 3.5 Foreign Exchange Rates
    7. 3.6 Sources and Characteristics of Economic Data
    8. Summary
    9. Key Terms
    10. CFA Institute
    11. Multiple Choice
    12. Review Questions
    13. Problems
    14. Video Activity
  5. 4 Accrual Accounting Process
    1. Why It Matters
    2. 4.1 Cash versus Accrual Accounting
    3. 4.2 Economic Basis for Accrual Accounting
    4. 4.3 How Does a Company Recognize a Sale and an Expense?
    5. 4.4 When Should a Company Capitalize or Expense an Item?
    6. 4.5 What Is “Profit” versus “Loss” for the Company?
    7. Summary
    8. Key Terms
    9. Multiple Choice
    10. Review Questions
    11. Problems
    12. Video Activity
  6. 5 Financial Statements
    1. Why It Matters
    2. 5.1 The Income Statement
    3. 5.2 The Balance Sheet
    4. 5.3 The Relationship between the Balance Sheet and the Income Statement
    5. 5.4 The Statement of Owner’s Equity
    6. 5.5 The Statement of Cash Flows
    7. 5.6 Operating Cash Flow and Free Cash Flow to the Firm (FCFF)
    8. 5.7 Common-Size Statements
    9. 5.8 Reporting Financial Activity
    10. Summary
    11. Key Terms
    12. CFA Institute
    13. Multiple Choice
    14. Review Questions
    15. Problems
    16. Video Activity
  7. 6 Measures of Financial Health
    1. Why It Matters
    2. 6.1 Ratios: Condensing Information into Smaller Pieces
    3. 6.2 Operating Efficiency Ratios
    4. 6.3 Liquidity Ratios
    5. 6.4 Solvency Ratios
    6. 6.5 Market Value Ratios
    7. 6.6 Profitability Ratios and the DuPont Method
    8. Summary
    9. Key Terms
    10. CFA Institute
    11. Multiple Choice
    12. Review Questions
    13. Problems
    14. Video Activity
  8. 7 Time Value of Money I: Single Payment Value
    1. Why It Matters
    2. 7.1 Now versus Later Concepts
    3. 7.2 Time Value of Money (TVM) Basics
    4. 7.3 Methods for Solving Time Value of Money Problems
    5. 7.4 Applications of TVM in Finance
    6. Summary
    7. Key Terms
    8. CFA Institute
    9. Multiple Choice
    10. Review Questions
    11. Problems
    12. Video Activity
  9. 8 Time Value of Money II: Equal Multiple Payments
    1. Why It Matters
    2. 8.1 Perpetuities
    3. 8.2 Annuities
    4. 8.3 Loan Amortization
    5. 8.4 Stated versus Effective Rates
    6. 8.5 Equal Payments with a Financial Calculator and Excel
    7. Summary
    8. Key Terms
    9. CFA Institute
    10. Multiple Choice
    11. Problems
    12. Video Activity
  10. 9 Time Value of Money III: Unequal Multiple Payment Values
    1. Why It Matters
    2. 9.1 Timing of Cash Flows
    3. 9.2 Unequal Payments Using a Financial Calculator or Microsoft Excel
    4. Summary
    5. Key Terms
    6. CFA Institute
    7. Multiple Choice
    8. Review Questions
    9. Problems
    10. Video Activity
  11. 10 Bonds and Bond Valuation
    1. Why It Matters
    2. 10.1 Characteristics of Bonds
    3. 10.2 Bond Valuation
    4. 10.3 Using the Yield Curve
    5. 10.4 Risks of Interest Rates and Default
    6. 10.5 Using Spreadsheets to Solve Bond Problems
    7. Summary
    8. Key Terms
    9. CFA Institute
    10. Multiple Choice
    11. Review Questions
    12. Problems
    13. Video Activity
  12. 11 Stocks and Stock Valuation
    1. Why It Matters
    2. 11.1 Multiple Approaches to Stock Valuation
    3. 11.2 Dividend Discount Models (DDMs)
    4. 11.3 Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) Model
    5. 11.4 Preferred Stock
    6. 11.5 Efficient Markets
    7. Summary
    8. Key Terms
    9. CFA Institute
    10. Multiple Choice
    11. Review Questions
    12. Problems
    13. Video Activity
  13. 12 Historical Performance of US Markets
    1. Why It Matters
    2. 12.1 Overview of US Financial Markets
    3. 12.2 Historical Picture of Inflation
    4. 12.3 Historical Picture of Returns to Bonds
    5. 12.4 Historical Picture of Returns to Stocks
    6. Summary
    7. Key Terms
    8. Multiple Choice
    9. Review Questions
    10. Video Activity
  14. 13 Statistical Analysis in Finance
    1. Why It Matters
    2. 13.1 Measures of Center
    3. 13.2 Measures of Spread
    4. 13.3 Measures of Position
    5. 13.4 Statistical Distributions
    6. 13.5 Probability Distributions
    7. 13.6 Data Visualization and Graphical Displays
    8. 13.7 The R Statistical Analysis Tool
    9. Summary
    10. Key Terms
    11. CFA Institute
    12. Multiple Choice
    13. Review Questions
    14. Problems
    15. Video Activity
  15. 14 Regression Analysis in Finance
    1. Why It Matters
    2. 14.1 Correlation Analysis
    3. 14.2 Linear Regression Analysis
    4. 14.3 Best-Fit Linear Model
    5. 14.4 Regression Applications in Finance
    6. 14.5 Predictions and Prediction Intervals
    7. 14.6 Use of R Statistical Analysis Tool for Regression Analysis
    8. Summary
    9. Key Terms
    10. Multiple Choice
    11. Review Questions
    12. Problems
    13. Video Activity
  16. 15 How to Think about Investing
    1. Why It Matters
    2. 15.1 Risk and Return to an Individual Asset
    3. 15.2 Risk and Return to Multiple Assets
    4. 15.3 The Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM)
    5. 15.4 Applications in Performance Measurement
    6. 15.5 Using Excel to Make Investment Decisions
    7. Summary
    8. Key Terms
    9. CFA Institute
    10. Multiple Choice
    11. Review Questions
    12. Problems
    13. Video Activity
  17. 16 How Companies Think about Investing
    1. Why It Matters
    2. 16.1 Payback Period Method
    3. 16.2 Net Present Value (NPV) Method
    4. 16.3 Internal Rate of Return (IRR) Method
    5. 16.4 Alternative Methods
    6. 16.5 Choosing between Projects
    7. 16.6 Using Excel to Make Company Investment Decisions
    8. Summary
    9. Key Terms
    10. CFA Institute
    11. Multiple Choice
    12. Review Questions
    13. Problems
    14. Video Activity
  18. 17 How Firms Raise Capital
    1. Why It Matters
    2. 17.1 The Concept of Capital Structure
    3. 17.2 The Costs of Debt and Equity Capital
    4. 17.3 Calculating the Weighted Average Cost of Capital
    5. 17.4 Capital Structure Choices
    6. 17.5 Optimal Capital Structure
    7. 17.6 Alternative Sources of Funds
    8. Summary
    9. Key Terms
    10. CFA Institute
    11. Multiple Choice
    12. Review Questions
    13. Problems
    14. Video Activity
  19. 18 Financial Forecasting
    1. Why It Matters
    2. 18.1 The Importance of Forecasting
    3. 18.2 Forecasting Sales
    4. 18.3 Pro Forma Financials
    5. 18.4 Generating the Complete Forecast
    6. 18.5 Forecasting Cash Flow and Assessing the Value of Growth
    7. 18.6 Using Excel to Create the Long-Term Forecast
    8. Summary
    9. Key Terms
    10. Multiple Choice
    11. Review Questions
    12. Problems
    13. Video Activity
  20. 19 The Importance of Trade Credit and Working Capital in Planning
    1. Why It Matters
    2. 19.1 What Is Working Capital?
    3. 19.2 What Is Trade Credit?
    4. 19.3 Cash Management
    5. 19.4 Receivables Management
    6. 19.5 Inventory Management
    7. 19.6 Using Excel to Create the Short-Term Plan
    8. Summary
    9. Key Terms
    10. Multiple Choice
    11. Review Questions
    12. Video Activity
  21. 20 Risk Management and the Financial Manager
    1. Why It Matters
    2. 20.1 The Importance of Risk Management
    3. 20.2 Commodity Price Risk
    4. 20.3 Exchange Rates and Risk
    5. 20.4 Interest Rate Risk
    6. Summary
    7. Key Terms
    8. CFA Institute
    9. Multiple Choice
    10. Review Questions
    11. Problems
    12. Video Activity
  22. Index

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

  • Define risk premium.
  • Explain the concept of beta.
  • Compute the required return of a security using the CAPM.

Risk-Free Rate

The capital asset pricing model (CAPM) is a financial theory based on the idea that investors who are willing to hold stocks that have higher systematic risk should be rewarded more for taking on this market risk. The CAPM focuses on systematic risk, rather than a stock’s individual risk, because firm-specific risk can be eliminated through diversification.

Suppose that your grandparents have given you a gift of $20,000. After you graduate from college, you plan to work for a few years and then apply to law school. You want to use the $20,000 your grandparents gave you to pay for part of your law school tuition. It will be several years before you are ready to spend the money, and you want to keep the money safe. At the same time, you would like to invest the money and have it grow until you are ready to start law school.

Although you would like to earn a return on the money so that you have more than $20,000 by the time you start law school, your primary objective is to keep the money safe. You are looking for a risk-free investment. Lending money to the US government is considered the lowest-risk investment that you can make. You can purchase a US Treasury security. The chances of the US government not paying its debts is close to zero. Although, in theory, no investment is 100% risk-free, investing in US government securities is generally considered a risk-free investment because the risk is so miniscule.

The rate that you can earn by purchasing US Treasury securities is a proxy for the risk-free rate. It is used as an investing benchmark. The average rate of return for the three-month US Treasury security from 1928 to 2020 is 3.36%.5 You can see that you will not become immensely wealthy by investing in US Treasury bills. Another characteristic of US Treasury securities, however, is that their volatility tends to be much lower than that of stocks. In fact, the standard deviation of returns for the US Treasury bills is 3.0%. Unlike the returns for stocks, the return on US Treasury bills has never been negative. The lowest annual return was 0.03%, which occurred in 2014.6

Risk Premium

You know that if you use your $20,000 to invest in stock rather than in US Treasury bills, the outcome of the investment will be uncertain. Your investments may do well, but there is also a risk of losing money. You will only be willing to take on this risk if you are rewarded for doing so. In other words, you will only be willing to take the risk of investing in stocks if you think that doing so will make you more than you would make investing in US Treasury securities.

From 1928 to 2020, the average return for the S&P 500 stock index has been 11.64%, which is much higher than the 3.36% average return for US Treasury bills.7 Stock returns, with a standard deviation of 19.49%, however, have also been much more volatile. In fact, there were 25 years in which the return for the S&P 500 index was negative.

You may not be willing to take the risk of losing some of the money your grandparents gave you because you have been setting it aside for law school. If that’s the case, you will want to invest in US Treasury securities. You may have money that you are saving for other long-term goals, such as retirement, with which you are willing to take some risk. The extra return that you will earn for taking on risk is known as the risk premium. The risk premium can be thought of as your reward for being willing to bear risk.

The risk premium is calculated as the difference between the return you receive for taking on risk and what you would have returned if you did not take on risk. Using the average return of the S&P 500 (to measure what investors who bear the risk earn) and the US Treasury bill rate (to measure what investors who do not bear risk earn), the risk premium is calculated as

RiskPremium = S&P 500AvgReturn-US T-Bill Avg Return= 11.64%-3.36% = 8.28%RiskPremium = S&P 500AvgReturn-US T-Bill Avg Return= 11.64%-3.36% = 8.28%
15.11

Beta

The risk premium represents how much an investor who takes on the market portfolio is rewarded for risk. Investors who purchase one stock—DAL, for example—experience volatility, which is measured by the standard deviation of that stock’s returns. Remember that some of that volatility, the volatility caused by firm-specific risk, can be diversified away. Because investors can eliminate firm-specific risk through diversification, they will not be rewarded for that risk. Investors are rewarded for the amount of systematic risk they incur.

Interpreting Beta

The relevant risk for investors is the systematic risk they incur. The systematic risk of a particular stock is measured by how much the stock moves with the market. The measure of how much a stock moves with the market is known as its beta. A stock that tends to move in sync with the market will have a beta of 1. For these stocks, if the market goes up 10%, the stock generally also goes up 10%; if the market goes down 5%, stocks with a beta of 1 also tend to go down 5%.

If a company has a beta greater than 1, then the stock tends to have a more pronounced move in the same direction as a market move. For example, if a stock has a beta of 2, the stock will tend to increase by 20% when the market goes up by 10%. If the market falls by 5%, that same stock will tend to fall by twice as much, or 10%. Thus, stocks with a beta greater than 1 experience greater swings than the overall market and are considered to be riskier than the average stock.

On the other hand, stocks with a beta less than 1 experience smaller swings than the overall market. A beta of 0.5, for example, means that a stock tends to experience moves that are only 50% of overall market moves. So, if the market increases by 10%, a stock with a beta of 0.5 would tend to rise by only 5%. A market decline of 5% would tend to be associated with a 2.5% decrease in the stock.

Calculating Betas

The calculation of beta for DAL is demonstrated in Figure 15.3. Monthly returns for DAL and for the S&P 500 are plotted in the diagram. Each dot in the scatter plot corresponds to a month from 2018 to 2020; for example, the dot that lies furthest in the upper right-hand corner represents November 2020. The return for the S&P 500 was 10.88% that month; this return is plotted along the horizontal axis. The return for DAL during November 2020 was 31.36%; this return is plotted along the vertical axis.

You can see that generally, when the overall stock market as measured by the S&P 500 is positive, the return for DAL is also positive. Likewise, in months in which the return for the S&P 500 is negative, the return for DAL is also usually negative. Drawing a line that best fits the data, also known as a regression line, summarizes the relationship between the returns for DAL and the S&P 500. The slope of this line, 1.39, is DAL’s beta. Beta measures the amount of systematic risk that DAL has.

A scatter plot shows monthly returns for DAL and the S&P 500. A regression line shows the correlation between the DAL returns and the S&P 500 returns.
Figure 15.3 Calculation of Beta for DAL (data source: Yahoo! Finance)

CAPM Equation

Because DAL’s beta of 1.39 is greater than 1, DAL is riskier than the average stock in the market. Finance theory suggests that investors who purchase DAL will expect a higher rate of return to compensate them for this risk. DAL has 139% of the average stock’s systematic risk; therefore, investors in the stock should receive 139% of the market risk premium.

The capital asset pricing model (CAPM) equation is

Re=Rf + Beta × Market Risk PremiumRe=Rf + Beta × (Rm - Rf)Re=Rf + Beta × Market Risk PremiumRe=Rf + Beta × (Rm - Rf)
15.12

where Re is the expected return of the asset, Rf is the risk-free rate of return, and Rm is the expected return of the market. Given the average S&P 500 return of 11.64% and the average US Treasury bill return of 3.36%, the expected return of DAL would be calculated as

Re=RUS T-bill + Beta × RS&P - RUS T-billRe=0.0336 +  1.39 × 0.1164 - 0.0336 = 14.87%Re=RUS T-bill + Beta × RS&P - RUS T-billRe=0.0336 +  1.39 × 0.1164 - 0.0336 = 14.87%
15.13

Footnotes

  • 5“Historical Return on Stocks, Bonds and Bills: 1928–2020.” Damodaran Online. Stern School of Business, New York University, January 2021. http://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~adamodar/New_Home_Page/datafile/histretSP.html
  • 6Ibid.
  • 7Ibid.
  • 8“Delta Air Lines, Inc. (DAL).” Yahoo! Finance. Verizon Media, accessed February 2021. https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/DAL/
  • 9“Delta Air Lines Inc.” MarketWatch. Accessed February 2021. https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/dal
Order a print copy

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

Citation/Attribution

Want to cite, share, or modify this book? This book uses the Creative Commons Attribution License and you must attribute OpenStax.

Attribution information
  • If you are redistributing all or part of this book in a print format, then you must include on every physical page the following attribution:
    Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/principles-finance/pages/1-why-it-matters
  • If you are redistributing all or part of this book in a digital format, then you must include on every digital page view the following attribution:
    Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/principles-finance/pages/1-why-it-matters
Citation information

© Jun 8, 2023 OpenStax. Textbook content produced by OpenStax is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License . The OpenStax name, OpenStax logo, OpenStax book covers, OpenStax CNX name, and OpenStax CNX logo are not subject to the Creative Commons license and may not be reproduced without the prior and express written consent of Rice University.