time passed since the first investment ( assuming that )
the net cash flow at time step
the volume of cash investment at initial time moment
A popular mechanism of measuring the discounted cash flow value of the profit
NPV = \sum_{i=0}^n \frac{R_{t_i}}{(1+r)^{t_i}} = R_0 + \sum_{i=1}^n \frac{R_{t_i}}{(1+r)^{t_i}} |
where
| total number of time steps (usually time step is one year) | |
time passed since the first investment ( assuming that | |
| the discount rate, i.e. the return that could be earned per unit of time (usually one year) on an investment with similar risk, which is assumed constant over time | |
the net cash flow at time step | |
the volume of cash investment at initial time moment |
The main idea of NPV is to start wth the statement that value of cash today is higher than value of cash tomorrow because immediate cash can be safely invested today and start brining some profit.
In a sense, NPV is showing a value of given investment as against a competitor in the form of the available market investment opportunities
NPV dictates that commercial project should not only be just profitable but instead should be on par with or more profitable than easily available investment alternatives