M&A topic guide
Financial modeling
Turn operating assumptions into cash flows, valuation ranges, and acquisition decisions using five downloadable company models.
The decision to make
Which assumptions drive cash and value, and what changes the acquisition decision when those assumptions fail?
Follow an operating assumption into cash
Choose the business closest to the question you are studying. Each workbook includes assumptions, an operating forecast, valuation outputs, sensitivities, and checks. Change one material driver and trace its effect through earnings, investment, cash flow, and value.
- Gap: valuing a retail business — sales, markdowns, inventory, and cash needed to operate.
- Salesforce: valuing a software business — recurring revenue, retention costs, growth investment, and cash per share.
- Ziff Davis: valuing a digital media business — portfolio mix, repeatable revenue, platform dependence, and central costs.
- Surgery Partners: valuing a healthcare-services business — cases, reimbursement, facility ownership, and cash attributable to the parent.
- NVIDIA: valuing an AI infrastructure business — product demand, margins, supply commitments, and growth funding.
Make the model explain the decision
Keep sourced facts, adjustments, and forecast assumptions distinct. Check units and periods, reconcile accounting balances, and identify the driver that breaks the downside case first. A sensitivity should show what the business would need to do if the case occurs.
These are dated public-company teaching models. Their guide and source notes identify the information basis. Use Valuation to compare methods and Strategic finance to decide whether the investment fits the buyer’s capital constraints.
Transaction stages · All ten topics · Downloads
By Mike Ye · Updated September 10, 2026