COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF BUSINESS VALUATION METHODS BASED ON ITS INDUSTRY AFFILIATION

This paper compares the applicability of the income, market and cost approaches to business valuation across industries, taking into account industry value-creation models and the limitations of available information. It is shown that industry specifics shape cash-flow patterns, risk profile, the role of intangible assets, capital intensity and the availability of comparable peers, which directly affects method choice and the scope of adjustments. Typical cases are identified where the DCF approach dominates (capital-intensive industries and projects with a long investment cycle), where the market approach prevails (industries with a developed set of public peers), and where methods should be combined (companies with a high share of intangibles, such as IT, and financial institutions, such as banks). The paper substantiates the need for industry- specific discount-rate calibration, scenario analysis and cross-checking with alternative models. An algorithm for selecting and reconciling valuation methods is proposed to improve comparability in cross-industry assessments.