The Telltale Corporation is a “provider of integrated information movement and management”, as it defined itself. It had two main business segments: the first one was Telecommunications Services, which provided long-distance, local, and cellular telephone service, accounted for 75% of the market value of the firm; the second one was the Products and Systems segment, which produced computing and telecommunications equipment, accounted for other 25% of the market value of the firm.
The Telltale used one constant hurdle rate to evaluate all the projects for both segments, and it used Its WAC as Its hurdle rate, which Is 9. 3%. In 2004, Telecommunications Services had earned a ROCK of 9. 1% which Is lower than hurdle rate, and Products and Systems had earned 11%. Someone argued that Telecommunications Services has destroyed shareholders wealth. First of all, one constant hurdle rate was not fair for investors. Rational people are risk-averse, and they will ask higher returns if they have to take higher risk.
One constant hurdle rate for whole company implied that all capital-investment proposals from both segments were in the same risk level, but they were not. In 2004, the average beta in telecommunications services industry was 1. 04, and the average beta in products and systems was 1. 36. So in Telltale, the segment of Products and Systems was much riskier than telecommunications services, which means people should ask higher return from projects of this segment than those of electrification services segment.
Otherwise, one constant hurdle rate makes investors take high risk. The WAC for Telltale Corp. is calculated at 9. 30%, which is then applied to all investment and performance-measurement analyses of the firm. When looking strictly at this, the Telecommunications Services is under performing with a return on capital of 9. 10%. The Products & Systems segments are well over the required rate of return, earning a return on capital of 1 1. 0%.
