FAQ

Answers to the most common questions about MiniValuator, DCF valuation, and how the tool works.

What Is MiniValuator?

MiniValuator is a free online stock valuation tool that uses the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) method to estimate the intrinsic value of publicly traded stocks. You enter a stock ticker, review and adjust the financial inputs pulled from real-time data sources, and receive an intrinsic value estimate alongside a sensitivity heatmap that shows how your result changes under different assumptions.

MiniValuator is designed for individual investors who want to apply fundamental valuation principles without building complex spreadsheet models from scratch.

Is MiniValuator Free?

MiniValuator is free to get started. Every new account receives 30 free credits upon signup — no credit card required. Searching for a stock is free, and each valuation consumes 10 credits, so your free credits cover 3 full valuations before you decide whether to purchase more. Reopening a stock you have already valued within the last 7 days does not cost additional credits.

Once your free credits are used, you can purchase additional credits at low cost. There is no subscription — MiniValuator only sells one-time credit packs. See the Credits and Pricing page for details.

How Accurate Is the DCF Valuation?

DCF valuation is a model, not a prediction. The accuracy of any intrinsic value estimate depends entirely on the quality of the assumptions that go into it — growth rates, margins, and discount rate. As experienced investors often put it: garbage in, garbage out.

MiniValuator populates inputs automatically using real financial data to give you a reasonable starting point, but no model can predict the future with certainty. This is precisely why MiniValuator includes a sensitivity heatmap: rather than anchoring on a single number, you can see how the intrinsic value estimate shifts across a range of plausible assumptions. A stock that looks attractive under many different scenarios is generally a more compelling opportunity than one that only looks cheap under the single most optimistic case.

Use the DCF output as one analytical input among several, not as a definitive answer.

What Stocks Can I Value?

MiniValuator supports US-listed stocks with publicly available financial data. This includes companies listed on the NYSE, NASDAQ, and other major US exchanges that file financial reports with the SEC.

Companies with insufficient public financial history — such as very recently listed companies, SPACs before a business combination, or firms with irregular financials — may return incomplete data or limited results. MiniValuator works best with established companies that have at least a few years of reported financials.

Where Does the Financial Data Come From?

MiniValuator sources financial data from the Financial Modeling Prep (FMP) API. FMP aggregates company fundamentals from SEC filings and combines them with market price data. This includes income statement data, balance sheet items, cash flow figures, share counts, and market price information.

Data is retrieved at the time of your valuation to reflect the most current available figures. Because the data comes from public regulatory filings and established financial data providers, it reflects the same underlying information used by professional analysts.

Is Any of the Analysis AI-Generated?

Yes, one clearly marked part. On each ticker page, the short summaries of a company's competitive moat and key risks are generated by AI and labeled directly on the page as "AI Generated · For Reference Only".

The valuation figures themselves are not AI-generated. Every DCF and P/E result is computed by deterministic formulas from the underlying financial data, so the same inputs always produce the same output. Treat the AI summaries as reference material only; they are not investment advice.

What Is Intrinsic Value?

Intrinsic value is an estimate of what a business is actually worth, based on the cash flows it is expected to generate over time, discounted back to the present. It is distinct from market price, which reflects what buyers and sellers are currently willing to pay — a figure driven by sentiment, momentum, and short-term factors as much as fundamentals.

The gap between intrinsic value and market price is the opportunity that value investors seek. For a deeper explanation, see the MiniValuator blog.

What Is Margin of Safety?

Margin of safety is the difference between a stock's estimated intrinsic value and its current market price, expressed as a percentage. If MiniValuator estimates a stock's intrinsic value at $100 and it is trading at $75, the margin of safety is 25%.

The concept, popularized by Benjamin Graham and central to Warren Buffett's approach, reflects the idea that even the best valuation model contains uncertainty. Buying at a meaningful discount to intrinsic value gives you a buffer against errors in your assumptions and unexpected business developments.

For a full explanation of how margin of safety is applied in MiniValuator, see the MiniValuator blog.

What Discount Rate Does MiniValuator Use?

MiniValuator deliberately keeps the discount rate simple. Instead of deriving a per-company Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) — which would require estimating cost of equity (often via CAPM and beta), cost of debt, and capital structure weights — it applies a single discount rate, defaulting to 10%, to every company. Roughly a risk-free rate plus an equity risk premium, this trades per-company precision for comparability across stocks and avoids turning the discount rate into one more unverifiable assumption.

You can edit the discount rate directly before running your valuation. Because it has a significant impact on intrinsic value, the discount rate is held fixed across the sensitivity heatmap, which instead varies the growth rate and the terminal-value assumption so you can isolate their effect. To explore how the result changes at a different rate, simply change the rate and re-run.

Can I Save or Share My Valuation Results?

Yes. From the valuation results page you can download a summary card as an image (PNG) that captures the ticker, the intrinsic value estimate, and the key inputs behind it — useful for saving a record or sharing your analysis. The same export option is available to every account; there are no tier-based restrictions.

How Do I Contact Support?

If you have a question that is not answered here, encounter a technical issue, or need help with your account, you can reach the MiniValuator support team by email. The support email address is available on the Contact page within the app.

For credit-related issues — such as a valuation that failed to complete but still consumed credits — include your account email and the ticker and date of the affected valuation in your message so the team can review your case efficiently.

Disclaimer

MiniValuator provides educational valuation tools and information. Nothing on this site constitutes investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. Do your own research or consult a licensed financial advisor before making investment decisions.