Valuing Subscription-Based Businesses Using Publicly Disclosed Customer Data

The growth of subscription-based commerce has changed the types of data that firms report to external shareholders. More than ever, companies are discussing and disclosing information on the number of customers acquired and lost, customer lifetime value, and other data. This has fueled an increasing interest in linking the value of a firm's customers to the overall value of the firm, with the term “customer-based corporate valuation” being used to describe such efforts. Although several researchers in the fields of marketing and accounting have explored this idea, their underlying models of customer acquisition and retention do not adequately reflect the empirical realities associated with these behaviors, and the associated valuation models do not meet the standards of finance professionals. The authors develop a framework for valuing subscription-based firms that addresses both issues, and they apply it to data from DISH Network and Sirius XM Holdings.