Evidence on EVA

Abstract

Economic Value Added (EVA) has attracted considerable attention as an alternative to traditional accounting earnings for use in both valuation and incentive compensation. With a host of consultants now marketing related metrics, numerous claims have been made - most based on anecdotal evidence or in-house studies. This paper summarizes independent evidence regarding EVA's alleged advantages. We begin by reviewing the theory that links the underlying concept of residual income to shareholder value. Second, we discuss how Stern Stewart modifies residual income to produce its proprietary EVA metric and show how median EVA compares with residual income, net income and operating cash flows over t..