Free Cash Flow and Market Value of Firm: The Mediation Effect of weighted average cost of Capital

Abstract

Abstract
 This study tests the effect of capital costs on the relationship between free cash flow (FCF) and market value. The study selected twenty-six corporations that were listed on the Jordan securities market from 2010 to 2019. The FCF is an independent variable, cost of capital is a mediation variable (proxy of WACC), and market value added (proxy of firm’s value) is a dependent variable. Baron & Kenny's methodology and the Sobel-test were used to analyze the data of the four hypotheses, including the mediation effect of capital costs on FFC & MVA. Based on the Sobel test results, there is a partial mediation effect of the cost of capital between the free cash flow and the market value added of the firm, and the free cash flow is positively related to the market value added. Therefore, FCF has the capability to send positive signals to financial market participants about the firm's performance.
 Keywords: - Free Cash Flow (FCF), Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC), Market Value Added (MVA), Mmarket Value of Equity (MVE), Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM), Beta Coefficient (β).