Why would you use Gordon Growth rather than the Multiples Method to calculate the Terminal Value?

In banking, you almost always use the Multiples Method to calculate Terminal Value in a DCF. It’s much easier to get appropriate data for exit multiples since they are based on Comparable Companies – picking a long-term growth rate, by contrast, is always a shot in the dark.

However, you might use Gordon Growth if you have no good Comparable Companies or if you have reason to believe that multiples will change significantly in the industry several years down the road. For example, if an industry is very cyclical you might be better off using long-term growth rates rather than exit multiples.