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ExxonMobil, the world's fifth largest source of carbon emissions, remained committed to aggressively expanding its oil & gas business despite global warming. During the COVID pandemic this strategy resulted in massive losses as the price and demand for oil declined. In the summer of 2021, a start-up impact investing hedge fund, Engine No. 1, invested $38 million in ExxonMobil stock and mounted a proxy fight to change the company's direction by electing Directors experienced in renewable energy. Over fierce objections by management, Engine No. 1 won 3 board seats. By then, demand for oil had resumed and Exxon's strategy had begun to pay off. The case raises provocative questions about whether maximizing shareholder value required Exxon to use its existing resources to drive short term profits without regard to future consequences and environmental impact or, alternatively, to move beyond its core capabilities into initiatives suited to a low-carbon future. Voted best case by first year MBAs.

Kaitlyn Otashi opened her banking app and was shocked to see her balance went down compared to last month. She started a new full-time job six months ago, and was earning a decent salary. Although her expenses had gone up as a result of moving to a new apartment, she could not understand how her available cash was going in the wrong direction. This case weaves Kaitlyn through an analysis of her income and spending, including a detailed analysis of salary and benefits, personal taxes, and spending patterns. The case extends this analysis by considering three scenarios that involve Kaitlyn adjusting contributions to her health care savings plan, retirement plan, and changes in spending patterns to determine impact on income, after-tax cash flow, and net overall savings. This case is ideal for classes on personal finance, basic finance, and cash flow analysis, as well as workshops on budgeting and planning.

Spreadsheet supplement for case BAB500.

On November 4, 2020, the group chief financial officer of Domino’s Pizza Enterprises Limited was tasked with determining the cost of capital in preparation for the corporate response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In planning for 2021, the company would need to make considerable investments throughout its franchises in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and Europe. The cost of capital would be integral to these investment decisions. In the previous year, Domino’s Pizza Enterprises Limited had made A$98.9 million in investments, so the difference of a few per cent in capital costs could mean a swing in millions of dollars in expenditures. The chief financial officer had all background information including balance sheets, income statements, cash flow statements, common stock data, financial ratios, market return data, peer firm data, and an itemized list of debt obligations. Based on this information, he had to derive the company’s cost of capital using a weighted average cost of capital methodology.

Spreadsheet to accompany product W25568.

Instructor Spreadsheet to accompany product W25570.

On November 4, 2020, the group chief financial officer of Domino's Pizza Enterprises Limited was tasked with determining the cost of capital in preparation for the corporate response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In planning for 2021, the company would need to make considerable investments throughout its franchises in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and Europe. The cost of capital would be integral to these investment decisions. In the previous year, Domino's Pizza Enterprises Limited had made A$98.9 million in investments, so the difference of a few per cent in capital costs could mean a swing in millions of dollars in expenditures. The chief financial officer had all background information including balance sheets, income statements, cash flow statements, common stock data, financial ratios, market return data, peer firm data, and an itemized list of debt obligations. Based on this information, he had to derive the company's cost of capital using a weighted average cost of capital methodology.

Student Spreadsheet for Case W25568

NTL is an Indian company that earns much of its revenues from exports. Its hedging activities had become increasingly sophisticated under a treasury that was incentivized to generate profits. As a rising rupee reduced NTL's competitiveness in global markets, it has come to rely more and more on treasury income to remain profitable. NTL's treasury under Thomas has responded to this challenge by embracing highly complex leveraged structured products. As the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) hit in 2007 and 2008, exchange rates and interest rates started moving in ways that Thomas had never anticipated, inflicting serious losses on NTL. Seth, the founder Chairman of NTL is upset after a bank wrote to him demanding payment of the loss incurred by NTL on a derivative product that NTL had bought from the bank. Seth has no knowledge of the rest of the hedge book and is unaware of the seriousness of the problem. One of his banker friends has suggested that he should hire a more professional CFO to replace the current CFO, Rao. From Seth's point of view, the case presents interesting issues of risk governance and risk management policies. Rao is immersed in firefighting, figuring out the gravity of the problem and managing the liquidity needs of NTL. Thomas is the only person who understands the derivative book in its entirety, but is obviously not keen to let his superiors know how big the problem really is.

The case documents the original mattress leasing program initiated by François Pugliese, the owner of premium mattress firm Elite in Etoy (Switzerland). Since the beds he sold targeted the higher end of the market, it quickly dawned on him that customers could be tempted by a leasing offer instead of a standard purchase arrangement. In 2012, François launched the Smart Lease program: Mattresses were equipped with connected pressure sensors that could identify occupancy and relayed the information to a centralized system that monitored mattress usage and invoiced the client accordingly. Smart Lease was an immediate hit, earning some distinguished innovation awards in the process. On the financing side, though, François faced a dilemma. Smart Leasing was so successful that it created serious issues in his finances, made worse by the fast growth of his flagship stores. How could he raise a large, flexible line of credit to finance these strategic endeavors without diluting himself? He engineered a very original affinity financing solution, a convertible loan program offered to friends and family, with conversion possible under conditions to non-voting participating shares. DAMICI was a triple win: Money raised at favorable variable interest rates, a chance for friends and supporters of the firm to get involved in its future success, and a balance-sheet strengthening move. The case documents in great detail the operational and financial features of the Smart Leasing program and the DAMICI affinity financing model used to provide the funding both for leasing and for general growth options for the company. It offers rare insights into an original financial engineering montage that offered cheap, flexible financing to a high-growth entrepreneur.

The Indian Railways (IR), the country's largest transporter, is considering a plan to fully electrify its network. The move will cut its fuel expenditure by a whopping 50%. However, the project will require a capital investment of INR 350 billion (approximately USD 4.9 billion1). The investment is beyond the normal capital that is available for annual investment, as the IR is not run with a profit mindset and has limited retained earnings. Therefore, the IR has to consider potential financing options. The proposed investment also requires the IR management to overcome numerous operational changes in areas such a rolling stock, crew, usage of fueling depots, training, disposal of usable diesel locomotives, etc. The electric-based platform appears to be where the industry is headed worldwide, and potential future cost savings may also be possible if the IR moves to this platform. The project would make India the first country in Asia to move to complete electrification, establishing it as a pioneer in the rail industry and boosting national pride. It would reduce the country's reliance on imported fuels and help with the nation's balance of payments, thereby advancing its economic agenda. A third non-financial but national objective of the project would be a significant reduction in carbon emissions. The board of the IR is tasked with examining various aspects of the proposed electrification project and deciding whether or not to approve the idea. The case requires students to make a decision as to whether or not the savings are worth the investment and resource allocation.

Spreadsheet Supplement for Case ISB278

Set in July 2021, this case looks at several growth strategies under consideration at Brown Capital, the second-oldest Black-owned asset management firm in the U.S. Since its 1983 founding, Baltimore-based Brown Capital has specialized in small company growth equity-investing in small, publicly traded companies with outsized growth potential. But with its successful, domestic small company fund closed to new investors since 2013, and its international small company fund on a similar trajectory, Brown Capital's pathway to sustained growth is unclear. Should it (1) reconsider closing its Morningstar 5-star rated international small company fund; (2) focus on its newer mid company fund, which has more capacity for growth and a recent uptick in performance; or (3) introduce new strategies and asset classes?

A recent MBA graduate from a premier business school in India successfully secured a position with a major investment firm. Shortly after starting his new job, he was asked by his supervisor to evaluate the performance of three mutual funds that he had invested in during his MBA studies: Edelweiss, LIC MF, and BNP Paribas. All three investments were large cap funds. After completing his evaluation, the MBA graduate was hoping to understand the performance of the three mutual funds and determine which was the best investment choice.

Student spreadsheet to accompany product W24912.

Instructor Spreadsheet to accompany product W24913.

A recent MBA graduate from a premier business school in India successfully secured a position with a major investment firm. Shortly after starting his new job, he was asked by his supervisor to evaluate the performance of three mutual funds that he had invested in during his MBA studies: Edelweiss, LIC MF, and BNP Paribas. All three investments were large cap funds. After completing his evaluation, the MBA graduate was hoping to understand the performance of the three mutual funds and determine which was the best investment choice.