Is GDS undervalued? Our fair value estimate
GDS Holdings Limited · Technology · NGM
How we got here
The estimate is computed from GDS's reported fundamentals, with a growth assumption that is deliberately capped: small changes to an uncapped growth or terminal assumption can justify any price, and a number that can justify anything means nothing. These are the inputs the model holds for GDS today; the exact method, and where it goes wrong, is on the methodology page.
The starting point is earnings power: what the business earns per share, and what the market currently pays for each unit of it.
The trailing growth rate informs the growth assumption, which the model caps deliberately: uncapped growth assumptions can justify any price.
Wall Street's published earnings growth forecast, used as context for the capped growth assumption, never swallowed whole.
Margins tell the model how much of each unit of revenue survives as profit, and how much room there is for that to erode.
Persistent high returns on capital are what a moat looks like in the accounts, and they feed the moat score alongside the valuation.
A volatility measure against the wider market. A jumpier share earns a larger discount for risk, which lowers the estimate.
Leverage haircuts the estimate: debt claims cash before shareholders do, and it turns bad years into dangerous ones.
Wall Street's number, next to ours
The mean analyst price target for GDS is USD53.49 across 18 analysts, which implies +70.4% from the current price. Our estimate is USD65.06. They answer different questions: an analyst target is a 12-month price prediction averaged across banks; ours is a model's view of what the business is worth, with every assumption published. When they disagree, at least one of us is wrong.
Technology peers, by our rating
The same model, run on the highest-rated names in the same sector. A gap to fair value is only comparable when the method behind it is identical, which here it is.
Common questions
Is GDS Holdings Limited (GDS) undervalued?
On our model, GDS at USD31.39 trades 107% below our fair value estimate of USD65.06, so it screens as undervalued today. That is one model's answer, not a recommendation: a fair value estimate is an argument about the future, and the market is frequently right about why something is cheap.
What is the fair value of GDS?
Our current fair value estimate for GDS Holdings Limited is USD65.06 per share. For comparison, the mean Wall Street analyst price target is USD53.49 across 18 analysts; that is their number, computed differently from ours. The estimate moves as prices and fundamentals move.
How is GDS's fair value calculated?
From GDS Holdings Limited's reported fundamentals: earnings power, a deliberately capped growth assumption, and a discount for balance sheet and volatility risk. The full method, including its known weaknesses, is published on our methodology page, and the interactive Valuation Lab lets you change every assumption and watch the value move.
Disagree with an assumption? Good. The Valuation Lab on the GDS app page puts every input of this model on a slider, including a reverse DCF that shows the growth the market is currently pricing in.
A fair value estimate is a model output computed from company filings and market data, refreshed daily; quotes are delayed. It is educational information, not financial advice and not a recommendation to buy or sell anything. Read the full disclaimer.