b. (1.) Write out a formula that can be used to value any stock, regardless of its dividend pattern. THE DISCOUNTED DIVIDEND APPROACH The value of any financial asset is equal to the present value of future cash flows provided by the asset. When an investor buys a share of stock, he or she typically expects to receive cash in the form of dividends and then, eventually, to sell the stock and to receive cash from the sale. Moreover, the price any investor receives is dependent upon the dividends the next investor expects to earn, and so on for different generations of investors. Thus, the stock's value ultimately depends on the cash dividends the company is expected to provide and the discount rate used to find the present value of those dividends. Here is the basic dividend valuation equation: P0 = D1 + D2 + . . . . ( 1 + rs ) ? The dividend stream theoretically extends on out forever, i.e., n = infinity. Obviously, it would not be feasible to deal with an infinite stream of dividends, but fortunately, an equation has been developed that can be used to find the PV of the dividend stream, provided it is growing at a constant rate. Naturally, trying to estimate an infinite series of dividends and interest rates forever would be a tremendously difficult task. Now, we are charged with the purpose of finding a valuation model that is easier to predict and construct. That simplification comes in the form of valuing stocks on the premise that they have a constant growth rate