Popis a analýza faktorů působících na vztah mezi ROIC a WACC

This thesis analyzes the factors influencing the difference between return on invested capital and weighted average cost of capital (ROIC–WACC spread), which serves as a key measure of corporate value creation. The aim of this thesis is to describe the theoretical foundations of this indicator and to empirically test the impact of selected factors on its magnitude. The theoretical section focuses on the ROIC and WACC indicators, their main determinants, and their relationship to corporate value creation. The empirical section is based on panel data from 172 U.S. publicly traded companies for the years 2014–2024 across selected industries, obtained from the LSEG Workspace database. A panel model with two-way fixed effects and robust Driscoll–Kraay standard errors is used for the analysis. The results indicate a statistically significant positive association between the EBIT margin, capital expenditure intensity, lagged revenue growth, firm size, and the spread between ROIC and WACC. Conversely, a negative association was confirmed for capital intensity, leverage, and beta. The analysis further suggests the possible importance of intangible assets, for which the results do not provide robust evidence but open the door to further research. The results also point to differences in the impact of selected factors across industries. The study thus contributes to a better understanding of the determinants of corporate value creation.