Addressing the conundrum facing business executives and investors of what a stock is worth and why, a partner at HOLT Value Associates discusses the link between corporate performance and market valuation based on insights from analyzing firms' track records. Madden presents the CFROI valuation model and its market-derived discount rate as superior to the conventional approach used for estimating firms' costs of capital. Includes an application with calculations. Appends information on personal tax rates and cost of capital, inflation adjustment factors, his company's performance scorecard for US firms (December 1997), estimating retirements, and a glossary of terms from "assumptions" to "warranted value." Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)