Evaluation of the value of Internet platform Enterprises in the digital economy by the big data cooperation asset valuation model

Abstract

With the innovation of information technology, the national industry has been adjusted and upgraded, and the development of the Internet industry has had a huge impact on economic development. The investment and financing of network enterprises and the merger and acquisition of network companies need to evaluate the value of network companies. In this regard, this paper evaluated the value of Internet platform enterprises under the digital economy based on the Big Data (BD) cooperation asset valuation model. This paper analyzed the factors affecting the value evaluation of Internet enterprises and discussed the advantages of BD cooperative asset valuation model in the value evaluation of Internet enterprises in the digital economy. The BD cooperation asset valuation model was constructed, and the value evaluation experiment of Internet platform enterprises under the digital economy was carried out. The experimental results of this paper showed that in the evaluation of the profitability value of Internet enterprises, the difference between the net sales interest rate was 0.14%–0.51 %. The difference between the net interest rate of equity was 0.09%–0.67 %, and the difference between the net interest rate of total assets was 0.19%–0.92 %; in terms of the evaluation of the operating capacity of Internet enterprises, the difference between the current asset turnover rate was 0.05–0.16. The difference of non-current asset turnover rate was 0.02–0.15, and the difference of total asset turnover rate was 0.01–0.16. The evaluation value based on the BD cooperation asset valuation model was not different from the actual enterprise value, which showed that the BD cooperation asset valuation model had good advantages in the evaluation of the value of Internet enterprises.

1. Introduction

From its appearance to now, the Internet industry has penetrated into all aspects of economy and society, and has had a more profound impact on people's various concepts, life and entertainment, that is, in a short period of more than ten years. The Internet has gradually become an indispensable part of the construction of an information society and a major driving force for social and economic development. The Internet is an indispensable part of the development of the global Internet. It has developed rapidly and still has great potential. According to statistics, the current national Internet penetration rate is 50.3 %. The number of people using the Internet is increasing, which has reached 688 million. With the development of mobile network technology, people's lifestyle has also undergone earth-shaking changes. In the network environment, the growth of network companies is very fast. In Internet companies, venture capital is usually introduced, and mergers and acquisitions or listed financing are also implemented. These are the means by which they can develop rapidly. In recent years, China's Internet companies have ushered in a good period of development, including Alibaba, Jumei Youpin, JD Mall, Xunlei, Cheetah, Yihi Car Rental, etc. The evaluation of the value is the premise for the network company to carry out effective financing, and also the basis for the network company to carry out investment behavior. The value evaluation of network companies, whether in theory or in practice, is a matter of great concern. The Internet company is a knowledge-based company, and its decision-making is a very complex process. The application of traditional evaluation methods in network companies has been greatly limited, so it is of great significance to find a more scientific and effective evaluation method to evaluate network companies.

Based on the existing research results, scholars have carried out relevant research on enterprise value. The discovery of the causal relationship between green innovation and enterprise value has reference value for formulating incentive policies for different industries and enterprises [1]. In testing the impact of intangible assets and brand assets on enterprise value, the proportion of intangible assets in the asset structure of iron and steel enterprises plays a positive and key role in the enterprise value under surplus conditions [2]. Innovation investment can significantly increase the value of enterprises, while over-centralized ownership will have a negative impact on the above relationship [3]. The impact of environmental, social and governance evaluation indicators on the expected future cash flow and discount rate in the enterprise valuation model [4]. However, these scholars lacked some technical argumentation on the exploration of enterprise value. Through research, it was found that the enterprise value could be well evaluated based on asset valuation. In this regard, relevant literature on asset valuation was consulted.

Some scholars also have some research on asset valuation. In the impact of growth, enterprise scale, capital structure and profitability on Vietnam's enterprise value, it is found that scale and profitability are positively correlated with enterprise value, while capital structure is a negative factor affecting enterprise value [5]. After evaluating and analyzing the financial security level of Uzbekistan's textile enterprises, scientific and practical suggestions were formulated to ensure their financial security [6]. However, these scholars did not evaluate the value of Internet platform enterprises in the digital economy based on the BD cooperative asset valuation model, and they only discussed it from a shallow perspective.

In order to solve the various limitations of traditional enterprise value evaluation methods on the value evaluation of networked enterprises, this paper constructed a BD cooperative asset valuation model and analyzed the advantages of the BD cooperative asset valuation model in the value evaluation of Internet enterprises. Finally, a simulation experiment was carried out to evaluate the value of Internet enterprises from the perspective of profitability, operation ability and solvency. It could be seen from the experimental results that the valuation model of cooperative assets based on BD could well evaluate the value of Internet enterprises.

2. Evaluation method of BD cooperation asset valuation model

2.1. Investigation on influencing factors of internet enterprise value evaluation

Future development trend: At present, the Internet industry is still in the primary stage of development, and the basic market structure of the Internet industry has not yet formed. With the rapid development of technology, customer needs are personalized, diversified and combined with traditional industries. Its industrial characteristics and living environment are also constantly changing. Due to its unique operation mode, network companies have not yet established a relatively complete development model in a sense. Therefore, to evaluate the value of an online company, first of all, it is necessary to judge the development direction of an online company [7,8]. Fig. 1 shows the factors that affect the value of Internet enterprises.

Fig. 1.

Factors affecting the value of Internet enterprises.

Overall effect: In real life, the factors that affect the value of network enterprises include: customer factor, time factor, innovation factor, management factor, and brand effect. Although many evaluation methods can include this series of indicators, they are abstract and have no specific evaluation data. They cannot be used as a value of the enterprise's business ability for evaluation, nor can the overall effect of these indicators be measured [9,10].

Corporate strategy: Compared with traditional companies, the development of the Internet industry is strongly affected by the company's strategy, so there are many uncertain factors in the company. For example, the company's development strategy has a great impact on the company's accounting policy, operating policy, cash flow, capital allocation, technology management, etc., which makes the company face great risks and uncertainties. Therefore, it is necessary to take into account the uncertain factors of the company's strategy or eliminate them [11,12].

2.2. Advantages of BD cooperation asset valuation model in the value evaluation of internet enterprises in the digital economy

Compared with the current valuation of the company, the BD cooperation asset valuation model is more objective. In Internet enterprises’ early stage, if it can survive in market competition, it would have a period of rapid growth and bring huge residual income to the enterprise. However, this situation cannot be maintained for a long time [13]. When the innovation model of an enterprise is imitated or even surpassed by other enterprises, these situations would have a negative impact on the development of the enterprise. Therefore, the market share established by Internet enterprises would gradually stabilize and enter a period of stable development. Therefore, in the development process of the network company, the BD cooperative asset valuation model is used to evaluate the value of the company, which is consistent with the development trend of the network company. Fig. 2 shows the value evaluation process of Internet enterprises.

Fig. 2.

Internet enterprise value evaluation process.

The evaluation of BD cooperation asset valuation model mainly focuses on the creation of company value. This is the difference between BD cooperative asset valuation model and traditional methods. The investment value of a company means that its ability to obtain profits in the future is greater than the cost of capital. The share price and book value would rise with the economic value of the company. When the company cannot obtain profits higher than the cost of capital, it is not surprising that the share price is lower than the net asset per share. This is the capital market that can properly reflect the company's internal value [14,15].

Only when the company's after-tax net profit exceeds the company's invested capital can the company's business activities generate value [16]. Under the traditional accounting method, the earnings of many companies can be reflected through financial statements. However, in reality, many companies do not have any actual profits, which is because the profits earned by companies are often lower than the capital costs paid by shareholders. From the perspective of economics, residual income can better reflect the opportunity cost of the company. The BD cooperation asset valuation model is closely linked with the company's financial objectives, and can better reflect the company's value [17].

With the diversified development of network companies, the value evaluation of network companies faces great challenges, including accurate evaluation of the information of network companies and objective processing of the information of network companies [18]. To make the valuation of the network company accurate, it needs the objective judgment of the evaluator. The BD cooperative asset valuation model based on the accounting report is based on the accounting report and obtains data from the accounting report, which is highly consistent with the purpose of maximizing shareholders’ interests. The parameter calculation of the BD cooperative asset valuation model is mainly to predict financial indicators. Its prediction method is simple and feasible, and has high accuracy, which can meet the high demand for parameter prediction of the diversified development of Internet companies.

2.3. BD cooperation asset valuation model

The purpose of the asset valuation model is to estimate the value of an enterprise or project based on certain assumptions and conditions. The model based on cash flow is to discount the cash flow that the enterprise or project can generate in the future to the present at a certain discount rate to obtain its value [19]. Such models include free cash flow discount model, dividend discount model, etc. The model based on relative value is to compare an enterprise or project with other enterprises or projects in the same industry or in the same category, and obtain its relative value according to some indicators such as price earnings ratio and price-to-book ratio. Through the theoretical analysis of enterprise earnings evaluation, this paper constructed three basic assumptions of enterprise earnings evaluation.

• (1)Dividend discount model

The equity value of the enterprise is equal to the present value of the future dividend of the enterprise [20]. As shown in formula 1:

$$B=\sum _{y=1}^m\frac{R\left(F_y\right)}{{\left(1+t\right)}^y}$$ (1)

In formula 1, B represents the equity value of the enterprise; $R\left(F_y\right)$ represents the expected value of corporate dividend at time y; t is the cost of equity capital.

• (2)Clean surplus hypothesis

Under the assumption of clean income, all changes in the book value of the net assets of the enterprise should be included in the accounting profit and loss, and there should be no profit or loss not recorded in the income statement items. Dividend distribution would only occur at the end of each period. It has no impact on the current profit and loss. As shown in formula 2:

$$N{B}_y=N{B}_{y-1}+C_y+F_y$$ (2)

In formula 2, $N{B}_y$ is the book value of the shareholders' equity of the enterprise in the y period; $N{B}_{y-1}$ is the book value of corporate shareholders' equity in the y-1 period; $C_y$ is the comprehensive income of y period; $F_y$ is the dividend paid by the enterprise during the y period.

• (3)Dynamic linear information hypothesis

Expected residual profit is an information-driven variable, and its influencing factors are not only residual profit, but also other information. In the market, due to the existence of a large number of market competition, enterprises can obtain less and less profits in the market. As shown in formulas 3 and formulas 4:

$${TO}_{y+1}=\varphi {TO}_y+b_y+{\theta }_{1y+1}$$ (3)

$$b_{y+1}=\delta b_y+{\theta }_{2y+1}$$ (4)

In formulas 3 and formulas 4, ${TO}_y$ is the residual income of y period; ${TO}_{y+1}$ is the residual income of y+1 period; $\varphi$ and $\delta$ are constants between 0 and 1.

On the basis of the above assumptions, the basic formula for the evaluation of the enterprise's surplus profit is derived [21]. The specific calculation process is as follows: By starting from the definition of the enterprise's surplus profit, the calculation method of the enterprise's total profit is determined. The basic profit is the opportunity cost of equity capital, that is, the initial net value of equity capital multiplied by the cost of equity capital. As shown in formulas 5 and formulas 6:

$${TO}_y=C_y-tN{B}_{y-1}$$ (5)

$$C_y={TO}_y+tN{B}_{y-1}$$ (6)

In formulas 5 and formulas 6, ${\mathrm{C}}_{\mathrm{y}}$ is the comprehensive income of the enterprise in y period; $N{B}_{y-1}$ is the book net assets of the enterprise in the y-1 period; t is the cost of equity capital. Based on this, a BD cooperation asset valuation model is built, and the value of Internet enterprises is evaluated and analyzed from the perspective of profitability, operation ability and debt repayment ability.

3. Evaluation of the Value Experiment Results of Internet Platform Enterprises in the Digital Economy.

2.4. Experimental design

In the existing value evaluation of network companies, there are few discussions on the selection of evaluation indicators and evaluation methods, and they have not attracted enough attention. Most of the evaluation problems are selected by the evaluators subjectively, and are often subjective and arbitrary. They cannot be scientifically evaluated on the enterprise value, nor can they be improved and analyzed on the basis of other existing evaluation indicators.

In order to explore the advantages of the BD cooperation asset valuation model in the value evaluation of Internet enterprises, this paper evaluated the profitability, operation ability and solvency of M Internet enterprises. Based on the past data trend, the value of M Internet enterprises from 2016 to 2020 was evaluated and compared with the actual value capability. The data in this article is sourced from the asset evaluation reports of internet related industry listed companies on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and Shenzhen Stock Exchange from 2016 to 2020. A total of 312 asset evaluation reports were collected, with 98, 102, 45, 27, and 40 disclosed reports for each year. The data collection mainly includes asset list evaluation, asset valuation, financial data, industry and market analysis, and risk data.

2.5. Profitability evaluation

Profitability refers to the ability of a company to continue to make profits in the future. It has high profitability and can ensure the operation and development of the company. If the profits obtained through the profit model of the enterprise cannot support the overall structure of the company, and does not show good momentum and full potential, it would be difficult for the enterprise to attract investors to continue to add a huge amount of investment, thus falling into an unsustainable predicament, and ultimately leading to the failure of the enterprise. An accurate evaluation of profitability can help enterprises understand their shortcomings, and know which aspects are defective and which can be improved, so as to improve their profit model and make better decisions in the fierce industry competition. When evaluating the profitability of an enterprise, it should be analyzed from the aspects of its profitability ability, profitability speed and whether it can maintain profitability. The profitability index includes three factors: net interest rate on sales, net interest rate on total assets and net interest rate on equity. Fig. 3 showed the profitability of M Internet enterprise.

Fig. 3.

Profitability of M Internet enterprises.

It could be seen that in the evaluation of the profitability of M Internet enterprises based on the BD cooperation asset valuation model, the net sales interest rate in 2016 was 21.09 %, 21.26 % in 2017, 21.83 % in 2018, 21.32 % in 2019 and 21.35 % in 2020; the net interest rate of total assets in 2016 was 7.65 %, 7.29 % in 2017, 7.51 % in 2018, 7.37 % in 2019 and 7.71 % in 2020; the net interest rate of equity was 13.64 % in 2016, 13.99 % in 2017, 13.93 % in 2018, 13.99 % in 2019 and 13.17 % in 2020. In terms of actual profitability, the net sales interest rate in 2016 was 21.60 %, 21.69 % in 2017, 21.55 % in 2018, 21.18 % in 2019 and 21.58 % in 2020; the net interest rate of total assets in 2016 was 7.91 %, 7.20 % in 2017, 7.23 % in 2018, 7.77 % in 2019 and 7.04 % in 2020; the net equity interest rate was 13.20 % in 2016, 13.64 % in 2017, 13.74 % in 2018, 13.07 % in 2019 and 13.98 % in 2020.

Table 1 showed the difference between the assessed value and the actual value of M Internet enterprise's profitability.

Table 1.

Comparison of the difference between the assessed value and the actual value of the profitability of M Internet enterprises.

	Net sales rate	Net interest rate of total assets	Net interest rate of equity
2016	0.51 %	0.26 %	0.44 %
2017	0.43 %	0.09 %	0.35 %
2018	0.28 %	0.28 %	0.19 %
2019	0.14 %	0.40 %	0.92 %
2020	0.23 %	0.67 %	0.81 %

In the comparison of the difference between the assessed value and the actual value, the difference of the net profit rate on sales was between 0.14 % and 0.51 %. The difference between the net interest rate of equity was 0.09%–0.67 %, and the difference between the net interest rate of total assets was 0.19%–0.92 %. Its valuation was not much different from the actual value, which indicated that the valuation model based on BD cooperation assets could well evaluate the profitability of M Internet enterprises.

2.6. Operation capability evaluation

The business ability of an enterprise determines how to obtain income and how to create profits. It can reflect the operation and management level of the enterprise. If an enterprise wants to improve its value, it must make full use of capital and resources. Generally, the company's operating capacity should match the company's overall cost structure, and the company should consider a business income model that can not only support the company's cost structure, but also be recognized by customers. The operation capability is summed up as a system, which is composed of multiple parts. There are close relationships between each part and mutual constraints. Therefore, the enterprise should consider what kind of operation efficiency is in line with the development of the enterprise. Operating capacity mainly includes current asset turnover rate, non-current asset turnover rate, total asset turnover rate and other indicators. Fig. 4 showed the operation capability of M Internet enterprise.

Fig. 4.

Operation capacity of M Internet enterprises.

It could be seen that in the evaluation of the operation capacity of M Internet enterprises based on the BD cooperation asset valuation model, the turnover rate of current assets in 2016 was 1.12, 1.05 in 2017, 1.16 in 2018, 1.16 in 2019, and 1.09 in 2020; the turnover ratio of non-current assets was 1.56 in 2016, 1.68 in 2017, 1.57 in 2018, 1.6 in 2019, and 1.69 in 2020; total asset turnover was 0.87 in 2016, 0.78 in 2017, 0.9 in 2018, 0.71 in 2019, and 0.73 in 2020. In terms of actual operating capacity, the turnover rate of current assets in 2016 was 1.06, 1.13 in 2017, 1.06 in 2018, 1 in 2019 and 1.04 in 2020; the turnover ratio of non-current assets was 1.68 in 2016, 1.53 in 2017, 1.65 in 2018, 1.58 in 2019, and 1.54 in 2020; total asset turnover was 0.71 in 2016, 0.77 in 2017, 0.74 in 2018, 0.74 in 2019, and 0.76 in 2020.

Table 2 showed the difference between the assessed value and the actual value of the operating capacity of M Internet enterprises.

Table 2.

Comparison of the difference between the assessed value and the actual value of the operating capacity of M Internet enterprises.

	Current asset turnover rate	Non-current asset turnover rate	Total asset turnover
2016	0.06	0.12	0.16
2017	0.08	0.15	0.01
2018	0.1	0.08	0.16
2019	0.16	0.02	0.03
2020	0.05	0.15	0.03

In the comparison of the difference between the assessed value and the actual value, the difference between the current asset turnover rate was between 0.05 and 0.16. The difference of non-current asset turnover rate was between 0.02 and 0.15, and the difference of total asset turnover rate was between 0.01 and 0.16.

2.7. Assessment of solvency

In the continuous operation of enterprises, they should not only bring benefits to enterprises, but also give rewards to creditors. At the beginning, Internet platform enterprises would invest a large amount of money to subsidize users, which leads to explosive growth of users and creates additional profits for the company. Users can lose money continuously for a certain period of time, but they cannot continue to lose money. Otherwise, it is easy to make investors lose confidence and even lead to the collapse of the stock market. Therefore, certain solvency must be possessed. The analysis indicators of solvency mainly include: current ratio, quick ratio, cash ratio, etc. Fig. 5 showed the solvency of M Internet enterprise.

Fig. 5.

M Internet enterprise's solvency

Fig. 5 (a) showed the assessment of M Internet enterprise's solvency based on the BD cooperation asset valuation model

Fig. 5 (b) showed the actual M Internet enterprise's solvency.

It could be seen that in the evaluation of the solvency of M Internet enterprises based on the BD cooperation asset valuation model, the current ratio in 2016 was 0.81, 0.95 in 2017, 0.89 in 2018, 0.85 in 2019, and 0.93 in 2020; the quick ratio in 2016 was 0.71, 0.94 in 2017, 0.99 in 2018, 0.99 in 2019, and 0.93 in 2020; the cash ratio in 2016 was 0.26, 0.3 in 2017, 0.33 in 2018, 0.33 in 2019 and 0.32 in 2020. In terms of actual solvency, the current ratio is 0.98 in 2016, 0.88 in 2017, 0.89 in 2018, 0.83 in 2019, and 0.97 in 2020; the quick ratio in 2016 was 0.9, and that in 2017 was 0.76, and that in 2018 was 0.82, and that in 2019 was 0.95, and that in 2020 was 0.95; the cash ratio was 0.33 in 2016, 0.23 in 2017, 0.3 in 2018, 0.21 in 2019 and 0.33 in 2020.

Table 3 showed the difference between the assessed value and the actual value of M Internet enterprise's solvency.

Table 3.

Comparison of the difference between the assessed value and the actual value of M Internet enterprises’ solvency.

	Current ratio	Quick ratio	Cash ratio
2016	0.17	0.19	0.07
2017	0.07	0.18	0.07
2018	0	0.17	0.03
2019	0.02	0.04	0.12
2020	0.04	0.02	0.01

In the comparison of the difference between the assessed value and the actual value, the difference of the current ratio was between 0 and 0.17. The difference of quick ratio was between 0.02 and 0.19, and the difference of cash ratio was between 0.01 and 0.12. To sum up, the valuation of M Internet enterprises based on the BD cooperation asset valuation model showed that the valuation of its profitability, operating capacity and solvency was not significantly different from the actual value, which indicated that the BD cooperation asset valuation model could well evaluate the value of Internet enterprises.

3. Discussion

In the experimental analysis, this paper verifies the effect of using big data cooperative asset valuation model to evaluate the digital economic value of Internet platform enterprises from three aspects: profitability evaluation, operational capability evaluation and solvency evaluation. At the level of profitability evaluation, the difference between the estimated and actual values of net profit margin on sales, net profit margin on equity, and net profit margin on total assets is all below 1 %; At the level of operational capability evaluation, the differences in current asset turnover, non current asset turnover, and total asset turnover are all below 0.16; At the level of solvency assessment, there is no significant difference between the valuation of current ratio, quick ratio, and cash ratio based on the big data collaborative asset valuation model and the actual value. From the experimental results, it can be seen that the big data collaborative asset valuation model can accurately reflect the financial status of enterprises, reduce valuation errors, and provide effective basis for risk management and control in the development of digital managers for enterprises. However, this study also has certain limitations. The big data cooperative asset valuation model relies on a large amount of data to evaluate the digital economic value of Internet platform enterprises. This paper does not consider the impact of interference factors on data quality in data collection. The universality in practical application scenarios still needs to be further deepened.

4. Conclusions

In the evaluation practice, the evaluation institution would adopt multiple valuation models for specific enterprises, so the evaluation institution can use different valuation models to evaluate the value of the Internet platform enterprises. For example, the asset-based method, as one of the traditional valuation methods, can select comparable cases through comparable companies or discount the enterprise value of the cash flow of comparable companies. As a new valuation method, the income method can calculate the discounted enterprise value by selecting different discount rates according to different enterprise profit models. Therefore, in the specific valuation, the valuation model can be selected in combination with specific cases. Since the evaluation institutions usually use the income method to evaluate the Internet platform enterprises, the income method should be used to evaluate the Internet platform enterprises. This paper proposes a valuation model based on big data and cooperative assets, which more accurately evaluates the value of Internet platform enterprises in the digital economy by comprehensively considering their data assets and cooperative relationships. It reveals the importance of its data assets and cooperative assets in enterprise value, providing theoretical support and guidance for enterprise asset evaluation, and helping them better grasp the opportunities and challenges of the digital economy era. BD cooperative asset valuation model is to build different models according to different data sources, and use BD technology to analyze the correlation and consistency of data from multiple dimensions to meet the needs of different investors. The model has the following advantages in concrete application: Multiple data complement each other to obtain more comprehensive, accurate and objective data; various methods are used to evaluate the enterprise value of the Internet platform; the comprehensive analysis of Internet platform enterprises is carried out by combining various evaluation methods.

However, this paper also has some limitations. When using the big data cooperative asset valuation model to evaluate the value of Internet platform enterprises, this paper does not take into account the impact of external factors such as market fluctuations and policy changes, and the accuracy and universality of the model are limited. In future research, consider further improving the big data cooperative asset valuation model from the perspective of data quality to improve its applicability and accuracy in evaluating the value of Internet platform enterprises. At the same time, we can combine empirical research and case analysis to deeply explore the value evaluation methods and strategies of different types of Internet platform enterprises, provide more useful information and suggestions for decision-makers and investors in related fields, and promote high-quality development of enterprises.

Ethical approval

This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.

Data availability statement

No data were used to support this study.

Funding

Jiangsu Provincial 14th Five-year Business Administration Key Construction Dis-cipline Project(SJYH2022-2/285)

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Huijun Gao: Writing – original draft. Jianfang Zhang: Writing – review & editing.

Declaration of competing interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.