# In an in-depth Q&amp;A, Professor Aswath Damodaran offers his thoughts on valuation, corporate finance and advice for investment professionals

1 Faculty News July 17, 2018 ![Forbes logo](/sites/default/files/styles/246w/public/assets/images/con_030508.jpg?itok=SId6k3bx)>

Excerpt from [Forbes](https://www.forbes.com/sites/kevinharris/2018/07/17/professor-aswath-damodaran-on-valuation/#38cee18f722c) -- "The most egregious valuation mistake that I see investment professionals make is mistaking pricing for valuation. Most investment professionals don’t do valuation, they do pricing. What I mean by that is that you price a number to a stock based on what other people are paying for similar stocks. Any time you use a multiple comparable you’re not valuing the company, you’re pricing a company."

[Read more](http://%22The%20most%20egregious%20valuation%20mistake%20that%20I%20see%20investment%20professionals%20make%20is%20mistaking%20pricing%20for%20valuation.%20Most%20investment%20professionals%20don%E2%80%99t%20do%20valuation,%20they%20do%20pricing.%20What%20I%20mean%20by%20that%20is%20that%20you%20price%20a%20number%20to%20a%20stock%20based%20on%20what%20other%20people%20are%20paying%20for%20similar%20stocks.%20%20Any%20time%20you%20use%20a%20multiple%20comparable%20you%E2%80%99re%20not%20valuing%20the%20company,%20you%E2%80%99re%20pricing%20a%20company.%22)
