Coupon Bond Formula

Coupon Bond Formula (Table of Contents)

• Formula
• Examples

What is Coupon Bond Formula?

The term “coupon” refers to the periodic interest payment received by bondholders and bonds that make such payments are known as coupon bonds. Typically, the coupon is expressed as a percentage of the par value of the bond. The formula for coupon bond means price determination of the bond that pays coupon and it is done by discounting the probable future cash flows to present value and then summing up all of them. The future cash flows include periodic coupon payments and par value to be received at maturity. Mathematically, the formula for coupon bond is represented as,

or

where,

• C = Annual Coupon Payment,
• F = Par Value at Maturity,
• Y = Yield to Maturity,
• n = Number of Payments Per Year
• t = Number of Years Until Maturity

Examples of Coupon Bond Formula (With Excel Template)

Let’s take an example to understand the calculation of Coupon Bond in a better manner.

Coupon Bond Formula – Example #1

Let us take the example of some coupon paying bonds issued by DAC Ltd. One year back, the company had raised $50,000 by issuing 50,000 bonds worth $1,000 each. The bonds offer coupon rate of 5% to be paid annually and the bonds have a maturity of 10 years i.e. 9 years until maturity. As per the current market trend, the bonds with similar risk profile have yielded to maturity of 6%. Calculate the market price of the bonds based on the given information.

Solution:

Coupon (C) is calculated using the Formula given below.

C = Annual Coupon Rate * F

• C = 5% * $1000
• C = $50

Coupon Bond is calculated using the Formula given below.

Coupon Bond = C * [1 – (1+Y/n)^-n*t/ Y ] + [ F/(1+Y/n)^n*t]

• Coupon Bond = $50 * [1 – (1 + 6%/1) ^-1*9] + [$1000 / (1 + 6%/1)^1*9
• Coupon Bond = $932

Therefore, the current market price of each coupon bond is $932, which means it is currently traded at discount (current market price lower than par value).

Coupon Bond Formula – Example #2

Let us take the same example mentioned above. In this case, the coupon rate is 5% but to be paid semi-annually, while the yield to maturity is currently at 4.5%. Two years have passed since bond issuance and as such there are 8 years left until maturity. Calculate the market price of the bonds based on the new information.

Solution:

Coupon (C) is calculated using the Formula given below

C = Annual Coupon Rate * F

• C =(5%/2) * $1000
• C = $25

Coupon Bond is calculated using the Formula given below

Coupon Bond = C * [1 – (1+Y/n)^-n*t/ Y ] + [ F/(1+Y/n)^n*t]

• Coupon Bond = $25 * [1 – (1 + 4.5%/2)^-16] + [$1000 / (1 + 4.5%/2)¹⁶
• Coupon Bond = $1,033

Therefore, the current market price of each coupon bond is $1,033, which means it is currently traded at a premium (current market price higher than par value).

Explanation

The formula for coupon bond can be derived by using the following steps:

Step 1: Firstly, figure out the par value of the bond being issued and it does not change over the course of its tenure. It is denoted by F.

Step 2: Next, figure out the rate of annual coupon and based on that calculate the periodic coupon payment of the bond. The coupon payment is the product of the coupon rate and the par value of the bond. It also does not change over the course of the bond tenure. The annual coupon payment is denoted by C and mathematically represented as shown below.

C = Annual Coupon Rate * F

Step 3: Next, figure out the total number of years until maturity of the bond and it is denoted by t.

Step 4: Next, figure out the yield to maturity of the bond based on the current return expected from securities with similar levels of risk. The yield to maturity is denoted by Y.

Step 5: Next, figure out the number of periodic payments made during the year and it is denoted by n. It is analogous to the number of compounding per year.

Step 6: Next, discount all the future coupon payments and par value using the yield to maturity to calculate the respective present value (PV).

PV of 1^st Periodic Coupon = (C/n) /(1+Y/n)1

PV of 2^nd Periodic Coupon = (C/n) /(1+Y/n)2

………..

PV of last Periodic Coupon = (C/n) /(1+Y/n)^n*t

PV of Par Value = F/(1+Y/n)^n*t

Step 7: Finally, the formula for coupon bond can be derived by summing up the present value of all the coupon payments and the par value as shown below.

Bond Price = ∑ [(C/n) /(1+Y/n)ⁱ] +[ F/(1+Y/n)^n*t]

Relevance and Uses of Coupon Bond Formula

From the perspective of investors or companies, it is important to understand the concept of pricing of coupon bonds because these bonds are a significant source of funding in the capital market. In case a bond offers a lower coupon rate than the market, the bond investor intends to bring down the price of the bond so its return matches the market return. Inherently, investors are attracted to bonds with higher coupon rates. So, as more and more investors purchase these high yield bonds and push the prices up which eventually brings its return to the level of the market. This is how the bond market works.

Recommended Articles

This has been a guide to Coupon Bond Formula. Here we discuss how to calculate Coupon Bond along with practical examples and downloadable excel template. You may also look at the following articles to learn more –

1. Guide to Dividend Formula With Excel Template
2. Taxable Income Formula with Excel Template
3. Calculation of Effective Tax Rate
4. Examples of Correlation Formula