Build a DCF Model in 10 Minutes with Claude Code

Building a discounted cash flow model from scratch is a rite of passage in finance. It is also a time sink. Gathering historical financials, projecting revenue growth, estimating WACC, calculating terminal value, running sensitivity tables — even experienced analysts spend two to four hours on a single model. Junior analysts spend longer and make more errors.

The Investment Core plugin for Claude Code changes that equation entirely. The same rigorous DCF methodology, validated at every step, completed in roughly ten minutes.

Step 1: Provide Your Inputs

Start a Claude Code session with Investment Core installed. Give Claude the company name and any specific parameters you want to set:

"Analyze NVIDIA with a 5-year DCF. Use a revenue growth rate declining from 25% to 12% over the projection period. Assume terminal growth of 3%."

You can be as specific or as general as you like. The plugin works with explicit assumptions you provide or derives reasonable defaults from industry benchmarks when you leave parameters open.

Step 2: The Plugin Runs Its Methodology

This is where the complete kit — agents, orchestrators, and hooks — earns its value. The plugin does not simply fill in a template. It orchestrates a structured analytical process:

Revenue Projections The plugin builds a year-by-year revenue model based on your growth assumptions, segmented by business line where applicable. Each projection includes the underlying logic, not just numbers.

Cost Structure and Margins Operating expenses, capital expenditure, and working capital requirements are modeled based on historical patterns and your stated assumptions. Margin expansion or compression is handled explicitly.

WACC Calculation The weighted average cost of capital is derived from current risk-free rates, equity risk premium, beta, and the company's capital structure. Every input is transparent and adjustable.

Terminal Value Both the perpetuity growth method and exit multiple method are calculated, giving you two reference points for the terminal value — typically the most sensitive component of any DCF.

Step 3: Review the Output

The plugin delivers a structured output that includes the full projection model with annual free cash flows, the WACC derivation with each component shown, enterprise value and equity value calculations, per-share implied value, and a sensitivity analysis table crossing WACC against terminal growth rates.

Every assumption is labeled. Every calculation is traceable. Nothing is a black box.

Step 4: Quality Gates Catch Errors

One of the most valuable features is what happens before you see output. Built-in quality gates validate your assumptions and flag anything unrealistic. A terminal growth rate above long-term GDP growth? Flagged. Margins that imply profitability no company in the sector has achieved? Flagged. The plugin does not silently accept bad inputs — it challenges them, just as a senior analyst would in a model review.

Hours vs. Minutes

The math is straightforward. A manual DCF takes two to four hours of focused work. With Investment Core, the same deliverable takes roughly ten minutes, including time to review and adjust assumptions. That is not a marginal improvement — it is a structural change in how financial analysis gets done.

The time saved is not about cutting corners. The methodology is the same. The rigor is the same. What changes is that the mechanical work — the spreadsheet construction, the formula wiring, the formatting — is handled automatically, freeing you to focus on the judgment calls that actually matter.

Get Investment Core

The Investment Core plugin is available at leopoldo.ai/plugin/investment-core for $149, including 12 months of live updates. It ships in both Claude Code and Cowork formats. Install it once and build institutional-quality DCF models in minutes, not hours.

Want to see these plugins in action? Browse the catalog.