48 questions reported in Evercore interviews, organised by the group that asks them. Every question carries a model answer and graded feedback on your own attempt.
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Model builds
Built in the spreadsheet grid
Currently advertised programmes.
Merger models, accretion/dilution, purchase accounting and deal judgement. 27 questions
Asked in essentially every investment banking interview. Expect follow-ups immediately.
Explain the difference between enterprise value and equity value. Why do we use each, and how do you get from one to the other?
Standard opener before the interviewer drills into whichever one you seem least sure about.
What are the three primary valuation methodologies? Rank them by the valuation they typically produce and explain why.
The single most commonly asked question in investment banking analyst interviews.
Explain how the income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement connect. Assume the interviewer wants the full linkage, not just a description of each statement in isolation.
Expect to be asked to compute this with numbers on a whiteboard.
Walk me through calculating WACC. Where does each input come from, and why do we use a target capital structure rather than the current one?
Sector-specific multiple knowledge is what distinguishes prepared candidates.
Which multiple would you use to value: (a) a software company, (b) an airline, (c) a bank, (d) a REIT, (e) an early-stage biotech? Justify each.
Asked when discussing precedent transactions or fairness opinions.
What is a control premium and why does it exist? How does it relate to a minority discount, and what determines its size in a given deal?
Bridges accounting and M&A. Expect it in any deal-heavy group.
How is goodwill created in an acquisition? Then walk me through the three statements when $100 of goodwill is written off, assuming a 25% tax rate.
A standard DCF follow-up that separates builders from reciters.
What is the mid-year convention, why is it used, and roughly how much does it change a valuation?
One of the four analyses in every fairness opinion.
Walk me through a premiums paid analysis. What are its weaknesses compared to precedent transactions?
What a VP does in ninety seconds before the analyst's model reaches a client.
You've built a DCF. What checks do you run before showing it to anyone?
Interviewers use this to check whether you know which cash flow belongs in which analysis.
Define unlevered free cash flow, levered free cash flow and free cash flow to the firm as reported by companies. When is each used, and why do the definitions disagree?
Core technical for any M&A or coverage group interview.
Walk me through building a merger model from start to finish.
The counterpart to the deferred tax asset question, and more commonly asked.
What creates a deferred tax liability? Give the most common cause and explain why a DTL can grow indefinitely without ever being paid.
Tests modeling instinct, which levers actually matter.
You build a DCF and the output looks too high. Which assumptions would you interrogate first, and in what order?
A practical purchase price question that also reveals incentive dynamics.
A target has significant outstanding employee options and RSUs. What happens to them in an acquisition, and how does it affect the purchase price?
Tests whether you understand the advisory product, not just the analysis behind it.
A board asks its banker for a fairness opinion. What does it actually say, what does it not say, and why is it worth paying for?
A judgement question. The interviewer wants structured thinking and a view.
Studies consistently find most acquisitions fail to create value for the acquirer. Why? What separates the deals that work?
The core modelling test for investment banking and equity research superdays.
Value the business with a five-year DCF and bridge to an implied share price. Free cash flow for years 1–5 is given. Discount at the WACC using end-of-year convention. Calculate terminal value with…
Standard for M&A groups. The model behind the question every banker is asked.
An acquirer is buying a target in a 50% cash / 50% stock deal. Build the pro forma EPS. The cash portion is funded with new debt at the stated rate; the stock portion is funded by issuing acquirer…
The step candidates skip in the merger model walkthrough. And the one that has to balance.
Walk me through constructing the pro forma balance sheet at close in an acquisition. What are the adjustments, and how do you make it balance?
A quantitative follow-up that appears frequently in superdays.
An acquirer's deal is $40m dilutive to net income on a pro forma basis. The acquirer's tax rate is 25%. How much in pre-tax synergies are needed to break even? Then explain how you'd assess whether…
The structuring decision at the heart of every stock deal.
In an all-stock deal, explain the difference between a fixed exchange ratio and a fixed value deal. Who bears the risk in each, and what is a collar for?
A technical differentiator. Most candidates cannot explain the DTL.
Walk me through purchase price allocation in an acquisition. Why does a deferred tax liability get created, and what effect does it have on goodwill?
The analysis that justifies. Or fails to justify. A control premium.
An acquirer expects $80m of annual run-rate cost synergies, phased over three years, with $120m of one-time costs to achieve. How much are the synergies worth, and how much of that should show up in…
An M&A associate review exercise built around finding linked errors rather than building from a blank page.
A first-year analyst sends you a merger model and draft client page forty minutes before the internal review. Find every issue that can change the recommendation, decide what must be fixed first, and…
Asked in technology, media and healthcare coverage groups where contract structures are complex.
Outline the five-step revenue recognition model under ASC 606. Then apply it: a software company sells a three-year licence bundled with implementation services and ongoing support for $300k paid…
Process mechanics that come up in any conversation about deal timing.
Explain the difference between a one-step merger and a two-step tender offer. When would you recommend each?
Cyclicality, operating leverage, backlog quality and mid-cycle earnings. 5 questions
Asked because backlog can be a real asset or a misleading headline number.
An industrial company says it has record backlog. What do you ask next?
A technical coverage question for acquisitions of project-based industrials.
Why can purchase accounting distort the margins of an acquired industrial company with backlog?
Industrials coverage often involves conglomerate break-up and portfolio simplification work.
An industrial conglomerate is considering spinning off a lower-margin division. How do you evaluate whether it creates value?
A harder scenario question connecting supply chain, pricing and margin.
A 15% tariff is imposed on a key imported component. How do you assess the impact on an industrial company?
A coverage-team diligence question after an industrial equipment issuer discloses a potential safety defect shortly before earnings.
A manufacturer of lifting equipment identifies a possible defect in 40,000 units. Management estimates a $30m warranty reserve, but it has not determined the repair rate, customer downtime cost or…
Pipeline risk-adjusted valuation, reimbursement and patent cliffs. 5 questions
The patent cliff is the single most important concept in pharma valuation. Every healthcare interview covers it.
Explain the patent cliff for pharmaceutical companies. Why does it matter, and how do companies manage the risk?
R&D productivity is the core pharma investment thesis. This tests understanding of industry challenges.
Pharma companies spend more on R&D but approve fewer drugs per dollar spent. Why is R&D productivity declining, and what are companies doing about it?
Healthcare coverage analysts must distinguish prescription demand from net-sales quality during an earnings miss.
A specialty-pharma company says prescriptions rose 12% and gross sales rose 10%, but reported net sales fell 3%. Management attributes the gap to gross-to-net deductions rising from 28% to 39%. How…
Healthcare coverage and biotech-focused funds start here.
A clinical-stage biotech has no revenue and one drug in Phase II. How do you value it?
Healthcare M&A has unique strategic drivers. This tests understanding of sector dynamics.
What are the primary strategic reasons for M&A in healthcare, and how do they differ across subsectors (pharma, medtech, services)?
Reserve-based valuation, commodity decks, contracted cash flows and PPAs. 4 questions
The foundational E&P valuation question. Every upstream interview starts here.
Walk me through how you value an oil and gas company's reserves. What's the standard approach and what are the key drivers?
A power and utilities associate may use this case to test whether a candidate can distinguish headline power prices from an asset's realised economics.
You are valuing a 200 MW merchant solar project. Its expected annual output is 350,400 MWh and the forecast average hub price is $50/MWh. Because solar generation is concentrated in low-price midday…
Energy coverage and natural resources funds test reserve-based valuation directly.
How do you value an exploration and production company? Why don't the standard methodologies work?
Energy M&A often involves asset swaps rather than corporate transactions. This tests sector-specific deal mechanics.
Two large E&P companies propose swapping assets in different basins to consolidate positions. How do you value the swap and ensure it's fair to both parties?
Regulatory capital, ROTE against cost of equity, and why EV is meaningless. 1 question
The foundational FIG question. Every banking interview starts with the business model.
Walk me through how a commercial bank generates profit. What are the main revenue streams and cost drivers?
Driver-based models, differentiated estimates and defending a rating. 1 question
Core question for sell-side and buy-side research associate roles.
You're initiating coverage on a specialty retailer. How do you build the revenue model, and what drives your estimates versus consensus?
Project selection, returning capital and measuring per-share value. 1 question
Standard in corporate finance and equity research interviews.
A board wants to return $1bn to shareholders. Compare a buyback with a special dividend. Which would you recommend and what determines the answer?
IPO process and pricing, dilution, lock-ups, greenshoe and market windows. 1 question
Asked in ECM and technology coverage; tests whether you can evaluate a structure critically.
How does a SPAC merger differ from a traditional IPO as a route to the public markets? Who bears the cost?
Recurring revenue quality, Rule of 40, retention and growth-adjusted multiples. 1 question
A technology coverage analyst may be asked to prepare a rapid diligence plan when a client cites strong product usage ahead of an earnings update or sale process.
A collaboration-software company reports 45% growth in monthly active users but only 8% revenue growth, versus 25% revenue growth last year. You have one day before a management call. What would you…
Structuring for downside, collateral, priming risk and recovery. 1 question
Tests process judgement in a restructuring where speed and stakeholder consent change value.
Compare a prepackaged Chapter 11 with a free-fall filing. When would you favour each, and what does the choice mean for creditors?
Same-store sales, unit economics, brand durability and channel shift. 1 question
Consumer M&A has unique strategic drivers. This tests understanding of sector consolidation.
What are the primary strategic reasons for M&A in consumer and retail, and how do they differ across subsectors?
Write your answer, get it graded on technical accuracy, completeness and communication, and see exactly which mechanic you missed.
Company tags reflect where a question type is commonly reported in interviews. They are not sourced from, endorsed by, or affiliated with Evercore.