7. The NPV and payback period What information does the payback period provide? Suppose you are evaluating a project with the expected future cash inflows shown in the following table. Your boss has asked you to calculate the project's net present value (NPV). You don't know the project's initial cost, but you do know the project's regular, or conventional, payback period is 2.50 years. Year Year 1 Year 2 Cash Flow $325,000 $400,000 $475,000 $425,000 Year 3 Year 4 If the project's weighted average cost of capital (WACC) is 8%, the project's NPV (rounded to the nearest dollar) is: $315,196 $296,655 $370,819 $444,983