Then goodwill isn't the right word for it, because goodwill has a precise definition that isn't fudged. Additionally, the author made a good point in that many

Then goodwill isn't the right word for it, because goodwill has a precise definition that isn't fudged. Additionally, the author made a good point in that many investors are not buying straight common shares. You can't simply value those shares by doing a DCF. You need to value each component of the instrument (an option, equity, debt,etc.) to get to a final number. He's right that extrapolating out that number is incorrect, but it's also incorrect to then deduce that anything beyond DCF is 'fudged'.