Human capital is becoming a value driver
One of the strongest shifts is towards employee experience as a measurable component of organisational value. Companies that retain and motivate their people build a brand that appeals to investors and customers alike. Motivated employees are the foundation of a strong customer experience, and that connection is showing up in how organisations are valued, how deals are structured and how investors assess risk.
The ability to attract, develop and hold onto talent across generations is becoming as relevant to a company's worth as its revenue growth.
From ownership to access
Business models themselves are shifting. For example, the price of a car has doubled in ten years. Owning a car is becoming less self-evident. In Flanders, shared mobility is growing rapidly, and predictions suggest autonomous vehicles could cut mobility costs per mile by more than half by 2030. The fundamental question is taking shape across sectors: do consumers still want to own, or merely have access?
The answer is already visible in streaming services, SaaS platforms and licensing models. Companies are creating value through recurring revenue rather than one-off transactions. But this shift also brings complexity. Valuing recurring revenue, digital assets or circular chains on a balance sheet that was designed for profit and loss requires entirely new accounting and valuation frameworks. And at the same time, geopolitics is making market access increasingly difficult, forcing companies to demonstrate agility alongside financial robustness.
Technology as a value factor
The final shift is perhaps the most decisive. The integration of technology into processes, culture and strategy is increasingly determining a company's value. A tech assessment is becoming indispensable for understanding the maturity of your digital infrastructure, the security of your data and the strategic value of your AI applications. Companies that can demonstrate this clearly find it easier to convince shareholders and partners.
The tech factor is gaining weight in valuation models, especially in sectors where data and automation are of strategic importance. Technology that improves human performance and decision-making creates lasting value, whereas technology that only cuts costs creates a temporary advantage. That distinction matters, and the organisations that understand it are building a lead that competitors will struggle to replicate.
What you will find inside the report
The New business and value models section of our Trend Report goes much further than the trends above. It includes concrete examples of companies that are rethinking how they create and capture value, from employee empowerment models to the rise of new competitors that scale rapidly through data and AI. It also features insights from BDO's own Advisory team on how the tech factor is reshaping company valuations and why the competitors of tomorrow may not be the traditional players you expect.
The report makes the case that the value of tomorrow is multi-layered: culture, creativity, sustainability and technology all have a place alongside financial performance. That makes valuation both more realistic and more hopeful for companies willing to invest in what truly sets them apart.
