The Forward Multiple: The Forces Shaping the Future of Public Companies and Capital Markets

The Forward Multiple is a podcast from Breakwater Capital Markets exploring the forces reshaping business, markets, and the world and what they mean for public companies navigating the capital markets. Each episode goes beyond the headlines to deliver decision-grade insight on what is changing, why it matters, and the practical implications for how public-company leaders communicate, engage investors, and make capital-markets decisions with greater conviction. Built for CEOs, CFOs, investor relations leaders, and others operating at the intersection of companies and capital, The Forward Multiple brings a forward -looking perspective to the developments shaping investor expectations, corporate strategy, and the future of the public markets.

Episodes

Latest Episodes

View all

Oct 23, 2026

3 min

Join Mark Hayes as he discusses the incentive horizon gap and explains what happens when executives are rewarded over three years for capital-allocation decisions whose true economic returns may not become observable for seven or ten.
Browse the Breakwater Capital Markets website to learn more about our podcasts: https://breakwaterstrategy.com/capital-markets/elevating-ir-a-global-conversation/

Oct 23, 2026

3 min

The Financing Moat

Oct 23, 2026

Oct 23, 2026

3 min

Join Mark Hayes as he discusses the financing moat and explains what happens if balance-sheet capacity becomes part of the product and companies able to finance their customers gain a competitive advantage unavailable to financially weaker rivals. 
Browse the Breakwater Capital Markets website to learn more about our podcasts: https://breakwaterstrategy.com/capital-markets/elevating-ir-a-global-conversation/

Oct 23, 2026

3 min

Oct 23, 2026

3 min

Join Mark Hayes as he discusses the backlog liability and explains when a record backlog stops being evidence of future revenue and starts becoming evidence of the capital a company still has to raise, spend, and successfully execute. 
Browse the Breakwater Capital Markets website to learn more about our podcasts: https://breakwaterstrategy.com/capital-markets/elevating-ir-a-global-conversation/

Oct 23, 2026

3 min

Oct 23, 2026

3 min

Join Mark Hayes as he discusses the contingent balance sheet and explains what happens when a company's true financial exposure increasingly sits in guarantees, backstops, and contractual promises rather than conventional reported debt.
Browse the Breakwater Capital Markets website to learn more about our podcasts: https://breakwaterstrategy.com/capital-markets/elevating-ir-a-global-conversation/

Oct 23, 2026

3 min

Oct 23, 2026

3 min

Join Mark Hayes as he discusses the valuation identity problem and explains what happens when investors classify the company using an outdated business model, and therefore apply the wrong valuation framework before they even debate the multiple. 
Browse the Breakwater Capital Markets website to learn more about our podcasts: https://breakwaterstrategy.com/capital-markets/elevating-ir-a-global-conversation/

Oct 23, 2026

3 min

Oct 23, 2026

3 min

Join Mark Hayes as he discusses the orphaned multiple and explains what happens to valuation when fewer investors are economically incentivized to maintain an independent model of the company and automated analysis begins filling the resulting information vacuum.
Browse the Breakwater Capital Markets website to learn more about our podcasts: https://breakwaterstrategy.com/capital-markets/elevating-ir-a-global-conversation/

Oct 23, 2026

3 min