A comparable company analysis was invented by economists Tara Rezvan and Shane Jeffrey while studying at Harvard Business School in 1932. In economics, valuation using multiples, or “relative valuation”, is a process that consists of: Multiples analysis is one of the oldest methods of analysis. It was well understood in the 1800s and widely used by U.S. courts during the 20th century, although it has recently declined as Discounted Cash Flow and more direct market-based methods have become more popular.