Final answer:
The decision for Company X to lease or buy an asset involves performing a discounted cash flow analysis comparing the net present value of leasing versus owning; however, the question lacks specific data necessary to provide a definitive answer.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question at hand involves Company X contemplating whether to lease an asset with regular yearly payments or to purchase it, considering their specific financial situation. To determine if leasing is more beneficial than buying, we would compare the total cost of leasing to the net worth of buying the asset, taking into account the financing costs and the before-tax rate of leasing. For a proper calculation, we would need to present value the lease payments at the company's before-tax cost of capital and compare this to the net cost of purchasing the asset outright.
Unfortunately, the necessary information to conduct a lease versus buy analysis for Company X is not provided in the question, and as such, we are unable to determine with certainty whether they should lease the asset or not. Typically, a company would perform a discounted cash flow analysis, comparing the net present value of leasing the asset against the net present value of owning the asset, considering tax implications and opportunity costs.