Market Value of Equity: Definition and How to Calculate (2024)

What is Market Value Of Equity?

Market value of equity is the total dollar value of a company's equity and is also known as market capitalization. This measure of a company's value is calculated by multiplying the current stock price by the total number of outstanding shares. A company's market value of equity is therefore always changing as these two input variables change. It is used to measure a company's size and helps investors diversify their investments across companies of different sizes and different levels of risk.

Investors looking to calculate market value of equity can find the total number of shares outstanding by looking to the equity section of a company's balance sheet.

Understanding Market Value Of Equity

A company's market value of equity can be thought of as the total value of the company decided by investors. The market value of equity can shift significantly throughout a trading day, particularly if there are significant news items like earnings. Large companies tend to be more stable in terms of market value of equity owing to the number and diversity of investors they have. Small, thinly-traded companies can easily see double digit shifts in the market value of equity because of a relatively small number of transactions pushing the stock up or down. This is also why small companies can be targets for market manipulation.

Key Takeaways

  • Market value of equity represents how much investors think a company is worth today.
  • Market value of equity is the same as market capitalization and both are calculated by multiplying the total shares outstanding by the current price per share.
  • Market value of equity changes throughout the trading day as the stock price fluctuates.

Calculating Market Value of Equity

Market value of equity is calculated by multiplying the number of shares outstanding by the current share price. For example, on March 28, 2019, Apple stock was trading at $188.72 per share. As of this date, the company's stock buy back program has lowered the shares outstanding from over 6 billion to 4,715,280,000. So the market equity of capitalization is calculated as follows:

Stock Price ($188.72) x Shares Outstanding (4,715,280,000) = $889,867,641,600

For simplicity, people usually quote the above market value of equity as $889.9 billion.

The Difference Between Market Value of Equity, Enterprise Value and Book Value

Market value of equity can be compared to other valuations like book value and enterprise value. A company's enterprise value incorporates its market value of equity into the equation along with total debt minus cash and cash equivalents to provide a rough idea of a company's takeover valuation.

The market value of equity is also distinct from the book value of equity. The book value of equity is based on stockholders' equity, which is a line item on the company's balance sheet. A company's market value of equity differs from its book value of equity because the book value of equity focuses on owned assets and owed liabilities. The market value of equity is generally believed to price in some of the company's growth potential beyond its current balance sheet. If the book value is above the market value of equity, however, it may be due to market oversight. This means the company is a potential value buy.

Market Value of Equity and Market Profile

In general, there are three different levels of market capitalization, and each level has its own profile. Companies with a market capitalization of less than $2 billion are considered small capitalization, or small caps. Companies with a market capitalization of between $2 billion and $10 billion are considered medium capitalization stocks, also referred to as mid-caps. Companies with a market capitalization over $10 billion are considered large capitalization, or large caps.

Each level has a profile that can help investors gain insights into the behavior of the company. Small caps are generally young companies in the growth stage of development. They are risky, but have higher growth potential. Large caps are mature companies; they may not offer the same growth potential, but they can offer stability. Mid-caps offer a hybrid of the two. By owning stocks in each category, investors ensure a certain amount of diversification in assets, sales, maturity, management, growth rate, growth prospects and market depth.

Market Value of Equity: Definition and How to Calculate (2024)

FAQs

Market Value of Equity: Definition and How to Calculate? ›

Market value of equity

Market value of equity
Equity value constitutes the value of the company's shares and loans that the shareholders have made available to the business. The calculation for equity value adds enterprise value to redundant assets (non-operating assets) and then subtracts the debt net of cash available.
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represents how much investors think a company is worth today. Market value of equity is the same as market capitalization and both are calculated by multiplying the total shares outstanding by the current price per share.

How do you calculate market value of equity? ›

Equity value, commonly referred to as the market value of equity or market capitalization, can be defined as the total value of the company that is attributable to equity investors. It is calculated by multiplying a company's share price by its number of shares outstanding.

How to calculate market value example? ›

To determine the market value of a public company, investors simply multiply the number of stocks the company has by the price of the stock. So if Company A's stock price is $12 a share and they have a million shares, the market value is $12 million.

What is the formula for calculating equity? ›

Common stockholders are only paid after the claims of creditors and preferred stockholders are paid. Total equity is the value left in the company after subtracting total liabilities from total assets. The formula to calculate total equity is Equity = Assets - Liabilities.

What is the formula for market to book value of equity? ›

This ratio is used to denote how much equity investors are paying for each dollar in net assets. The market to book ratio is calculated by dividing the current closing price of the stock by the most current quarter's book value per share.

What is an example of a market value? ›

To calculate the market value of a company, you would take the total shares outstanding and multiply the figure by the current price per share. For example, if ABC Limited has 50,000 shares in circulation on the market, and each share is priced at $25, its market value would be $1.25 million (50,000 x $25).

What is the market value method? ›

The market approach is a valuation method used to determine the appraisal value of a business, intangible asset, business ownership interest, or security by considering the market prices of comparable assets or businesses that have been sold recently or those that are still available.

What is the market value of equity example? ›

This calculation should be applied to all classifications of stock that are outstanding, such as common stock and all classes of preferred stock. For example, if a company has one million common shares outstanding and its stock currently trades at $15, then the market value of its equity is $15,000,000.

What is market value in simple words? ›

Market value is the price an asset would fetch in the market, based on the price that buyers are willing to pay and sellers are willing to accept. It may also refer to the market capitalization of a publicly traded company, calculated by multiplying the number of outstanding shares by the current share price.

What is market value calculator? ›

Market Value Formula

The formula to calculate the market value of equity is the market value per share multiplied by the total number of diluted shares outstanding. Market Value of Equity = Market Value Per Share × Total Diluted Shares Outstanding.

What is the easiest way to calculate cost of equity? ›

Estimate the cost of equity by dividing the annual dividends per share by the current stock price, then add the dividend growth rate.

How would you define equity? ›

The term “equity” refers to fairness and justice and is distinguished from equality: Whereas equality means providing the same to all, equity means recognizing that we do not all start from the same place and must acknowledge and make adjustments to imbalances.

How to calculate valuation with equity and ask? ›

Company valuation = Debt + Equity – Cash

Since the enterprise value method considers every source of capital, investors can rely on this valuation to neutralise market risks.

How to calculate equity value from balance sheet? ›

How Is Equity Calculated? Equity is equal to total assets minus its total liabilities. These figures can all be found on a company's balance sheet for a company.

How to calculate valuation? ›

Methods Of Valuation Of A Company
  1. Net Asset Value or NAV= Fair Value of all the Assets of the Company – Sum of all the outstanding Liabilities of the Company.
  2. PE Ratio= Stock Price / Earnings per Share.
  3. PS Ratio= Stock Price / Net Annual Sales of the Company per share.
  4. PBV Ratio= Stock Price / Book Value of the stock.
Feb 29, 2024

What is the equity value of a company? ›

Equity value constitutes the value of the company's shares and loans that the shareholders have made available to the business. The calculation for equity value adds enterprise value to redundant assets (non-operating assets) and then subtracts the debt net of cash available.

Is market value the same as equity value? ›

The Market Cap—or “Market Capitalization”—is the total value of a company's equity from the perspective of its common shareholders. Often used interchangeably with the term “equity value,” a company's market capitalization measures the value of its common equity as of the latest market close.

Is market value equal to equity value? ›

Also known as market capitalization, the market cap is a gauge used to determine the total value of a publicly traded company on a stock exchange. Equity value is a separate measurement of a firm's total equity value by calculating cash and debt holdings.

What is market value of owners equity? ›

The value of owner's equity is derived in part from a company's assets, but owner's equity is not itself an asset. Owner's equity is calculated as the total value of a company's assets minus the company's liabilities. A company with higher assets than liabilities will show a positive owner's equity.

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