Glossary · from the DESK dictionary
Market Capitalization
The total value of all a company's outstanding shares (share price × number of shares).
In plain words
How much the market thinks an entire company is worth.
Formula
Market cap = Share price × Shares outstanding
Multiplies the current share price by the total number of shares outstanding.
Example
A company with 1 billion shares outstanding at $50 each has a $50 billion market cap.
What it means for traders
A fundamental metric for classifying company size (large-, mid-, small-cap) and for index weighting.
Common pitfalls
Reflects only market opinion, not necessarily a company's 'true' or fundamental value.
Related terms
Share Capital · Share Price · Blue Chips · Circulating Supply · Enterprise Value (EV) · Equity Value · Free Float · Index Weighting · Magnificent Seven · Blue-Chip Stock
From the DESK dictionary. For information only, not investment advice.
This is one page of many.
- The DESK dictionary explains more than 9,400 market terms like this one, in English and German – searchable, sorted by topic and difficulty, with favourites.
- Plus the Macro Terminal with more than 900 indicators per country, company pages and a weekly report.
Also open to read: Glossary A–Z · Free calculators · Weekly report archive
DESK is a research tool and not investment advice. Page generated: 2026-10-12.