Market cap is the price of one share times every share outstanding.
What it is
Market capitalization is the market's price tag for a company's equity. It is the current share price multiplied by the number of shares outstanding. It reflects what investors collectively are willing to pay for the whole company's stock, not the company's debt, cash, or book value.
Why it matters
Market cap tells you a company's size and is how stocks are sorted into large-, mid-, and small-cap groups, which carry different risk and liquidity profiles. A common pitfall is treating it as the cost to buy the business outright — it ignores debt and cash, so two companies with the same market cap can have very different total values (see enterprise value).
How it's calculated
Multiply the latest share price by the total number of shares outstanding; use fully diluted shares if you want to include options and convertibles.
How Quintarthai uses it
Market cap appears in the Key-metrics grid on a stock's Summary page and is a filter in the Stock Screener; see it on a company's deep-analysis page.
Cross-border note. For a dual-listed Canadian name, market cap should be computed once in the company's reporting currency — converting a CAD price by USD shares (or vice versa) inflates or deflates the figure.
FAQ
Is a higher market cap always better?
No. It only measures size, not quality or value; a large company can be overvalued and a small one undervalued.
What's the difference between market cap and enterprise value?
Market cap values only the equity, while enterprise value adds debt and subtracts cash to estimate the cost of acquiring the whole business.
Check your understanding
Two companies have identical market caps, but one carries heavy debt and little cash while the other is debt-free with a large cash pile. What does this tell you about using market cap to compare them?
Market cap is share price times shares outstanding, valuing only the equity; it ignores debt and cash, so equal-market-cap firms can have very different total (enterprise) values.