What is Market Capitalization?

One of the crucial concepts in the investing world is market capitalization, commonly referred to as market cap. Before starting their investment journey, investors should know a few terms, and the market cap is one of those. It represents the total market value of a publicly traded company's outstanding shares of stock and is used to measure the company's size and market value.

Today, we will give you a detailed overview of market capitalization, its significance, how it is calculated, and its implications for investors.

What is Market Capitalization?

Market capitalization is the aggregate value of a company's outstanding shares of stock. It is calculated by multiplying the current share price by the total number of outstanding shares.

To help you better understand the definition, you must understand the term outstanding shares. So, before we see how it is calculated, let us look at this term. Outstanding shares are the total number of shares issued by the company and currently held by investors.

Example of Market Capitalization:

Here is an example to illustrate. Imagine a company called "ABC Limited". The share breakup of the company looks something like below:

• Total Issued Shares: Let us say ABC Limited has issued a total of 100 crore shares of its stock. These shares represent ownership in the company.
• Outstanding Shares: Now, not all issued shares are necessarily in circulation. ABC Limited might hold some shares in its treasury for future purposes (like employee stock options). Let us say they have 10 crore shares in their treasury.
• Outstanding Shares Calculation: The remaining 100 crore issued shares - 10 crore treasury shares = 90 crore outstanding shares.

How to Calculate Market Capitalization?

Here is the formula for market cap:

Market Capitalization= Share Price × Number of Outstanding Shares

Here,

• Share Price per Share: This is the current market price of a single share of the company's stock.
• Outstanding Shares: We have already learned about it above.

For instance, if a company has 10 crore shares outstanding and the current share price is Rs 50, the market capitalization would be:

50 rupee per share × 10,00,00,000 = Rs 500,00,00,000 or Rs 500 crore

How is company size determined through market cap?

A higher market cap indicates a larger company. It means the company has either:

• A high share price (even if the number of outstanding shares is moderate).
• A large number of outstanding shares (even if the individual share price is moderate).
• A combination of both factors.

Conversely, a lower market cap suggests a smaller company.

Based on market cap, the company size is determined as below:

1. Large-Cap: These are the biggest and most established companies, typically with market caps exceeding Rs 20,000 crore.
2. Mid-Cap: These are companies with a mid-range market capitalization, typically falling between Rs 5,000 crore and Rs 20,000 crore.
3. Small-Cap: These are smaller companies with market caps below Rs 5,000 crore.

Importance of calculating market cap

Below are some of the importance of calculating market cap:

• Understanding the size and stability of a company helps you make informed decisions about your investment portfolios.
• Market cap categories allow you to diversify your investments across different market segments.
• Market capitalization is a useful tool for benchmarking and comparing companies.
• Market capitalization helps in assessing broader market trends.
• Market capitalization plays a crucial role in merger and acquisition (M&A) decisions.

Factors affecting the company's market cap

This section is a recap of what we have discussed earlier in the article. Here are the factors that affect a company's market cap:

Stock Price Fluctuations:

The most direct impact on market cap comes from changes in the current share price of the company's stock. A rising share price increases the market cap, while a falling share price decreases it.

Additional Read: Factor affecting increase or decrease in stock market

Number of Outstanding Shares:

The total number of shares of a company's stock that are currently held by investors also affects the market cap, as seen earlier.

Stock buybacks:

In this process, the company repurchases its own shares and decreases the number of outstanding shares. It can potentially lead to an increase in the share price (fewer shares available for the same demand) and a relatively stable or even higher market cap.

What is the Market Capitalization-weighted index?

A market capitalization-weighted index, also known as a cap-weighted index or a market-value-weighted index, is a type of stock market index that tracks the performance of a selection of companies based on their market capitalization.

Imagine a basket containing different-sized apples. Bigger apples represent larger companies with higher market caps (share price multiplied by outstanding shares).

In a market cap-weighted index, the weight of each company in the index is proportional to its market capitalization. Companies with larger market caps have a greater influence on the index's overall performance. If a company in the index has a market cap that is twice the size of another company, it will contribute twice as much to the index's overall movement.

Before you go

Market capitalization is a fundamental concept in investing that you must know. As seen above, it provides insights into a company's size, stability, and market value. By understanding market capitalization, you can make informed decisions, diversify your portfolios, and better assess your investments' potential risks and rewards. However, it is important to consider market cap alongside other financial metrics and analyses to get a comprehensive view of a company's true value and potential.