Overview
Enter a company's market capitalization, total debt, and cash and equivalents, plus optional preferred stock and minority interest, to calculate enterprise value: EV = Market Cap + Debt + Preferred Stock + Minority Interest − Cash. Enterprise value represents the theoretical total cost of acquiring a company outright - you'd need to buy all the equity (market cap), assume its debt, and account for any preferred stock or minority interests in subsidiaries, but you'd also immediately recover the cash sitting on its balance sheet, which is why cash is subtracted rather than added. Preferred stock and minority interest default to zero and can be left blank, since most companies don't carry either - only debt, market cap, and cash are required inputs. Enterprise value is the standard numerator for valuation multiples like EV/EBITDA and EV/Revenue, since it captures the whole capital structure rather than just the equity value that market cap represents. Runs entirely client-side, and this is an informational estimate, not financial advice.
Best for: Estimating the total theoretical acquisition cost of a company, including its debt and excluding its cash
How to use this tool
- Enter market cap, debt, and cash. Market capitalization, total debt, and cash and equivalents - the three required inputs.
- Add preferred stock or minority interest if applicable. Both are optional and default to zero if left blank.
- Read the enterprise value. Market Cap + Debt + Preferred Stock + Minority Interest − Cash.
Frequently asked questions
An acquirer buying the whole company would immediately gain access to its cash and equivalents, effectively reducing the net cost of the acquisition - so cash is subtracted from the sum of equity and debt-like claims to arrive at the true net cost of taking over the business.
No - both default to zero and can be left blank. Most companies don't carry preferred stock or have minority (non-controlling) interests in consolidated subsidiaries, so only market cap, debt, and cash are required for the majority of calculations.
It's the standard numerator in valuation multiples like EV/EBITDA and EV/Revenue, because it represents the value of the entire business (equity plus debt, minus cash) rather than just the equity value that market cap alone represents - making it more comparable across companies with different amounts of debt.