Market capitalisation, or market cap, is the price of one share or coin multiplied by how many exist. It tells you how big the market thinks something is. It does not tell you what you would pay to buy the whole business, or how many coins are really available. Here is the formula, with real figures for 10 companies and 12 crypto assets.
Verified figures, not advice. Company figures use closes of 12 Oct 2026 and filings; crypto figures are CoinGecko data read on 7 October 2026. This explains a term; it does not say what anything is worth.
Market cap = price × number of shares (or coins) in circulation.
Worked example, Nvidia: price $226.32 × 24.10 billion shares = $5.45tn. Change the price by 1% and the market cap moves by 1%; nothing about the company has to change.
The other 15 are on the valuation exercise page. Prices of 12 Oct 2026.
If you bought every share you would also take on the company's debt and get its cash. Adding debt and subtracting cash gives enterprise value. For some companies the two are close; for others they differ.
Broadcom carries more debt than cash, so its enterprise value is above its market cap. Palantir has no borrowings and holds billions in cash, so its enterprise value is below. Alphabet holds large securities, including stakes in other companies, which are netted out. Figures from each company's latest filings, read 13 and 14 October 2026.
Eli Lilly's cover page share count includes about 50 million shares held by an employee benefit trust. Some trackers exclude them and show a market cap near $1.05tn instead of the $1.11tn we use. Neither is wrong; they count differently. Companies listed through American depositary shares, such as SK hynix (1 share = 10 ADS) and TSMC, add another layer. Always check how a site counts shares.
For a coin, market cap is price × circulating supply, the coins that can trade today. Fully diluted value (FDV) is price × the full planned supply, including coins not yet released. A ratio well above 1x means many coins are still to come, which can add selling pressure and dilute holders. It is a flag to investigate, not a verdict.
CoinGecko data as of 7 October 2026. See how each asset's market value compares with the evidence behind it on Crypto: price versus proof.
An ETF does not have a market cap in the same sense. Its size is its net assets (what the fund holds), and what matters for a buyer is price against NAV, the value of the fund's assets per share. We compare both on the ETF value pages.
Questions people ask
What is market cap in simple terms?
It is the price of one share multiplied by the number of shares: the size the market gives the whole company today. It changes with every trade.
Is a bigger market cap better?
No. It says size, not quality or value. A large company can be fairly priced, expensive or cheap, and a small one the same.
What is the difference between market cap and enterprise value?
Market cap is the price of the shares. Enterprise value adds the company's debt and subtracts its cash, so it is closer to the price of the whole business.
What is the difference between market cap and fully diluted value in crypto?
Market cap uses the coins in circulation now. Fully diluted value uses every coin planned to exist. The gap shows how many are still locked or unreleased.
Why do two sites show a different market cap for the same company?
They count shares differently, for example with or without shares held by employee trusts, or they use prices from a different time. Check the share count and the date.