Market Capitalization

Market capitalization is the equity slice only. It does not include debt, and it does include cash only in the sense that cash belongs to shareholders and is already reflected in the price people will pay.

Fully diluted market capitalization uses the share count after options, convertibles, and other claims that can become shares.

Size buckets such as large, mid, and small cap are ranges of market capitalization. They are labels for liquidity and risk, not a verdict on quality. A large cap can be a poor business, and a small cap can be a strong one.

Use one share count and stick to it. Treasury shares, partly paid shares, and unconverted instruments cause two data vendors to print two market caps for the same company on the same day.