Capitalization

Capitalization

The debt and/or equity mix that funds a firm's assets.

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Market Capitalization

The total value of all outstanding shares of a publicly-traded company. The market capitalization is calculated by multiplying the shares outstanding by the price per share. Market capitalization is one of the basic measures of a publicly-traded company; it is a way of determining the rough value of a company. Generally speaking, a higher market capitalization indicates a more valuable company. Many exchanges and indices are weighted for market capitalization. It is informally known as market cap. See also: Large cap, Mid cap, Small cap.

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capitalization

The amounts and types of long-term financing used by a firm. Types of financing include common stock, preferred stock, retained earnings, and long-term debt. A firm with capitalization including little or no long-term debt is considered to be financed very conservatively. Also called cap, capital structure, financial structure, total capitalization. See also complex capital structure, large-cap, market capitalization, recapitalization, small-cap.