What is Market Capitalisation?

Market Capitalisation is a term used to represent the market value of a company based on its current share price and the total number of its outstanding shares.

What is Market Capitalisation?
Table of Contents

About Market Capitalisation

  • Market Capitalization, or Market Cap, is a term used to represent the market value of a company based on its current share price and the total number of its outstanding shares. 
  • It can be calculated by multiplying the number of outstanding shares of a company by the current price of its shares. 
  • It represents the market’s perception of a company’s worth and indicates its size and significance in the financial markets. 
  • On the basis of market cap, companies may be classified as large-cap, mid-cap, or small-cap companies.
    • Large-cap companies are usually stable, reputable, and well-established businesses that have a significant market share. They have market caps of INR 20,000 crore or more. 
    • Mid-cap companies have a market cap ranging from INR 5,000 crore to INR 20,000 crore.
    • Small-cap companies operate at a smaller scale than large-cap and mid-cap companies. Consequently, their market cap is also lower (less than INR 5,000 crore). 
  • Why is market capitalization important?
    • It allows potential investors to understand the true value of companies and the size of one company in relation to another. 
    • It helps investors predict the future performance of the stock of a company because it reflects what the market is willing to pay for the stock.

What is Free float market capitalisation?

  • While calculating the total market capitalization of a company, all the shares, including the ones publicly traded as well as those held by promoters, government, or other private parties, are multiplied with the stock price.
  • But in the free-float market capitalization, we exclude shares held by private parties like promoters, trusts, or the government.
  • We only consider shares held and traded by the public and multiply them with share price to arrive at the free-float market capitalization of a company.

Q1) What are Shares?

The capital of a company is divided into shares. Each share forms a unit of ownership of a company and is offered for sale so as to raise capital for the company.

Source: Reliance becomes first Indian company to hit Rs 20 lakh crore valuation

Update Icon
Latest UPSC Exam 2026 Updates

Date IconLast updated on August, 2026

UPSC Mains 2026 commenced on 21st August 2026 and will continue through 30th August 2026, as per the official examination schedule.

UPSC Mains Question Paper 2026 is out now for Essay & GS Paper 1, 2, 3 & 4.

UPSC Mains GS Paper 1 2026 is out now.

UPSC Mains GS Paper 2 2026 is out now.

UPSC Mains GS Paper 3 2026 is out now.

UPSC Mains GS Paper 4 2026 is out now.

UPSC Mains Indian Language Paper & English Compulsory Paper are out now.

→ Check out the latest UPSC Syllabus 2026 here.

UPSC Mains Admit Card 2026 is now out.

→ Enroll in Vajiram & Ravi’s UPSC Mains Test Series 2027 for structured answer writing practice, expert evaluation, and exam-oriented feedback.

→ Join Vajiram & Ravi’s UPSC Mentorship Program 2027 for personalized guidance, strategy planning, and one-to-one support from experienced mentors.

→ Go through the UPSC Mains Previous Year Papers to enhance your preparation.

→ Download UPSC Mains Essay Paper 2025, UPSC Mains GS Paper-I 2025, UPSC Mains GS Paper-II 2025, UPSC Mains GS Paper-III 2025, UPSC Mains GS Paper-IV 2025, UPSC Mains English (Compulsory) Paper 2025, UPSC Mains Hindi (Qualifying) Paper 2025 here.

→ UPSC has released UPSC Toppers List 2025 with the Civil Services final result on its official website.

UPSC Calendar 2027 has been released.

→ Also check Best UPSC Coaching in India

UPSC GS Course 2027
UPSC GS Course 2027
₹1,80,000
Enroll Now
GS Foundation Course 2 Yrs
GS Foundation Course 2 Yrs
₹2,45,000
Enroll Now
UPSC Mentorship Program
UPSC Mentorship Program
₹69000
Enroll Now
UPSC Sureshot Mains Test Series
UPSC Sureshot Mains Test Series
₹27000
Enroll Now
Prelims Powerup Test Series
Prelims Powerup Test Series
₹14000
Enroll Now
Enquire Now