What is market cap (market capitalisation)?
Market cap is the total value of a company's shares — share price times number of shares. It's how we sort companies into large-, mid-, and small-cap.
Market capitalisation — market cap — is what the stock market thinks a whole company is worth right now. You calculate it by multiplying the share price by the total number of shares. It is the single fastest way to size up a company.
In India, companies are loosely grouped by market cap: large-cap (roughly the top 100 by size, like Reliance or HDFC Bank — generally more stable), mid-cap (the next 150 or so — more growth, more risk), and small-cap (everything below — highest potential, highest risk and volatility).
A common mistake is thinking a ₹50 share is "cheaper" than a ₹5,000 share. It is not — a low price can mean a small company or simply a large share count. Market cap, not share price, tells you the real size of what you are buying.
Formula
Market cap = Share price × Total number of shares outstanding
Example
A share trading at ₹2,500 with 67 crore shares has a market cap of about ₹1.67 lakh crore — a large-cap company, regardless of the per-share price.
See it on real companies
Browse live financials and decoded filings, or just ask in plain English.
Common questions
Is a higher market cap always safer?
Generally larger companies are more stable and liquid, but not always safer — large companies can still fall on bad results or governance issues. Market cap is about size, not quality.
What is the difference between large-, mid- and small-cap?
SEBI defines large-cap as the top 100 listed companies by market cap, mid-cap as 101–250, and small-cap as 251 onwards. Smaller caps usually offer more growth but swing harder.