Conflating market cap and total worth is a pet peeve of mine. Market cap is "price of one share" multiplied by the total number of shares outstanding. If you

Conflating market cap and total worth is a pet peeve of mine. Market cap is "price of one share" multiplied by the total number of shares outstanding. If you want to buy a small number of shares, you can probably just multiply to find the total price you would pay. If you want to buy a large number of shares, or the whole company, you can't just multiply. You would need to get the current owners to sell to you, and they might either charge you a premium or refuse to sell. The total worth of a company depends on the distribution and type of ownership (among many other things). Market cap is a fine shorthand, but serious analysis about comparing worth should control for several other things.