One of the things to think about is that shareholder value really is supposed to amount to what the company as a whole is fundamentally worth. Maybe about what

One of the things to think about is that shareholder value really is supposed to amount to what the company as a whole is fundamentally worth. Maybe about what the company would sell for if it was for sale, or what a comparable company would cost to build. Seems most realistic and still quite difficult to pinpoint a total value. But this is where most private small companies are with an intimate group of partners holding illiquid shares having no market effect. Company growth and building shareholder value are synonymous with each other. Delighting customers has one of the strongest effects. Anything less realistic is going to be an even less accurate estimate and this can happen with highly liquid shares where the market itself has inflated their recognized value well beyond the underlying assets. These certificates can be more like fiat currency, many companies went public so they can print more according to retail demand. And fiat currency has an incredible advantage in its ability to be manipulated. Backed by the full faith & credit of a company believed to be strong. Are all of these people so faithful or creditworthy? Or is their company really that strong after they kick out half the people and sell off the crown jewels and it makes the share price go up? Delighting customers at this point may already be out-of-reach.