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> Market cap isn't perfect but it is the company's actual value after all. It's not the company's actual value, but rather the company's actual valuation. Rela
by jdmichal 12y ago
> Market cap isn't perfect but it is the company's actual value after all.
It's not the company's actual value, but rather the company's actual valuation. Related, but very different, concepts.
- pbreit 12y agoI'm not sure they're very different, if at all. I guess a public valuation is a bit under what you'd actually need to pay to acquire it outright.
- jdmichal 12y agoMost simply, value is a non-fixed inherent property that can change depending on the asset / liability and the entities involved. A valuation is an actual estimated value given some conditions. Simple example: Celery has no value to me, because I find its taste disgusting. However, I happily pay for bundles of cilantro, which in turn have no value to others that find its taste disgusting. In the case of a publicly traded company, the conditions are "if all shares were immediately liquidated at the current price". In the case of a company buying that publicly traded company, an actual value can be arrived at, due to having a fixed set of assets, liabilities, and participating entities. And, as you pointed out, those two numbers rarely match up.
- pbreit 12y agoWell, I don't think it's entirely uncommon for a complete set to command a premium.