Metrics & Performance
Enterprise Value
The total value of a company including equity and net debt — a more complete measure of company value than market cap alone.
Enterprise Value (EV) is the total value of a business, accounting for both equity value and net debt (debt minus cash). Formula: EV = Market Cap (or equity value) + Total Debt - Cash. EV is used as the numerator in valuation multiples like EV/Revenue and EV/EBITDA. Unlike market cap, EV reflects what an acquirer would actually need to pay to take full ownership (buying equity) and assume debt. In VC, when we talk about a startup's 'valuation' of $100M, we typically mean equity value (the post-money valuation) — not enterprise value. EV becomes more relevant in later-stage deals where companies have meaningful debt or in acquisition analyses.