Diluted equity value

Hi there, 

BIWS 400 IB questions states:

"6. Let’s say a company has 100 shares outstanding, at a share price of $10 each. It also
has 10 options outstanding at an exercise price of $5 each – what is its fully diluted
equity value?


Its basic equity value is $1,000 (100 * $10 = $1,000). To calculate the dilutive effect of the
options, first you note that the options are all “in-the-money” – their exercise price is less
than the current share price.


When these options are exercised, there will be 10 new shares created – so the share
count is now 110 rather than 100.


However, that doesn’t tell the whole story. In order to exercise the options, we had to
“pay” the company $5 for each option (the exercise price).


As a result, it now has $50 in additional cash, which it now uses to buy back 5 of the new
shares we created."

The Company received 50$, equity value went up to 1,050$, yet they repurchased 5 shares with additional cash. Why did equity value remain unchanged? 

1 Comments
 

Impedit eaque laudantium distinctio porro. Maiores reprehenderit aut vero autem quasi quos. Nihil facilis unde corrupti vero ut. Similique aliquid illum dolor.

Rem iusto rerum sit aut rerum. Sunt at aliquid beatae vel. Ut perspiciatis et et officiis consequatur quia. Cum necessitatibus qui aspernatur est et. Facilis tenetur amet illo nisi. Amet repellendus voluptatibus magni tempore voluptatem earum quae.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.3%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (44) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (78) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (72) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”