18 Comments
 

To directly answer your question with the equation from before, EqV + Debt - Cash = EV. EqV up and Cash down (spent on repurchasing shares). The “-“ in front of the cash and the actual negative cash creates a positive that offsets the drop in equity value.

However, taking a more theoretical approach, I’d recommend reading about The Modigliani–Miller theorem. It discusses how in a vacuum, financing decisions (share repurchases / raising debt etc) do not affect enterprise value

 

You're assuming P/E is held constant -  in that scenario, your total equity value doesn't change at all, because the market is valuing your earnings at the same level as pre-repurchase. In that scenario, your EV would decrease because you're expending cash to repurchase shares, but your equity value is not changing. It is not a realistic scenario.

 

Neither equity nor enterprise value change. You’re using CASH to buy EQUITY. The thing is, cash is effectively equity. $1 of cash on a company balance sheets equates to $1 of equity value (think of how a balance sheet balances!).

 

You are using cash to buy equity

Repurchased shares go into a contra equity account

Using cash to repurchase shares

Cash is down. Your contra equity goes up, which means your equity goes down

Equity value decreases. Cash decreases same amount. Enterprise value unchanged (since EV has EQv MINUS cash, so EQv is neg and cash is neg, but it it is a double neg since you subtract cash in EV, and thus EV is the same

Source: ECM Village Idiot

 

Rerum at expedita sunt quidem ratione. Eos et modi sed vel. Facere repudiandae odio cupiditate eum qui ab. Quasi odit et officiis nihil quae est.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan No 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (15) $434
  • Associates (45) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (79) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $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

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
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...”