Cash is already accounted for within Market Cap. why?

I found a very similar content on wso forum but still is not clear tho. For enterprise value, we subtract cash. I see it because the cash is Non operating asset and enterprise value only takes operating asset into account. But Why Equity? WSO says equity already has cash in it... BUT, for enterprise value, we DO NOT use shareholders' equity, but instead, we USE "Market Cap." or equity value from valuation.

I see shareholders' equity on BS shows it includes Cash as E=A-L. BUT.. again.. the one in enterprise value formula is NOT shareholders' equity, BUT market Cap....

Market Cap. is Price*shares.. where is cash here?

Or, suppose we use DCF to find the equity value, but for equity value we use levered free cash flow which uses EBIT, capturing only operating parts... NO NOA...

Any kinds of answer would be helpful. Thank you so much in advance.

6 Comments
 

From reading through and watching a lot of the BIWS material, the answer I've come to understand is:

EV = Equity Value + Debt - Cash + Other Important Items that I don't want to list out

EV is the Value of a Company's Core-Business Assets to all of its Investor Groups. Equity Value is the Value of Core-Business Assets + Value of Non-Core-Business Assets to only Equity Investors

So the Market Cap is, which is used for Equity Value, the value for all of a company's operating and non-operating assets.

But since Enterprise Value is the value of only Core-Business/Operating Assets to all Investors, to go from Equity Value to EV, you subtract Non-Operating Assets (ex. Cash, Short-term Investments, etc) and add the items that are claimed by other Investor Groups (Debt).

Was that clear?

 

You seem to be extremely confused by all of this equation stuff, but I'm having a hard time understanding where you went wrong. So let's break it down by each of your statements:

"For enterprise value, we subtract cash. I see it because the cash is Non operating asset and enterprise value only takes operating asset into account."

The reason that we subtract cash from an EV calculation is simply that cash essentially becomes a source of funding when we acquire the company that owns that cash. E.g. when we acquire a company for $10 billion and it has $1 billion in cash, we only had to pay $9 billion since we can literally use the same $1 billion cash to fund the acquisition activity.

"But Why Equity? WSO says equity already has cash in it... BUT, for enterprise value, we DO NOT use shareholders' equity, but instead, we USE "Market Cap." or equity value from valuation."

Market cap is the same as shareholders' equity.

 
Best Response

Ut inventore sit saepe molestiae doloribus illo. Omnis optio in est animi id. Libero mollitia eum tempora autem consectetur aut ratione. Excepturi iste tenetur et repellat. Consequuntur nobis voluptate error deleniti ab non doloremque itaque.

Tempora suscipit enim quis ut officia. Consequatur repellendus assumenda dolor dolores quas et non. Corrupti sed blanditiis eligendi aliquam eveniet. Soluta non voluptates cupiditate. Est vero ut enim aut ipsum rem.

Sint fugit sunt explicabo beatae deleniti. Corrupti enim ex corrupti rerum. Non et vitae et quasi eaque consequuntur ut. Et atque laudantium odit aut occaecati enim.

Consectetur ipsam est cupiditate maxime id eligendi. Beatae unde qui autem non quas dolorem. Consequatur voluptatem et et.

Career Advancement Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.9%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 03 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (57) $264
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (28) $184
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $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...”