Book Value

Book value is the net asset value of a company as recorded on its balance sheet — total assets minus total liabilities. Per share book value is obtained by dividing by shares outstanding. It represents the accounting value of equity and is a reference point in stock valuation.

Formula

Book Value = Total Assets − Total Liabilities Book Value Per Share = Book Value / Shares Outstanding

Example

A company with $5B in assets and $3B in liabilities has a book value of $2B. With 100M shares outstanding, book value per share is $20. If the stock trades at $60, the P/B ratio is 3x — reflecting the premium the market assigns above accounting values in stock valuation.

Why It Matters

Book value anchors Graham-style stock valuation and is essential for valuing asset-heavy businesses. The difference between intrinsic value and book value reveals how much of a company's worth comes from intangible competitive advantages rather than hard assets.

How MiniValuator Uses Book Value

Book value per share is displayed as a reference metric when you load a ticker in MiniValuator, providing balance-sheet context alongside the DCF-derived stock valuation.

See It in Action

Related Terms

  • Price-to-Book Ratio (P/B) The Price-to-Book (P/B) ratio compares a stock's market price to its book value per share (assets mi...
  • Intrinsic Value Intrinsic value is the estimated true worth of an asset based on its fundamental economic characteri...
  • Enterprise Value (EV) Enterprise Value (EV) represents the total value of a company to all capital providers (equity holde...
  • P/E Ratio (Price-to-Earnings) The Price-to-Earnings (P/E) ratio is a relative valuation metric that compares a company's current s...

Ready to apply this concept? Try the MiniValuator DCF Calculator — calculate intrinsic value for any US stock in under 60 seconds.