The book value per share is just one metric that you should look at when considering an investment. It’s important to remember that the book value per share is not the only metric that you should consider when making an investment decision. In today’s blog, we deep dive into what is book value of a share, what it indicates, and its role for investors. At the same time, we use book value in the case of the ROE formula when we calculate the ROE per share. The book value of Google in 2008 was $44.90 per share and had increased by 348% to $201.12 per share by the end of 2016. Clear differences between the book value and market value of equity can occur, which happens more often than not for the vast majority of companies.

It may be that a company has equipment that gets depreciated rapidly, but the book value is overstated. In contrast, a company may have an asset that does not depreciate rapidly, like oil and property, but it has been overlooked and has understated book value. The answer is yes because the company can be punished/pushed unfairly by the market due to stated book value that may not represent the actual value of its assets.

A company can use a portion of its earnings to buy assets that would increase common equity along with BVPS. Or, it could use its earnings to reduce liabilities, which would also increase its common equity and BVPS. On the other hand, book value per share is an accounting-based tool that is calculated using historical costs. Unlike the market value per share, the metric is not forward-looking, and it does not reflect the actual market value of a company’s shares. Similarly, if the company uses $200,000 of the generated revenues to pay up debts and reduce liabilities, it will also increase the equity available to common stockholders. Because book value per share only considers the book value, it fails to incorporate other intangible factors that may increase the market value of a company’s shares, even upon liquidation.

1. InvestingPro offers detailed insights into companies’ Book Value Per Share including sector benchmarks and competitor analysis.
2. When compared to the current market value per share, the book value per share can provide information on how a company’s stock is valued.
3. If a company’s book value per share exceeds its current stock price, the stock is considered undervalued.
4. Adam received his master’s in economics from The New School for Social Research and his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in sociology.

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One must consider that the balance sheet may not reflect with certain accuracy, what would actually occur if a company did sell all of their assets. If a company’s share price falls below its BVPS, a corporate raider could make a risk-free profit by buying the company and liquidating it. If book value is negative, where a company’s liabilities exceed its assets, this is known as a balance sheet insolvency. The book value of a company represents the net asset value (total assets – total liabilities) of a company.

It may be a value trap rather than a value opportunity as companies’ assets can be treated differently in different industries. Adam Hayes, Ph.D., CFA, is a financial writer with 15+ years Wall Street experience as a derivatives trader. Besides his extensive derivative trading expertise, Adam is an expert in economics and behavioral finance. Adam received his master’s in economics from The New School for Social Research and his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in sociology. He currently researches and teaches economic sociology and the social studies of finance at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Therefore, the amount of cash remaining once all outstanding liabilities are paid off is captured by the book value of equity.

Is BVPS relevant for all types of companies?

Despite the increase in share price (and market capitalization), the book value of equity per share (BVPS) remained unchanged in Year 1 and 2. The book value of equity (BVE) is the value of a company’s assets, as if all its assets were hypothetically liquidated to pay off its liabilities. The book value per share of a company is the total value of the company’s net assets divided by the number of shares that are outstanding. There are other factors that you need to take into consideration before making an investment. However, book value per share can be a useful metric to keep in mind when you’re analyzing potential investments.

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The company’s past financial statements will help you find out the depreciated values. Book value per equity share indicates a firm’s net asset value on a per-share basis. While Book Value Per Share can be a helpful indicator of a company’s tangible net assets, it has several limitations that investors should be aware of. Conversely, if the market value per share exceeds BVPS, the stock might be perceived as overvalued. BVPS offers a baseline, especially valuable for value investors looking for opportunities in underpriced stocks.

Book value per share (BVPS) tells investors the book value of a firm 5 best tools for kickstarting operational collaboration on a per-share basis. Investors use BVPS to gauge whether a stock price is undervalued by comparing it to the firm’s market value per share. Book value refers to a firm’s net asset value (NAV) or its total assets minus its total liabilities. Assume that XYZ Manufacturing has a common equity balance of $10 million and 1 million shares of common stock are outstanding.

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In return, the accumulation of earnings could be used to reduce liabilities, which leads to higher book value of equity (and BVPS). If we assume the company has preferred equity of $3mm and a bookkeeping services baltimore md weighted average share count of 4mm, the BVPS is $3.00 (calculated as $15mm less $3mm, divided by 4mm shares). Preferred stock is usually excluded from the calculation because preferred stockholders have a higher claim on assets in case of liquidation. It excludes value of intangible assets from book value of shareholders’ equity used in the normal book value per share calculation.