Definition

Enterprise value

What it would cost to own the whole business: the equity's market value plus the debt the buyer assumes, minus the cash that comes along with the keys. It is the numerator of the capital-structure-neutral multiples (EV/EBITDA, EV/Sales), because it prices the enterprise regardless of how the current owners chose to finance it.

Formula

EV = Market cap + Total debt − Cash & equivalents

Drivers — what actually moves it

Market cap: the equity leg — a market quantity, repriced every trading day.
Debt: assumed by the buyer, so it adds to the price of the whole enterprise.
Cash: comes with the purchase and nets against the price — a company is cheaper by the cash it holds.

Where to find it in the filing

Balance sheet (debt and cash legs); market cap is market data. 10-K Item 8 — long-term debt and cash & equivalents on the balance sheet. The market-cap leg needs a share price no filing carries; Echelon shows the filed legs and names the missing one.

XBRL concepts Echelon grounds to: LongTermDebtNoncurrent · CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue

Prove it on a model

Sector caveats — where this breaks

Ill-defined for banks and insurers — deposits and float blur the line between operating liability and funding debt.
Operating-lease obligations sit outside many debt tags; a thorough EV build reads the debt footnote, not one line.

Drill it in a live lesson EV/EBITDA EV/Sales Net debt Market capitalization

Educational use only — not investment advice. Figures come from public SEC filings; Echelon teaches you to analyze data, it never recommends buying or selling any security.