Market capitalisation ("market cap") is the total market value of a company’s shares: the share price multiplied by the number of shares outstanding. It’s the standard way to measure a company’s size.
The buckets
In India, SEBI classifies listed companies by their rank in market cap:
- Large cap — the top 100 companies by market cap.
- Mid cap — ranks 101 to 250.
- Small cap — 251 onward.
Why size matters
- Liquidity — large caps usually trade in high volume, so it’s easier to buy and sell without moving the price. Small caps can be thinly traded.
- Volatility — smaller companies often swing more sharply.
- Index inclusion — benchmark indices like the NIFTY 50 are built from large caps.
A data nuance
For some illiquid scrips, the exchange’s official closing price can differ slightly from the last traded price — both are valid, published numbers. It’s worth knowing which one a tool shows.
Using cap in screening
Filtering by market cap is one of the most common ways to focus a screen — for example, "large caps only" for liquidity, or "small caps" to scan a more volatile universe. You can sort the Screener by Market Cap to see where companies rank.