Enterprise Value (EV)
Definition
Enterprise value is the total value of a company’s operations: its equity market value plus net debt. It represents what it would cost to own the whole business free of its existing capital structure, which makes it the right numerator for valuation multiples like EV/EBITDA.
In practice
EV is the price tag a buyer actually faces, because the buyer either repays the target’s debt or inherits it. Comparing equity value between two companies with different leverage is comparing apples to oranges; EV puts them on the same footing.