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L.4 · BEGINNER · 2 MIN

Market Cap: Small, Mid, and Large

Companies are grouped by size based on their market capitalization. Each size category behaves differently in markets.

Quiz · 5 questions ↓
§ 01
AAPL — Apple Market Cap, Share Price. Open AAPL on the Ledge to see current values.
§ 02
CategoryMarket CapCharacteristics
Large-capOver $10 billionStable, well-researched, lower volatility (e.g., Apple, Microsoft)
Mid-cap$2B - $10BEstablished but still growing, often acquisition targets
Small-capUnder $2BHigher growth potential but higher risk of failure
§ 03

Conventions vary. Oxford Ledge uses a 5-tier scheme internally: Mega ≥ $200B, Large $10-200B, Mid $2-10B, Small $300M-$2B, Micro < $300M. MSCI and S&P use slightly different cutoffs. The 3-tier table above is the most common public framing.

§ 04

Small-cap stocks historically deliver higher returns on average, but with much greater volatility. A biotech startup might rise 500% or go to zero. Microsoft is unlikely to do either.

§ 05
Use the **Screener** to filter by market cap. Sort descending to see the largest companies, then ascending to see the smallest.
§ 06
Which market cap category is most likely to be an acquisition target by a larger company?
§ 07

Diversifying across market cap sizes helps balance growth potential (small-caps) with stability (large-caps).

Five questions · AI feedback

Sit with the ideas.

Which type of company is most likely to double in value over 5 years, but also most likely to go bankrupt?

Why:
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