TEV - Total Enterprise Value

TEV is Total Enterprise Value, and is defined as follows:
Total enterprise value (TEV) is a valuation measurement used to compare companies with varying levels of debt.

TEV is calculated as follows: TEV = market capitalization + interest-bearing debt + preferred stock - excess cash.

To simplify, it is a measurement that tells you a couple of things. First of all, it illustrates the difference between a company’s market value relative to how much debt they have. Perhaps more relevantly, it tells you how much an acquirer would have to pay to buy the company relative to the company’s market cap. An acquirer company also purchases the company’s debt when they purchase the company outright.

In summary, TEV gives you a perspective of the equity value plus the company’s debt minus cash.

BANKS
Banks and other financial service companies have different financial statements than traditional companies. For banks, debt is actually their product, their inventory if you will, so it is not looked at as debt on the balance sheet of a consumer staples company for example.

Nevertheless, Total Enterprise Value is the price that an acquirer would have to pay to buy the entire company, which would include debt, etc. Market cap in contrast is simply the current price per share times the number of shares outstanding.