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Investing & the Stock Market vocabulary · Stocks & Shares

Small-cap

Meaning in investing & the stock market, with examples

/ˈsmɔːl kæp/adjectiveCommon term

In investing & the stock market, small-cap means: Describing a company with a relatively small market capitalization, or its shares. The exact limit depends on the market and the index provider.

In Turkish: küçük ölçekli, düşük piyasa değerli, küçük şirket

How it is used

Used as an adjective (small-cap stocks, a small-cap fund) and as a noun (small caps). The related terms are mid-cap and large-cap. Small-cap shares often offer more growth potential but also more volatility and lower liquidity.

Example sentences

  1. Small-cap stocks outperformed the main index during the early stage of the recovery.

  2. The fund focuses on small-cap companies in the industrial sector.

Common collocations

  • small-cap stocks
  • small-cap index
  • small-cap fund
  • mid-cap
  • large-cap
  • market capitalizationThe total market value of a company's shares, calculated by multiplying the share price by the number of shares in issue.
  • blue-chip stockA share in a large, well-known and financially strong company with a long record of stable earnings, often paying regular dividends.
  • liquidityHow easily an asset can be bought or sold quickly without a big change in its price. A liquid market has many buyers and sellers.
  • volatilityHow much and how quickly the price of an investment or a market moves up and down. High volatility means large, frequent price swings.
  • growth stockA share in a company whose sales and profits are expected to grow much faster than the average, often paying little or no dividend because it reinvests its earnings.

More terms: Stocks & Shares

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not financial advice.