book value
Americannoun
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the value of a business, property, etc., as stated in a book of accounts (distinguished from market value).
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total assets minus all liabilities; net worth.
noun
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the value of an asset of a business according to its books
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the net capital value of an enterprise as shown by the excess of book assets over book liabilities
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the value of a share computed by dividing the net capital value of an enterprise by its issued shares Compare par value market value
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Etymology
Origin of book value
First recorded in 1895–1900
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Holden said bank stocks are trading at about 16 times expected earnings, well above a 10-year historical average of 10.8 times, and at 2.6 times book value compared with a historical average of 1.7 times.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
Smaller builders are trading near or below book value, and all have relatively small market capitalizations.
From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026
An investment Substack called Maverick Equity Research calculated that most of the Berkshire purchases in the second quarter were done at 1.4 times book value.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026
Value stocks tend to trade lower than growth stocks relative to book value, earnings or revenue.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 1, 2026
When two partners divide up the profits of a business between them they assign a notional book value to the stock in hand.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
