The balance sheet does not portray the market value of the entity. A companys book value (shareholders equity) will likely be less than its market value as measured by the market value of its shares outstanding (number of common stock shares outstanding multiplied by price per share). Market value often is referred to as the companys market capitalization.

Compare the book value and market value for two publicly traded companies. Think of reasons why the ratios of market to book differ across their sample of firms.

Please include links to sites where company information related to book value and market values were located in your submission file.