Mid-capitalization

Mid-Cap

Describing a publicly-traded company with medium amount in market capitalization. In general, a mid-cap company has a market capitalization of between $2 billion and $10 billion, but there is no hard-and-fast rule. Some brokerages or exchanges have slightly different definitions of mid-cap. Some indexes track mid-cap companies, as do some exchange traded funds. See also: High-cap, Low-cap.

Mid-capitalization (mid-cap) stock.

A mid-cap stock is one issued by a corporation whose market capitalization falls in a range between $2 billion and $10 billion, making it larger than a small-cap stock but smaller than a large-cap stock.

Market capitalization is figured by multiplying the number of either the outstanding or the floating shares by the current share price. Investors tend to buy mid-cap stocks for their growth potential. Their prices are typically lower than those of large-caps.

At the same time, these companies tend to be less volatile than small-caps, in part because they have more resources with which to weather an economic downturn.