market share

noun

|Updated on: 14 Aug 2018

Examples: market share in a Sentence

Definition of market share

: the percentage of the market for a product or service that a company supplies

See market share defined for English-language learners

Examples of market share in a Sentence

The company has gained market share in the past year.
companies working to increase their market shares

Recent Examples of market share from the Web

Those that sell easily replaceable goods and services could lose market share in a hurry.

— nathaniel taplin, WSJ, "Tariffs Aren’t China’s Strongest Weapon Against the U.S.," 2 July 2018
Those sensitivities were exploited by the industry to discredit the campaign to end bear farming, unfairly portraying it as acting in the interests of multinational drug companies out to seize market share from Chinese rivals.

— author: simon denyer, Anchorage Daily News, "From hemorrhoids to hangovers: Bear bile is treasured in China, and that’s bad for captive bears," 3 June 2018
Universal has aggressively increased market share in South Florida over the past two years while numerous companies, citing losses from claims abuses and increased litigation, have redlined parts or all of the tricounty region.

— ron hurtibise, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Hurricane Irma powers sharp increase in lawsuits against insurers," 3 May 2018
To qualify for a grant, applicants must have a project or event in development that will help increase tourism market share and grow the local tourism industry.

— emily bamforth, cleveland.com, "Watch live as the City Club of Cleveland hosts a conversation about education reform with Frederick Hess," 19 Jan. 2018
Meanwhile, the former SolarCity, bought by Tesla for $2 billion in 2016, has lost market share over the years to rival installers who are benefitting from the excitement generated by Musk's off-the-grid overtures.

— marco della cava, USA TODAY, "Burning for Tesla Powerwall? Get ready to wait as Musk's solar vision takes a backseat to Model 3," 13 July 2018
Adidas and Under Armour aren’t going to willfully let Puma grab market share.

— mark zeigler, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Puma jumping into basketball is good for players, but it is good for the game?," 5 July 2018
Intra-regional trade peaked in the early 2000s and Latin American exports have lost global market share since 2012.

— The Economist, "What AMLO portends for Latin America," 5 July 2018
In this environment, companies have turned to mergers and acquisitions for growth, trying to grab market share and reinvent their business models, especially as Amazon, Netflix and other tech companies increasingly push into new industries.

— New York Times, "A Record $2.5 Trillion in Mergers Were Announced in the First Half of 2018," 3 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'market share.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of market share

1954

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

Financial Definition of MARKET SHARE

market share

noun

What It Is

Market share refers to a company's portion of sales within the entire market in which it operates. This metric indicates a company's size within its market.

How It Works

The formula for market share is:

Market Share = (Particular Company's Sales Revenue in Time Period X) / (Relevant Market's Total Sales Revenue in Time Period X)

Let's assume Company XYZ sells $50 million a year in widgets. If the total amount of widgets sold from all companies within the market totals $100 million, then Company XYZ has a market share equal to 50%.

Market Share = ($50 million) / ($100 million)

Why It Matters

As the market for a good or service grows, many analysts view the maintenance or increase in market share as a sign of a company's competitiveness. Increases in market share might come from innovation, broadening demographic appeal, lower prices, or simply advertising.

Sometimes a company garners too much market share and becomes part of an oligopoly or even becomes a monopoly. If this is the case, it could violate anti-trust laws and be ordered to divest assets or take some other action to increase competition.

Source: Investing Answers