Can Enterprise Value be negative?

How to answer

Yes, though it's rare. EV is negative when cash and equivalents exceed Equity Value + Debt + Preferred + NCI. This happens with cash-rich companies that have little or no debt and a low market cap - for example, some net-cash tech or biotech firms, or certain deeply undervalued small-caps. Negative EV is NOT a feature of distressed/highly leveraged companies (they carry too much debt, so EV is high), and EV is not a meaningful metric for banks/financial institutions at all (deposits and debt are inseparable from operations). When EV is negative, EV-based multiples become unreliable.

Key idea: Cash > Equity Value + Debt + Preferred + NCI - i.e., a cash-rich, low-debt company, not a distressed one.