Goodwill

Formal

The excess of the purchase price paid for an asset or business over its stated book value. Or, put another way - it’s the same as the value of a good relationship that a business has with its customers that is regarded and assessed as an intangible asset.

Real-world Example

A company buys a competitor for $10M, even though the competitor's identifiable net assets are only worth $6M. The extra $4M is recorded as goodwill - value attributed to brand, customer relationships, and reputation.