Balance Sheet: Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity
Quarterly Data
The balance sheet provides creditors, investors, and analysts with information on company resources (assets) and its sources of capital (its equity and liabilities). It normally also provides information about the future earnings capacity of a company assets as well as an indication of cash flows that may come from receivables and inventories.
Liabilities represents obligations of a company arising from past events, the settlement of which is expected to result in an outflow of economic benefits from the entity.
Microsoft Corp., consolidated balance sheet: liabilities and stockholders’ equity (quarterly data)
US$ in millions
Based on: 10-Q (reporting date: 2026-09-30), 10-K (reporting date: 2026-06-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2026-03-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2025-12-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2025-09-30), 10-K (reporting date: 2025-06-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2025-03-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2024-12-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2024-09-30), 10-K (reporting date: 2024-06-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2024-03-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2023-12-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2023-09-30), 10-K (reporting date: 2023-06-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2023-03-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2022-12-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2022-09-30), 10-K (reporting date: 2022-06-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2022-03-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2021-12-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2021-09-30), 10-K (reporting date: 2021-06-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2021-03-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2020-12-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2020-09-30).
The balance sheet exhibits a sustained expansion in total scale, with total liabilities and stockholders' equity increasing from approximately 301 billion USD in September 2020 to 779 billion USD by September 2026. This growth is characterized by a strategic shift in capital structure, where organic growth via retained earnings has significantly outpaced the accumulation of debt, leading to a strengthened equity position.
- Current Liability Dynamics
- Current liabilities more than doubled over the analyzed period, rising from 70 billion USD to 152 billion USD. A primary driver of this increase is short-term unearned revenue, which expanded from 33 billion USD to 66 billion USD, signaling a substantial increase in prepaid customer contracts and deferred revenue streams. Accounts payable also showed a marked upward trajectory, particularly accelerating after 2023, reaching 42.6 billion USD by September 2026, which reflects scaled operational requirements and increased procurement activity.
- Long-Term Liability and Debt Transition
- A consistent reduction in long-term debt is observed, decreasing from 57 billion USD in 2020 to approximately 31 billion USD by 2026. This suggests a deliberate deleveraging strategy. In contrast, other long-term liabilities experienced aggressive growth, climbing from 11.5 billion USD to 69 billion USD. This divergence indicates a shift in the composition of long-term obligations, moving away from traditional debt instruments toward other long-term operational or structural liabilities.
- Equity Expansion and Retained Earnings
- Stockholders' equity grew nearly fourfold, increasing from 123 billion USD to 470 billion USD. The predominant catalyst for this growth is retained earnings, which surged from 39 billion USD to 354 billion USD. This trajectory indicates exceptionally strong net income generation and a high rate of profit reinvestment into the business. Common stock and paid-in capital grew at a much slower, steady pace, confirming that the equity expansion is driven by internal profitability rather than external capital raises.
- Comprehensive Income and Other Factors
- Accumulated other comprehensive income transitioned from a positive 3.1 billion USD in 2020 to a consistent negative balance, ending at -3.8 billion USD in September 2026. While this indicates recurring unrealized losses—likely associated with currency translation adjustments or investment valuations—the magnitude of these losses is negligible when measured against the overall growth of stockholders' equity.
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