Balance Sheet: Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity

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.

Broadcom Inc., consolidated balance sheet: liabilities and stockholders’ equity

US$ in millions

	Nov 3, 2024	Oct 29, 2023	Oct 30, 2022	Oct 31, 2021	Nov 1, 2020	Nov 3, 2019
Accounts payable	1,662)	1,210)	998)	1,086)	836)	855)
Employee compensation and benefits	1,971)	935)	1,202)	1,066)	877)	641)
Current portion of long-term debt	1,271)	1,608)	440)	290)	827)	2,787)
Contract liabilities	9,395)	2,487)	2,931)	2,619)	2,620)	1,501)
Tax liabilities	720)	473)	680)	541)	440)	229)
Interest payable	535)	380)	393)	282)	—)	—)
Other	1,143)	312)	408)	397)	771)	886)
Other current liabilities	11,793)	3,652)	4,412)	3,839)	3,831)	2,616)
Current liabilities	16,697)	7,405)	7,052)	6,281)	6,371)	6,899)
Long-term debt, excluding current portion	66,295)	37,621)	39,075)	39,440)	40,235)	30,011)
Contract liabilities	5,100)	299)	410)	566)	823)	307)
Deferred tax liabilities	4,703)	99)	—)	—)	—)	—)
Unrecognized tax benefits, interest and penalties	3,669)	2,792)	3,229)	3,407)	3,185)	3,269)
Other	1,503)	657)	774)	887)	1,418)	2,037)
Other long-term liabilities	14,975)	3,847)	4,413)	4,860)	5,426)	5,613)
Long-term liabilities	81,270)	41,468)	43,488)	44,300)	45,661)	35,624)
Total liabilities	97,967)	48,873)	50,540)	50,581)	52,032)	42,523)
Preferred stock dividend obligation	—)	—)	—)	27)	27)	29)
Preferred stock, $0.001 par value; none issued and outstanding	—)	—)	—)	—)	—)	—)
Common stock, $0.001 par value	5)	4)	—)	—)	—)	—)
Additional paid-in capital	67,466)	21,095)	21,159)	24,330)	23,982)	25,081)
Retained earnings	—)	2,682)	1,604)	748)	—)	—)
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)	207)	207)	(54)	(116)	(108)	(140)
Stockholders’ equity	67,678)	23,988)	22,709)	24,962)	23,874)	24,941)
Total liabilities and equity	165,645)	72,861)	73,249)	75,570)	75,933)	67,493)

Based on: 10-K (reporting date: 2024-11-03), 10-K (reporting date: 2023-10-29), 10-K (reporting date: 2022-10-30), 10-K (reporting date: 2021-10-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2020-11-01), 10-K (reporting date: 2019-11-03).

The financial data reveals several notable trends pertaining to liabilities and equity over the analyzed periods.

Current Liabilities: There is a fluctuating but generally rising pattern in current liabilities. Accounts payable increased from $855 million in 2019 to a peak of $1,662 million in 2024, indicating growing operational obligations. Employee compensation and benefits also rose sharply with some decline in 2023 but a significant surge to $1,971 million by 2024. Contract liabilities under current liabilities climbed substantially, experiencing a considerable jump to $9,395 million in 2024 after some volatility. Tax liabilities exhibited moderate variability, peaking at $720 million in 2024. The current portion of long-term debt decreased markedly after 2019, reaching as low as $290 million in 2021, then surged again to $1,271 million in 2024. Overall, current liabilities expanded significantly, culminating in a sharp increase to $16,697 million in 2024 from around $7,000 million in earlier years.
Long-Term Liabilities: Long-term debt, excluding current portions, rose considerably from $30,011 million in 2019 to a substantial $66,295 million in 2024, reflecting increased financing or refinancing activities. Contract liabilities here fluctuated but demonstrated a substantial escalation in 2024, reaching $5,100 million. Deferred tax liabilities, previously unreported, emerged with values of $99 million in 2023 and then spiked dramatically to $4,703 million in 2024. Other long-term liabilities showed a consistent decline through 2023 followed by a very steep surge to $14,975 million in 2024. The total long-term liabilities rose accordingly, from approximately $35,624 million in 2019 to over $81,270 million by 2024.
Total Liabilities: Combining current and long-term liabilities, total liabilities exhibited an upward trend with fluctuations, peaking notably in 2024 at $97,967 million compared to $42,523 million in 2019. This demonstrates a near doubling of the company’s obligations over the period, heavily influenced by increases in both components.
Stockholders’ Equity: Stockholders’ equity hovered in the range of $22,709 million to $24,988 million from 2019 through 2023, experiencing minor variances but no clear upward or downward trend. A dramatic increase occurred in 2024, surging to $67,678 million. This spike is paralleled by a significant rise in additional paid-in capital, which climbed from around $21,000 million in 2023 to $67,466 million in 2024, suggesting substantial equity injections or revaluation events. Retained earnings gradually increased over the earlier periods but are not reported for 2024.
Comprehensive Income and Other Equity Components: Accumulated other comprehensive income shifted from negative values in preceding years to a positive value of $207 million in 2023 and 2024, indicating an improvement in unrealized gains or other comprehensive income elements.
Overall Financial Position: The total liabilities and equity grew substantially, nearly doubling from approximately $67,493 million in 2019 to $165,645 million in 2024. This is primarily driven by marked increases in total liabilities and equity capital. The significant escalations in debt and equity components in 2024 point towards major changes in capital structure, possibly associated with financing activities, acquisitions, or other strategic initiatives.

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Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)

Balance Sheet: Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity