Balance Sheet: Assets
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.
Assets are resources controlled by the company as a result of past events and from which future economic benefits are expected to flow to the entity.
Assets: Selected Items
Current Assets: Selected Items
Based on: 10-Q (reporting date: 2019-09-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2019-06-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2019-03-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2018-12-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2018-09-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2018-06-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2018-03-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2017-12-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2017-09-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2017-06-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2017-03-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2016-12-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2016-09-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2016-06-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2016-03-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2015-12-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2015-09-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2015-06-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2015-03-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2014-12-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2014-09-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2014-06-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2014-03-31).
Total assets exhibited substantial growth over the analyzed period, increasing from 12.7 billion US dollars in March 2014 to 41.4 billion US dollars by September 2019. This expansion was characterized by two significant surges in asset valuation, occurring in September 2015 and March 2018, which align with sharp increases in non-current asset accounts.
- Liquidity and Current Asset Management
- Current assets grew from 6.9 billion US dollars in March 2014 to 14.5 billion US dollars in September 2019. Cash and cash equivalents showed significant volatility, peaking at 9.6 billion US dollars at the end of the period after a notable decline in the first half of 2018, where balances dropped as low as 1.5 billion US dollars in June 2018. Accounts receivable demonstrated a consistent upward trajectory, more than doubling from 1.1 billion US dollars in early 2014 to 2.4 billion US dollars by September 2019, suggesting an increase in credit sales or extended collection cycles.
- Strategic Asset Acquisition and Intangibles
- The most pronounced growth occurred within non-current assets, which rose from 5.8 billion US dollars to 26.9 billion US dollars. This was driven primarily by intangible assets and goodwill. Intangible assets surged from 2.8 billion US dollars in March 2014 to 16.4 billion US dollars by September 2019, with a major step-up observed in September 2015. Similarly, goodwill increased from 2.0 billion US dollars to a plateau of 8.0 billion US dollars starting in March 2018. These patterns indicate a corporate strategy focused on aggressive inorganic growth and the acquisition of intellectual property.
- Capital Expenditures and Operational Assets
- Property, plant, and equipment (net) showed steady, linear growth, increasing from 596 million US dollars in March 2014 to 1.4 billion US dollars in September 2019. Inventory levels remained relatively stable, fluctuating between 348 million and 555 million US dollars, indicating that the growth in the company's asset base was not driven by physical inventory accumulation but rather by strategic investments and financial instruments.
- Investment Portfolio Shift
- A shift in the composition of liquid investments is observable. Marketable securities available-for-sale were a primary component of current assets until late 2017. From March 2018 onward, these were largely replaced by equity investments with readily determinable fair values and debt securities available-for-sale, before the company shifted back toward a higher concentration of pure cash and cash equivalents by September 2019.
Overall, the balance sheet evolved from a lean structure to one heavily weighted toward non-current assets. By September 2019, non-current assets represented approximately 65% of total assets, compared to approximately 45% in March 2014, reflecting a fundamental shift in the company's asset composition toward acquired intangibles and goodwill.
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