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.

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

US$ in millions

	Jul 26, 2025	Jul 27, 2024	Jul 29, 2023	Jul 30, 2022	Jul 31, 2021	Jul 25, 2020
Short-term debt	5,232)	11,341)	1,733)	1,099)	2,508)	3,005)
Accounts payable	2,528)	2,304)	2,313)	2,281)	2,362)	2,218)
Income taxes payable	1,857)	1,439)	4,235)	961)	801)	839)
Accrued compensation	3,611)	3,608)	3,984)	3,316)	3,818)	3,122)
Deferred revenue	16,416)	16,249)	13,908)	12,784)	12,148)	11,406)
Other current liabilities	5,420)	5,643)	5,136)	5,199)	4,620)	4,741)
Current liabilities	35,064)	40,584)	31,309)	25,640)	26,257)	25,331)
Long-term debt, excluding current portion	22,861)	19,621)	6,658)	8,416)	9,018)	11,578)
Income taxes payable	2,165)	3,985)	5,756)	7,725)	8,538)	8,837)
Deferred revenue	12,363)	12,226)	11,642)	10,480)	10,016)	9,040)
Other long-term liabilities	2,995)	2,540)	2,134)	1,968)	2,393)	2,147)
Long-term liabilities	40,384)	38,372)	26,190)	28,589)	29,965)	31,602)
Total liabilities	75,448)	78,956)	57,499)	54,229)	56,222)	56,933)
Preferred stock, $0.001 par value; none issued and outstanding	—)	—)	—)	—)	—)	—)
Common stock and additional paid-in capital, $0.001 par value	47,747)	45,800)	44,289)	42,714)	42,346)	41,202)
Retained earnings (accumulated deficit)	50)	1,087)	1,639)	(1,319)	(654)	(2,763)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	(954)	(1,430)	(1,575)	(1,622)	(417)	(519)
Equity	46,843)	45,457)	44,353)	39,773)	41,275)	37,920)
Total liabilities and equity	122,291)	124,413)	101,852)	94,002)	97,497)	94,853)

Based on: 10-K (reporting date: 2025-07-26), 10-K (reporting date: 2024-07-27), 10-K (reporting date: 2023-07-29), 10-K (reporting date: 2022-07-30), 10-K (reporting date: 2021-07-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2020-07-25).

Short-term debt: The short-term debt decreased significantly from 3,005 million USD in 2020 to a low of 1,099 million USD in 2022, then showed a notable increase to 11,341 million USD in 2024 before declining again to 5,232 million USD in 2025. This fluctuation suggests varying short-term borrowing needs or repayment strategies across the years.
Accounts payable: Accounts payable remained relatively stable over the six-year period, fluctuating slightly between 2,218 million USD and 2,528 million USD. This stability indicates consistent management of supplier payments.
Income taxes payable (current): Current income taxes payable showed considerable volatility, generally increasing from 839 million USD in 2020 to a peak of 4,235 million USD in 2023, followed by a decline to 1,857 million USD by 2025. This may reflect fluctuations in taxable income or changes in tax payment schedules.
Accrued compensation: Accrued compensation rose from 3,122 million USD in 2020 to 3,984 million USD in 2023, indicating increased liabilities for employee payments, followed by a slight decrease to approximately 3,600 million USD in the last two years. This pattern suggests growth in payroll-related obligations with some recent stabilization.
Deferred revenue (current): Deferred revenue from current liabilities increased steadily from 11,406 million USD in 2020 to 16,416 million USD in 2025, illustrating sustained growth in advance payments from customers or unearned revenue, which may indicate expanding sales or service contracts.
Other current liabilities: This category remained fairly steady in the range of 4,620 million USD to 5,643 million USD, showing moderate fluctuations but no clear trend, suggesting stable other obligations within current liabilities.
Current liabilities (total): Current liabilities showed an overall upward trend, increasing from 25,331 million USD in 2020 to a peak of 40,584 million USD in 2024 before decreasing to 35,064 million USD in 2025. This rise highlights growing short-term obligations, possibly reflecting expanded operational scale or financing activities.
Long-term debt, excluding current portion: Long-term debt declined from 11,578 million USD in 2020 to its lowest point of 6,658 million USD in 2023, then surged to 22,861 million USD by 2025. This significant increase toward the end of the period might indicate new long-term financing taken on for strategic investments or refinancing purposes.
Income taxes payable (long-term): Long-term income taxes payable consistently decreased from 8,837 million USD in 2020 to 2,165 million USD in 2025, reflecting either payments reducing deferred tax liabilities or changes in tax positions over the years.
Deferred revenue (long-term): Deferred revenue classified as long-term liabilities grew moderately from 9,040 million USD in 2020 to 12,363 million USD in 2025, indicating a steady increase in revenue recognized over future periods.
Other long-term liabilities: Other long-term liabilities varied between 1,968 million USD and 2,995 million USD, with a mild upward trend overall, suggesting slightly increasing miscellaneous obligations in the long-term category.
Long-term liabilities (total): Total long-term liabilities decreased from 31,602 million USD in 2020 to 26,190 million USD in 2023, before rising sharply to 40,384 million USD in 2025, primarily driven by increased long-term debt. This pattern highlights a notable financing shift or capital strategy adjustment in recent years.
Total liabilities: Total liabilities showed a fluctuating but generally increasing trend, moving from 56,933 million USD in 2020 to 78,956 million USD in 2024, with a slight decrease to 75,448 million USD in 2025. The overall increase indicates growing obligations impacting the company’s financial structure.
Common stock and additional paid-in capital: Equity attributed to common stock and additional paid-in capital steadily increased from 41,202 million USD in 2020 to 47,747 million USD in 2025, demonstrating gradual strengthening of contributed capital over time.
Retained earnings (accumulated deficit): Retained earnings showed improvement from a negative balance of -2,763 million USD in 2020 to a positive 1,639 million USD in 2023, but then declined again to 50 million USD by 2025. This volatility suggests periods of profitability followed by potential losses or large distributions impacting accumulated earnings.
Accumulated other comprehensive loss: The accumulated other comprehensive loss decreased in absolute terms from -519 million USD in 2020 to -954 million USD in 2025, with fluctuations in between. The reduction in loss magnitude toward the end indicates possible improvements in components such as foreign currency translation or pension liabilities.
Total equity: Total equity increased overall from 37,920 million USD in 2020 to 46,843 million USD in 2025, reflecting general growth in net assets despite some volatility in retained earnings and other comprehensive components.
Total liabilities and equity: The sum of liabilities and equity showed consistent growth from 94,853 million USD in 2020 to 124,413 million USD in 2024, followed by a slight decrease to 122,291 million USD in 2025, indicating an overall expansion in the company's balance sheet size during the observed period.

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Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)

Balance Sheet: Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity