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 27, 2024	Jul 29, 2023	Jul 30, 2022	Jul 31, 2021	Jul 25, 2020	Jul 27, 2019
Short-term debt	11,341)	1,733)	1,099)	2,508)	3,005)	10,191)
Accounts payable	2,304)	2,313)	2,281)	2,362)	2,218)	2,059)
Income taxes payable	1,439)	4,235)	961)	801)	839)	1,149)
Accrued compensation	3,608)	3,984)	3,316)	3,818)	3,122)	3,221)
Deferred revenue	16,249)	13,908)	12,784)	12,148)	11,406)	10,668)
Other current liabilities	5,643)	5,136)	5,199)	4,620)	4,741)	4,424)
Current liabilities	40,584)	31,309)	25,640)	26,257)	25,331)	31,712)
Long-term debt, excluding current portion	19,621)	6,658)	8,416)	9,018)	11,578)	14,475)
Income taxes payable	3,985)	5,756)	7,725)	8,538)	8,837)	8,927)
Deferred revenue	12,226)	11,642)	10,480)	10,016)	9,040)	7,799)
Other long-term liabilities	2,540)	2,134)	1,968)	2,393)	2,147)	1,309)
Long-term liabilities	38,372)	26,190)	28,589)	29,965)	31,602)	32,510)
Total liabilities	78,956)	57,499)	54,229)	56,222)	56,933)	64,222)
Preferred stock, $0.001 par value; none issued and outstanding	—)	—)	—)	—)	—)	—)
Common stock and additional paid-in capital, $0.001 par value	45,800)	44,289)	42,714)	42,346)	41,202)	40,266)
Retained earnings (accumulated deficit)	1,087)	1,639)	(1,319)	(654)	(2,763)	(5,903)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	(1,430)	(1,575)	(1,622)	(417)	(519)	(792)
Equity	45,457)	44,353)	39,773)	41,275)	37,920)	33,571)
Total liabilities and equity	124,413)	101,852)	94,002)	97,497)	94,853)	97,793)

Based on: 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), 10-K (reporting date: 2019-07-27).

The financial data reveals several notable trends across the periods under review. The total liabilities exhibit a general decline from 2019 to 2022, moving from $64,222 million to $54,229 million, followed by an increase in 2023 and a significant jump to $78,956 million in 2024. This volatility suggests fluctuation in the company's liability management and financing structure.

Short-term debt: Short-term debt decreased substantially from $10,191 million in 2019 to a low of $1,099 million in 2022, then rose to $11,341 million in 2024, marking the highest level in the examined period. This increase may indicate a shift towards short-term financing or liquidity challenges in the most recent year.
Accounts payable: Accounts payable remained relatively stable, gently increasing from $2,059 million in 2019 to around $2,300 million in 2024, reflecting consistent operational payables management.
Income taxes payable: Income taxes payable (current) showed fluctuations, dropping from $1,149 million in 2019 to $4235 million in 2023, then decreasing to $1,439 million in 2024, possibly reflecting tax timing differences or changes in taxable income. The long-term portion of income taxes payable steadily declined from $8,927 million in 2019 to $3,985 million in 2024, which may indicate settling of deferred tax obligations.
Accrued compensation: Accrued compensation values fluctuated moderately, with a low of $3,122 million in 2020 and a peak of $3,984 million in 2023, suggesting variations in bonuses, salaries, or benefits payable.
Deferred revenue: Both current and long-term deferred revenue steadily increased throughout the periods, rising from $10,668 million and $7,799 million respectively in 2019 to $16,249 million and $12,226 million in 2024. This upward trend indicates growing prepayments from customers or advance billing, reflecting ongoing revenue recognition deferral.
Other liabilities: Other current liabilities increased moderately from $4,424 million in 2019 to $5,643 million in 2024, while other long-term liabilities rose from $1,309 million to $2,540 million over the same period, indicating increased miscellaneous obligations.
Long-term debt, excluding current portion: Long-term debt decreased steadily from $14,475 million in 2019 to $6,658 million in 2023 but spiked sharply to $19,621 million in 2024, mirroring the short-term debt trend and contributing significantly to the total liabilities increase in 2024.
Equity: Common stock and additional paid-in capital steadily increased from $40,266 million in 2019 to $45,800 million in 2024, indicating ongoing equity financing or capital contributions. Retained earnings improved from a negative balance of -$5,903 million in 2019 to a positive $1,087 million in 2024, demonstrating a recovery in accumulated profitability. The accumulated other comprehensive loss, however, decreased in magnitude (became less negative) over the period, moving from -$792 million to -$1,430 million, showing fluctuations in comprehensive income components such as foreign currency translation adjustments or pension liabilities.
Total liabilities and equity: The total of liabilities and equity exhibited fluctuations, declining from $97,793 million in 2019 to $94,002 million in 2022, then rising to $124,413 million in 2024, reflecting the larger increases in liabilities and equity during the latter years.

In summary, the data illustrates an overall increase in deferred revenues and equity accounts over the period, with significant variability in both short-term and long-term debt, especially a marked increase in the latest year. The company's liabilities generally decreased until 2022 but surged notably in 2024 due to increases in both short-term and long-term debt. Retained earnings showed a positive turnaround, while accumulated comprehensive losses fluctuated within a moderate range. These patterns suggest dynamic changes in the company's capital structure, financing strategies, and operational cash flow timing across these years.

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Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)

Balance Sheet: Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity