Balance Sheet: Assets
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.
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- Statement of Comprehensive Income
- Common-Size Balance Sheet: Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity
- Analysis of Long-term (Investment) Activity Ratios
- Common Stock Valuation Ratios
- Present Value of Free Cash Flow to Equity (FCFE)
- Selected Financial Data since 2005
- Current Ratio since 2005
- Debt to Equity since 2005
- Analysis of Debt
- Aggregate Accruals
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Costco Wholesale Corp., consolidated balance sheet: assets
US$ in millions
Based on: 10-K (reporting date: 2024-09-01), 10-K (reporting date: 2023-09-03), 10-K (reporting date: 2022-08-28), 10-K (reporting date: 2021-08-29), 10-K (reporting date: 2020-08-30), 10-K (reporting date: 2019-09-01).
The financial data exhibits notable trends in asset composition and magnitude over the six-year period examined.
- Cash and Cash Equivalents
- The balance increased significantly from 8,384 million USD in 2019 to a peak of 13,700 million USD in 2023 before declining to 9,906 million USD in 2024. This fluctuation suggests changes in liquidity management, with a notable increase potentially linked to operational cash flows or financing activities, followed by a decline that may indicate higher cash utilization in 2024.
- Short-term Investments
- This category showed a slight overall decline from 1,060 million USD in 2019 to 917 million USD in 2021, followed by a recovery to 1,534 million USD in 2023, and a modest decrease to 1,238 million USD in 2024. The fluctuations imply an active adjustment in investment strategy or temporary shifts in cash positioning.
- Receivables, Net
- Receivables exhibited steady growth, rising from 1,535 million USD in 2019 to 2,721 million USD in 2024. This consistent upward trend reflects expanding credit sales or an extension of payment terms to customers, which could have implications for working capital requirements and cash conversion cycles.
- Merchandise Inventories
- Inventories grew from 11,395 million USD in 2019 to a peak in 2022 of 17,907 million USD, with a slight dip to 16,651 million USD in 2023, followed by an increase to 18,647 million USD in 2024. This pattern indicates incremental scaling in stock levels, possibly supporting sales growth or responding to market demand fluctuations and supply chain considerations.
- Other Current Assets
- Other current assets showed a gradual increase over the years from 1,111 million USD to 1,734 million USD. This trend suggests an accumulation of miscellaneous current assets, which may include prepaid expenses or other short-term assets, reflecting operational or strategic planning.
- Total Current Assets
- Overall current assets rose from 23,485 million USD in 2019 to 35,879 million USD in 2023, followed by a slight decrease to 34,246 million USD in 2024. This growth is largely driven by increases in receivables and inventory, with cash fluctuating as previously outlined.
- Property and Equipment, Net
- The net value of property and equipment increased steadily from 20,890 million USD in 2019 to 29,032 million USD in 2024. This consistent growth indicates ongoing capital investment in fixed assets, supporting capacity expansion or asset replacement.
- Finance Lease Assets and Related Right-of-Use Assets
- Finance lease assets showed a sharp increase between 2019 and 2022, rising from 351 million USD to 1,620 million USD, then slightly declining to 1,433 million USD in 2024. Meanwhile, operating lease right-of-use assets, reported from 2020 onward, declined gradually from 2,788 million USD to 2,617 million USD by 2024. This suggests evolving leasing arrangements, with a shift from operating to finance leases or vice versa, impacting balance sheet presentation and financing obligations.
- Other Long-term Assets
- This line item increased markedly from 674 million USD in 2019 to 2,503 million USD in 2024, indicating accumulation of long-term resources possibly including investments, deferred charges, or intangible assets.
- Total Long-term Assets
- Long-term assets increased progressively from 21,915 million USD in 2019 to 35,585 million USD in 2024, driven by investments in property and equipment, finance leases, and other long-term assets. This reflects consistent growth in the asset base underpinning long-term operations and investments.
- Total Assets
- Total assets advanced significantly from 45,400 million USD in 2019 to 69,831 million USD in 2024, demonstrating substantial overall growth. The increase stems from expansions in both current and long-term assets, highlighting sustained business development and capital expenditure over the period.
In summary, the data reflect a company undergoing steady expansion of its asset base, characterized by rising inventories, receivables, and property investments, alongside dynamic cash and investment management. Lease accounting adjustments appear to influence asset composition moderately. The upward trajectory in total assets suggests ongoing growth and capacity enhancement efforts throughout the period.