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.

Costco Wholesale Corp., consolidated balance sheet: liabilities and stockholders’ equity

US$ in millions

	Sep 1, 2024	Sep 3, 2023	Aug 28, 2022	Aug 29, 2021	Aug 30, 2020	Sep 1, 2019
Accounts payable	19,421)	17,483)	17,848)	16,278)	14,172)	11,679)
Accrued salaries and benefits	4,794)	4,278)	4,381)	4,090)	3,605)	3,176)
Accrued member rewards	2,435)	2,150)	1,911)	1,671)	1,393)	1,180)
Deferred membership fees	2,501)	2,337)	2,174)	2,042)	1,851)	1,711)
Current portion of long-term debt	103)	1,081)	73)	799)	95)	1,699)
Current finance lease liabilities	147)	129)	245)	72)	31)	26)
Other current liabilities	6,063)	6,125)	5,366)	4,489)	3,697)	3,766)
Current liabilities	35,464)	33,583)	31,998)	29,441)	24,844)	23,237)
Long-term debt, excluding current portion	5,794)	5,377)	6,484)	6,692)	7,514)	5,124)
Long-term operating lease liabilities	2,375)	2,426)	2,482)	2,642)	2,558)	—)
Long-term finance lease liabilities	1,351)	1,303)	1,383)	980)	657)	395)
Other long-term liabilities	1,225)	1,247)	1,172)	1,435)	1,278)	1,060)
Long-term liabilities	10,745)	10,353)	11,521)	11,749)	12,007)	6,579)
Total liabilities	46,209)	43,936)	43,519)	41,190)	36,851)	29,816)
Preferred stock $.005 par value; no shares issued and outstanding	—)	—)	—)	—)	—)	—)
Common stock $.005 par value	2)	2)	2)	4)	4)	4)
Additional paid-in capital	7,829)	7,340)	6,884)	7,031)	6,698)	6,417)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	(1,828)	(1,805)	(1,829)	(1,137)	(1,297)	(1,436)
Retained earnings	17,619)	19,521)	15,585)	11,666)	12,879)	10,258)
Total Costco stockholders’ equity	23,622)	25,058)	20,642)	17,564)	18,284)	15,243)
Noncontrolling interests	—)	—)	5)	514)	421)	341)
Total equity	23,622)	25,058)	20,647)	18,078)	18,705)	15,584)
Total liabilities and equity	69,831)	68,994)	64,166)	59,268)	55,556)	45,400)

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 analysis of the financial metrics over the observed periods reveals several notable trends related to the company’s liabilities and equity structure.

Current Liabilities: Current liabilities exhibit a consistent upward trajectory, increasing from $23,237 million in 2019 to $35,464 million in 2024. This rise is driven primarily by increases in accounts payable, accrued salaries and benefits, accrued member rewards, deferred membership fees, and other current liabilities. Accounts payable rose notably from $11,679 million to $19,421 million, indicating increased current obligations to suppliers or vendors. Similarly, accrued salaries and benefits increased steadily, reflecting growing employee-related expenses. The growth in accrued member rewards and deferred membership fees suggests higher customer engagement and deferred revenue obligations. The current portion of long-term debt and current finance lease liabilities show fluctuations, but their amounts remain relatively minor components of total current liabilities.
Long-Term Liabilities: Long-term liabilities experienced fluctuations, peaking at $12,007 million in 2020, declining thereafter to $10,745 million in 2024. Long-term debt, excluding the current portion, decreased from $5,124 million in 2019 to $5,794 million in 2024, with a noticeable dip in the intermediate years. Long-term operating lease liabilities slightly decreased since 2020, indicating possible renegotiation or reduction of leasing contracts. Long-term finance lease liabilities grew significantly from $395 million in 2019 to $1,351 million in 2024, suggesting increased financing through lease obligations. Other long-term liabilities remained relatively stable during the period.
Total Liabilities: Total liabilities rose steadily over the period, from $29,816 million in 2019 to $46,209 million in 2024, reflecting the combined growth in both current and long-term obligations. The increase highlights an expanding liability base, correlating with operational growth or increased financing needs.
Equity Components: Total equity showed a consistent increase from $15,584 million in 2019 to a peak of $25,058 million in 2023, before a slight decline to $23,622 million in 2024. Additional paid-in capital increased steadily, indicating ongoing capital contributions or retained earnings reinvested. Retained earnings exhibited notable growth through 2023, rising significantly from $10,258 million to $19,521 million, which signals profitable operations and income retention. However, a decrease occurred in 2024 to $17,619 million, suggesting either distributions, losses, or adjustments. Accumulated other comprehensive loss remained negative throughout, with fluctuations but no significant trend towards improvement. Noncontrolling interests declined sharply to nearly zero by 2022 and were not reported thereafter, suggesting a change in the ownership structure or consolidation.
Overall Financial Position: Total liabilities and equity increased consistently, from $45,400 million in 2019 to $69,831 million in 2024, indicating overall growth in the company’s balance sheet size. The increase in liabilities suggests growing operational scale and financing requirements while the substantial growth in equity points to profitability and reinvestment. The slight dip in equity in the final year warrants monitoring but does not offset the general positive growth trend.

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Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ:COST)

Balance Sheet: Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity