Balance Sheet: Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity
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.
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.
Carnival Corp. & plc, consolidated balance sheet: liabilities and stockholders’ equity (quarterly data)
US$ in millions
Based on: 10-Q (reporting date: 2024-02-29), 10-K (reporting date: 2023-11-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2023-08-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2023-05-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2023-02-28), 10-K (reporting date: 2022-11-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2022-08-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2022-05-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2022-02-28), 10-K (reporting date: 2021-11-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2021-08-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2021-05-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2021-02-28), 10-K (reporting date: 2020-11-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2020-08-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2020-05-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2020-02-29), 10-K (reporting date: 2019-11-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2019-08-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2019-05-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2019-02-28), 10-K (reporting date: 2018-11-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2018-08-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2018-05-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2018-02-28).
The financial position of the organization underwent a fundamental transformation between February 2018 and February 2024, characterized by a substantial increase in leverage and a significant erosion of shareholders' equity. The balance sheet shifted from a stable, equity-heavy structure to one heavily reliant on long-term debt to sustain operations through a period of extreme volatility.
- Long-Term Debt and Liability Expansion
- Long-term debt, excluding the current portion, exhibited a massive escalation starting in early 2020. From a baseline of approximately 7.4 billion USD in February 2018, this figure rose to 26.5 billion USD by February 2021 and peaked at 32.6 billion USD in February 2023. While there has been a slight moderation to 28.5 billion USD by February 2024, the overall debt load remains more than triple the pre-pandemic levels.
- Total liabilities followed a similar trajectory, increasing from 17.1 billion USD in February 2018 to a peak of 45.8 billion USD in February 2023, before settling at 43.1 billion USD in February 2024.
- Current Liability Dynamics and Customer Deposits
- Current liabilities showed significant fluctuations, particularly regarding customer deposits, which serve as a proxy for forward-looking demand. Deposits dropped from a peak of 5.8 billion USD in May 2019 to a low of 1.8 billion USD in February 2021. A strong recovery trend is evident thereafter, with deposits climbing to 6.6 billion USD by February 2024, indicating a return of consumer confidence and booking activity.
- Short-term borrowings experienced a sharp spike in May 2020, reaching 3.6 billion USD from previous levels under 1 billion USD, though these were substantially reduced to 200 million USD by November 2022, suggesting a strategic shift to move short-term obligations into longer-term instruments.
- Equity Erosion and Retained Earnings
- Shareholders' equity experienced a severe and sustained decline. Total equity fell from approximately 24.4 billion USD in February 2018 to 6.7 billion USD in February 2024. This decline is primarily attributed to the collapse of retained earnings.
- Retained earnings transitioned from a positive balance of 23.4 billion USD in February 2018 to an accumulated deficit, reaching a low of -841 million USD in May 2023. Despite intermittent recoveries, the balance remained negative at -29 million USD as of February 2024, reflecting the cumulative impact of significant operational losses.
- Overall Solvency and Leverage Trend
- The debt-to-equity profile shifted drastically over the analyzed period. In February 2018, total liabilities represented approximately 70% of the total capital structure. By February 2024, total liabilities accounted for approximately 86% of the total liabilities and shareholders' equity, signifying a heightened risk profile and a significantly higher reliance on external financing.
AI Ask an analyst for more
Hi, I’m an AI-powered financial analyst at Stock Analysis on Net.
Without a user account, I tend to respond rather slowly.
How can I help you?