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.
ConocoPhillips, consolidated balance sheet: liabilities and stockholders’ equity (quarterly data)
US$ in millions
Based on: 10-Q (reporting date: 2025-03-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2024-12-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2024-09-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2024-06-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2024-03-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2023-12-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2023-09-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2023-06-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2023-03-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2022-12-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2022-09-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2022-06-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2022-03-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2021-12-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2021-09-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2021-06-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2021-03-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2020-12-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2020-09-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2020-06-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2020-03-31).
- Accounts Payable
- The accounts payable balance shows a generally increasing trend from March 2020 to March 2025. It rose from $2.9 billion in March 2020 to $7.3 billion in March 2025, indicating higher outstanding obligations to suppliers over time, with some fluctuations notably in mid-2023.
- Short-term Debt
- Short-term debt fluctuated substantially, peaking around late 2021 and mid-2023. Initially at $126 million in March 2020, it surged mostly irregularly, reaching $1.3 billion mid-2024 and then dropping to $608 million by March 2025. This volatility may indicate varying liquidity management strategies or short-term financing needs.
- Accrued Income and Other Taxes
- Accrued income and other taxes generally increased over the period, rising from $853 million in March 2020 to nearly $2.9 billion in March 2025, despite a decline in mid-2023. This upward movement suggests increased tax liabilities aligned with business growth or profitability changes impacting tax obligations.
- Employee Benefit Obligations (current and noncurrent)
- Current employee benefit obligations varied, peaking at $1.1 billion by December 2024. Noncurrent obligations showed a gradual decline from $1.56 billion in March 2020 to approximately $1 billion by March 2025, which may reflect ongoing pension or benefit plan adjustments.
- Other Accruals
- Other accruals display volatility with a sharp increase in late 2021, followed by a steady decline into early 2024 and a slight rise thereafter, ending at $1.8 billion in March 2025. The initial spike might have been due to operational contingencies or estimated liabilities, with subsequent normalization.
- Current Liabilities
- Current liabilities increased from $6.1 billion in March 2020 to $13.3 billion by March 2025, with significant growth from 2020 through 2022 and periodic fluctuations thereafter. This growth largely reflects increases in accounts payable, accrued taxes, and other short-term obligations.
- Long-term Debt
- Long-term debt remained relatively stable between $14.8 billion and $18.7 billion from 2020 to early 2022, then increased significantly to $23.2 billion by March 2025. This rise suggests increased financing activity or refinancing of previous debt, possibly for capital expenditures or strategic investments.
- Asset Retirement Obligations and Accrued Environmental Costs
- The liability related to asset retirement and environmental costs showed a gradual upward trend from $5.3 billion in March 2020 to $8.1 billion in March 2025, reflecting increased estimated costs for decommissioning or environmental remediation obligations associated with asset operations.
- Deferred Income Taxes
- Deferred income taxes consistently grew from $4.1 billion in March 2020 to $11.5 billion in March 2025. This increase likely mirrors changes in taxable temporary differences and profits, indicating a higher future tax payment liability.
- Other Liabilities and Deferred Credits
- This category remained relatively stable, fluctuating narrowly between $1.4 billion and $2.0 billion over the period, indicating steady other deferred obligations without major changes.
- Noncurrent Liabilities
- Noncurrent liabilities fluctuated moderately before a pronounced increase after 2023, growing from approximately $27.6 billion in March 2020 to $45.7 billion by March 2025. This growth is driven by increases in long-term debt and other deferred obligations, signaling expanding long-term financing commitments.
- Total Liabilities
- Total liabilities grew significantly from $33.6 billion in March 2020 to $59.0 billion in March 2025. The upward trend is broadly attributable to rising long-term debt, deferred taxes, and current liabilities, reflecting expanding leverage and financial obligations.
- Common Stock and Capital in Excess of Par
- Common stock par value held steady near $21 million through most periods, increasing slightly to $23 million by 2025. Capital in excess of par was stable around $61 billion until a substantial jump to $77.5 billion in 2024−2025, indicating possible issuance of stock or capital contributions during these years.
- Treasury Stock
- Treasury stock progressively increased in cost (more negative), from $47.1 billion in March 2020 to $72.7 billion by March 2025, indicating ongoing share repurchase activity reducing outstanding shares.
- Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss
- Accumulated other comprehensive loss showed fluctuations, generally worsening from a loss of $6.1 billion in March 2020 to around $6.4 billion in March 2025 with intermittent improvements, reflecting changes in unrealized gains/losses on certain assets or liabilities.
- Retained Earnings
- Retained earnings steadily increased from $37.5 billion in March 2020 to $66.7 billion in March 2025, highlighting consistent net income retention and strengthening equity base.
- Total Common Stockholders’ Equity
- Common stockholders’ equity rose from $31.3 billion in March 2020 to $65.2 billion in March 2025. The rise is driven primarily by growth in retained earnings and capital in excess of par, despite increased treasury stock and accumulated other comprehensive loss, indicating enhanced shareholder value and capital accumulation.
- Total Equity
- Total equity mirrored common stockholders’ equity trends, rising from $31.4 billion to $65.2 billion over the period, confirming the strengthened equity position of the company.
- Total Liabilities and Equity
- The overall balance sheet size nearly doubled, increasing from $65 billion in March 2020 to $124 billion by March 2025. This substantial growth is driven by increases in both liabilities and equity, reflecting considerable expansion in the company’s financial structure.