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.

General Mills Inc., consolidated balance sheet: liabilities and stockholders’ equity

US$ in thousands

	May 26, 2019	May 27, 2018	May 28, 2017	May 29, 2016	May 31, 2015	May 25, 2014
Accounts payable	2,854,100)	2,746,200)	2,119,800)	2,046,500)	1,684,000)	1,611,300)
Current portion of long-term debt	1,396,500)	1,600,100)	604,700)	1,103,400)	1,000,400)	1,250,600)
Notes payable	1,468,700)	1,549,800)	1,234,100)	269,800)	615,800)	1,111,700)
Accrued trade and consumer promotions	484,400)	499,600)	482,600)	563,700)	564,700)	578,200)
Accrued payroll	345,500)	347,000)	326,600)	386,400)	361,800)	390,100)
Dividends payable	19,200)	17,500)	21,500)	23,800)	27,900)	33,500)
Accrued taxes	37,500)	94,800)	58,000)	110,500)	20,700)	63,100)
Accrued interest, including interest rate swaps	92,600)	107,700)	83,800)	90,400)	91,800)	92,500)
Grain contracts	2,300)	1,200)	5,600)	5,500)	7,800)	4,800)
Restructuring and other exit costs reserve	36,500)	66,800)	85,000)	76,600)	120,800)	3,500)
Derivative payable	13,200)	8,300)	18,100)	35,600)	122,900)	23,100)
Miscellaneous	336,600)	302,900)	291,000)	302,500)	271,500)	261,100)
Other current liabilities	1,367,800)	1,445,800)	1,372,200)	1,595,000)	1,589,900)	1,449,900)
Current liabilities	7,087,100)	7,341,900)	5,330,800)	5,014,700)	4,890,100)	5,423,500)
Long-term debt, excluding current portion	11,624,800)	12,668,700)	7,642,900)	7,057,700)	7,607,700)	6,423,500)
Deferred income taxes	2,031,000)	2,003,800)	1,719,400)	1,399,600)	1,550,300)	1,666,000)
Accrued compensation and benefits, including obligations for underfunded other postretirement benefit and postemployment benefit plans	1,153,300)	999,400)	1,249,700)	1,755,000)	1,451,400)	1,341,900)
Accrued taxes	227,100)	265,300)	162,300)	204,000)	202,500)	195,600)
Miscellaneous	68,500)	76,300)	111,100)	128,600)	90,900)	105,700)
Other liabilities	1,448,900)	1,341,000)	1,523,100)	2,087,600)	1,744,800)	1,643,200)
Noncurrent liabilities	15,104,700)	16,013,500)	10,885,400)	10,544,900)	10,902,800)	9,732,700)
Total liabilities	22,191,800)	23,355,400)	16,216,200)	15,559,600)	15,792,900)	15,156,200)
Redeemable interest	551,700)	776,200)	910,900)	845,600)	778,900)	984,100)
Common stock, $0.10 par value	75,500)	75,500)	75,500)	75,500)	75,500)	75,500)
Additional paid-in capital	1,386,700)	1,202,500)	1,120,900)	1,177,000)	1,296,700)	1,231,800)
Retained earnings	14,996,700)	14,459,600)	13,138,900)	12,616,500)	11,990,800)	11,787,200)
Common stock in treasury, at cost	(6,779,000)	(7,167,500)	(7,762,900)	(6,326,600)	(6,055,600)	(5,219,400)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	(2,625,400)	(2,429,000)	(2,244,500)	(2,612,200)	(2,310,700)	(1,340,300)
Stockholders’ equity	7,054,500)	6,141,100)	4,327,900)	4,930,200)	4,996,700)	6,534,800)
Noncontrolling interests	313,200)	351,300)	357,600)	376,900)	396,000)	470,600)
Total equity	7,367,700)	6,492,400)	4,685,500)	5,307,100)	5,392,700)	7,005,400)
Total liabilities and equity	30,111,200)	30,624,000)	21,812,600)	21,712,300)	21,964,500)	23,145,700)

Based on: 10-K (reporting date: 2019-05-26), 10-K (reporting date: 2018-05-27), 10-K (reporting date: 2017-05-28), 10-K (reporting date: 2016-05-29), 10-K (reporting date: 2015-05-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2014-05-25).

Current Liabilities: Current liabilities exhibit a generally fluctuating trend over the period, starting at US$5,423,500 thousand in 2014, dipping to a low of US$4,890,100 thousand in 2015, and then rising to a peak of US$7,341,900 thousand in 2018 before a slight decline to US$7,087,100 thousand in 2019. Notably, accounts payable steadily increased from US$1,611,300 thousand in 2014 to US$2,854,100 thousand in 2019, indicating growing short-term obligations. The current portion of long-term debt showed volatility, with a significant decline in 2017 to US$604,700 thousand followed by a rise in subsequent years.
Long-Term Debt and Noncurrent Liabilities: Long-term debt (excluding the current portion) initially increased from US$6,423,500 thousand in 2014 to US$7,607,700 thousand in 2015, experienced a decline in 2016, but then surged significantly to US$12,668,700 thousand in 2018 before retreating slightly to US$11,624,800 thousand in 2019. Total noncurrent liabilities show a parallel pattern, growing from US$9,732,700 thousand in 2014 to a peak of US$16,013,500 thousand in 2018, followed by a reduction to US$15,104,700 thousand in 2019. This suggests increased long-term leverage in the later years, especially in 2018.
Deferred Income Taxes and Other Liabilities: Deferred income taxes rose steadily from US$1,666,000 thousand in 2014 to over US$2,031,000 thousand in 2019, reflecting potential timing differences between accounting and tax treatments. Other liabilities fluctuated, peaking in 2016 at US$2,087,600 thousand, then declining to US$1,441,900 thousand by 2019, indicating changes in miscellaneous obligations or reserves.
Accrued Expenses: Accrued trade and consumer promotions and accrued payroll trended downwards overall, indicating potential efficiency gains or changes in operational structure. Accrued trade and consumer promotions decreased from US$578,200 thousand in 2014 to US$484,400 thousand in 2019, while accrued payroll showed modest fluctuations, ending slightly lower than the initial figure.
Total Liabilities: Total liabilities remained relatively stable at around US$15 billion in 2014-2016, then increased sharply to US$23.4 billion in 2018 before settling slightly lower at US$22.2 billion in 2019. The sharp rise in 2018 corresponds mainly to increased long-term debt, reflecting either new borrowings or reclassifications.
Equity and Stockholders' Components: Common stock par value remained constant throughout the period. Additional paid-in capital fluctuated, with a decline from 2015 to 2017 followed by recovery to US$1,386,700 thousand in 2019. Retained earnings showed consistent growth, rising from US$11,787,200 thousand in 2014 to US$14,996,700 thousand in 2019, indicating accumulation of earnings. Treasury stock holdings increased in magnitude (more negative), peaking at nearly US$7.8 billion in 2017, then improving slightly by 2019. Accumulated other comprehensive loss widened over time, reaching a high of approximately US$2.6 billion negative in 2019, potentially signaling increased unrealized losses or negative adjustments.
Total Equity: Total equity declined from US$7,005,400 thousand in 2014 to US$4,685,500 thousand in 2017, reflecting pressures from increased treasury stock and comprehensive losses. However, there was a marked recovery afterward, with equity increasing to US$7,367,700 thousand in 2019, likely supported by strong retained earnings growth and improvements in capital components.
Total Liabilities and Equity: The aggregate of total liabilities and equity decreased from US$23.1 billion in 2014 to approximately US$21.7 billion in 2016, then remained stable through 2017, followed by a significant jump to US$30.6 billion in 2018 and a slight decrease to US$30.1 billion in 2019. This pattern highlights substantial balance sheet expansion around 2018, driven primarily by increases in liabilities rather than equity.
Other Observations: Various miscellaneous current liabilities and other current and noncurrent liabilities show a generally stable or slightly increasing pattern, supporting the notion of steady operational obligations. Dividends payable steadily declined over the period, which may reflect changing dividend policies or timing differences. Redeemable interest steadily decreased from over US$984 million in 2014 to US$551 million in 2019.

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General Mills Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Balance Sheet: Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity