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.

HCA Healthcare Inc., consolidated balance sheet: liabilities and stockholders’ equity

US$ in millions

	Dec 31, 2021	Dec 31, 2020	Dec 31, 2019	Dec 31, 2018	Dec 31, 2017
Accounts payable	4,111)	3,535)	2,905)	2,577)	2,606)
Accrued salaries	1,912)	1,720)	1,775)	1,580)	1,369)
Professional liability risks	508)	477)	457)	466)	429)
Defined contribution benefit plans	549)	547)	528)	459)	67)
Right-of-use current operating lease obligations	392)	379)	350)	—)	—)
Taxes other than income	361)	343)	325)	308)	299)
Interest	353)	315)	368)	429)	406)
Government stimulus refund liability	79)	83)	—)	—)	—)
Other	1,080)	1,096)	904)	962)	782)
Other accrued expenses	3,322)	3,240)	2,932)	2,624)	1,983)
Long-term debt due within one year	237)	209)	145)	788)	200)
Current liabilities	9,582)	8,704)	7,757)	7,569)	6,158)
Long-term debt due after one year, less debt issuance costs and discounts	34,342)	30,795)	33,577)	32,033)	32,858)
Professional liability risks	1,514)	1,486)	1,370)	1,275)	1,198)
Right-of-use noncurrent operating lease obligations	1,755)	1,673)	1,499)	—)	—)
Income taxes and other liabilities	2,060)	1,940)	1,420)	1,248)	1,374)
Noncurrent liabilities	39,671)	35,894)	37,866)	34,556)	35,430)
Total liabilities	49,253)	44,598)	45,623)	42,125)	41,588)
Common stock $0.01 par	3)	3)	3)	3)	4)
Capital in excess of par value	—)	294)	—)	—)	—)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	(404)	(502)	(460)	(381)	(278)
Retained earnings (deficit)	(532)	777)	(2,351)	(4,572)	(6,532)
Stockholders’ equity (deficit) attributable to HCA Healthcare, Inc.	(933)	572)	(2,808)	(4,950)	(6,806)
Noncontrolling interests	2,422)	2,320)	2,243)	2,032)	1,811)
Total stockholders’ equity (deficit)	1,489)	2,892)	(565)	(2,918)	(4,995)
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity (deficit)	50,742)	47,490)	45,058)	39,207)	36,593)

Based on: 10-K (reporting date: 2021-12-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2020-12-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2019-12-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2018-12-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2017-12-31).

The data presents notable trends in the company's financial position over the five-year period. A progressive increase in liabilities is seen, with total liabilities growing from $41.6 billion in 2017 to $49.3 billion in 2021, indicating an overall rise in financial obligations.

Current Liabilities: Current liabilities have steadily increased from $6.2 billion in 2017 to $9.6 billion in 2021. Among these, accounts payable rose from $2.6 billion to $4.1 billion, and other accrued expenses increased from $2 billion to $3.3 billion, reflecting growing short-term obligations. Accrued salaries also showed an upward trend, indicating higher payroll expenses or accruals.
Noncurrent Liabilities: Noncurrent liabilities fluctuated between $35.4 billion in 2017 and $39.7 billion in 2021. Long-term debt due after one year showed variability, decreasing from $32.9 billion in 2017 to $30.8 billion in 2020 before rising significantly to $34.3 billion in 2021. The appearance of right-of-use lease obligations from 2019 onwards, both current and noncurrent, indicates adoption or increased recognition of lease liabilities related to operating leases.
Equity: Stockholders’ equity has experienced considerable fluctuations, moving from a deficit of $6.8 billion in 2017 to a surplus of $0.6 billion in 2020, then declining into a deficit again at $0.9 billion in 2021. Retained earnings followed a similar path, improving from a negative $6.5 billion in 2017 to a positive $0.8 billion in 2020 before reverting back to negative. The accumulated other comprehensive loss increased in magnitude until 2020 but lessened somewhat in 2021.
Other Observations: Government stimulus refund liabilities appeared in 2020 and 2021, presumably related to aid during that period, but decreased slightly from $83 million to $79 million. Interest expenses declined from 2017 to 2020 but saw a slight increase in 2021, which could be related to changes in debt levels or interest rates. The increase in income taxes and other liabilities from 2019 to 2021 may indicate higher tax provisions or accrued liabilities over the recent periods.

Overall, the data reflects an expanding liability base with rising current and noncurrent obligations, coupled with fluctuating equity positions. The changes in lease liabilities denote a shift in accounting or leasing practices. The temporary improvement in equity in 2020 before regression in 2021 suggests volatility in profitability or retained earnings, which may warrant further investigation.

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HCA Healthcare Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Balance Sheet: Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity