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.

Schlumberger Ltd., consolidated balance sheet: liabilities and stockholders’ equity

US$ in millions

	Dec 31, 2024	Dec 31, 2023	Dec 31, 2022	Dec 31, 2021	Dec 31, 2020
Trade accounts payable	4,230)	4,613)	3,921)	3,205)	2,937)
Payroll, vacation and employee benefits	1,475)	1,625)	1,493)	1,377)	1,524)
Billings and cash collections in excess of revenue	2,007)	1,996)	1,157)	1,088)	941)
Other	2,663)	2,670)	2,550)	2,712)	3,040)
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities	10,375)	10,904)	9,121)	8,382)	8,442)
Estimated liability for taxes on income	982)	994)	1,002)	879)	1,015)
Short-term borrowings and current portion of long-term debt	1,051)	1,123)	1,632)	909)	850)
Dividends payable	403)	374)	263)	189)	184)
Current liabilities	12,811)	13,395)	12,018)	10,359)	10,491)
Long-term debt, excluding current portion	11,023)	10,842)	10,594)	13,286)	16,036)
Postretirement benefits	512)	175)	165)	231)	1,049)
Deferred taxes	67)	140)	61)	94)	19)
Other liabilities	2,172)	2,046)	2,308)	2,255)	2,350)
Non-current liabilities	13,774)	13,203)	13,128)	15,866)	19,454)
Total liabilities	26,585)	26,598)	25,146)	26,225)	29,945)
Common stock	11,458)	11,624)	11,837)	12,608)	12,970)
Treasury stock	(1,773)	(678)	(1,016)	(2,233)	(3,033)
Retained earnings	16,395)	13,497)	10,719)	8,199)	7,018)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	(4,950)	(4,254)	(3,855)	(3,570)	(4,884)
Total SLB stockholders’ equity	21,130)	20,189)	17,685)	15,004)	12,071)
Noncontrolling interests	1,220)	1,170)	304)	282)	418)
Total equity	22,350)	21,359)	17,989)	15,286)	12,489)
Total liabilities and equity	48,935)	47,957)	43,135)	41,511)	42,434)

Based on: 10-K (reporting date: 2024-12-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2023-12-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2022-12-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2021-12-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2020-12-31).

The financial data over the five-year period shows multiple notable trends in liabilities, equity, and related individual components.

Current Liabilities: Current liabilities increased steadily from US$10,491 million in 2020 to US$12,811 million in 2024, peaking at US$13,395 million in 2023. This rise was primarily driven by growth in trade accounts payable and billings and cash collections in excess of revenue. For instance, trade accounts payable rose from US$2,937 million to a high of US$4,613 million in 2023 before slightly declining to US$4,230 million in 2024. Similarly, billings and cash collections in excess of revenue nearly doubled from US$941 million in 2020 to approximately US$2,007 million in 2024.
Long-term and Non-current Liabilities: Long-term debt, excluding the current portion, decreased significantly from US$16,036 million in 2020 to US$10,594 million in 2022, before rising moderately to US$11,023 million in 2024. Other non-current liabilities showed a declining trend overall, falling from US$23,504 million (sum of postretirement benefits, deferred taxes, and other liabilities) in 2020 to approximately US$21,458 million in 2024. However, postretirement benefits increased noticeably in 2024, nearly tripling from US$175 million in 2023 to US$512 million. Total non-current liabilities fell from US$19,454 million in 2020 to US$13,128 million in 2022, then remained relatively stable around US$13,774 million by 2024.
Total Liabilities: Total liabilities declined substantially from US$29,945 million in 2020 to a low of US$25,146 million in 2022 but increased again to US$26,598 million in 2023 and remained virtually flat at US$26,585 million in 2024. The initial drop was largely driven by paydowns in long-term debt and decreases in non-current liabilities.
Stockholders’ Equity: Stockholders’ equity showed a steady upward trajectory, growing from US$12,071 million in 2020 to US$21,130 million in 2024. This increase was supported by significant growth in retained earnings, which more than doubled from US$7,018 million to US$16,395 million. Common stock declined modestly over the period, indicating possible repurchases or cancellations. Treasury stock values also fluctuated, decreasing from a negative US$3,033 million in 2020 to negative US$678 million in 2023 and then rising back negatively to US$1,773 million in 2024, suggesting active management of treasury shares.
Comprehensive Income: Accumulated other comprehensive loss expanded from negative US$4,884 million in 2020 to a deeper negative US$4,950 million in 2024, reflecting ongoing adverse movements in items included in comprehensive loss. The noncontrolling interests increased substantially in 2023 and 2024, surging from US$1170 million to US$1,220 million, contributing to total equity growth from US$12,489 million in 2020 to US$22,350 million in 2024.
Total Liabilities and Equity: The combined total liabilities and equity rose steadily from US$42,434 million in 2020 to US$48,935 million in 2024. This growth reflects the stronger increase in equity relative to liabilities, indicating an overall strengthening in the company’s financial position.

In summary, the entity demonstrated a trend of decreasing long-term debt and non-current liabilities until 2022, followed by stabilization. Current liabilities rose moderately, driven by accounts payable and cash collections exceeding revenue. Equity growth was robust, driven by increasing retained earnings and expanded noncontrolling interests, indicating profitable operations and effective equity management. However, the persistent comprehensive loss points to underlying challenges that may relate to market or currency risks affecting accumulated other comprehensive income components.

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Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE:SLB)

Balance Sheet: Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity