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.
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., consolidated balance sheet: liabilities and stockholders’ equity (quarterly data)
US$ in millions
Based on: 10-Q (reporting date: 2025-09-27), 10-Q (reporting date: 2025-06-28), 10-Q (reporting date: 2025-03-29), 10-K (reporting date: 2024-12-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2024-09-28), 10-Q (reporting date: 2024-06-29), 10-Q (reporting date: 2024-03-30), 10-K (reporting date: 2023-12-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2023-09-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2023-07-01), 10-Q (reporting date: 2023-04-01), 10-K (reporting date: 2022-12-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2022-10-01), 10-Q (reporting date: 2022-07-02), 10-Q (reporting date: 2022-04-02), 10-K (reporting date: 2021-12-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2021-10-02), 10-Q (reporting date: 2021-07-03), 10-Q (reporting date: 2021-04-03), 10-K (reporting date: 2020-12-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2020-09-26), 10-Q (reporting date: 2020-06-27), 10-Q (reporting date: 2020-03-28).
The analysis of the financial data over the presented periods reveals several notable trends across liabilities and equity components.
- Short-term Obligations and Current Maturities of Long-term Obligations
- This category exhibits considerable fluctuation, with a peak occurring around the beginning of 2023, followed by a decline toward the middle of 2025. Periods in 2020 showed lower values, with a sharp increase observed in late 2020 and early 2023. This suggests periodic refinancing or repayments impacting short-term debt levels.
- Accounts Payable
- Accounts payable values display moderate variation, generally maintaining a level between 1,300 and 3,100 million USD. Peaks tend to appear intermittently, without a clear upward or downward trend, indicating relatively stable supplier credit conditions across time.
- Accrued Payroll and Employee Benefits
- Accrued payroll and benefits show an overall ascending trend from early 2020 through late 2024, punctuated by some declines in mid-2023 and early 2025. This upward movement may correlate with workforce expansion or increased compensation obligations.
- Contract Liabilities
- Contract liabilities increased notably in late 2021 and remained elevated through 2025, fluctuating around 2,600 to 2,850 million USD. This suggests growth or higher advance payments and deferred revenue balances relative to earlier years.
- Other Accrued Expenses
- Other accrued expenses generally trended upwards, with significant increases observed at the end of 2021 and sustained elevation through 2025, indicating growing operational accruals or increased expenses awaiting settlement.
- Current Liabilities
- Current liabilities displayed considerable volatility, surging to a peak around year-end 2021 (approximately 17,000 million USD), with overall elevated values thereafter, although a slight decreasing trend emerges toward mid-2025. This reflects shifting operational and financing short-term obligations.
- Deferred Income Taxes
- Deferred income taxes reveal a declining trend from early 2020 through mid-2025, reducing from over 2,100 million USD to under 900 million USD. This points to tax position optimization or changes in temporary differences impacting deferred tax balances.
- Other Long-term Liabilities
- Other long-term liabilities remain relatively stable with modest fluctuations, hovering between 3,200 and 4,600 million USD across the periods, without significant trend indications.
- Long-term Obligations Excluding Current Maturities
- This liability category increased substantially beginning in mid-2021, peaking at over 33,000 million USD towards mid-2025, indicating augmented long-term borrowings or debt issuance.
- Total Liabilities
- Total liabilities experienced a strong increase from approximately 30,100 million USD in early 2020 to over 54,000 million USD by the end of 2021. Following this, a slight decline and subsequent fluctuations around 50,000 to 51,000 million USD occur, indicating a period of expanded leverage with some stabilization in recent years.
- Redeemable Noncontrolling Interest
- Redeemable noncontrolling interests remain small and relatively stable in the low hundreds of millions USD, reflecting minor minority ownership stakes.
- Common Stock and Capital in Excess of Par Value
- Common stock shows a gradual but minimal increase over time, consistent with issued shares movement. Capital in excess of par value steadily increased, reflecting continual equity injections or retained equity growth.
- Retained Earnings
- Retained earnings display a consistent upward trajectory throughout all periods, more than doubling from approximately 22,700 million USD in early 2020 to over 57,000 million USD in mid-2025, demonstrating sustained profitability and earnings retention.
- Treasury Stock at Cost
- The treasury stock balance increases in absolute terms, reaching nearly -22,000 million USD by mid-2025. This suggests ongoing share repurchase activity and capital return strategies.
- Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss
- This component fluctuates with no clear directional trend, generally ranging between -2,800 and -3,200 million USD, indicating recurring changes in unrealized losses or foreign currency adjustments.
- Total Shareholders’ Equity
- Shareholders’ equity increased from approximately 28,600 million USD in early 2020 to over 51,000 million USD by mid-2025, reflecting overall shareholder value growth supported by retained earnings and capital contributions despite increasing treasury stock.
- Total Equity and Total Combined Liabilities and Equity
- Total equity aligns closely with shareholders’ equity trends. Combined liabilities and equity increased substantially over the period, from about 58,700 million USD in early 2020 to over 103,000 million USD by mid-2025, signifying expansion in the company's financial base and operations over time.
In summary, the data reveal a pattern of increasing liabilities, particularly long-term obligations and current liabilities, alongside robust growth in retained earnings and shareholders’ equity. This trajectory suggests expanding business operations supported by borrowing and equity growth, combined with active capital management through share repurchases and retained earnings accumulation. The fluctuating current liabilities and accrued expenses may mirror operating cycle variations, while declining deferred tax liabilities denote potential tax structuring effects.