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.

Walt Disney Co., consolidated balance sheet: liabilities and stockholders’ equity

US$ in millions

	Sep 28, 2024	Sep 30, 2023	Oct 1, 2022	Oct 2, 2021	Oct 3, 2020	Sep 28, 2019
Accounts and accrued payables	14,796)	15,125)	16,205)	16,357)	13,183)	13,778)
Payroll and employee benefits	3,672)	3,061)	3,447)	3,482)	2,925)	3,010)
Income taxes payable	2,473)	2,276)	378)	—)	—)	—)
Short-term finance lease liabilities	30)	37)	37)	41)	37)	5)
Other	99)	172)	146)	1,014)	656)	969)
Accounts payable and other accrued liabilities	21,070)	20,671)	20,213)	20,894)	16,801)	17,762)
Current portion of borrowings	6,845)	4,330)	3,070)	5,866)	5,711)	8,857)
Deferred revenue and other	6,684)	6,138)	5,790)	4,317)	4,116)	4,722)
Current liabilities	34,599)	31,139)	29,073)	31,077)	26,628)	31,341)
Borrowings, excluding current portion	38,970)	42,101)	45,299)	48,540)	52,917)	38,129)
Deferred income taxes	6,277)	7,258)	8,363)	7,246)	7,288)	7,902)
Long-term finance lease liabilities	160)	206)	219)	246)	271)	146)
Other long-term liabilities	10,691)	11,863)	12,299)	14,276)	16,933)	13,614)
Long-term liabilities	56,098)	61,428)	66,180)	70,308)	77,409)	59,791)
Total liabilities	90,697)	92,567)	95,253)	101,385)	104,037)	91,132)
Redeemable noncontrolling interests	—)	9,055)	9,499)	9,213)	9,249)	8,963)
Preferred stock	—)	—)	—)	—)	—)	—)
Common stock, $0.01 par value	58,592)	57,383)	56,398)	55,471)	54,497)	53,907)
Retained earnings	49,722)	46,093)	43,636)	40,429)	38,315)	42,494)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	(3,699)	(3,292)	(4,119)	(6,440)	(8,322)	(6,617)
Treasury stock, at cost	(3,919)	(907)	(907)	(907)	(907)	(907)
Total Disney Shareholder’s equity	100,696)	99,277)	95,008)	88,553)	83,583)	88,877)
Noncontrolling interests	4,826)	4,680)	3,871)	4,458)	4,680)	5,012)
Total equity	105,522)	103,957)	98,879)	93,011)	88,263)	93,889)
Total liabilities and equity	196,219)	205,579)	203,631)	203,609)	201,549)	193,984)

Based on: 10-K (reporting date: 2024-09-28), 10-K (reporting date: 2023-09-30), 10-K (reporting date: 2022-10-01), 10-K (reporting date: 2021-10-02), 10-K (reporting date: 2020-10-03), 10-K (reporting date: 2019-09-28).

The financial data exhibits a range of trends across liabilities and equity from 2019 through 2024. The analysis below summarizes key movements and patterns observed over this period.

Current Liabilities: Current liabilities show some fluctuations, declining notably from 31,341 million in 2019 to 26,628 million in 2020, before rising again to 34,599 million by 2024. Accounts payable and accrued liabilities mirror this trend, dropping in 2020 and then increasing steadily through 2024. The current portion of borrowings decreases significantly between 2019 and 2022, reaching a low of 3,070 million, followed by an upward trend through 2024. Deferred revenue grows steadily across all years, indicating increasing advance payments or unearned income.
Short-term Obligations: Short-term finance lease liabilities experience a slight increase early on, from 5 million in 2019 to a peak of 41 million in 2021, before decreasing again to 30 million by 2024. Income taxes payable show no data until 2022, where a marked increase is observed from 378 million to 2,473 million in 2024, suggesting a rising tax liability in recent years.
Long-term Liabilities: Long-term liabilities display a declining trend, decreasing from 59,791 million in 2019 to 56,098 million by 2024. Borrowings excluding current portion peak in 2020 at 52,917 million, then progressively decline each year to 38,970 million. Deferred income taxes fluctuate but generally trend downward with a peak in 2022 before a decrease to 6,277 million in 2024. Both long-term finance lease liabilities and other long-term liabilities decline steadily over the analyzed period, indicating potential repayments or restructuring of long-term obligations.
Total Liabilities: Total liabilities rise from 91,132 million in 2019 to a peak of 104,037 million in 2020, before gradually declining to 90,697 million by 2024. This reflects a reduction in overall indebtedness following a peak in 2020.
Equity: Shareholder's equity shows consistent growth over the period examined, rising from 88,877 million in 2019 to 100,696 million by 2024. Common stock increases steadily, indicating possible equity issuance or stock-based compensation. Retained earnings increase gradually, supporting the growth in equity, which reflects accumulated profitability. The accumulated other comprehensive loss decreases in magnitude, improving from a loss of -6,617 million in 2019 to -3,699 million in 2024, indicating a reduction in unrealized losses or other comprehensive income effects. Treasury stock remains stable until a significant increase in cost to -3,919 million in 2024, possibly reflecting stock buybacks or adjustments.
Total Equity and Capital Structure: Total equity including noncontrolling interests also shows an upward trend, growing from 93,889 million in 2019 to 105,522 million in 2024. Noncontrolling interests fluctuate but exhibit an increase overall. The balance between total liabilities and total equity results in total assets (liabilities plus equity) fairly steady around 200 billion, with a slight peak in 2020-2023 before a decline in 2024.

In summary, the data reveals that short-term liabilities first decreased and then increased, long-term liabilities consistently declined, and total liabilities peaked in 2020 before receding. Meanwhile, equity showed steady growth supported by increasing retained earnings and common stock. The reduction in comprehensive loss indicates improving other comprehensive income components, but the rise in treasury stock cost could reflect increased repurchase activities. Together, these patterns suggest an overall strengthening of the equity base alongside efforts to reduce long-term debt obligations over the analyzed period.

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Walt Disney Co. (NYSE:DIS)

Balance Sheet: Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity