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.

CSX Corp., consolidated balance sheet: liabilities and stockholders’ equity

US$ in millions

	Dec 31, 2022	Dec 31, 2021	Dec 31, 2020	Dec 31, 2019	Dec 31, 2018
Accounts payable	1,130)	963)	809)	1,043)	949)
Labor and fringe benefits payable	707)	630)	482)	489)	550)
Personal injury	40)	37)	38)	42)	40)
Occupational	10)	7)	11)	6)	10)
Casualty reserves	50)	44)	49)	48)	50)
Environmental reserves	53)	37)	23)	31)	39)
Other reserves	41)	37)	18)	21)	24)
Casualty, environmental and other reserves	144)	118)	90)	100)	113)
Current maturities of long-term debt	151)	181)	401)	245)	18)
Income and other taxes payable	111)	134)	73)	69)	106)
Other current liabilities	228)	207)	164)	205)	179)
Current liabilities	2,471)	2,233)	2,019)	2,151)	1,915)
Personal injury	86)	81)	93)	87)	103)
Occupational	58)	55)	54)	52)	46)
Casualty reserves	144)	136)	147)	139)	149)
Environmental reserves	108)	71)	53)	43)	41)
Other reserves	40)	43)	24)	23)	21)
Casualty, environmental and other reserves	292)	250)	224)	205)	211)
Long-term debt, excluding current portion	17,896)	16,185)	16,304)	15,993)	14,739)
Deferred income taxes, net	7,569)	7,383)	7,168)	6,961)	6,690)
Long-term operating lease liability	488)	478)	455)	493)	—)
Other long-term liabilities	571)	502)	513)	591)	594)
Long-term liabilities	26,816)	24,798)	24,664)	24,243)	22,234)
Total liabilities	29,287)	27,031)	26,683)	26,394)	24,149)
Common stock, $1 par value	2,066)	2,202)	763)	773)	818)
Other capital	574)	66)	409)	346)	249)
Retained earnings	10,363)	11,630)	12,527)	11,404)	12,157)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	(388)	(408)	(598)	(675)	(661)
Shareholders’ equity, attributable to CSX	12,615)	13,490)	13,101)	11,848)	12,563)
Non-controlling minority interest	10)	10)	9)	15)	17)
Total shareholders’ equity	12,625)	13,500)	13,110)	11,863)	12,580)
Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity	41,912)	40,531)	39,793)	38,257)	36,729)

Based on: 10-K (reporting date: 2022-12-31), 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).

The financial data exhibits a series of notable trends and fluctuations in the company's liabilities and shareholders’ equity over the five-year period from the end of 2018 through 2022.

Current Liabilities: Current liabilities demonstrated variability but an overall increasing trend, rising from US$1,915 million in 2018 to US$2,471 million by 2022. Accounts payable initially increased from US$949 million in 2018 to US$1,043 million in 2019, then declined sharply to US$809 million in 2020, before recovering and reaching US$1,130 million by 2022. Labor and fringe benefits payable decreased slightly in 2019 and 2020 but showed a consistent increase thereafter, reaching US$707 million in 2022. Other current liabilities also followed an upward trend, increasing from US$179 million to US$228 million over the period.
Reserves Related to Casualty, Environmental, and Other Risks: Reserves under this category exhibited mixed but generally increasing patterns. Casualty reserves remained relatively stable with slight fluctuations around the 40-50 million range in current reserves and 130-150 million in long-term reserves. Environmental reserves showed a marked increase, starting at US$39 million in current reserves in 2018, dipping in 2019 and 2020, but then rising sharply to US$53 million in 2022. Long-term environmental reserves displayed a more pronounced increase, nearly tripling from US$41 million in 2018 to US$108 million in 2022. Other reserves and combined casualty, environmental, and other reserves also increased significantly, indicating heightened provisions or risk recognition.
Debt Obligations: Long-term debt excluding the current portion generally increased from US$14,739 million in 2018 to US$17,896 million in 2022, suggesting an escalation in the company’s leverage. Current maturities of long-term debt showed considerable variability, peaking at US$401 million in 2020 before dropping to US$151 million by 2022. Deferred income taxes, net, showed a steady upward trend across the period. Long-term operating lease liabilities began to be recognized in 2019 and remained relatively stable through 2022.
Total Liabilities: Total liabilities steadily increased from US$24,149 million in 2018 to US$29,287 million in 2022, consistent with observed increases in both current and long-term obligations. This reflects greater financial commitments over time, including increases in reserves and debt.
Shareholders’ Equity: Shareholders’ equity experienced fluctuations without a clear upward or downward trend. After decreasing from US$12,563 million in 2018 to US$11,848 million in 2019, equity rose to a peak of US$13,490 million in 2021 before decreasing again to US$12,615 million in 2022. Notably, common stock value increased dramatically in 2021 and slightly decreased in 2022. Retained earnings demonstrated a volatile pattern, increasing and decreasing over the years and falling to US$10,363 million in 2022, which might signal fluctuating profitability or dividend policies. Accumulated other comprehensive loss was negative throughout but showed a decreasing loss trend, indicating slight improvements in comprehensive income components.
Total Liabilities and Shareholders’ Equity: The total of liabilities and shareholders’ equity climbed consistently from US$36,729 million at the end of 2018 to US$41,912 million by the end of 2022, mirroring the general increase in the company’s overall financial scale and obligations.

In summary, the company’s financial data indicate rising liabilities, particularly driven by increased long-term debt and reserve provisions. Equity levels have shown volatility, affected by common stock changes and retained earnings fluctuations. The increase in total liabilities outpaces that of shareholders’ equity, which could suggest a strategy leaning on higher leverage or growing financial commitments relative to equity financing.

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CSX Corp. (NASDAQ:CSX)

Balance Sheet: Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity