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.
Qualcomm Inc., consolidated balance sheet: liabilities and stockholders’ equity (quarterly data)
US$ in millions
Based on: 10-Q (reporting date: 2025-03-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2024-12-29), 10-K (reporting date: 2024-09-29), 10-Q (reporting date: 2024-06-23), 10-Q (reporting date: 2024-03-24), 10-Q (reporting date: 2023-12-24), 10-K (reporting date: 2023-09-24), 10-Q (reporting date: 2023-06-25), 10-Q (reporting date: 2023-03-26), 10-Q (reporting date: 2022-12-25), 10-K (reporting date: 2022-09-25), 10-Q (reporting date: 2022-06-26), 10-Q (reporting date: 2022-03-27), 10-Q (reporting date: 2021-12-26), 10-K (reporting date: 2021-09-26), 10-Q (reporting date: 2021-06-27), 10-Q (reporting date: 2021-03-28), 10-Q (reporting date: 2020-12-27), 10-K (reporting date: 2020-09-27), 10-Q (reporting date: 2020-06-28), 10-Q (reporting date: 2020-03-29), 10-Q (reporting date: 2019-12-29), 10-K (reporting date: 2019-09-29), 10-Q (reporting date: 2019-06-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2019-03-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2018-12-30).
- Trade Accounts Payable
- The trade accounts payable generally increased from approximately $1.4 billion in late 2018, peaking around $3.8 billion in late 2022. Following this peak, a notable decline occurred in early 2023, stabilizing near $2.5 billion by mid-2024. This pattern suggests fluctuating purchasing or supply cycle dynamics, with a recent moderation in obligations to suppliers.
- Payroll and Other Benefits Related Liabilities
- This category showed volatility with some pronounced increases, notably rising sharply in late 2021 to around $1.5 billion, followed by fluctuations between $1.2 billion and $1.8 billion through 2023 and 2024. These changes may reflect shifting employment levels, compensation schemes, or benefit obligations over the periods reviewed.
- Unearned Revenues (Current)
- Unearned revenues initially increased modestly through early 2021, reaching near $600 million, but then demonstrated a steady decrease, falling below $100 million by late 2024. This trend implies a reduction in deferred income, possibly due to changes in contract structures, billing practices, or revenue recognition policies.
- Short-Term Debt
- Short-term debt exhibited significant fluctuations, initially around $1 billion, rising to $3 billion in mid-2019, then sharply declining to $500 million by late 2020. Subsequently, it increased again to approximately $2 billion by early 2022 but decreased to around $1.3 billion by mid-2024. These swings indicate active management of short-term financing, responding to liquidity needs or market conditions.
- Held for Sale Liabilities
- Held for sale liabilities appeared starting mid-2022 with values around $600 million and declining to approximately $300 million by late 2023, before becoming negligible. This suggests the disposal or reclassification of certain liabilities associated with assets held for sale during this period.
- Other Current Liabilities
- Other current liabilities fluctuated notably, ranging from approximately $3.4 billion in mid-2022 to over $4.5 billion in several quarters. The overall level showed volatility without a clear consistent directional trend, pointing to variable short-term obligations potentially related to operational or accrued expenses.
- Current Liabilities
- Current liabilities followed a pattern similar to other current liabilities, rising from around $8.9 billion in late 2019 to a peak exceeding $13 billion in early 2022, then declining toward $9.5 billion by mid-2024. The peak and drop indicate periods of increased short-term obligation accumulation followed by repayments or rebalancing of current liabilities.
- Unearned Revenues (Noncurrent)
- The noncurrent portion of unearned revenues steadily declined from $1.4 billion in late 2018 to below $100 million by late 2024, indicating a significant reduction in long-term deferred revenue, which could be linked to shifting contract terms or accelerated revenue recognition.
- Long-Term Debt
- Long-term debt showed moderate fluctuations, generally remaining around $13 billion to $15.5 billion. A notable decline was observed in mid-2021 to around $12 billion, followed by recovery and relative stabilization close to $13 billion by mid-2024. This suggests some refinancing or repayment activity during the period but overall stability in the long-term debt profile.
- Other Liabilities
- Other liabilities remained generally steady, fluctuating between approximately $2.9 billion and $5.4 billion, with no definitive upward or downward trend. The relatively stable range indicates ongoing obligations of a miscellaneous nature that have not materially changed.
- Noncurrent Liabilities
- Noncurrent liabilities experienced variability, peaking around $21 billion in late 2020 and late 2022, with troughs near $17 billion in 2021 and recent moderate decline to around $18 billion by mid-2024. This reflects shifts in long-term obligations, including debt and other noncurrent items.
- Total Liabilities
- Total liabilities fluctuated between approximately $27.6 billion and $31.5 billion, showing a mild downward trend from early 2022 through mid-2024. These movements suggest ongoing adjustments in the company's overall obligations, possibly due to debt management and operational funding changes.
- Common Stock and Paid-in Capital
- Data on common stock and paid-in capital is sparse but shows periodic increases, including a jump to $490 million in early 2023. This reflects occasional equity issuance or changes in capitalization, but overall limited data precludes definitive trend analysis.
- Retained Earnings
- Retained earnings demonstrated a clear upward trajectory, increasing from approximately $3.4 billion in late 2018 to about $27.3 billion by mid-2024. This steady accrual indicates sustained profitability and the company’s ability to retain earnings over time.
- Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)
- Accumulated other comprehensive income showed considerable volatility, ranging from slightly negative values to over $590 million. Despite fluctuations, values generally remained positive and trended upward in some periods, suggesting gains or losses from items such as foreign currency translation or hedging activities.
- Stockholders' Equity
- Stockholders’ equity followed a distinct upward trend, increasing from about $3.6 billion in late 2018 to nearly $27.7 billion by mid-2024. This growth corresponds with the rise in retained earnings and reflects overall strengthening of the financial position and net asset base.
- Total Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity
- The combined total rose steadily over the analyzed periods, from approximately $34.2 billion in late 2018 to above $55 billion by mid-2024. This increase aligns with growth in equity accounts and suggests expansion of the company’s asset base funded through a mixture of liabilities and equity financing.