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.

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

US$ in thousands

	Dec 31, 2021	Dec 31, 2020	Dec 31, 2019	Dec 31, 2018	Dec 31, 2017
Accounts payable	204,500)	196,500)	180,400)	134,000)	116,600)
Employee compensation and withholdings	319,700)	236,700)	295,800)	226,100)	249,400)
Accrued rebates	77,000)	67,200)	67,100)	80,000)	53,900)
Property, payroll, and other taxes	68,900)	49,700)	51,400)	39,500)	41,900)
Research and development accruals	58,200)	52,300)	51,400)	48,900)	39,200)
Legal and insurance	79,100)	60,800)	20,000)	196,700)	15,000)
Taxes payable	30,600)	18,600)	52,900)	31,300)	97,800)
Fair value of derivatives	3,900)	39,300)	6,400)	4,400)	24,800)
Accrued marketing expenses	20,100)	14,300)	17,500)	22,300)	14,900)
Accrued professional services	11,900)	7,600)	10,100)	11,000)	8,500)
Accrued realignment reserves	19,100)	14,500)	16,700)	100)	8,200)
Accrued relocation costs	26,200)	21,000)	17,400)	11,300)	8,700)
Other accrued liabilities	87,600)	88,200)	89,800)	71,000)	74,300)
Accrued and other liabilities	802,300)	670,200)	696,500)	742,600)	636,600)
Operating lease liabilities, current portion	25,500)	27,200)	25,500)	—)	—)
Short-term debt	—)	—)	—)	—)	598,000)
Contingent consideration liabilities	—)	—)	—)	—)	51,700)
Current liabilities	1,032,300)	893,900)	902,400)	876,600)	1,402,900)
Long-term debt	595,700)	595,000)	594,400)	593,800)	438,400)
Contingent consideration liabilities	62,000)	186,100)	172,500)	178,600)	192,600)
Taxes payable	190,000)	215,300)	236,600)	259,400)	394,000)
Operating lease liabilities, long-term portion	69,100)	72,700)	58,900)	—)	—)
Uncertain tax positions	259,000)	214,400)	171,700)	124,900)	164,600)
Litigation settlement accrual	191,300)	233,000)	—)	—)	—)
Other liabilities	267,300)	252,400)	203,300)	150,000)	147,100)
Long-term liabilities	1,634,400)	1,768,900)	1,437,400)	1,306,700)	1,336,700)
Total liabilities	2,666,700)	2,662,800)	2,339,800)	2,183,300)	2,739,600)
Preferred stock, $.01 par value, no shares outstanding	—)	—)	—)	—)	—)
Common stock, $1.00 par value	642,000)	636,400)	218,100)	215,200)	212,000)
Additional paid-in capital	1,700,400)	1,438,100)	1,623,300)	1,384,400)	1,166,900)
Retained earnings	6,068,100)	4,565,000)	3,741,600)	2,694,700)	1,962,100)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	(157,700)	(161,100)	(156,000)	(138,500)	(132,700)
Treasury stock, at cost	(2,416,900)	(1,904,100)	(1,278,700)	(1,015,400)	(252,100)
Stockholders’ equity	5,835,900)	4,574,300)	4,148,300)	3,140,400)	2,956,200)
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity	8,502,600)	7,237,100)	6,488,100)	5,323,700)	5,695,800)

Based on: 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), 10-K (reporting date: 2017-12-31).

Accounts payable: Shows a consistent upward trend from $116.6 million in 2017 to $204.5 million in 2021, indicating an increasing obligation to suppliers and vendors over the period.
Employee compensation and withholdings: Exhibits volatility with an initial decline from $249.4 million in 2017 to $226.1 million in 2018, followed by a rise to $295.8 million in 2019, a decrease in 2020, and a notable increase to $319.7 million in 2021, suggesting fluctuating personnel costs or changes in workforce size.
Accrued rebates: Increases from $53.9 million in 2017 to $77 million in 2021, with a dip in 2019, reflecting varying levels of rebate obligations likely tied to sales incentives or customer returns.
Property, payroll, and other taxes: Generally trending upwards, rising from $41.9 million in 2017 to $68.9 million in 2021, indicating escalating tax expenses over the years.
Research and development accruals: Shows steady growth from $39.2 million in 2017 to $58.2 million in 2021, aligned with increasing investment in product development and innovation.
Legal and insurance accruals: Notably abnormal fluctuation: a spike to $196.7 million in 2018 and $60.8 million in 2020, with lower amounts in other years, indicating episodic legal or insurance-related costs or accrual adjustments.
Taxes payable (current portion): Significantly declines from $97.8 million in 2017 to $30.6 million in 2021, suggesting improved tax payment efficiency or changes in tax timing and liabilities.
Fair value of derivatives: Fluctuates with no clear trend, peaking at $39.3 million in 2020 and falling to $3.9 million in 2021, indicating varying impacts of derivative instruments on liabilities.
Accrued marketing and professional services expenses: Show modest fluctuations without a clear directional trend, reflecting relatively stable operational accruals for these categories.
Accrued realignment reserves and relocation costs: Both display growth over time, with realignment reserves increasing to $19.1 million and relocation costs to $26.2 million by 2021, possibly reflecting organizational restructuring activities.
Other accrued liabilities: Remain relatively stable around the $70-$90 million range, with slight increases, indicating consistent miscellaneous liabilities.
Total accrued and other liabilities: Increase from $636.6 million in 2017 to $802.3 million in 2021 after some fluctuations, indicating a general rise in accrued obligations.
Operating lease liabilities: Data available from 2019 indicates an increase in both current and long-term portions, peaking at $72.7 million long-term in 2020 and slightly decreasing thereafter, reflecting the adoption and impact of lease accounting standards.
Short-term debt and contingent consideration liabilities: Short-term debt was significant at $598 million in 2017 but absent in later years, suggesting repayment or reclassification. Contingent consideration liabilities decline substantially from a total of $244,300 thousand in 2017 (current and long-term combined) to $62,000 thousand in 2021, indicating settlement or reevaluation of contingent payment obligations.
Current liabilities: Decline from $1.4 billion in 2017 to $876.6 million in 2018 followed by gradual increase to $1.03 billion in 2021, suggesting some volatility but overall growth in short-term obligations toward the end of the period.
Long-term debt: Increases steadily from $438.4 million in 2017 to $595.7 million in 2021, indicating additional borrowing or refinancing over the years.
Taxes payable (long-term portion): Declines from $394 million in 2017 to $190 million in 2021, demonstrating a reduction in long-term tax liabilities, possibly due to settlements or revisions in tax estimates.
Uncertain tax positions: Rise from $164.6 million in 2017 to $259 million in 2021, indicating increasing tax uncertainty and potential exposure.
Litigation settlement accrual: Significant accruals appear in 2020 ($233 million) and decrease in 2021 to $191.3 million, evidencing major legal settlements impacting liabilities during these years.
Other liabilities: Increase steadily from $147.1 million in 2017 to $267.3 million in 2021, indicating growing miscellaneous long-term obligations.
Total long-term liabilities: Expand overall from $1.34 billion in 2017 to $1.63 billion in 2021, peaking at $1.77 billion in 2020, reflecting growth in extended financial commitments.
Total liabilities: Show a general uptrend from $2.74 billion in 2017 to approximately $2.67 billion in 2021 with a peak at $2.66 billion in 2020, suggesting an expansion in total obligations over time despite some fluctuations.
Common stock and additional paid-in capital: Common stock value increases significantly in 2020 to $636.4 million and slightly further in 2021, likely due to stock issuances or capitalization events. Additional paid-in capital grows overall from $1.17 billion in 2017 to $1.7 billion in 2021, demonstrating increased equity financing.
Retained earnings: Exhibit strong growth from $1.96 billion in 2017 to $6.07 billion in 2021, indicating substantial accumulated profits over the period.
Accumulated other comprehensive loss: Maintains a relatively stable loss position around $130-$160 million throughout the five years, showing minor fluctuations in comprehensive income components.
Treasury stock, at cost: Increases in absolute value from -$252.1 million in 2017 to -$2.42 billion in 2021, signaling significant repurchases of shares or stock retirement activities.
Stockholders’ equity: Rises from $2.96 billion in 2017 to $5.84 billion in 2021, reflecting overall growth in the company’s net equity capital base.
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity: Increase steadily from $5.70 billion in 2017 to $8.50 billion in 2021, consistent with the growing scale of the organization's financial position over the analyzed period.

Download chart

Edwards Lifesciences Corp. (NYSE:EW)

Balance Sheet: Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity