TJX Cos. Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

The financial data reveals relatively stable values across multiple intangible asset categories over the analyzed periods, with some observable downward trends in specific areas.

Goodwill

The goodwill value shows slight fluctuations, initially increasing from 96 million to 99 million in 2021, then steadily declining to 94 million by 2025. This gradual decrease suggests minor impairments or adjustments over time.

Sierra Trading Post

The value assigned to this asset remains consistently constant at 39 million throughout all periods, indicating stability or lack of revaluation.

Trade Secret

The trade secret valuation shows minor variability, starting at 11 million in 2020, dropping to 10 million in 2021, then rising to 13 million in 2022 and 2023 before ceasing to report values, which may indicate asset disposal or reclassification.

Definite-lived intangible assets, gross carrying amount

There is a slight upward trend from 49 million in 2020 to 52 million in 2023, followed by a noticeable decrease to 39 million in 2024 and 2025, which may indicate asset disposals or impairment.

Accumulated amortization

Amortization has steadily increased in absolute terms from -23 million in 2020 to -40 million in 2023, then remained stable around -39 million in the last two periods. This trend is consistent with ongoing amortization over time until it stabilizes.

Definite-lived intangible assets, net carrying value

The net carrying value shows a steady decline from 26 million in 2020 to 12 million in 2023, with no data from 2024 onward, potentially reflecting amortization effects or asset disposals.

Marshalls

This asset retains a consistent value of 108 million throughout all periods, indicating no revaluation or impairment.

Indefinite-lived intangible asset

Consistent at 108 million over all periods, this asset shows no change, suggesting a stable valuation and no impairment indicators.

Tradenames

Tradenames demonstrate a gradual decline from 133 million in 2020 to 108 million by 2024 and 2025, suggesting amortization or impairment impacts over the period.

Goodwill and tradenames combined

The combined total diminishes progressively from 229 million in 2020 to 202 million by 2025, reflecting the cumulative effect of decreases in goodwill and tradenames, implying a moderate reduction in intangible asset value.

The financial data over the period from early 2020 to early 2025 shows several notable trends in the asset base and shareholders’ equity of the company under review.

Total Assets

Reported total assets increased significantly from US$24,145 million in early 2020 to US$31,749 million in early 2025. The growth was particularly strong between 2020 and 2021, with the reported assets rising to US$30,814 million. Thereafter, assets slightly decreased in 2022 and 2023 but resumed growth from 2023 to 2025, reaching the highest level over the period.

Adjusted total assets, which likely exclude goodwill or other intangible adjustments, closely mirrored the trend of reported assets, starting at US$24,049 million and rising to US$31,655 million. The pattern of growth, minor declines, and subsequent increases corresponds closely to the reported figures, indicating that adjustments have a relatively stable impact on total assets over time.

Shareholders’ Equity

The reported shareholders’ equity demonstrates a consistent upward trajectory, increasing from US$5,948 million in early 2020 to US$8,393 million by early 2025. There was a minor dip in 2021, with equity decreasing slightly to US$5,833 million, but this was followed by steady increases each subsequent year. The growth became more pronounced from 2023 onwards.

Adjusted shareholders’ equity follows a similar trend, starting at US$5,853 million in early 2020 and increasing to US$8,299 million in early 2025. The adjustments appear to modestly lower the equity figures but maintain the overall growth pattern. The year-over-year changes suggest improving equity strength and possible accumulation of retained earnings or capital injections over the five-year span.

Overall, the company exhibits a notable expansion in asset base as well as an increasing shareholders’ equity position, indicating potentially improving financial stability and capacity to support operational or strategic growth. The close alignment between reported and adjusted figures suggests that intangible assets adjustments such as goodwill do not materially distort the core financial measures.

The analysis of the financial data over the periods reveals several key trends across total asset turnover, financial leverage, return on equity (ROE), and return on assets (ROA), both reported and goodwill adjusted.

Total Asset Turnover

The reported total asset turnover ratio exhibited significant fluctuation, initially declining sharply from 1.73 in early 2020 to 1.04 in early 2021, before recovering to a level slightly above the initial value by early 2024 (reaching 1.82) and then slightly declining to 1.78 in early 2025. The adjusted total asset turnover ratio closely mirrors this pattern, with minor variations, indicating the adjustment for goodwill does not materially affect turnover trends. Overall, this suggests that asset utilization experienced a temporary downturn, likely due to external factors around 2021, but strengthened in subsequent periods.

Financial Leverage

Financial leverage, both reported and adjusted, showed a peak in early 2021 with ratios above 5.3, indicating increased use of debt or liabilities relative to equity at that time. Subsequently, there is a clear downward trend, with the ratios steadily decreasing over the next years to 3.78 (reported) and 3.81 (adjusted) by early 2025. This decline in financial leverage implies a conscious or market-driven reduction in leverage, enhancing financial stability and potentially lowering risk.

Return on Equity (ROE)

ROE experienced a dramatic drop in early 2021, falling to approximately 1.5% from above 55% the previous year. This sharp decline was transient, with ROE values rebounding strongly thereafter and even surpassing the initial levels by early 2024, reaching over 61% reported and over 62% adjusted. By early 2025, ROE moderated slightly but remained robust near 58%. The alignment of the reported and adjusted results throughout suggests that goodwill adjustments have minimal impact on shareholder return measurements. The pronounced dip and quick recovery may be attributed to one-off events or economic disruptions impacting profitability temporarily.

Return on Assets (ROA)

The ROA followed a similar trend to ROE, with a significant decline in early 2021 to near 0.29%, representing a substantial decrease from the prior 13.55%. Following this, a recovery trend is evident, growing year-over-year to exceed 15% by early 2024 and maintaining that level through early 2025. The adjustment for goodwill does not notably alter these values, indicating asset profitability measures are consistent under both methods. The improvement in ROA alongside ROE recovery demonstrates enhanced operational efficiency and effective asset utilization after the dip.

In summary, the financial ratios reveal a marked disruption around the early 2021 period, characterized by decreased asset turnover, elevated financial leverage, and sharply reduced profitability as measured by ROE and ROA. Following this period, performance indicators steadily improve, with asset turnover and profitability ratios recovering and even surpassing initial levels. Concurrently, financial leverage reduces significantly, signifying a strategic or market-driven move towards lower leverage and potentially a more conservative capital structure. The close alignment between reported and goodwill-adjusted figures throughout implies that goodwill does not materially influence these key financial performance metrics over the periods analyzed.

Total Assets

The reported total assets showed an overall upward trend from 24,145 million US dollars in early 2020 to 31,749 million US dollars in early 2025, marking a significant increase. However, there was a notable peak in January 2021 at 30,814 million, followed by a decline in the subsequent two years before resuming growth to the latest period. Adjusted total assets reflected a similar pattern with slightly lower values, indicating consistent adjustments related to goodwill over the periods analyzed.

Total Asset Turnover

Reported total asset turnover exhibited fluctuations over the six-year span. Starting relatively high at 1.73 in 2020, it dropped sharply to around 1.04 in 2021, signaling a reduction in efficiency or asset utilization for that year. The ratio rebounded strongly from 2022 onward, reaching a peak of 1.82 in early 2024 before marginally declining to 1.78 in early 2025. Adjusted total asset turnover closely mirrored the reported figures with minor variations, reinforcing the stability of operational performance once goodwill adjustments are accounted for.

Summary of Trends

The asset base expanded overall, despite some volatility during the middle years, while asset turnover demonstrated a temporary dip followed by recovery and sustained efficiency improvements. These patterns suggest the company experienced a phase of asset accumulation or restructuring around 2021, which impacted asset utilization, but has since optimized asset use effectively. The close alignment between reported and goodwill-adjusted figures indicates that goodwill adjustments have a limited effect on the interpretation of asset efficiency and size over the period examined.

Total Assets

Total assets experienced growth from February 2020 to January 2021, increasing significantly from approximately $24.1 billion to $30.8 billion. However, a decline occurred in the subsequent year, reaching about $28.3 billion by January 2023. After this period, a moderate upward trend is observable, with total assets rising again to approximately $31.7 billion by February 2025. The adjusted total assets closely follow the same trajectory, with minor differences reflecting goodwill adjustments.

Shareholders’ Equity

Reported shareholders’ equity showed a slight decrease between February 2020 and January 2021, moving from $5.9 billion to $5.8 billion. From January 2021 onward, equity steadily increased, reaching $8.4 billion by February 2025. This represents a notable strengthening in the equity base over the five-year period following the initial decline. Adjusted shareholders’ equity trends mirror the reported figures, indicating consistent adjustments for goodwill without significantly altering the overall equity growth pattern.

Financial Leverage

Reported financial leverage peaked in January 2021 at 5.28, suggesting increased reliance on debt or liabilities relative to equity during that period. Subsequently, leverage ratios steadily declined over the following years, falling to 3.78 by February 2025. This indicates a gradual reduction in financial risk and a move towards a more conservative capital structure. The adjusted financial leverage exhibits a similar pattern, with slightly higher values during the peak periods but converging with the reported leverage in the later years.

The reported shareholders' equity exhibits a generally upward trend over the six-year period. Starting at $5,948 million in 2020, it shows a minor decline to $5,833 million in 2021, followed by a gradual increase each subsequent year, reaching $8,393 million by 2025. This indicates a steady strengthening of the equity base over time despite a brief setback in 2021.

The adjusted shareholders’ equity, which accounts for goodwill adjustments, reflects a similar pattern to the reported figures but is consistently slightly lower each year. It begins at $5,853 million in 2020 and decreases to $5,734 million in 2021 before rising steadily to $8,299 million in 2025. This suggests that goodwill adjustments reduce the equity base slightly but do not significantly alter the overall growth trajectory.

Regarding profitability, the reported Return on Equity (ROE) shows significant volatility. In 2020, the reported ROE is very high at approximately 55%, drops sharply to around 1.55% in 2021, and then returns to similarly high levels above 54% from 2022 onwards. The ROE increases further to over 61% in 2024 before slightly decreasing to about 58% in 2025. This pattern indicates a substantial dip in profitability or equity returns in 2021, which reverses strongly in the following years.

The adjusted ROE follows a nearly identical trend to the reported ROE, although the percentages are marginally higher throughout the entire period. The adjusted ROE starts at about 56% in 2020, declines steeply to nearly 1.6% in 2021, rises back to the mid-50% range in the subsequent years, peaks at over 62% in 2024, and then slightly decreases to approximately 59% in 2025. This consistency supports the interpretation that goodwill adjustments have a minor impact on the ROE trends.

In summary, the equity base has grown steadily since 2021 following a small dip, while profitability measured by ROE experienced a severe decline in 2021 but rebounded strongly and remained high thereafter. Adjustments for goodwill slightly reduce the equity values but do not meaningfully affect the overall conclusions regarding equity growth or profitability trends.

Total Assets

The reported total assets of the company exhibited a notable increase from 24,145 million USD on February 1, 2020, to 30,814 million USD on January 30, 2021. This was followed by a slight decline to 28,461 million USD by January 29, 2022, after which the assets largely stabilized with marginal fluctuations, reaching 31,749 million USD by February 1, 2025. The adjusted total assets, which account for goodwill, mirrored this trend closely, indicating minimal impact from goodwill adjustments on asset valuation. Overall, there is an upward long-term trend in total assets despite some year-to-year variability.

Return on Assets (ROA)

The reported Return on Assets percentage showed significant volatility over the analyzed periods. It decreased sharply from 13.55% on February 1, 2020, to nearly negligible levels at 0.29% by January 30, 2021. Subsequently, profitability recovered considerably, rising to 11.53% by January 29, 2022, and continued to improve steadily through the next years, reaching 15.32% by February 1, 2025. The adjusted ROA, which factors out goodwill, followed virtually the same pattern, confirming that goodwill adjustments had little effect on overall asset profitability metrics. This pattern may indicate an extraordinary event or accounting change affecting the 2021 period, succeeded by strong operational recovery and enhanced asset utilization in later periods.