Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 16, 2016

For example, at the end of its 2015 fiscal year, Apple’s balance sheet stated tangible assets of $290 billion as a contribution to its annual revenues, with approximately $141 billion worth of intangible assets — a combination of intellectual capital, brand equity, and (investor and consumer) goodwill.

Balance Sheet 14

Balance Sheet Assets Insurance Operations 14

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 26, 2018

Similarly, Microsoft paid $26 billion for loss-making LinkedIn in 2016, and Facebook paid $19 billion for WhatsApp in 2014 when it had no revenues or profits. Recent research lets us make an even bolder claim: accounting earnings are practically irrelevant for digital companies. Let’s first look at the balance sheet.

Balance Sheet 8

Balance Sheet Assets Revenue Accounts 8

Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 25, 2017

China’s four largest banks have quadrupled the share of foreign assets on their balance sheets since 2007 to $1 trillion—that make gives them larger foreign portfolios than German or Italian banks. In 2005, the United States absorbed 67% of all net global capital flows; by 2016, that share had fallen by half.

Banking 8

Banking Assets Balance Sheet Marketing 8

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 30, 2017

Despite these significant labor investments, from 2007 to the end of 2016, Costco’s stock price increased over 200%, far outpacing the overall growth of the S&P 500 (58%) and that of competitors like Walmart (45%) and Target (26%), which is known to pay workers low wages and offer relatively meager employee benefits.

Marketing 12

Marketing Balance Sheet Compensation Benefits 12

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 2, 2016

The strategy works, temporarily putting more cash on the positive side of the balance sheet. Its function is to grow companies by turning active economic activity into static bags of capital; in doing so, it has taken a liquid medium necessary for our economy’s circulation and frozen it in corporate accounts.

Assets 8

Assets Balance Sheet Operations A/B Testing 8