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 13

Balance Sheet Assets Insurance Operations 13

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. This becomes clear when you look at a company’s two most important financial statements: the balance sheet and the income statement.

Balance Sheet 8

Balance Sheet Assets Revenue Accounts 8

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 30, 2017

In aggregate, such dynamics would operate in a similar manner as unions, systematically raising the wages for low and middle earners relative to high-earners, such that the wage gaps between them are narrowed, thereby lowering wage inequality. There was also variation in whether these capital investments led to workforce reductions.

Marketing 12

Marketing Balance Sheet Compensation Benefits 12

Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 25, 2017

Stung by a series of risky foreign adventures that came back to bite them, most large global banks in Europe and the United States have retreated from foreign operations. 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 2, 2016

The economy we’re operating in today may have been built to serve corporations, but not many corporations are doing well in the digital environment. Even the apparent winners are actually operating on borrowed time and, perhaps more to the point, borrowed money. They aren’t just the operators; they are the environment.

Assets 8

Assets Balance Sheet Operations A/B Testing 8