The Balance Sheet

What you'll learn

• ✓Read a balance sheet
• ✓Compute book value

Lessons

1. 📸
   The Snapshot

   A photograph of a company at one moment
   Start →
2. The Equation That Always Holds

   Finish the previous lesson to unlock
3. The Assets Side

   Finish the previous lesson to unlock
4. Liabilities and Equity

   Finish the previous lesson to unlock
5. Reading Apple's Balance Sheet

   Finish the previous lesson to unlock
6. Final Boss: Read Any Balance Sheet

   Finish the previous lesson to unlock

Sources

All content is drawn from the sources below. We deliberately avoid unverified material.

• Apple Inc. Form 10-K for fiscal year 2024
  U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR) · institutional
  Primary source for the consolidated balance sheet as of September 28, 2024 used in lessons 5 and 6, including total assets, equity, retained earnings, and shares outstanding.
  https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0000320193&type=10-K
• FASB ASC 210 - Balance Sheet
  Financial Accounting Standards Board · institutional
  Authoritative source for current vs non-current classification (ASC 210-10-45) and balance sheet presentation rules.
  https://asc.fasb.org/topic/210
• FASB ASC 350 - Intangibles, Goodwill and Other
  Financial Accounting Standards Board · institutional
  Source for the rule that goodwill arises only in acquisitions, is not amortized, and is tested for impairment.
  https://asc.fasb.org/topic/350
• Financial Statement Analysis (Subramanyam and Wild)
  McGraw-Hill · book
  Reference textbook for the balance sheet structure, current vs non-current split, and treasury stock as contra-equity.
• Principles of Corporate Finance (Brealey, Myers, Allen)
  McGraw-Hill · book
  Used for the accounting equation, equity components, and the mechanics of share buybacks on the balance sheet.
• Financial Statement Analysis and Security Valuation (Stephen Penman)
  McGraw-Hill · book
  Reference for book value vs market value divergence, used in lesson 5 to interpret Apple's tiny book value per share against its market cap.
• IAS 1 - Presentation of Financial Statements
  IFRS Foundation · institutional
  International equivalent of FASB ASC 210 on current vs non-current classification, included for completeness.
  https://www.ifrs.org/issued-standards/list-of-standards/ias-1-presentation-of-financial-statements/
• Apple Inc. investor relations
  Apple Inc. · institutional
  Used to cross-check FY24 share buyback and dividend disclosures referenced in lesson 5.
  https://investor.apple.com/