My thoughts also, plus having read many companies reports as well as books on how to read them, wondered how I had missed such an important item. Reviewing my GAAP and other books, I do not think it is of much importance. Earnings, cash, debt, amount of income tax paid, and others are more important. After all, if the company needs cash, not likely that the retained earnings could be given to a bank in exchange for cash, no questions asked.
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Retained Earnings shows the amount of income allowed to accumulate from the beginning of the corporation's life to the present.
Retained Earnings represents a claim on assets, but it is not cash.
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coba.usf.edu
After wandering around the outside of the buildings owned by QCOM, which take about a city block, I think they are valued at much more than retained earnings number and were paid for from earnings. These are not old WWII buildings in a run down area but are nice, mostly fairly new buildings in an upscale area. I am not up on commercial real estate but suspect they are worth much more than the number on books. They also rent a number of buildings spread through out SD, so not all of the buildings you see with the QCOM logo are owned by them. |
