When most of the balance sheet is goodwill
140 companies above $1bn in revenue carry goodwill worth more than 40% of their total assets.
Goodwill is what remains when the price paid for a business exceeds the identifiable value of what was bought. It is a real accounting entry and a record of a decision, but it is not an asset that can be sold, and it produces nothing on its own.
A high goodwill share is the signature of a company built by acquisition rather than internal growth. That is a legitimate strategy and some of the best businesses were assembled that way. It does mean the balance sheet is largely a record of prices paid, and that its value depends on those acquisitions continuing to perform.
Goodwill is not amortised; it is tested for impairment. So it sits unchanged for years and then falls in one step, usually in a year that was already bad. A large goodwill balance is therefore a measure of how much unrealised bad news a balance sheet can hold.
What this is usually called
Goodwill arises in purchase accounting as the excess of consideration over the fair value of identifiable net assets, and it is tested annually for impairment rather than amortised. A goodwill write-down, goodwill impairment charge and impairment loss are the same event. Tangible book value is book value with goodwill and other intangibles removed, which for the companies here is a much smaller number.
The question, as a query
Below is the query as a reader would type it. Edit the numbers to move the threshold and the answer changes with them.
goodwill / assets > 40% AND revenue > 1b| Company | Revenue | Net income | Gross margin | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IBMINTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORP | $67.54B | $10.59B | 58.2% | $12.10B |
| AVGOBroadcom Inc. | $63.89B | Unavailable | 67.8% | $26.91B |
| CSCOCISCO SYSTEMS, INC. | $63.32B | $13.27B | 64.5% | $12.77B |
| TMOTHERMO FISHER SCIENTIFIC INC. | $44.56B | $6.70B | Unavailable | $6.29B |
| CRMSalesforce, Inc. | $41.52B | $7.46B | 77.7% | $14.40B |
| USFDUS Foods Holding Corp. | $39.42B | $676.00M | 17.4% | $959.00M |
| MDTMedtronic plc | $36.36B | $4.80B | 65.0% | $5.43B |
| MRSH InsurerMARSH & MCLENNAN COMPANIES, INC. | $26.98B | $4.16B | Unavailable | $5.00B |
| SYKSTRYKER CORP | $25.12B | $3.25B | 64.0% | $4.28B |
| DHRDANAHER CORP /DE/ | $24.57B | $3.61B | 59.1% | $5.26B |
| ADBEADOBE INC. | $23.77B | $7.13B | 89.3% | $9.85B |
| JCIJohnson Controls International plc | $23.60B | $3.29B | 36.4% | Unavailable |
| BDXBECTON DICKINSON & CO | $21.84B | $1.68B | 45.4% | Unavailable |
| CARRCARRIER GLOBAL Corp | $21.75B | $1.48B | Unavailable | Unavailable |
| LHXL3HARRIS TECHNOLOGIES, INC. /DE/ | $21.32B | $1.50B | 25.9% | $2.15B |
| FISVFISERV INC | $21.19B | $3.48B | Unavailable | $4.30B |
| BSXBOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORP | $20.07B | Unavailable | 69.0% | $3.66B |
| RSGREPUBLIC SERVICES, INC. | $19.03B | $2.14B | 49.4% | $2.41B |
| GISGENERAL MILLS INC | $18.42B | -$87.60M | 33.6% | $1.63B |
| EMREMERSON ELECTRIC CO | $18.02B | $2.29B | 52.8% | $2.67B |
| LDOSLeidos Holdings, Inc. | $17.17B | $1.45B | 18.0% | Unavailable |
| FLUTFlutter Entertainment plc | $16.38B | Unavailable | 45.2% | $1.08B |
| IQVIQVIA HOLDINGS INC. | $16.31B | $1.36B | Unavailable | Unavailable |
| SPGIS&P Global Inc. | $15.34B | $4.47B | 70.2% | Unavailable |
| AMTMAmentum Holdings, Inc. | $14.39B | $66.00M | 10.5% | $516.00M |
| DVADAVITA INC. | $13.64B | $746.80M | Unavailable | $1.31B |
| JJACOBS SOLUTIONS INC. | $12.03B | $289.34M | 24.8% | $607.47M |
| PANWPalo Alto Networks Inc | $11.48B | $307.00M | 70.4% | Unavailable |
| CAGCONAGRA BRANDS INC. | $11.28B | -$1.92B | 23.9% | $978.70M |
| WABWESTINGHOUSE AIR BRAKE TECHNOLOGIES CORP | $11.17B | $1.17B | 34.1% | $1.50B |
| DGXQUEST DIAGNOSTICS INC | $11.04B | $992.00M | 33.2% | $1.36B |
| ADIANALOG DEVICES INC | $11.02B | $2.27B | 61.5% | $4.28B |
| FISFidelity National Information Services, Inc. | $10.68B | $382.00M | 36.9% | Unavailable |
| BHCBausch Health Companies Inc. | $10.27B | $157.00M | Unavailable | $1.00B |
| CACICACI INTERNATIONAL INC /DE/ | $9.57B | $535.81M | Unavailable | Unavailable |
| XYLXylem Inc. | $9.04B | $957.00M | 38.5% | Unavailable |
| TDGTransDigm Group INC | $8.83B | $2.07B | 60.1% | $1.82B |
| ABMABM INDUSTRIES INC /DE/ | $8.75B | $162.40M | 12.3% | $155.10M |
| SIRISIRIUS XM HOLDINGS INC. | $8.56B | $805.00M | 52.4% | $1.24B |
| NDAQ Broker-dealerNASDAQ, INC. | $8.26B | $1.79B | 63.5% | $1.99B |
Showing the 40 largest by revenue of 140. Open the full list in the screener.
What this does not show
Impairment is a judgement made annually by the company and its auditors. Goodwill carried at full value means no impairment has been recognised, not that none is warranted.
The measures behind this
Goodwill Total assets Total equity incl. NCI
Related findings
- When profit is larger than the profit from operating
- Companies that owe more than they own, and are fine
Citing this
SequelSEC, “When most of the balance sheet is goodwill”, 20 October 2026. https://sequelsec.com/findings/goodwill-over-forty-percent-of-assets
Figures are recomputed on every view from SEC filings, so a number quoted from this page should carry the date it was read.