Intangible assets are defined as identifiable non-monetary assets that cannot be seen, touched or physically measured. Broadcom's intangible assets for the quarter that ended in Sep. 2015 was $4,127 Mil.
Broadcom Intangible Assets Historical Data
The historical data trend for Broadcom's Intangible Assets can be seen below:
* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD. * For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.
Intangible assets are defined as identifiable non-monetary assets that cannot be seen, touched or physically measured. Examples of intangible assets include trade secrets, copyrights, patents, trademarks. If a company acquires assets at the prices above the book value, it may carry goodwill on its balance sheet. Goodwill reflects the difference between the price the company paid and the book value of the assets.
Broadcom (NAS:BRCM) Intangible Assets Explanation
If a company (company A) received a patent through their own work, though it has value, it does not show up on its balance sheet as an intangible asset. However, if company A sells this patent to company B, it will show up on company B's balance sheet as an intangible asset.
The same applies to brand names, trade secrets etc. For instance, Coca-Cola's brand is extremely valuable, but the brand does not appear on its balance sheet, because the brand was never acquired.
Some intangibles are amortized. Amortization is the depreciation of intangible assets.
Many intangibles are not amortized. They may still be written down when the company decides the asset is impaired.
Whenever you see an increase in goodwill over a number of years, you can assume it's because the company is out buying other businesses above book value. GOOD if buying businesses with durable competitive advantage.
If goodwill stays the same, the company when acquiring other companies is either paying less than book value or not acquiring. Businesses with moats never sell for less than book value.
Intangibles acquired are on balance sheet at fair value.
Internally developed brand names (Coke, Wrigleys, Band-Aid) however are not reflected on the balance sheet.
One of the reasons competitive advantage power can remain hidden for so long.
Be Aware
Companies may change the way intangible assets are amortized, and this will affect their reported earnings.
Broadcom Intangible Assets Related Terms
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Broadcom Corp was incorporated in California in August 16, 1991. The Company is provider of semiconductors for wired and wireless communications. It provides a portfolio of SoCs that seamlessly deliver voice, video, data and multimedia connectivity in the home, office and mobile environments. Its business segments include Broadband and Connectivity; and Infrastructure and Networking. The solutions in Broadband and Connectivity segment include set-top box solutions, broadband modem solutions, connectivity solutions, and a range of other technologies. Customer products incorporating its solutions in Broadband and Connectivity segment include set-top boxes, or STBs, central office broadband access equipment, residential gateways, stand-alone broadband access modems, and a range of consumer devices, including smartphones and tablets, wearable devices, PCs, laptops, access points, and others. It offers complete platform solutions for cable, satellite, Internet Protocol, over-the-top and terrestrial STBs. Its solutions in Infrastructure and Networking segment include Ethernet switches and PHYs, which includes switches and fabrics; copper and optical transceivers; backplane and optical front-end physical layer devices; processors (including multicore processors); and other Infrastructure and Networking technologies (including knowledge-based processors, VoIP solutions, microwave backhaul solutions and radio head digital front ends). It also offers a family of Ethernet controllers. Customer products incorporating its solutions in Infrastructure and Networking segment include service provider metro equipment; edge and core routers, wireless infrastructure and wireless access points; switches and routers; servers and workstations; network interface cards; LAN on motherboard applications; optical networks and dense wave division multiplexing applications; security appliances; storage controllers; microwave links for wireless backhaul; cellular remote radio heads; automobile Ethernet networks; point-of-sale equipment; and other embedded SoC subsystems. Its customers shipping wired and/or wireless communications equipment and devices incorporating its products include Alcatel-Lucent, Apple, Arris, Cisco, Huawei Technologies, Humax, Pace, Samsung, Technicolor, ZTE. Its trademark includes Broadcom and BroadR-Reach. The Company's competitors include Intel Corporation, Marvell Technology Group Ltd., Mediatek Inc., Qualcomm Incorporation, and STMicroelectronics NV with respect to Broadband and Connectivity segment; and Cavium, Inc., Freescale Semiconductor,Ltd., Intel Corporation, Marvell Technology Group Ltd., and Mellanox with respect to Infrastructure and Networking segment. The Company's production is subject to environmental rules and regulations.
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