Canadian National Railway Co (Canadian National Railway Co) Intangible Assets

: $150 Mil (As of Dec. 2023)

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Intangible assets are defined as identifiable non-monetary assets that cannot be seen, touched or physically measured. Canadian National Railway Co's intangible assets for the quarter that ended in Dec. 2023 was $150 Mil.

Canadian National Railway Co Intangible Assets Historical Data

The historical data trend for Canadian National Railway Co'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.

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Canadian National Railway Co Annual Data

Trend

Dec14

Dec15

Dec16

Dec17

Dec18

Dec19

Dec20

Dec21

Dec22

Dec23

Intangible Assets

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173.89

167.85

163.28

152.37

149.82

Canadian National Railway Co Quarterly Data
	Mar19	Jun19	Sep19	Dec19	Mar20	Jun20	Sep20	Dec20	Mar21	Jun21	Sep21	Dec21	Mar22	Jun22	Sep22	Dec22	Mar23	Jun23	Sep23	Dec23
Intangible Assets	Get a 7-Day Free Trial															152.37	296.72	303.33	303.75	149.82

Canadian National Railway Co Intangible Assets Calculation

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.

Canadian National Railway Co (NYSE:CNI) 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.

Canadian National Railway Co Intangible Assets Related Terms

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Canadian National Railway Co (Canadian National Railway Co) Business Description

Industry

GURUFOCUS.COM » STOCK LIST » Industrials » Transportation » Canadian National Railway Co (NYSE:CNI) » Definitions » Intangible Assets

Comparable Companies

Traded in Other Exchanges

CNI:Mexico CY2:Germany CY2:Germany CNR:Canada CNIC34:Brazil

Address

935 de La Gauchetiere Street West, Montreal, QC, CAN, H3B 2M9

Website

https://www.cn.ca

Canadian National's railway spans Canada from coast to coast and extends through Chicago to the Gulf of Mexico. In 2022, CN generated roughly CAD 17.1 billion in revenue by hauling intermodal containers (29% of consolidated revenue), petroleum and chemicals (19%), grain and fertilizers (16%), forest products (12%), metals and mining (11%), automotive shipments (5%), and coal (5%). Other items constitute the remaining revenue.