Intangible assets are defined as identifiable non-monetary assets that cannot be seen, touched or physically measured. SolarCity's intangible assets for the quarter that ended in Sep. 2016 was $472.6 Mil.
SolarCity Intangible Assets Historical Data
The historical data trend for SolarCity'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.
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.
SolarCity Intangible Assets Related Terms
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SolarCity Corp was incorporated as a Delaware corporation on June 21, 2006. The Company is engaged in the design, manufacture, installation and sale or lease of solar energy systems to residential and commercial customers, or sale of electricity generated by solar energy systems to customers. Its customers include residential, commercial and government. The residential customers are individual homeowners who want to switch to cleaner, more affordable energy. Residential customers also include homeowners within communities developed by home builders the company is partnered with. The Commercial customers represent diverse business sectors, including technology, retail, manufacturing, agriculture and nonprofits, including customers such as Walmart, eBay, HP, Walgreens, Intel, and Safeway, Mexican businesses such as Tiendas Soriana, and thousands of other businesses across the United States, including SMBs. For government the company has installed solar energy systems for various federal, state and municipal government entities, including the U.S. Air Force, Army, Marines and Navy, the City of Lancaster, the City of San Jose, the City of Sacramento, the Department of Homeland Security and a number of schools and universities. The Company market and sell its products and services through a national sales organization that includes a direct outside sales force, a door-to-door sales force, call centers, a channel partner network and a robust customer referral program. It purchases components such as solar panels and inverters directly from multiple manufacturers. The Company's competitors include Vivint Solar Inc., Sunrun Inc., NRG Home Solar, Sungevity, Inc., Trinity Solar, Verengo, Inc., SunPower Corporation, SunEdison LLC, Borrego Solar Systems, Inc., G&S Solar Installers, Cenergy Power and numerous other companies. The Company's operations are subject to stringent and complex federal, state and local laws and regulations governing the occupational health and safety of its employees, wage regulations and environmental regulations.
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