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I am currently look at the financials of Apple. Basic financial accounting implies that the following relation has to hold:

Cash & Cash Equivalents in 2022 - Cash & Cash Equivalents in 2021 = Total Cash Flow in 2022

I checked wether this holds in the Apple case using the offical SEC 10K data. The latest 10K gives the following in million:

23,646 - 34,940 = -10,952

This is obviously not equal. Looking at the Cash Flow Statement, it even states that "Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, ending balances" for FY22 and FY21 are 24,977 and 35,929. Those values differ from the ones given in the Balance Sheet.

Why is that so?

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The difference is in the description:

Balance sheet:

Cash and cash equivalents

Cash Flow Statement:

Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash

So it is included in the cashflow statement but not in the "cash" line of the balance sheet for some reason (it's not clear to me where it does sit in the balance sheet, but it's most likely under "other current assets").

In previous years' financial statements there was a note that explained it's purpose:

Look at the notes of the financial statements (not available in the XBRL viewer) to see the values of "restricted cash" and what it represents:

The Company’s restricted cash primarily consisted of cash required to be on deposit under a contractual agreement with a bank to support the Company’s iPhone Upgrade Program.

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  • I was thinking about that too but then again: Why is restricted cash not classified as a cash and cash equivalent? Well, that might be a question beyond the scope of this question.
    – shenflow
    Jan 6 at 18:28
  • Probably because it not "liquid" cash, meaning it can't be used because it has to be held on deposit for some reason. It seems analogous to cash that's required to be held "on margin" in an investment account. It's technically yours but it can't be used for investing - only to cover losses.
    – D Stanley
    Jan 6 at 18:31
  • I see, thank you.
    – shenflow
    Jan 6 at 18:44

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