How it is worked out
Since 2019 (ASC 842) the balance sheet shows the liability: the present value of the rent still to be paid. The leases note also gives what is due in each year ahead.
How to read it
- They are like debt: payments the company has committed to make. The company page shows them apart from the debt that falls due.
- At store chains and airlines they can be larger than all of their borrowing.
Example
A chain pays $100m of rent a year for ten more years: at a 5% rate, the liability on the balance sheet is about $772m.