Goodwill impairment recorded by U.S. public companies in 2018 rose 125 percent to $78.9 billion, according to Duff & Phelps’ 2019 U.S. Goodwill Impairment Study. This annual study, in its 11th edition, reviewed goodwill impairment trends for over 8,800 U.S. publicly traded companies.
The record levels of merger and acquisition activities in 2018 produced $386 billion of recorded goodwill on company balance sheets, the highest level since the first study in 2008 and an increase from the prior record amount of $319 billion recorded in 2017. There was a 16 percent increase in the number of transactions and a 57 percent increase in the value of those deals in 2018. Higher deal levels produce the potential for higher near-term impairment.
