Practical examples of statement of changes in equity you can actually use

Real-world examples of statement of changes in equity in action

Let’s start with what readers always want first: real examples of statement of changes in equity pulled from situations you actually see in practice. Think of the statement as a bridge between last year’s equity and this year’s equity. Every share issue, every buyback, every dividend, every profit or loss, and every other comprehensive income (OCI) item walks across that bridge.

Below are several examples of examples of statement of changes in equity, each with a slightly different story:

• A venture-backed tech startup issuing new shares
• A dividend-paying blue-chip company
• A company running a big share repurchase program
• A company with large OCI swings from foreign currency
• A loss-making firm with negative retained earnings
• A company using stock-based compensation heavily
• A business transitioning from private to public
• A group with non-controlling interests (minority shareholders)

Each of these gives you a different lens on how equity changes over time.

Startup financing: example of a statement of changes in equity for a Series B round

Imagine a U.S. SaaS startup, CloudStream Inc., that raised a Series B round in 2024. At the start of the year, its equity section looked like this (simplified):

• Common stock: \(10,000 (1,000,000 shares at \)0.01 par)
• Additional paid-in capital (APIC): $9,990,000
• Retained earnings: \((500,000)\) (accumulated losses)
• Total equity: $9,500,000

During 2024, several things happen:

• The company issues 500,000 new shares at $10 per share to investors.
• It records a net loss of $1,200,000.
• Employees exercise stock options worth $300,000 in APIC.

In the statement of changes in equity, you’d see columns for Common stock, APIC, Retained earnings, and Total equity, and rows for Balance at January 1, Share issuance, Stock option exercises, Total comprehensive loss, and Balance at December 31.

The share issuance row would show:

• Common stock: +\(5,000 (500,000 × \)0.01 par)
• APIC: +$4,995,000 (the rest of the cash raised)
• Total equity: +$5,000,000

The net loss would reduce retained earnings by \(1,200,000, and the option exercises would increase APIC by \)300,000. This is one of the best examples of statement of changes in equity for seeing how early-stage financing and losses coexist: equity is growing from investor money even as retained earnings stay negative.

Mature dividend payer: examples include steady payouts and modest share issuance

Now picture a well-established U.S. consumer goods company, HomeGoods Corp., listed on the NYSE. At the start of 2024, its equity includes:

• Common stock and APIC: $4.0 billion
• Retained earnings: $18.0 billion
• Accumulated other comprehensive income (AOCI): \((0.5)\) billion
• Treasury stock: \((3.0)\) billion
• Total equity: $18.5 billion

During 2024, several classic big-company events occur:

• Net income: $3.2 billion
• Cash dividends declared: $1.5 billion
• Shares issued under employee plans: $200 million in proceeds
• OCI gain on pension plan and FX: $300 million

In the statement of changes in equity, this will show up as:

• Net income increasing retained earnings by $3.2 billion
• Dividends reducing retained earnings by $1.5 billion
• Share issuance increasing common stock/APIC and total equity by $0.2 billion
• OCI increasing AOCI by $0.3 billion

This example of a statement of changes in equity highlights how a mature firm can:

• Grow retained earnings through profit
• Return a big chunk of that profit via dividends
• Still slightly increase total equity through share-based compensation plans

You’ll see similar patterns if you browse real examples in 10-K filings on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s EDGAR database: https://www.sec.gov/edgar/search.

Share buybacks: examples of examples of statement of changes in equity with big treasury stock movements

Companies like Apple and many S&P 500 firms have spent years shrinking their share count. When a business buys back its own stock, those shares become treasury stock, which is recorded as a contra-equity (a negative line) in the statement of changes in equity.

Take a hypothetical large-cap tech firm, DataCore Inc. At the start of 2024, it has:

• Common stock + APIC: $20 billion
• Retained earnings: $60 billion
• Treasury stock: \((30)\) billion
• Total equity: $50 billion

In 2024, it:

• Generates net income of $10 billion
• Spends $12 billion on share repurchases
• Pays $2 billion in dividends

In the statement of changes in equity:

• Net income adds $10 billion to retained earnings
• Dividends subtract $2 billion from retained earnings
• Buybacks increase the treasury stock balance by $12 billion (more negative)

Total equity movement:

• From net income and dividends: +$8 billion to retained earnings
• From buybacks: \((12)\) billion to treasury stock
• Net change in total equity: \((4)\) billion

This is one of the best examples of statement of changes in equity for seeing how a company can be very profitable but still reduce total equity because it’s aggressively returning capital to shareholders.

Foreign currency and OCI: examples include big swings that never hit net income

Multinational groups often show large movements in other comprehensive income. These are gains and losses that bypass the income statement and go straight to equity.

Consider GlobalRetail plc, headquartered in the U.S. but with big European and Asian operations. At the start of 2024, its equity includes:

• Common stock + APIC: $8 billion
• Retained earnings: $12 billion
• Accumulated OCI: \((1)\) billion (negative FX and pension adjustments)

During 2024:

• Net income: $2.5 billion
• Dividends: $1.0 billion
• Foreign currency translation gain: $1.2 billion (due to a stronger euro)
• Fair value loss on available-for-sale debt securities: \((0.3)\) billion

In the statement of changes in equity, the total comprehensive income row will include:

• Net income: +$2.5 billion to retained earnings
• OCI net: +\(0.9 billion to AOCI (\)1.2b gain − $0.3b loss)

So, even though reported net income is \(2.5 billion, total comprehensive income is \)3.4 billion. This example of a statement of changes in equity shows why analysts pay attention to the OCI column: it can explain big year-over-year changes in total equity that aren’t obvious from net income alone.

If you want a standards-based explanation of OCI and equity changes, the IFRS Foundation provides technical material here: https://www.ifrs.org/issued-standards/list-of-standards/ias-1-presentation-of-financial-statements/.

Loss-making company: examples of statement of changes in equity with negative retained earnings

Not every business sits on a mountain of retained earnings. Many 2024–2025 IPO candidates, especially in tech and biotech, are still burning cash.

Imagine BioNext Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotech listed on Nasdaq. At the start of 2024:

• Common stock + APIC: $1.2 billion
• Retained earnings: \((800)\) million
• Total equity: $400 million

During 2024:

• Net loss: \((350)\) million
• New equity raise: $500 million in a follow-on offering

The statement of changes in equity will show:

• Net loss reducing retained earnings from \((800)\) million to \((1,150)\) million
• New share issuance increasing common stock/APIC by $500 million

Total equity ends the year at \(550 million (\)1.7b equity paid in − $1.15b accumulated losses). This is a clean example of a statement of changes in equity where paid-in capital keeps the company solvent even while losses accumulate.

For investors, these examples of examples of statement of changes in equity are a reminder to distinguish between:

• Operational performance (retained earnings trend)
• Financing support (new capital injections)

Heavy stock-based compensation: examples include tech companies with big APIC movements

Many tech and high-growth firms rely heavily on stock-based compensation. Under U.S. GAAP, the expense hits the income statement, but the equity impact appears mostly in APIC when awards vest or are exercised.

Consider AppCloud Inc., a 2025 software company:

At the start of 2025:

• Common stock + APIC: $6.0 billion
• Retained earnings: $1.5 billion
• Treasury stock: \((0.5)\) billion

During 2025:

• Net income: $900 million
• Stock-based compensation expense: $400 million (non-cash)
• Options exercised: proceeds of $150 million

In the statement of changes in equity:

• Net income increases retained earnings by $900 million
• Option exercises increase APIC by $150 million
• Any tax effects of stock-based compensation may also adjust APIC

This example of a statement of changes in equity matters for valuation, because:

• Net income already includes the expense
• APIC growth shows how much ownership is being transferred to employees

Analysts often track these equity statement examples to understand dilution and the real cost of compensation.

IPO transition: examples of examples of statement of changes in equity when going public

Going public dramatically reshapes the equity section. A typical 2024–2025 U.S. IPO might include:

• Conversion of preferred stock into common stock
• New shares issued to the public
• Elimination of accumulated dividends on preferred shares

Take RideShare Now Inc., which goes public in mid-2024.

Before the IPO:

• Preferred stock: $800 million
• Common stock + APIC: $200 million
• Retained earnings: \((300)\) million

The IPO does the following:

• Converts all preferred shares into common, reclassifying $800 million into common stock/APIC
• Issues new shares to raise $1.0 billion in cash
• Pays IPO-related costs of $80 million (charged to APIC)

The statement of changes in equity will show several separate lines:

• Conversion of preferred shares: a reclassification within equity (no change in total equity)
• Share issuance: +$1.0 billion to common stock/APIC
• Share issuance costs: \((80)\) million to APIC

This is one of the best examples of statement of changes in equity for seeing how capital structure simplification and fundraising show up in one place.

If you want a structured primer on how equity and capital structure work together, many finance programs and case studies from universities like Harvard Business School cover it in depth: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/default.aspx.

Non-controlling interests: examples include group statements with minority shareholders

Group financial statements under U.S. GAAP or IFRS often show non-controlling interests (NCI) as a separate component of equity when a parent owns less than 100% of a subsidiary.

Consider InfraGrid Group, which owns 80% of a power subsidiary, with the remaining 20% held by local investors.

At the start of 2024:

• Equity attributable to owners of the parent: $10.0 billion
• Non-controlling interests: $2.0 billion

During 2024:

• Total comprehensive income of the subsidiary: $1.0 billion
• Dividends paid by the subsidiary: $300 million

Because the parent owns 80% and NCI owns 20%:

• $800 million of income goes to the parent’s equity
• $200 million goes to NCI
• $240 million of dividends (80%) reduce parent equity
• $60 million (20%) reduce NCI

The statement of changes in equity will have two main sections:

• Equity attributable to owners of the parent
• Non-controlling interests

This example of a statement of changes in equity shows how ownership splits and subsidiary-level decisions filter into group equity.

Why these examples of statement of changes in equity matter for analysis

Across all these examples of examples of statement of changes in equity, a few patterns show up that analysts care about:

• Source of equity growth: Is equity rising because of profits, new paid-in capital, or positive OCI?
• Capital return: Are dividends and buybacks shrinking equity even when earnings are strong?
• Dilution: Are stock-based compensation and new share issues quietly eroding existing shareholders’ percentage ownership?
• Risk signals: Are big OCI swings coming from pensions, FX, or securities that might hint at volatility?
• Solvency: Are negative retained earnings offset by large paid-in capital, or is total equity heading toward zero?

Once you’ve walked through a few real examples of statement of changes in equity, it becomes much easier to tie the three core statements together:

• Income statement explains the change in retained earnings (minus dividends)
• Balance sheet shows the opening and closing equity
• Statement of changes in equity reconciles the two, line by line

For more formal guidance, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) offers standards and educational material on presentation of financial statements: https://www.fasb.org.

FAQ: common questions about examples of statement of changes in equity

Q: What are some common examples of items in a statement of changes in equity?
Common examples include: new share issuances, share buybacks (treasury stock), cash and stock dividends, net income or net loss for the period, other comprehensive income items (like foreign currency translation and pension remeasurements), stock-based compensation, and changes in non-controlling interests.

Q: Can you give an example of how dividends appear in the statement of changes in equity?
Yes. If a company has beginning retained earnings of \(5 billion, earns \)1.5 billion in net income, and declares \(800 million in dividends, the statement of changes in equity will show +\)1.5 billion for net income and \((0.8)\) billion for dividends in the retained earnings column. Ending retained earnings will be $5.7 billion.

Q: Where can I find real examples of statement of changes in equity from public companies?
You can find real examples in annual reports and 10-K filings on the SEC’s EDGAR site for U.S. companies. Look for the section titled “Consolidated Statements of Changes in Stockholders’ Equity” or “Consolidated Statements of Changes in Equity.” International companies filing under IFRS also include a similar statement in their annual reports.

Q: How is other comprehensive income reflected in the statement of changes in equity?
Other comprehensive income items are accumulated in a separate equity component, often labeled Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (AOCI). The statement of changes in equity will show the period’s OCI movements (for example, FX translation gains or losses) and their impact on the AOCI balance, which then feeds into total equity.

Q: Do small private companies prepare a statement of changes in equity?
Many small private companies don’t publish one externally, but accountants often prepare an internal statement or at least a reconciliation of opening and closing equity. For entities reporting under U.S. GAAP or IFRS, the statement is typically part of a full set of financial statements, even if it’s only shared with lenders or investors.