Comment by npilk
1 day ago
For context I believe $72B of that is a weird accounting loss because their stock has gone up so much in value and they owed some people some stock. So it's not cash out the door.
1 day ago
For context I believe $72B of that is a weird accounting loss because their stock has gone up so much in value and they owed some people some stock. So it's not cash out the door.
That's correct, this is not a 72B cash loss.
They issued convertible notes and other instruments that were priced as of an older valuation. As their valuation went up, those instruments are now more valuable and due to GAAP accounting rules they have to register that increase in valuation of their issued instruments as a loss. No money changed hands.
Matt Levine's column from Oct 22 explains it much better if someone has a gift link.