US GAAP is easiest to understand when a real business makes its accounting consequences visible. A lease is not just a rent check. A subscription payment is not necessarily revenue for the day it arrives. And an acquisition price is not automatically goodwill. These distinctions appear in real US public-company financial statements, often in notes that receive much less attention than the headline earnings figures.
This series works backward from a concrete company disclosure to the accounting requirement that explains it. Each company analysis stands on its own, combining original SEC evidence, useful numerical context and a clear narrative. A separate Behind the Figures companion covers the research workflow used to locate, reconcile and document the evidence.
Start with a number the company actually reported. Then ask which accounting decision produced it—and what a reader might get wrong.
Three cases that explain more than a textbook definition
CAVA: $624.9M in future rent
Why the maturity schedule exceeds the recognized operating lease liability.
Duolingo: $496.2M deferred
Why annual subscription payments become revenue over time.
Celsius: $734.4M goodwill
How a $2.06B acquisition price is allocated to brands, customers and goodwill.
ASC 842: What a growing restaurant chain has already promised
At FY2025 year-end, CAVA Group disclosed $624.878 million in future minimum operating lease payments. Yet the recorded lease liability was $466.248 million. The difference of $158.630 million represents imputed interest in the present-value calculation. The company also disclosed $146.5 million relating to signed leases not yet commenced, excluded from that maturity schedule. Source: CAVA FY2025 10-K.
The interesting question is not whether those numbers are inconsistent—they are measured on different bases. The economic question is how long-term occupancy commitments affect a growth strategy, and how to keep cash commitments separate from recognized liabilities. Read the CAVA ASC 842 case study.
ASC 606: When a customer pays before the company has earned the sale
Duolingo makes subscription accounting tangible. Its year-end 2025 deferred revenue balance was $496.205 million, up from $372.884 million in 2024. Annual subscribers can pay upfront, but the platform provides access throughout the purchased term. The filing describes a stand-ready service obligation and recognizes revenue over the subscription period. Advertising, in-app purchases and English Test fees have different recognition patterns. Source: Duolingo FY2025 10-K.
The research challenge is distinguishing cash collected, new deferrals and revenue recognized—not treating them as three names for the same number. Read the Duolingo ASC 606 case study.
ASC 805: Where the price of a brand goes on the balance sheet
Celsius Holdings reported $2,055.589 million of preliminary consideration for its Alani Nu acquisition in 2025. The disclosed allocation included a $1,104.0 million brand intangible, $111.0 million of customer relationships and $734.404 million in goodwill. The brand was considered indefinite-lived, while customer relationships were assigned a five-year life. These choices influence how the balance sheet and future earnings will be interpreted. Source: Celsius FY2025 10-K.
The analysis must also distinguish acquisition-date consideration from subsequent contingent-payment remeasurements and clearly mark provisional allocations. Read the Celsius ASC 805 case study.
Behind the Figures: how the research was done
For readers who want to repeat the work, each company case study has a separate behind-the-scenes article. These companion pieces show the research question, the SEC evidence surfaced through Clarifo, the numerical reconciliation, the checks against the original filing and the suggested form of the final memo. The focus is the research process—not another retelling of the accounting story.
Reconcile CAVA's lease amounts
Separate undiscounted payments, present-value liabilities and uncommenced leases.
Audit Duolingo's deferred revenue
Trace the roll-forward and distinguish bookings from revenue recognition.
Check Celsius's deal accounting
Reconcile consideration and goodwill without mixing measurement dates.
Why smaller companies belong in the series
Large technology companies attract abundant commentary. More specialized businesses can provide equally valuable accounting examples, often with a closer link between the accounting note and everyday operations. A restaurant's leases, an app's subscriptions and a beverage company's acquired brand give the reader a concrete situation to understand before introducing the standard.
The series will expand by following that principle. A good future installment might explore stock-based compensation, segment reporting, deferred tax assets, impairment tests or inventory accounting. A company's market size is not the selection criterion. The key question is whether its disclosures offer a strong, auditable example with useful numerical context.
How to read the cases
Begin with the situation and the reported numbers. Use the visual to understand the structure, then check the original filing link. To see how the evidence was gathered and documented, follow the matching Behind the Figures companion article. The company analyses focus on accounting and business implications; the companion pieces focus on the research workflow. Each case is educational, not a claim that the accounting method makes one stock attractive or unattractive.
- CAVA Group FY2025 Form 10-K — Note 9, Leases.
- Duolingo FY2025 Form 10-K — Notes 2 and 5, Revenue.
- Celsius Holdings FY2025 Form 10-K — Note 5, Acquisitions.