Goodwill and other intangible assets

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2023

Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]

(13)

Goodwill and other intangible assets

Reconciliations of the changes in the carrying value of goodwill during 2023 and 2022 follow (in millions).


	December 31,
	2023			2022
Balance at the beginning of the year	$	78,119		$	73,875
Business acquisitions		7,347			4,657
Other, including acquisition period remeasurements and foreign currency translation		(840	)		(413	)
Balance at the end of the year*	$	84,626		$	78,119

* Net of accumulated goodwill impairments of $11.1 billion as of December 31, 2023 and $11.0 billion as of December 31, 2022.

Other intangible assets are summarized below (in millions).


	December 31, 2023						December 31, 2022
	Gross carrying amount		Accumulated amortization		Net carrying value		Gross carrying amount		Accumulated amortization		Net carrying value
Insurance and other:
Customer relationships	$	28,305	$	7,901	$	20,404	$	27,765	$	7,174	$	20,591
Trademarks and trade names		5,619		846		4,773		5,603		822		4,781
Patents and technology		5,238		4,109		1,129		4,943		3,748		1,195
Other		4,826		1,805		3,021		4,150		1,530		2,620
	$	43,988	$	14,661	$	29,327	$	42,461	$	13,274	$	29,187
Railroad, utilities and energy:
Customer relationships and contracts	$	4,092	$	791	$	3,301	$	1,507	$	541	$	966
Trademarks and trade names		3,592		98		3,494		217		39		178
Other		1,174		156		1,018		190		42		148
	$	8,858	$	1,045	$	7,813	$	1,914	$	622	$	1,292

Other intangible assets of the railroad, utilities and energy businesses are included in other assets. The net carrying value at December 31, 2023 included $6.6 billion related to PTC.

Intangible asset amortization expense was $1,828 million in 2023, $1,233 million in 2022 and $1,252 million in 2021. Estimated amortization expense over the next five years follows (in millions): 2024 – $2,059; 2025 – $1,988; 2026 – $1,898; 2027 – $1,754 and 2028 – $1,684. Intangible assets with indefinite lives were $18.9 billion as of December 31, 2023 and $18.3 billion as of December 31, 2022 and primarily related to certain customer relationships and trademarks and trade names.