Date of Completion

Spring 5-1-2023

Thesis Advisor(s)

Todd Kravet

Honors Major

Accounting

Disciplines

Accounting

Abstract

I explore associations between COVID-19 and changes in mergers and acquisitions (M&As), goodwill valuation, and goodwill impairments in the technology industry. Prior literature explores the pandemic’s effects on the dynamics of M&As, goodwill, and goodwill impairment, but are not specific to the pandemic’s impact on the technology industry. This study references prior literature to provide conceptual support as well as research findings to examine the overall changes in technology companies of interest in this study. First, I find that M&A activity before COVID-19 and during COVID-19 was not substantially different when averaged. Second, I find that there was a significant decrease in companies reporting goodwill, but the valuation of goodwill remained similar. Finally, I find that companies reporting goodwill impairment significantly declined in 2021, but the magnitude of goodwill impairment increased drastically in 2022. Overall, this study provides important insights into the effects of macroeconomic shocks and how the technology industry's stability might be affected by future pandemics and market uncertainty.

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