By ALEXANDRA TWIN

Reviewed by GORDON SCOTT

Fact checked by AMANDA JACKSON

编写人：ALEXANDRA TWIN

审核人：GORDON SCOTT

事实核查人：AMANDA JACKSON

What Are Long-Term Investments?

什么是长期投资？

A long-term investment is an account on the asset side of a company's balance sheet that represents the company's investments, including stocks, bonds, real estate, and cash. Long-term investments are assets that a company intends to hold for more than a year.

长期投资属于公司资产负债表资产类账户，表示公司进行的投资，包括股票、债券、房地产和现金。长期投资是公司打算持有超过一年的资产。

The long-term investment account differs largely from the short-term investment account in that short-term investments will most likely be sold, whereas the long-term investments will not be sold for years and, in some cases, may never be sold.

长期投资与短期投资的主要区别在于，短期投资很有可能会被出售，而长期投资需要持有数年才会出售，甚至在某些情况下，可能永远不会出售。

Being a long-term investor means that you are willing to accept a certain amount of risk in pursuit of potentially higher rewards and that you can afford to be patient for a longer period of time. It also suggests that you have enough capital available to afford to tie up a set amount for a long period of time.

长期投资意味着投资者愿意为了追求高回报而承担一定的风险，有足够的耐心静观其变，还有足够的可用资金进行长期固定投资。

KEY TAKEAWAYS

关键要点

·A long-term investment is an account a company plans to keep for at least a year such as stocks, bonds, real estate, and cash.

长期投资是公司打算持有超过一年的资产，包括股票、债券、房地产和现金。

·The account appears on the asset side of a company's balance sheet.

长期投资属于公司资产负债表资产类账户。

·Long-term investors are generally willing to take on more risk for higher rewards.

长期投资者通常愿意为了获得高回报承担更多风险。

·These are different from short-term investments, which are meant to be sold within a year.

长期投资与短期投资不同，后者需要在一年内出售。

Long-Term Investments Explained

了解长期投资

A common form of long-term investing occurs when company A invests largely in company B and gains significant influence over company B without having a majority of the voting shares. In this case, the purchase price would be shown as a long-term investment.

常见的长期投资为，A公司对B公司投入大量资金，在不掌握多数有投票权的股份的情况下对B公司施加重大影响。在这种情况下，购买价款将作为长期投资列示。

When a holding company or other firm purchases bonds or shares of common stock as investments, the decision about whether to classify it as short-term or long-term has some fairly important implications for the way those assets are valued on the balance sheet. Short-term investments are marked to market, and any declines in value are recognized as a loss.

若控股公司或其他公司购买债券或普通股作为投资，该等投资被归类为短期投资或长期投资会对资产负债表资产估值的方式产生相当重要的影响。短期投资按市值计价，任何减值确认为损失。

However, increases in value are not recognized until the item is sold. Therefore, the balance sheet classification of investment—whether it is long-term or short-term—has a direct impact on the net income that is reported on the income statement.

但是，在资产出售之前，不得确认升值。因此，资产负债表对投资的分类（无论是长期投资或短期投资）会对损益表列示的净利润产生直接影响。

Held to Maturity Investments

持有至到期投资

If an entity intends to keep an investment until it has matured and the company can demonstrate the ability to do so, the investment is noted as being "held to maturity." The investment is recorded at cost, although any premiums or discounts are amortized over the life of the investment.

如果企业有意且能够持有某项投资直至其到期日，则该项投资记为“持有至到期投资”，按成本入账，但是任何溢价或折价在整个投资期间内摊销。

For example, a classic held to maturity investment was the purchase of PayPal by eBay in 2002. Once PayPal had significantly grown its infrastructure and user base, it was then spun out as its own company in 2015 with a five-year agreement to continue processing payments for eBay. This investment helped PayPal grow and at the same time allowed eBay the benefit of owning a world-class payment processing solution for nearly two decades.

比如，具有代表性的持有至到期投资就是eBay在2002年收购PayPal。PayPal的基础设施和用户基础得到了显著增长之后，于2015年从eBay分拆出来成为独立的公司，签订了为期五年的协议，继续为eBay处理付款。通过这项投资，PayPal得到了发展壮大，同时eBay近二十年来一直拥有世界一流的支付处理解决方案。

The long-term investment may be written down to properly reflect an impaired value. However, there may not be any adjustment for temporary market fluctuations. Since investments must have an end date, equity securities may be not be classified as held to maturity.

长期投资可通过减记正确反映减值。但是，由于暂时性的市场波动，不会进行任何调整。投资必须规定结束日期，权益性证券可能不会归类为持有至到期投资。

Available for Sale and Trading Investments

可供出售投资和交易性投资

Investments held with the intention of resale within a year, for the purpose of garnering a short-term profit, are classified as current investments. A trading investment may not be a long-term investment. However, a company may hold an investment with the intention to sell in the future.

为获得短期利润而持有并有意在一年内转售的投资被归类为短期投资。交易性投资不属于长期投资。但是，公司可以持有投资并打算在未来出售。

These investments are classified as "available for sale" as long as the anticipated sale date is not within the next 12 months. Available for sale long-term investments are recorded at cost when purchased and subsequently adjusted to reflect their fair values at the end of the reporting period. Unrealized holding gains or losses are kept as "other comprehensive income" until the long-term investment has been sold.

只要预计出售日期在未来12个月之外，该等投资被归类为“可供出售投资”。可供出售长期投资按购买时的成本入账，随后进行调整以反映报告期末的公允价值。在长期投资出售之前，未实现资产置存损益记为“其他综合收益”。