"Goodwill" is a bit of an accounting trick: it's the difference between what a company is worth on paper and what the acquirer spent on actually getting it, mea

"Goodwill" is a bit of an accounting trick: it's the difference between what a company is worth on paper and what the acquirer spent on actually getting it, meant to record the value of all the intangibles the acquirer is getting like existing relationships and prospects of future growth. It's the cost of convincing someone to sell their baby. Unless you're buying something like a gas station with very well understood economics, there's going to be tons of money "spent" on goodwill. Goodwill impairment means they're (essentially) admitting to making a huge miscalculation on what that company was worth without a change in the tangible assets.