Discover Financial Services 10-K form for the fiscal year ended 2023-12-31, page 85: 
DISCOVER FINANCIAL SERVICES


Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition

(dollars in millions, except for share amounts)|    |                                                                                                                                                                                                                |              |         |      |          |    |         |
|---:|:---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|:-------------|:--------|:-----|:---------|:---|:--------|
|  1 |                                                                                                                                                                                                                | December 31, |         |      |          |    |         |
|  2 |                                                                                                                                                                                                                | 2023         |         | 2022 |          |    |         |
|  3 | Assets                                                                                                                                                                                                         |              |         |      |          |    |         |
|  4 | Cash and cash equivalents                                                                                                                                                                                      | $            | 11,685  |      |          | $  | 8,856   |
|  5 | Restricted cash                                                                                                                                                                                                | 43           |         |      | 41       |    |         |
|  7 | Investment securities (includes available-for-sale securities of $13,402 and $11,987 reported at fair value with associated amortized cost of $13,451 and $12,167 at December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively) | 13,655       |         |      | 12,208   |    |         |
|  8 | Loan receivables                                                                                                                                                                                               |              |         |      |          |    |         |
|  9 | Loan receivables                                                                                                                                                                                               | 128,409      |         |      | 112,120  |    |         |
| 10 | Allowance for credit losses                                                                                                                                                                                    | (9,283)      |         |      | (7,374)  |    |         |
| 11 | Net loan receivables                                                                                                                                                                                           | 119,126      |         |      | 104,746  |    |         |
| 12 | Premises and equipment, net                                                                                                                                                                                    | 1,091        |         |      | 1,003    |    |         |
| 13 | Goodwill                                                                                                                                                                                                       | 255          |         |      | 255      |    |         |
| 15 | Other assets                                                                                                                                                                                                   | 5,667        |         |      | 4,597    |    |         |
| 16 | Total assets                                                                                                                                                                                                   | $            | 151,522 |      |          | $  | 131,706 |
| 17 | Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity                                                                                                                                                                           |              |         |      |          |    |         |
| 18 | Liabilities                                                                                                                                                                                                    |              |         |      |          |    |         |
| 19 | Deposits                                                                                                                                                                                                       |              |         |      |          |    |         |
| 20 | Interest-bearing deposit accounts                                                                                                                                                                              | $            | 107,493 |      |          | $  | 90,151  |
| 21 | Non-interest-bearing deposit accounts                                                                                                                                                                          | 1,438        |         |      | 1,485    |    |         |
| 22 | Total deposits                                                                                                                                                                                                 | 108,931      |         |      | 91,636   |    |         |
| 23 | Short-term borrowings                                                                                                                                                                                          | 750          |         |      | -        |    |         |
| 24 | Long-term borrowings                                                                                                                                                                                           | 20,581       |         |      | 20,108   |    |         |
| 25 | Accrued expenses and other liabilities                                                                                                                                                                         | 6,432        |         |      | 5,618    |    |         |
| 26 | Total liabilities                                                                                                                                                                                              | 136,694      |         |      | 117,362  |    |         |
| 27 | Commitments, contingencies and guarantees (Notes 15, 18 and 19)                                                                                                                                                |              |         |      |          |    |         |
| 28 | Stockholders' Equity                                                                                                                                                                                           |              |         |      |          |    |         |
| 29 | Common stock, par value $0.01 per share; 2,000,000,000 shares authorized; 570,837,720 and 569,689,007 shares issued at December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively                                                | 6            |         |      | 6        |    |         |
| 30 | Preferred stock, par value $0.01 per share; 200,000,000 shares authorized; 10,700 shares issued and outstanding at December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively                                                    | 1,056        |         |      | 1,056    |    |         |
| 31 | Additional paid-in capital                                                                                                                                                                                     | 4,553        |         |      | 4,468    |    |         |
| 32 | Retained earnings                                                                                                                                                                                              | 30,448       |         |      | 28,207   |    |         |
| 33 | Accumulated other comprehensive loss                                                                                                                                                                           | (225)        |         |      | (339)    |    |         |
| 34 | Treasury stock, at cost; 320,734,860 and 302,305,216 shares at December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively                                                                                                        | (21,010)     |         |      | (19,054) |    |         |
| 35 | Total stockholders' equity                                                                                                                                                                                     | 14,828       |         |      | 14,344   |    |         |
| 36 | Total liabilities and stockholders' equity                                                                                                                                                                     | $            | 151,522 |      |          | $  | 131,706 |
The table below presents the carrying amounts of certain assets and liabilities of Discover Financial Services' consolidated variable interest entities ("VIEs"), which are included in the consolidated statements of financial condition above. The assets in the table below include those assets that can only be used to settle obligations of the consolidated VIEs. The liabilities in the table below include third-party liabilities of consolidated VIEs only and exclude intercompany balances that eliminate in consolidation. The liabilities also exclude amounts for which creditors have recourse to the general credit of Discover Financial Services.
|    |                                                                       |              |         |      |    |         |
|---:|:----------------------------------------------------------------------|:-------------|:--------|:-----|:---|:--------|
|  1 |                                                                       | December 31, |         |      |    |         |
|  2 |                                                                       | 2023         |         | 2022 |    |         |
|  3 | Assets                                                                |              |         |      |    |         |
|  4 | Restricted cash                                                       | $            | 43      |      | $  | 41      |
|  5 | Loan receivables                                                      | $            | 30,590  |      | $  | 25,937  |
|  6 | Allowance for credit losses allocated to securitized loan receivables | $            | (1,347) |      | $  | (1,152) |
|  7 | Other assets                                                          | $            | 3       |      | $  | 3       |
|  8 | Liabilities                                                           |              |         |      |    |         |
|  9 | Short- and long-term borrowings                                       | $            | 11,743  |      | $  | 10,259  |
| 10 | Accrued expenses and other liabilities                                | $            | 19      |      | $  | 14      |

See Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

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, Discover Financial Services 10-K form for the fiscal year ended 2023-12-31, page 86: 
DISCOVER FINANCIAL SERVICES


Consolidated Statements of Income

(dollars in millions, except for share amounts)|    |                                                       |                                  |        |      |        |      |        |        |    |       |
|---:|:------------------------------------------------------|:---------------------------------|:-------|:-----|:-------|:-----|:-------|:-------|:---|:------|
|  1 |                                                       | For the Years Ended December 31, |        |      |        |      |        |        |    |       |
|  2 |                                                       | 2023                             |        | 2022 |        | 2021 |        |        |    |       |
|  3 | Interest income                                       |                                  |        |      |        |      |        |        |    |       |
|  4 | Credit card loans                                     | $                                | 14,438 |      |        | $    | 10,632 |        | $  | 8,717 |
|  5 | Other loans                                           | 2,515                            |        |      | 1,870  |      |        | 1,734  |    |       |
|  6 | Investment securities                                 | 449                              |        |      | 179    |      |        | 182    |    |       |
|  7 | Other interest income                                 | 443                              |        |      | 183    |      |        | 18     |    |       |
|  8 | Total interest income                                 | 17,845                           |        |      | 12,864 |      |        | 10,651 |    |       |
|  9 | Interest expense                                      |                                  |        |      |        |      |        |        |    |       |
| 10 | Deposits                                              | 3,886                            |        |      | 1,257  |      |        | 661    |    |       |
| 11 | Short-term borrowings                                 | 5                                |        |      | 2      |      |        | -      |    |       |
| 12 | Long-term borrowings                                  | 855                              |        |      | 606    |      |        | 473    |    |       |
| 13 | Total interest expense                                | 4,746                            |        |      | 1,865  |      |        | 1,134  |    |       |
| 14 | Net interest income                                   | 13,099                           |        |      | 10,999 |      |        | 9,517  |    |       |
| 15 | Provision for credit losses                           | 6,018                            |        |      | 2,359  |      |        | 218    |    |       |
| 16 | Net interest income after provision for credit losses | 7,081                            |        |      | 8,640  |      |        | 9,299  |    |       |
| 17 | Other income                                          |                                  |        |      |        |      |        |        |    |       |
| 18 | Discount and interchange revenue, net                 | 1,447                            |        |      | 1,380  |      |        | 1,188  |    |       |
| 19 | Protection products revenue                           | 172                              |        |      | 172    |      |        | 165    |    |       |
| 20 | Loan fee income                                       | 763                              |        |      | 632    |      |        | 464    |    |       |
| 21 | Transaction processing revenue                        | 303                              |        |      | 249    |      |        | 227    |    |       |
| 22 | (Losses) gains on equity investments                  | (9)                              |        |      | (214)  |      |        | 424    |    |       |
| 23 | Other income                                          | 85                               |        |      | 75     |      |        | 66     |    |       |
| 24 | Total other income                                    | 2,761                            |        |      | 2,294  |      |        | 2,534  |    |       |
| 25 | Other expense                                         |                                  |        |      |        |      |        |        |    |       |
| 26 | Employee compensation and benefits                    | 2,434                            |        |      | 2,139  |      |        | 1,986  |    |       |
| 27 | Marketing and business development                    | 1,164                            |        |      | 1,035  |      |        | 810    |    |       |
| 28 | Information processing and communications             | 608                              |        |      | 513    |      |        | 500    |    |       |
| 29 | Professional fees                                     | 1,041                            |        |      | 871    |      |        | 797    |    |       |
| 30 | Premises and equipment                                | 89                               |        |      | 118    |      |        | 92     |    |       |
| 31 | Other expense                                         | 680                              |        |      | 540    |      |        | 620    |    |       |
| 32 | Total other expense                                   | 6,016                            |        |      | 5,216  |      |        | 4,805  |    |       |
| 33 | Income before income taxes                            | 3,826                            |        |      | 5,718  |      |        | 7,028  |    |       |
| 34 | Income tax expense                                    | 886                              |        |      | 1,344  |      |        | 1,606  |    |       |
| 35 | Net income                                            | $                                | 2,940  |      |        | $    | 4,374  |        | $  | 5,422 |
| 36 | Net income allocated to common stockholders           | $                                | 2,859  |      |        | $    | 4,286  |        | $  | 5,323 |
| 37 | Basic earnings per common share                       | $                                | 11.27  |      |        | $    | 15.45  |        | $  | 17.75 |
| 38 | Diluted earnings per common share                     | $                                | 11.26  |      |        | $    | 15.44  |        | $  | 17.74 |

See Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

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Question: What does the change in Discover’s ROE for 2023 compared to 2022 reflect about the company?
Answer: ROE Calculation:
2023: ROE (2023)=$2,940 million/$14,586 million = 19.6%
2022: ROE (2022)=$4,374 million/$14,344 million = 29.9%

The decline from 29.9% in 2022 to 19.6% in 2023 reflects a reduction in profitability relative to shareholders' equity. This drop could be attributed to decreased net income despite a relatively stable equity base.