Total goodwill impairment declined to $71 billion in 2019, down 10% from $78.9 billion in 2018, according to the “2020 U.S. Goodwill Impairment Study” by Duff & Phelps. Although impairments dropped, this was the second highest level after the 2008 financial crisis, the study says. The study examines general and industry goodwill impairment (GWI) trends of more than 8,800 U.S. publicly traded companies through December 2019. The top three industries with the largest increase in GWI in 2019 were communication services, information technology, and consumer staples. This edition also gives a preview of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on goodwill impairments taken by U.S.-based public companies. “At the time of writing, the disclosed top 10 GWI events for 2020 reached a combined $54 billion, far surpassing the top 10 in 2019 (at $37.4 billion),” the study says.