| € millions | Notes | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | ||||
| Profit after tax | 3,370 | 4,088 | 4,046 | |||||
| Adjustments to reconcile profit after tax to net cash flow from operating activities: | ||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | (D.2)–(D.4) | 1,872 | 1,362 | 1,272 | ||||
| Share-based payment expense | (B.3) | 1,835 | 830 | 1,120 | ||||
| Income tax expense | (C.5) | 1,226 | 1,511 | 983 | ||||
| Financial income, net | (C.4) | −198 | 47 | −188 | ||||
| Decrease/increase in allowances on trade receivables | 14 | −67 | −32 | |||||
| Other adjustments for non-cash items | −54 | 3 | −9 | |||||
| Decrease/increase in trade and other receivables | −1,469 | 136 | −309 | |||||
| Decrease/increase in other assets | −583 | −477 | −325 | |||||
| Increase/decrease in trade payables, provisions, and other liabilities | 328 | 240 | 63 | |||||
| Increase/decrease in contract liabilities | 984 | −561 | 718 | |||||
| Share-based payments | −1,257 | −971 | −849 | |||||
| Interest paid | −341 | −251 | −200 | |||||
| Interest received | 97 | 99 | 88 | |||||
| Income taxes paid, net of refunds | −2,329 | −1,687 | −1,332 | |||||
| Net cash flows from operating activities | 3,496 | 4,303 | 5,045 | |||||
| Cash flows for business combinations, net of cash and cash equivalents acquired | (D.1) | −6,215 | −2,140 | −291 | ||||
| Proceeds from sale of subsidiaries or businesses | 61 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Purchase of intangible assets and property, plant, and equipment | −817 | −1,458 | −1,275 | |||||
| Proceeds from sales of intangible assets or property, plant, and equipment | 71 | 57 | 97 | |||||
| Purchase of equity or debt instruments of other entities | −900 | −1,013 | −2,914 | |||||
| Proceeds from sales of equity or debt instruments of other entities | 778 | 1,488 | 3,272 | |||||
| Net cash flows from investing activities | −7,021 | −3,066 | −1,112 | |||||
| Dividends paid | (E.2) | −1,790 | −1,671 | −1,499 | ||||
| Dividends paid on non-controlling interests | −17 | −7 | −45 | |||||
| Purchase of treasury shares | (E.2) | 0 | 0 | −500 | ||||
| Proceeds from borrowings | (E.3) | 3,622 | 6,368 | 27 | ||||
| Repayments of borrowings | (E.3) | −1,309 | −1,407 | −1,391 | ||||
| Payments of lease liabilities | −403 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Transactions with non-controlling interests | 0 | 0 | 2 | |||||
| Net cash flows from financing activities | 102 | 3,283 | −3,406 | |||||
| Effect of foreign currency rates on cash and cash equivalents | 110 | 97 | −218 | |||||
| Net decrease/increase in cash and cash equivalents | −3,313 | 4,617 | 309 | |||||
| Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the period | (E.3) | 8,627 | 4,011 | 3,702 | ||||
| Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period | (E.3) | 5,314 | 8,627 | 4,011 |
Under the adoption methods we chose for IFRS 9, 15, and 16, prior-year numbers are not restated to conform to the new accounting policies. For more information, see Note (IN.1).