http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodwill_(accounting)
I'm not a big accounting person, and know next to nothing about investing.... but from my understanding Goodwill in these types of reports are a way of showing the value of the company's brand and relationship with the customers. It's a way to put on paper the intangible assets that ultimately do impact the company's overall value, but aren't something that you can easily just offload and sell off.
On a smaller scale which we, as 'common people', can experience on a regular basis.
Let's say that we are shopping at the local grocery store for some food. On the shelf we see 2 different items that look identical. One is a name brand that we recognize and costs $2. the other is the Generic which only costs $1. As we look at the back of the container and read the fine print, you see that both items are actually produced at the exact same local company, one under license for the brand, and the other under license for the store.
Since they are the exact same product at this point, we are looking at $1 extra just because one has a brand label on it. It obviously doesn't cost $1 to produce that product, but it may be logical to say it does have an extra $.25 in its cost to cover the extra advertising and licensing fees. that extra $.75? That would be the Goodwill that comes from the brand that consumers recognize.
Even though they are the exact same product, People will pay more for one of them because they know the brand and feel it is worth more as a result. In large companies, it's the same concept. Would the Disney Parks be worth the same if it didn't have the Disney name attached to it? Would you pay $120/night to stay in a small cramped room at the AllStar if it wasn't a Disney hotel? What about $400/night to stay at the Poly? Sure, there may be some real value in the "extras' like the Monorail to the parks or the view, But Would you agree it's $200/night of extra value for what you may pay for a virtually identical room 2miles outside the Disney gates?
