Accounting Policies

6 Months Ended

Mar. 28, 2020

Policy Text Block [Abstract]

Accounting Policies

ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of Presentation

The consolidated condensed financial statements are unaudited and have been prepared by Tyson Foods, Inc. (“Tyson,” “the Company,” “we,” “us” or “our”). Certain information and accounting policies and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States have been condensed or omitted pursuant to such rules and regulations of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Although we believe the disclosures contained herein are adequate to make the information presented not misleading, these consolidated condensed financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 28, 2019. Preparation of consolidated condensed financial statements requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated condensed financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

We believe the accompanying consolidated condensed financial statements contain all adjustments, which are of a normal recurring nature, necessary to state fairly our financial position as of March 28, 2020, and the results of operations for the three and six months ended March 28, 2020, and March 30, 2019. Results of operations and cash flows for the periods presented are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected for the full year.

Consolidation

The consolidated condensed financial statements include the accounts of all wholly-owned subsidiaries, as well as majority-owned subsidiaries over which we exercise control and, when applicable, entities for which we have a controlling financial interest or variable interest entities for which we are the primary beneficiary. All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

Leases

We determine if an agreement is or contains a lease at its inception by evaluating if an identified asset exists that we control for a period of time. When a lease exists, we classify it as a finance or operating lease and record a right-of-use ("ROU") asset and a corresponding lease liability at lease commencement. We have elected to not record leases with a term of 12 months or less in our Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets, and accordingly, lease expense for these short-term leases is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term. Finance lease assets are presented within Net Property, Plant and Equipment and finance lease liabilities are presented within Current and Long-Term Debt in our Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets. Finance lease disclosures are omitted as they are deemed immaterial. Operating ROU assets are presented within Other Assets, and operating lease liabilities are recorded within Other current liabilities and Other Liabilities in our Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets. Lease assets are subject to review for impairment in a manner consistent with Property, Plant and Equipment.

ROU assets are presented in our Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets based on the present value of the corresponding liabilities and are adjusted for any prepayments, lease incentives received or initial direct costs incurred. The measurement of our ROU assets and liabilities includes all fixed payments and any variable payments based on an index or rate. Variable lease payments which do not depend on an index, or where rates are unknown, are excluded from lease payments in the measurement of the ROU asset and lease liability, and accordingly, are recognized as lease expense in the period the obligation for those payments is incurred. The present value of lease payments is based on our incremental borrowing rate according to the lease term and information available at the lease commencement date, as our lease arrangements generally do not provide an implicit interest rate. The incremental borrowing rate is derived using a hypothetically-collateralized borrowing cost, based on our revolving credit facility, plus a country risk factor, where applicable. We consider our credit rating and the current economic environment in determining the collateralized rate.

Our lease arrangements can include fixed or variable non-lease components, such as common area maintenance, taxes and labor. We account for each lease and any non-lease components associated with that lease as a single lease component for all asset classes, except production and livestock grower asset classes embedded in service and supply agreements, and other asset classes that include significant maintenance or service components. We account for lease and non-lease components of an agreement separately based on relative stand-alone prices either observable or estimated if observable prices are not readily available. For asset classes where an election was made not to separate lease and non-lease components, all costs associated with a lease contract are disclosed as lease costs. The accounting for some of the Company's leases may require significant judgment when determining whether a contract is or contains a lease, the lease term, and the likelihood of exercising renewal or termination options. Our leases can include options to extend or terminate use of the underlying assets. These options are included in the lease term used to determine ROU assets and corresponding liabilities when we are reasonably certain we will exercise the option. Additionally, certain leases can have residual value guarantees, which are included within our operating lease liabilities when considered probable. Our lease agreements do not include significant restrictions or covenants.

Recognition, measurement and presentation of expenses and cash flows arising from a lease will depend on classification as a finance or operating lease. Operating lease expense is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term, whereas the amortization of finance lease assets is recognized on a straight-line basis over the shorter of the estimated useful life of the underlying asset or the lease term. Operating lease expense and finance lease amortization are presented in Cost of Sales or Selling, General and Administrative in our Consolidated Condensed Statements of Income depending on the nature of the leased item. Interest expense on finance lease obligations is recorded over the lease term and is presented in Interest expense, based on the effective interest method. All operating lease cash payments and interest on finance leases are presented within Net cash provided by operating activities and all finance lease principal payments are presented within Net cash used in financing activities in our Consolidated Condensed Statements of Cash Flows.

Use of Estimates

The consolidated condensed financial statements are prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, which require us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the condensed consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Risks and Uncertainties

We have considered the impact of the global novel coronavirus pandemic (“COVID-19” or “pandemic”) on our consolidated condensed financial statements. Although COVID-19 has not had a significant negative impact on our consolidated condensed financial statements as of March 28, 2020 and for the three and six month periods then ended, we expect it to have future impacts, the extent of which is uncertain and largely subject to whether the severity worsens or duration lengthens. These impacts could include but may not be limited to risks and uncertainty related to worker availability, our ability to operate production facilities, demand-driven production facility closures, shifts in demand between sales channels and market volatility in our supply chain. Consequently, this may subject us to future risk of material goodwill, intangible and long-lived asset impairments, increased reserves for uncollectible accounts, and adjustments for inventory and market volatility for items subject to fair value measurements such as derivatives and investments.

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

In March 2020, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued guidance providing optional expedients and exceptions to account for the effects of reference rate reform to contracts, hedging relationships, and other transactions that reference LIBOR or another reference rate expected to be discontinued. The optional guidance is effective as of March 12, 2020 through December 31, 2022. We are currently evaluating the impact this guidance will have on our consolidated financial statements.

In December 2019, the FASB issued guidance that simplifies the accounting for income taxes by removing certain exceptions to general principles in Topic 740 and clarifies other general principles by adding certain requirements to Topic 740. The guidance is effective for annual reporting periods and interim periods within those annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2020, our fiscal 2022. Early adoption is permitted for periods for which financial statements have not yet been issued, beginning our fiscal 2020. An entity that elects to early adopt the amendments in an interim period should reflect any adjustments as of the beginning of the annual period that includes that interim period. The application of the guidance requires various transition methods depending on the specific amendment. We are currently evaluating the impact this guidance will have on our consolidated financial statements.

In June 2016, the FASB issued guidance that provides more decision-useful information about the expected credit losses on financial instruments and changes the loss impairment methodology. The guidance is effective for annual reporting periods and interim periods within those annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2019, our fiscal 2021. Early adoption is permitted for annual reporting periods and interim periods within those annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018, our fiscal 2020. The application of the guidance requires various transition methods depending on the specific amendment. We do not expect the adoption

of this guidance will have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

Changes in Accounting Principles

In August 2017, the FASB issued guidance that eases certain documentation and assessment requirements of hedge effectiveness and modifies the accounting for components excluded from the assessment. Some of the modifications included the ineffectiveness of derivative gain/loss in highly effective cash flow hedges to be recorded in Other Comprehensive Income, alignment of the recognition and presentation of the effects related to the hedging instrument and hedged item in the financial statements, and additional disclosures required on the cumulative basis adjustment in fair value hedges and the effect of hedging on financial statement lines for components excluded from the assessment. The amendment also simplified the application of hedge accounting in certain situations to permit new hedging strategies to be eligible for hedge accounting. The guidance is effective for annual reporting periods and interim periods within those annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018, our fiscal 2020. We adopted this guidance in the first quarter of fiscal 2020 using the modified retrospective transition approach, and it did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

In February 2016, the FASB issued guidance that created new accounting and reporting guidelines for leasing arrangements. The guidance requires lessees to recognize a right-of-use asset and lease liability for all leases with terms of more than 12 months. Recognition, measurement and presentation of expenses and cash flows arising from a lease will depend on classification as a finance or operating lease. The guidance also requires qualitative and quantitative disclosures regarding the amount, timing, and uncertainty of cash flows arising from leases. The guidance is effective for annual reporting periods and interim periods within those annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018, our fiscal 2020. We adopted this guidance in the first quarter of fiscal 2020 using the optional transition method that allows for a cumulative-effect adjustment in the period of adoption with no restatement of prior periods. We have elected the package of practical expedients available under the transition guidance which allows us to not reassess prior conclusions related to lease classifications, existing contracts containing leases, and initial direct costs, as well as the practical expedient that allows the continued historical treatment of land easements. We did not elect the practical expedient for the use of hindsight in evaluating the expected lease term of existing leases. The adoption resulted in the recording of operating lease assets and operating lease liabilities of $549 million and $546 million, respectively, as of September 29, 2019, with no changes to our finance leases. The difference between the additional lease assets and lease liabilities, represents existing deferred rent and prepaid lease balances that were reclassified on the balance sheet. The adoption did not have a material impact on our Consolidated Condensed Statements of Income or our Consolidated Condensed Statements of Cash Flows. For further description of our lease policy refer to the Leases section above, and for quantitative lease information refer to Part I, Item 1, Notes to Consolidated Condensed Financial Statements, Note 5: Leases.