Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Significant Accounting Policies [Text Block]

Note 2—Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Principles of consolidation and basis of preparation

These consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company, its wholly-owned subsidiaries, and its majority owned joint venture. All intercompany transactions have been eliminated.

The Company entered into a joint venture with Meisheng Culture & Creative Corp., for the purpose of providing certain JAKKS licensed and non-licensed toys and consumer products to agreed-upon territories of the People’s Republic of China. The joint venture includes a subsidiary in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone that sells, distributes and markets these products, which include dolls, plush, role play products, action figures, costumes, seasonal items, technology and app-enhanced toys, based on top entertainment licenses and JAKKS’ own proprietary brands. The Company owns fifty-one percent of the joint venture and consolidates the joint venture since control rests with the Company.

Effective July 9, 2020, the Company completed a 1 for 10 reverse stock split of its $0.001 par value common stock reducing the issued and outstanding shares of common stock from 42,395,782 to 4,239,578 (“Reverse Stock Split”). The Reverse Stock Split did not cause an adjustment to the par value or the authorized shares of the common stock. All share and per share amounts in the financial statements and notes thereto have been retroactively adjusted for all periods presented to give effect to the Reverse Stock Split, including reclassifying an amount equal to the reduction in par value of common stock to additional paid-in capital. The primary reason for implementing the Reverse Stock Split was to regain compliance with the minimum bid price requirement of The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”). On July 31, 2020, the Company was notified by Nasdaq that it had regained compliance with the Nasdaq listing requirements.

Cash and cash equivalents

The Company considers all highly liquid investments with an original maturity of three months or less, when acquired, to be cash equivalents. The Company maintains its cash in bank deposits which, at times, may exceed federally insured limits. The Company has not experienced any losses in such accounts. The Company believes it is not exposed to any significant credit risk of cash and cash equivalents.

Restricted cash

Restricted cash consists primarily of a Wells Fargo collateral account established to cover the excess Wells Fargo borrowing base availability shortfall and a cash collateral account to cover a guarantee bond.

Accounts Receivable and Allowance for Doubtful Accounts

Credit is granted to customers on an unsecured basis. Credit limits and payment terms are established based on evaluations made on an ongoing basis throughout the fiscal year of the financial performance, cash generation, financing availability, and liquidity status of each customer. Customers are reviewed at least annually, with more frequent reviews performed as necessary, depending upon the customer’s financial condition and the level of credit being extended. For customers who are experiencing financial difficulties, management performs additional financial analyses before shipping to those customers on credit. The Company uses a variety of financial arrangements to ensure collectability of accounts receivable of customers deemed to be a credit risk, including requiring letters of credit, purchasing various forms of credit insurance with unrelated third parties, or requiring cash in advance of shipment.

The Company records an allowance for doubtful accounts based upon management’s assessment of the business environment, customers’ financial condition, historical collection experience, accounts receivable aging, customer disputes and the collectability of specific customer accounts.

Use of estimates

The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the dates of the consolidated financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting periods. Actual future results could differ from those estimates. On an ongoing basis, the Company evaluates its estimates, including those related to the accounts receivable and sales allowances, fair values of financial instruments, intangible assets and goodwill, useful lives of intangible assets and property and equipment, income taxes, and contingent liabilities, among others. The Company bases its estimates on assumptions, both historical and forward looking, that are believed to be reasonable, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities.

Revenue recognition

The Company’s contracts with customers only include one performance obligation (i.e., sale of the Company’s products). Revenue is recognized in the gross amount at a point in time when delivery is completed and control of the promised goods is transferred to the customers. Revenue is measured as the amount of consideration the Company expects to be entitled to in exchange for those goods. The Company’s contracts do not involve financing elements as payment terms with customers are less than one year. Further, because revenue is recognized at the point in time goods are sold to customers, there are no contract assets or contract liability balances.

The Company disaggregates its revenues from contracts with customers by reporting segment: Toys/Consumer Products and Halloween. The Company further disaggregates revenues by major geographic regions (See Note 3 - Business Segments, Geographic Data, and Sales by Major Customers for further information).

The Company offers various discounts, pricing concessions, and other allowances to customers, all of which are considered in determining the transaction price. Certain discounts and allowances are fixed and determinable at the time of sale and are recorded at the time of sale as a reduction to revenue. Other discounts and allowances can vary and are determined at management’s discretion (variable consideration). Specifically, the Company occasionally grants discretionary credits to facilitate markdowns and sales of slow moving merchandise, and consequently accrues an allowance based on historic credits and management estimates. Further, while the Company generally does not allow product returns, the Company does make occasional exceptions to this policy, and consequently records a sales return allowance based upon historic return amounts and management estimates. These allowances (variable consideration) are estimated using the expected value method and are recorded at the time of sale as a reduction to revenue. The Company adjusts its estimate of variable consideration at least quarterly or when facts and circumstances used in the estimation process may change. The variable consideration is not constrained as the Company has sufficient history on the related estimates and does not believe there is a risk of significant revenue reversal.

The Company also participates in cooperative advertising arrangements with some customers, whereby it allows a discount from invoiced product amounts in exchange for customer purchased advertising that features the Company’s products. Generally, these allowances range from 1% to 20% of gross sales, and are generally based upon product purchases or specific advertising campaigns. Such allowances are accrued when the related revenue is recognized. These cooperative advertising arrangements provide a distinct benefit at fair value, and are accounted for as direct selling expenses.

Sales commissions are expensed when incurred as the related revenue is recognized at a point in time and therefore the amortization period is less than one year. As a result, these costs are recorded as direct selling expenses, as incurred.

Shipping and handling activities are considered part of the Company’s obligation to transfer the products and therefore are recorded as direct selling expenses, as incurred.

The Company’s reserve for sales returns and allowances amounted to $42.1 million as of December 31, 2020 and $38.4 million as of December 31, 2019.

Fair Value Measurements

Fair value is the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. In determining fair value, the Company uses various methods including market, income and cost approaches. Based upon these approaches, the Company often utilizes certain assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability, including assumptions about risk and/or the risks inherent in the inputs to the valuation technique. These inputs can be readily observable, market-corroborated, or unobservable inputs. The Company utilizes valuation techniques that maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs. Based upon observable inputs used in the valuation techniques, the Company is required to provide information according to the fair value hierarchy. The fair value hierarchy ranks the quality and reliability of the information used to determine fair values into three broad levels as follows:

Level 1:	Valuations for assets and liabilities traded in active markets from readily available pricing sources for market transactions involving identical assets or liabilities.
Level 2:	Valuations for assets and liabilities traded in less active dealer or broker markets. Valuations are obtained from third-party pricing services for identical or similar assets or liabilities.
Level 3:	Valuations incorporate certain assumptions and projections in determining the fair value assigned to such assets or liabilities.

In instances where the determination of the fair value measurement is based upon inputs from different levels of the fair value hierarchy, the level in the fair value hierarchy within which the entire fair value measurement falls is based upon the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement in its entirety. The Company’s assessment of the significance of a particular input to the fair value measurement in its entirety requires judgment, and considers factors specific to the asset or liability.

Inventory

Inventory, which includes the ex-factory cost of goods, capitalized warehouse costs and in-bound freight and duty, is valued at the lower of cost (first-in, first-out) or net realizable value, net of inventory obsolescence reserve, and consists of the following (in thousands):

	December 31,
	2020		2019
Raw materials	$	135	$	144
Finished goods		38,507		54,115
	$	38,642	$	54,259

As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, the inventory obsolescence reserve was $10.8 million and $12.9 million, respectively.

Property and equipment

Property and equipment are stated at cost and are being depreciated using the straight-line method over their estimated useful lives as follows:

Office equipment	5 years
Automobiles	5 years
Furniture and fixtures	5 - 7 years
Leasehold improvements	Shorter of length of lease or 10 years

During interim reporting periods, the Company uses the usage method as its depreciation methodology for molds and tools used in the manufacturing of its products, which is more closely correlated to the production of goods as it follows the seasonality of sales. The Company believes that the usage method more accurately matches costs with revenues. From a full-year perspective, the depreciation methodology follows the straight-line method, based on the estimated useful life of molds and tools of three years. Estimated useful lives are periodically reviewed and, where appropriate, changes are made prospectively. The carrying value of property and equipment is reviewed when events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of an asset may not be recoverable. No impairment charges were recorded for the year ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018.

For the year ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, the Company’s aggregate depreciation expense related to property and equipment was $9.8 million, $12.9 million and $12.2 million, respectively.

For the year ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, the Company recorded a loss on disposal of tools and molds of $0.1 million, $1.0 million, and nil, respectively, which is included in cost of sales in the consolidated statements of operations.

Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)

Other comprehensive income (loss) includes all changes in equity from non-owner sources. The Company accounts for other comprehensive income in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) ASC 220, “Comprehensive Income.” All the activity in other comprehensive income (loss) and all amounts in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) relate to foreign currency translation adjustments.

Advertising

Production costs of commercials and programming are charged to operations in the period during which the production is first aired. The costs of other advertising, promotion and marketing programs are charged to operations in the period incurred. Advertising expense for the year ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, was approximately $10.1 million, $13.8 million and $13.7 million, respectively. See also Revenue Recognition regarding cooperative advertising arrangements.

Income taxes

The Company does not file a consolidated return with its foreign subsidiaries. The Company files federal and state returns and its foreign subsidiaries file returns in their respective jurisdictions. Deferred taxes are provided on an asset and liability method. Deferred tax assets are recognized as deductible temporary differences, operating losses, or tax credit carry-forwards. Deferred tax liabilities are recognized as taxable temporary differences. Temporary differences are the differences between the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and their tax basis. Deferred tax assets are reduced by a valuation allowance when, in the opinion of management, it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are adjusted for the effects of changes in tax laws and rates on the date of enactment.

The Company recognizes net deferred tax assets to the extent that the Company believes these assets are more likely than not to be realized. In making such a determination, management considers all available positive and negative evidence, including future reversals of existing taxable temporary differences, projected future taxable income, tax-planning strategies, and results of recent operations. If management determines that the Company would be able to realize its deferred tax assets in the future in excess of their net recorded amount, management would make an adjustment to the deferred tax asset valuation allowance, which would reduce the provision for income taxes.

The Company records uncertain tax positions on the basis of a two-step process whereby (1) management determines whether it is more likely than not that the tax positions will be sustained on the basis of the technical merits of the position and (2) for those tax positions that meet the more-likely-than-not recognition threshold, management recognizes the largest amount of tax benefit that is more than 50% likely to be realized upon ultimate settlement with the related tax authority. The Company recognizes interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits within income tax expense. Any accrued interest and penalties are included within the related tax liability.

Foreign Currency Translation Exposure

The Company’s reporting currency is the U.S. dollar. The translation of its net investment in subsidiaries with non-U.S. dollar functional currencies subjects the Company to currency exchange rate fluctuations in its results of operations and financial position. Assets and liabilities of subsidiaries with non-U.S. dollar functional currencies are translated into U.S. dollars at year-end exchange rates. Income, expense and cash flow items are translated at average exchange rates prevailing during the year. The resulting currency translation adjustments are recorded as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) within stockholders’ equity. The Company’s primary currency translation exposures in 2020, 2019 and 2018 were related to its net investment in entities having functional currencies denominated in the Hong Kong Dollar, British Pound, Canadian Dollar, Chinese Yuan, Mexican Peso and the Euro.

Foreign Currency Transaction Exposure

Currency exchange rate fluctuations may impact the Company’s results of operations and cash flows. The Company’s currency transaction exposures include gains and losses realized on unhedged inventory purchases and unhedged receivables and payables balances that are denominated in a currency other than the applicable functional currency. Gains and losses on unhedged inventory purchases and other transactions associated with operating activities are recorded in the components of operating income in the consolidated statement of operations.

Accounting for the impairment of finite-lived tangible and intangible assets

Long-lived assets with finite lives, which include property and equipment and intangible assets other than goodwill, are evaluated for impairment when events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the assets may not be recoverable through the estimated undiscounted future cash flows from the use of these assets. When any such impairment exists, the related assets will be written down to fair value. Finite-lived intangible assets often consist of product technology rights, acquired backlog, customer relationships, product lines and license agreements. These intangible assets are amortized over the estimated economic lives of the related assets.

Goodwill and other indefinite-lived intangible assets

Goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets are not amortized, but are tested for impairment at least annually at the reporting unit level and asset level, respectively. Losses in value are recorded when material impairment has occurred in the underlying assets or when the benefits of the identified intangible assets are realized. Indefinite-lived intangible assets other than goodwill consist of trademarks.

The carrying value of goodwill and trademarks is based upon cost, which is subject to management’s current assessment of fair value. Management evaluates fair value recoverability using both objective and subjective factors. Objective factors include cash flows and analysis of recent sales and earnings trends. Subjective factors include management’s best estimates of projected future earnings and competitive analysis and the Company’s strategic focus.

Share-based Compensation

The Company measures all employee share-based compensation awards using a fair value method and records such expense in its consolidated financial statements.

Earnings (Loss) per share

A reconciliation of the amounts used to calculate basic and diluted loss per share for the year ended December 31, 2020, 2019, and 2018 follows (in thousands, except per share data):

	Year Ended December 31,
	2020			2019			2018
Net loss	$	(14,144	)	$	(55,379	)	$	(42,425	)
Net income (loss) attributable to non-controlling interests		130			169			(57	)
Net loss attributable to JAKKS Pacific, Inc.		(14,274	)		(55,548	)		(42,368	)
Preferred stock dividend		(1,257	)		(483	)		—
Net loss attributable to common stockholders	$	(15,531	)	$	(56,031	)	$	(42,368	)
Weighted average common shares outstanding - basic and diluted		3,634			2,598			2,310
Loss per share available to common stockholders - basic and diluted	$	(4.27	)	$	(21.57	)	$	(18.34	)

Basic earnings per share is calculated using the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted earnings per share is calculated using the weighted average number of common shares and common share equivalents outstanding during the period (which consist of restricted stock awards, restricted stock units and convertible debt to the extent they are dilutive). For the year ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, the convertible senior notes interest and related weighted common share equivalent of 5,758,365, 2,907,498 and 2,160,682, respectively, were excluded from the diluted earnings per share calculation since they would have been anti-dilutive. Potentially dilutive restricted stock awards and units of 185,455, 142,350 and 113,023 for each of the year ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively, were excluded from the computation of diluted earnings per share since they would have been anti-dilutive.

The Company effectively repurchased 311,284 shares of its common stock at an average cost of $77.10 per share for an aggregate amount of $24.0 million pursuant to a prepaid forward share repurchase agreement entered into with Merrill Lynch International (“ML”) on June 9, 2014. These repurchased shares were treated as retired for basic and diluted income (loss) per share purposes although they remained legally outstanding. The Company reflected the aggregate purchase price of its common shares repurchased as a reduction to stockholders’ equity allocated to treasury stock. On September 13, 2019, ML returned the shares to the Company. The Company subsequently retired the shares which had no impact to the Company’s stockholder’s equity.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In June 2016, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2016-13, “Financial Instruments-Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments,” which require a financial asset (or a group of financial assets) measured at amortized cost basis to be presented at the net amount expected to be collected. The new standard was initially effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, including interim periods within those fiscal years. In November 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-10 which deferred the effective date of ASU 2016-13 by three years for Smaller Reporting Companies. As a result, the effective date for the standard is fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2022, and interim periods therein, and early adoption is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of the adoption of ASU 2016-13 on its consolidated financial statements.

In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-13, “Disclosure Framework - Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurement,” which improves the effectiveness of the disclosures required under ASC 820 and modifies the disclosure requirements on fair value measurements, including the consideration of costs and benefits. The new standard is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, including interim periods within those fiscal years, and early adoption is permitted. The adoption of this standard did not have an impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

In October 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-17, "Consolidation: Targeted Improvements to Related Party Guidance for Variable Interest Entities," which improves the accounting for variable interest entities by considering indirect interests held through related parties under common control for determining whether fees paid to decision makers and service providers are variable interests. This new standard is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, including interim periods within those fiscal years. The amendments are required to be applied retrospectively with a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings at the beginning of the earliest period presented. Early adoption is permitted. The adoption of this standard did not have an impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements.

In December 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-12, “Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes,” which simplifies the accounting for income taxes related to the approach for intra-period tax allocation, the methodology for calculating income taxes in an interim period, and the recognition of deferred tax assets for investments. The guidance also reduces complexity in certain areas, including the accounting for transactions that result in a step-up in the tax basis of goodwill and allocating taxes to members of a consolidated group. This new standard is effective for the Company for fiscal years beginning January 1, 2021, with early adoption permitted. The Company does not expect any material impact on its consolidated financial statements from the adoption of this standard.

In March 2020, the FASB issued ASU 2020-04, “Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848): Facilitation of the Effects of Reference Rate Reform on Financial Reporting.” The new standard provides optional expedients and exceptions for applying U.S. GAAP to contracts, hedging relationships, and other transactions, for a limited period of time, to ease the potential burden of recognizing the effects of reference rate reform on financial reporting. The amendments in ASU 2020-04 apply to contracts, hedging relationships and other transactions that reference the London Inter-Bank Offered Rate ("LIBOR") or another reference rate expected to be discontinued due to the global transition away from LIBOR and certain other interbank offered rates. The new standard is effective for the Company for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2022, including interim periods within these fiscal years, with early adoption permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact that the adoption of this new guidance will have on its consolidated financial statements.

In August 2020, the FASB issued ASU 2020-06, “Debt – Debt with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20) and Derivatives and Hedging – Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40): Accounting for Convertible Instruments and Contracts in an Entity’s Own Equity.” The new guidance eliminates two of the three models in ASC 470-20, which required entities to account for beneficial conversion features and cash conversion features in equity, separately from the host convertible debt or preferred stock. As a result, only conversion features accounted for under the substantial premium model in ASC 470-20 and those that require bifurcation in accordance with ASC 815-15 will be accounted for separately. In addition, the amendments in ASU 2020-06 eliminates some of the requirements in ASC 815-40 related to equity classification. The amendments in ASU 2020-06 further revised the guidance in ASC 260, Earnings Per Share (“EPS”), to address how convertible instruments are accounted for in calculating diluted EPS, and requires enhanced disclosures about the terms of convertible instruments and contracts in an entity’s own equity. The new standard is effective for the Company for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023, including interim periods within these fiscal years, with early adoption permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact that the adoption of this new guidance will have on its consolidated financial statements.