BASIS OF PRESENTATION (Policies)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2018

The unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements of Baxter International Inc. and its subsidiaries (the company or Baxter) have been prepared pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Accordingly, certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) in the United States have been condensed or omitted. These unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes included in the company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017 (2017 Annual Report).

In the opinion of management, the unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements reflect all adjustments necessary for a fair statement of the interim periods. All such adjustments, unless otherwise noted herein, are of a normal, recurring nature. The results of operations for the interim period are not necessarily indicative of the results of operations to be expected for the full year.

Certain reclassifications have been made to conform the prior period condensed consolidated statements to the current period presentation.

New Accounting Standards

New accounting standards

Recently adopted accounting pronouncements

As of January 1, 2018, the company adopted Accounting Standards Update (ASU) No. 2017-07, Improving the Presentation of Net Periodic Pension Cost and Net Periodic Postretirement Benefit Cost, which amends ASC 715, Compensation – Retirement Benefits, to require employers that present a measure of operating income in their statements of earnings to include only the service cost component of net periodic postretirement benefit cost in operating expenses. The service cost component of net periodic postretirement benefit cost should be presented in the same operating expense line items as other employee compensation costs arising from services rendered during the period. The other components of net benefit cost, including interest costs, expected return on assets, amortization of prior service cost/credit and actuarial gains/losses, and settlement and curtailment effects, are to be included separately and outside of any subtotal of operating income. This guidance impacted the presentation of the company’s consolidated statements of income with no significant impact on net income. The retrospective impact of adoption for the three months ended March 31, 2017 is shown in the following table.

	Three months ended March 31, 2017
	As Previously Reported		Reclassification			As Reclassified

Cost of sales	$	1,433	$	(2	)	$	1,431
Gross margin		1,042		2			1,044
Marketing and administrative expenses		570		(6	)		564
Research and development expenses		128		(1	)		127
Operating income		344		9			353
Other (income) expense, net		2		9			11

As of January 1, 2018, the company adopted ASU No. 2016-16, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Intra-Entity Transfers of Assets Other than Inventory. ASU No. 2016-16 generally accelerates the recognition of income tax consequences for asset transfers between entities under common control. Entities are required to adopt using a modified retrospective approach with a cumulative adjustment to opening retained earnings in the year of adoption for previously unrecognized income tax expense. The company recorded a net negative retained earnings adjustment of approximately $66 million upon adoption of the standard on January 1, 2018 related to the unrecognized income tax effects of asset transfers that occurred prior to adoption.

As of January 1, 2018, the company adopted ASU No. 2016-01, Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Liabilities. The new standard amends certain aspects of accounting and disclosure requirements of financial instruments, including the requirement that equity investments with readily determinable fair values be measured at fair value with changes in fair value recognized in the results of operations. The adoption of this standard did not have a material impact on the company’s condensed consolidated financial statements.

As of January 1, 2018, the company adopted ASU No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606), which amends the existing accounting standards for revenue recognition. ASU No. 2014-09 is based on principles that govern the recognition of revenue at an amount an entity expects to be entitled when products are transferred to customers. The company adopted the standard using the modified retrospective method. The primary impact of the new standard relates to the company’s contract manufacturing operations and software arrangements. Certain contract manufacturing arrangements require revenue recognition over-time in situations in which the company produces products that have no alternative use and the company has an enforceable right to payment for performance completed to date, inclusive of a reasonable profit margin. This results in an acceleration of revenue recognition for certain contractual arrangements as compared to recognition under prior accounting literature. The new guidance also impacts the company’s arrangements subject to previous software revenue recognition guidance, as the company is required to recognize as revenue a significant portion of the contract consideration upon delivery of the software compared to the previous practice of recognizing the contract consideration ratably over time for certain arrangements. The adjustment upon adoption increased the company’s opening balance of retained earnings by approximately $48 million, net of tax, on January 1, 2018. Refer to Note 2 for further information regarding the company’s revenues.