Revenue Recognition Revenue Reconition (Notes)

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2021

Revenue Recognition [Abstract]

Revenue From Contract With Customer

Revenue Recognition

The majority of our revenue is derived from the sale of vehicle parts. We recognize revenue when the products are shipped to, delivered to or picked up by customers, which is the point when title has transferred and risk of ownership has passed.

Sources of Revenue

We report our revenue in two categories: (i) parts and services and (ii) other. The following table sets forth our revenue by category, with our parts and services revenue further disaggregated by reportable segment (in thousands):

	Three Months Ended				Six Months Ended
	June 30,				June 30,
	2021		2020		2021		2020
North America	$	1,077,171	$	892,826	$	2,095,608	$	2,000,168
Europe	1,569,697		1,206,330		3,025,067		2,564,299
Specialty	531,403		404,002		989,362		751,408
Parts and services	3,178,271		2,503,158		6,110,037		5,315,875
Other	256,843		123,165		495,863		311,383
Total revenue	$	3,435,114	$	2,626,323	$	6,605,900	$	5,627,258

Parts and Services

Our parts revenue is generated from the sale of vehicle products including replacement parts, components and systems used in the repair and maintenance of vehicles and specialty products and accessories to improve the performance, functionality and appearance of vehicles. Services revenue includes (i) additional services that are generally billed concurrently with the related product sales, such as the sale of service-type warranties, (ii) fees for admission to our self service yards, and (iii) diagnostic and repair services.

In North America, our vehicle replacement products include sheet metal collision parts such as doors, hoods, and fenders; bumper covers; head and tail lamps; automotive glass products such as windshields; mirrors and grilles; wheels; and large mechanical items such as engines and transmissions. In Europe, our products include a wide variety of small mechanical products such as brake pads, discs and sensors; clutches; electrical products such as spark plugs and batteries; steering and suspension products; filters; and oil and automotive fluids. In our Specialty operations, we serve six product segments: truck and off-road; speed and performance; recreational vehicles; towing; wheels, tires and performance handling; and miscellaneous accessories. 

Our service-type warranties typically have service periods ranging from 6 months to 36 months. Proceeds from these service-type warranties are deferred at contract inception and amortized on a straight-line basis to revenue over the contract period. The changes in deferred service-type warranty revenue are as follows (in thousands):

Balance as of January 1, 2021	$	25,622
Additional warranty revenue deferred	30,962
Warranty revenue recognized	(26,966)
Balance as of June 30, 2021	$	29,618

Other Revenue

Revenue from other sources includes sales of scrap and precious metals (platinum, palladium, and rhodium), bulk sales to mechanical manufacturers (including cores) and sales of aluminum ingots and sows from our furnace operations. We derive scrap metal and other precious metals from several sources, including vehicles that have been used in both our wholesale and self service recycling operations and from original equipment manufacturers ("OEMs") and other entities that contract with us for secure disposal of "crush only" vehicles. Revenue from the sale of hulks in our wholesale and self service recycling operations is recognized based on a price per ton of delivered material when the customer (processor) collects the scrap. Some adjustments may occur when the customer weighs the scrap at their location, and revenue is adjusted accordingly.

Revenue by Geographic Area

See Note 14, "Segment and Geographic Information" for information related to our revenue by geographic region.

Variable Consideration

The amount of revenue ultimately received from the customer can vary due to variable consideration including returns, discounts, rebates, refunds, credits, price concessions, incentives, performance bonuses, or other similar items. Under FASB Accounting Standards Codification Topic 606 ("ASC 606"), we are required to select the “expected value method” or the “most

likely amount” method in order to estimate variable consideration. We utilize both methods in practice depending on the type of variable consideration, with contemplation of any expected reversals in revenue. We recorded a refund liability and return asset for expected returns of $106 million and $59 million, respectively, as of June 30, 2021, and $102 million and $57 million, respectively, as of December 31, 2020. The refund liability is presented separately on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets within current liabilities while the return asset is presented within Prepaid expenses and other current assets. Other types of variable consideration consist primarily of discounts, volume rebates, and other customer sales incentives that are recorded in Receivables, net on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. We recorded a reserve for our variable consideration of $102 million and $127 million as of June 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively. While other customer incentive programs exist, we characterize them as material rights in the context of our sales transactions. We consider these programs to be immaterial to our unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.