Commitments and Contingencies

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2016

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Commitments and Contingencies

Commitments and Contingencies

Commitments

Leases

We have entered into various non-cancelable operating lease agreements for certain of our offices, equipment, land, and data centers with original lease periods expiring between 2016 and 2032. We are committed to pay a portion of the related actual operating expenses under certain of these lease agreements. Certain of these arrangements have free rent periods or escalating rent payment provisions, and we recognize rent expense under such arrangements on a straight-line basis. Operating lease expense was $59 million and $39 million for the three months ended March 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively. As of March 31, 2016, we fully repaid all of our capital lease obligations.

Contingencies

Legal Matters

Beginning on May 22, 2012, multiple putative class actions, derivative actions, and individual actions were filed in state and federal courts in the United States and in other jurisdictions against us, our directors, and/or certain of our officers alleging violation of securities laws or breach of fiduciary duties in connection with our initial public offering (IPO) and seeking unspecified damages. We believe these lawsuits are without merit, and we intend to continue to vigorously defend them. The vast majority of the cases in the United States, along with multiple cases filed against The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. and The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (collectively referred to herein as NASDAQ) alleging technical and other trading-related errors by NASDAQ in connection with our IPO, were ordered centralized for coordinated or consolidated pre-trial proceedings in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. In a series of rulings in 2013 and 2014, the court denied our motion to dismiss the consolidated securities class action and granted our motions to dismiss the derivative actions against our directors and certain of our officers. On July 24, 2015, the court of appeals affirmed the dismissal of the derivative actions. On December 11, 2015, the court granted plaintiffs' motion for class certification in the consolidated securities action. In addition, the events surrounding our IPO became the subject of various state and federal government inquiries. In May 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) notified us that it had terminated its inquiry and that no enforcement action had been recommended by the SEC.

We are also party to various legal proceedings and claims that arise in the ordinary course of business. With respect to our outstanding legal matters, we believe that the amount or estimable range of reasonably possible loss will not, either individually or in the aggregate, have a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial position, results of operations, or cash flows. However, the outcome of litigation is inherently uncertain. Therefore, if one or more of these legal matters were resolved against us for amounts in excess of management's expectations, our results of operations and financial condition, including in a particular reporting period, could be materially adversely affected.