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ORGANIZATION AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
12 Months Ended
May 31, 2019
Organization Consolidation And Presentation Of Financial Statements [Abstract]  
ORGANIZATION AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

1.

ORGANIZATION AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Oracle Corporation provides products and services that substantially address all aspects of enterprise information technology (IT) environments including applications and infrastructure, which are delivered to customers worldwide through a variety of flexible and interoperable IT deployment models, including cloud-based, Cloud at Customer (an instance of Oracle Cloud in the customer’s own data center), on premise or hybrid. Oracle Cloud Software-as-a-Service and Infrastructure-as-a-Service (SaaS and IaaS, respectively, and collectively, Oracle Cloud Services) offerings provide a comprehensive and integrated stack of applications and infrastructure services delivered via a cloud-based deployment model. Oracle Cloud Services integrate the software, hardware and services on a customer’s behalf in a cloud-based IT environment that Oracle deploys, upgrades, supports and manages for the customer. We offer our customers the option to deploy our comprehensive set of cloud offerings including Oracle Cloud Services or to purchase our software and hardware products and related services to manage their own cloud-based or on-premise IT environments. Customers that purchase our software products may elect to purchase license support contracts, which provide our customers with rights to unspecified license upgrades and maintenance releases issued during the support period as well as technical support assistance. Customers that purchase our hardware products may elect to purchase hardware support contracts, which provide customers with software updates and can include product repairs, maintenance services, and technical support services. We also offer customers a broad set of services offerings that are designed to improve customer utilization of their investments in Oracle applications and infrastructure technologies.

Oracle Corporation conducts business globally and was incorporated in 2005 as a Delaware corporation and is the successor to operations originally begun in June 1977.

Basis of Financial Statements

The consolidated financial statements included our accounts and the accounts of our wholly- and majority-owned subsidiaries. Noncontrolling interest positions of certain of our consolidated entities are reported as a separate component of consolidated equity from the equity attributable to Oracle’s stockholders for all periods presented. The noncontrolling interests in our net income were not significant to our consolidated results for the periods presented and therefore have been included as a component of non-operating income, net in our consolidated statements of operations. Intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated. Certain other prior year balances have been reclassified to conform to the current year presentation. Such reclassifications did not affect total revenues, operating income or net income.

In fiscal 2019, we adopted the following Accounting Standards Updates:

 

Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers: Topic 606 and subsequent amendments to the initial guidance: ASU 2015-14, ASU 2016-08, ASU 2016-10, ASU 2016-12, ASU 2016-20, ASU 2017-10, ASU 2017-13 and ASU 2017-14 (collectively, Topic 606), utilizing the full retrospective method of transition whereby the results and related disclosures for the comparative fiscal 2018 and 2017 periods presented in this Form 10-K were recast to be presented as if Topic 606 had been in effect during fiscal 2018 and 2017. Retrospective adjustments applicable prior to June 1, 2016 were recorded as a cumulative-effect adjustment that resulted in a $43 million increase in accumulated other comprehensive loss (AOCL) and an $820 million increase in retained earnings. Refer to the “Revenue Recognition” and “Deferred Sales Commissions” sections below for accounting policy updates upon our adoption of Topic 606.

 

ASU 2017-12, Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815): Targeted Improvements to Accounting for Hedging Activities (ASU 2017-12), which amends and simplifies existing guidance in order to allow companies to more accurately present the economic effects of risk management activities in the financial statements. We early adopted this new standard on June 1, 2018 using the modified retrospective method, which requires us to account for ASU 2017-12 as of the date of adoption with any retrospective adjustments applicable to prior periods included as a cumulative-effect adjustment to AOCL and retained earnings. The adoption of ASU 2017-12 did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements as of the adoption date or for any of the periods presented. As a result of the adoption of ASU 2017-12, we have elected to modify certain of our hedge documentation to exclude the fair value of certain components of the related hedging instrument in our assessment of hedge effectiveness. See Note 10 for additional explanations of the impact of adoption.  

 

ASU 2017-07, Compensation—Retirement Benefits (Topic 715): Improving the Presentation of Net Periodic Pension Costs and Net Periodic Postretirement Benefit Costs (ASU 2017-07), which provides guidance on the capitalization, presentation and disclosure of net benefit costs related to postretirement benefit plans. We adopted ASU 2017-07 on a full retrospective basis, which resulted in the retrospective reclassification of $54 million and $42 million, respectively, of non-service net periodic pension cost for fiscal 2018 and 2017, respectively, from line items within operating expenses into non-operating income, net.

 

ASU 2016-16, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Intra-Entity Transfers of Assets Other Than Inventory (ASU 2016-16), which requires entities to recognize the income tax consequences of an intra-entity transfer of an asset, other than inventory, when the transfer occurs. We adopted ASU 2016-16 effective June 1, 2018 on a modified retrospective basis through a cumulative-effect adjustment that resulted in a $110 million decrease in prepaid assets with the corresponding offset to retained earnings.

The impacts of adopting Topic 606 and ASU 2017-07 for select historical consolidated statements of operations line items were as follows:

 

 

 

Year Ended May 31,

 

 

 

2018

 

 

2017

 

(in millions, except per share data)

 

As Previously Reported

 

 

Adjustments

 

 

As Adjusted

 

 

As Previously Reported

 

 

Adjustments

 

 

As Adjusted

 

Total revenues

 

$

39,831

 

 

$

(448

)

 

$

39,383

 

 

$

37,728

 

 

$

64

 

 

$

37,792

 

Total operating expenses

 

$

26,152

 

 

$

(33

)

 

$

26,119

 

 

$

25,018

 

 

$

(139

)

 

$

24,879

 

Non-operating income, net

 

$

1,237

 

 

$

(52

)

 

$

1,185

 

 

$

605

 

 

$

(40

)

 

$

565

 

Provision for income taxes

 

$

9,066

 

 

$

(229

)

 

$

8,837

 

 

$

2,182

 

 

$

46

 

 

$

2,228

 

Net income

 

$

3,825

 

 

$

(238

)

 

$

3,587

 

 

$

9,335

 

 

$

117

 

 

$

9,452

 

Basic earnings per share

 

$

0.93

 

 

$

(0.06

)

 

$

0.87

 

 

$

2.27

 

 

$

0.03

 

 

$

2.30

 

Diluted earnings per share

 

$

0.90

 

 

$

(0.05

)

 

$

0.85

 

 

$

2.21

 

 

$

0.03

 

 

$

2.24

 

 

The impact of adopting Topic 606 for select historical consolidated balance sheet line items was as follows:

 

 

 

As of May 31, 2018

 

(in millions)

 

As Previously Reported

 

 

Adjustments

 

 

As Adjusted

 

Trade receivables, net of allowances for doubtful accounts

 

$

5,279

 

 

$

(143

)

 

$

5,136

 

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

 

$

3,424

 

 

$

338

 

 

$

3,762

 

Deferred tax assets

 

$

1,491

 

 

$

(96

)

 

$

1,395

 

Other non-current assets

 

$

3,487

 

 

$

488

 

 

$

3,975

 

Total current liabilities

 

$

19,195

 

 

$

(71

)

 

$

19,124

 

Total non-current liabilities

 

$

71,845

 

 

$

9

 

 

$

71,854

 

Total equity

 

$

46,224

 

 

$

649

 

 

$

46,873

 

 

In addition, in fiscal 2019, we also adopted the following Accounting Standards Updates, none of which had a material impact upon adoption or for any of the periods presented to our reported financial position, results of operations or cash flows:

 

ASU 2018-15, Intangibles—Goodwill and Other—Internal-Use Software (Subtopic 350-40): Customer’s Accounting for Implementation Costs Incurred in a Cloud Computing Arrangement That Is a Service Contract (ASU 2018-15);

 

ASU 2018-14, Compensation—Retirement Benefits—Defined Benefit Plans—General (Topic 715-20): Disclosure Framework—Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Defined Benefit Plans (ASU 2018-14);

 

ASU 2018-13, Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820): Disclosure Framework—Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurement (ASU 2018-13);

 

ASU 2018-02, Income Statement—Reporting Comprehensive Income (Topic 220): Reclassification of Certain Tax Effects from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (ASU 2018-02); and

 

ASU 2016-01, Financial Instruments—Overall (Subtopic 825-10): Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities (ASU 2016-01).

Impacts of the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017

The comparability of our operating results in fiscal 2019 compared to the corresponding prior year periods, and of our consolidated balance sheets as of May 31, 2019 relative to May 31, 2018, was impacted by the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (the Tax Act), which was effective for us in our third quarter of fiscal 2018. The Tax Act reduced the U.S. federal corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%; created a quasi-territorial tax system that generally allows companies to repatriate certain foreign source earnings without incurring additional U.S. income tax for such earnings generated after December 31, 2017; generally required companies to pay a one-time transition tax pursuant to a payment schedule that settles the tax over multiple future years on certain foreign subsidiary earnings generated prior to December 31, 2017 that, in substantial part, were previously tax deferred; created new taxes on certain foreign sourced earnings; limited deductibility of certain future compensation arrangements to certain highly compensated employees; and provided tax incentives for the exportation of U.S. products to foreign jurisdictions and for the purchase of qualifying capital equipment, among other provisions. As a result, we recorded a provisional charge to income tax expense of $6.9 billion in fiscal 2018, which, pursuant to SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 118 (SAB 118), included a $7.8 billion provisional charge related to the one-time transition tax on certain foreign subsidiary earnings and a provisional $911 million of income tax benefit related to the remeasurement of our net deferred tax assets and liabilities. During fiscal 2019, we completed our analysis of the impacts of the Tax Act and recorded an income tax benefit of $529 million in accordance with SAB 118 related to adjustments to our estimates of the one-time transition tax on certain foreign subsidiary earnings and an income tax expense of $140 million in accordance with SAB 118 related to the remeasurement of our net deferred tax assets and liabilities.

Use of Estimates

Our consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) as set forth in the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s (FASB) Accounting Standards Codification (ASC), and we consider the various staff accounting bulletins and other applicable guidance issued by the SEC. These accounting principles require us to make certain estimates, judgments and assumptions. We believe that the estimates, judgments and assumptions upon which we rely are reasonable based upon information available to us at the time that these estimates, judgments and assumptions are made. These estimates, judgments and assumptions can affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities as of the date of the financial statements as well as the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the periods presented. To the extent that there are differences between these estimates, judgments or assumptions and actual results, our consolidated financial statements will be affected. In many cases, the accounting treatment of a particular transaction is specifically dictated by GAAP and does not require management’s judgment in its application. There are also areas in which management’s judgment in selecting among available alternatives would not produce a materially different result.

Revenue Recognition

Our sources of revenues include:

 

cloud and license revenues, which include the sale of: cloud services and license support; and cloud licenses and on-premise licenses, which typically represent perpetual software licenses purchased by customers for use in both cloud and on-premise IT environments;

 

hardware revenues, which include the sale of hardware products, including Oracle Engineered Systems, servers, and storage products, and industry-specific hardware; and hardware support revenues; and

 

services revenues, which are earned from providing cloud-, license- and hardware-related services including consulting, advanced customer support and education services.

License support revenues are typically generated through the sale of license support contracts related to cloud license and on-premise licenses purchased by our customers at their option. License support contracts provide customers with rights to unspecified software product upgrades, maintenance releases and patches released during the term of the support period and include internet access to technical content, as well as internet and telephone access to technical support personnel. License support contracts are generally priced as a percentage of the net cloud license and on-premise license fees. Substantially all of our customers elect to renew their license support contracts annually.

Cloud services revenues include revenues from Oracle Cloud Software-as-a-Service and Infrastructure-as-a-Service (SaaS and IaaS, respectively, and collectively, Oracle Cloud Services) offerings which deliver applications and infrastructure technologies, respectively, via cloud-based deployment models that we develop functionality for, provide unspecified updates and enhancements for, host, manage, upgrade and support and that customers access by entering into a subscription agreement with us for a stated period. Our IaaS offerings also include Oracle Managed Cloud Services, which are designed to provide comprehensive software and hardware management, maintenance and security services for customer cloud-based, on-premise or other IT infrastructure for a fee for a stated term.

Cloud license and on-premise license revenues primarily represent amounts earned from granting customers perpetual licenses to use our database, middleware, application and industry-specific software products, which our customers use for cloud-based, on-premise and other IT environments. The vast majority of our cloud license and on-premise license arrangements include license support contracts, which are entered into at the customer’s option.

Revenues from the sale of hardware products represent amounts earned primarily from the sale of our Oracle Engineered Systems, computer servers, storage, and industry-specific hardware. Our hardware support offerings generally provide customers with software updates for the software components that are essential to the functionality of the hardware products purchased and can also include product repairs, maintenance services and technical support services. Hardware support contracts are generally priced as a percentage of the net hardware products fees.

Our services are offered to customers as standalone arrangements or as a part of arrangements to customers buying other products and services. Our consulting services are designed to help our customers to, among others, deploy, architect, integrate, upgrade and secure their investments in Oracle applications and infrastructure technologies. Our advanced customer support services are offered as standalone arrangements or as a part of arrangements to customers buying other products and services. We offer these advanced customer support services to Oracle customers to enable increased performance and higher availability of Oracle products and services. Education services include instructor-led, media-based and internet-based training in the use of our cloud, software and hardware products.

Topic 606 is a single standard for revenue recognition that applies to all of our cloud, license, hardware and services arrangements and generally requires revenues to be recognized upon the transfer of control of promised goods or services provided to our customers, reflecting the amount of consideration we expect to receive for those goods or services. Pursuant to Topic 606, revenues are recognized upon the application of the following steps:

 

identification of the contract, or contracts, with a customer;

 

 

identification of the performance obligations in the contract;

 

 

determination of the transaction price;

 

 

allocation of the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract; and

 

 

recognition of revenues when, or as, the contractual performance obligations are satisfied.

The timing of revenue recognition may differ from the timing of invoicing to our customers. We record an unbilled receivable, which is included within accounts receivable on our consolidated balance sheets, when revenue is recognized prior to invoicing. We record deferred revenues on our consolidated balance sheets when revenues are recognized subsequent to cash collection for an invoice. Our standard payment terms are generally net 30 days but may vary. Invoices for cloud license and on-premise licenses and hardware products are generally issued when the license is made available for customer use or upon delivery to the customer of the hardware product. Invoices for license support and hardware support contracts are generally invoiced annually in advance. Cloud SaaS and IaaS contracts are generally invoiced annually, quarterly or monthly in advance. Services are generally invoiced in advance or as the services are performed. Most contracts that contain a financing component are contracts financed through our financing division. The transaction price for a contract that is financed through our financing division is adjusted to reflect the time value of money and interest revenue is recorded as a component of non-operating income, net within our consolidated statements of operations based on market rates in the country in which the transaction is being financed.  

Our revenue arrangements generally include standard warranty or service level provisions that our arrangements will perform and operate in all material respects as defined in the respective agreements, the financial impacts of which have historically been and are expected to continue to be insignificant. Our arrangements generally do not include a general right of return relative to the delivered products or services. We recognize revenues net of any taxes collected from customers, which are subsequently remitted to governmental authorities.

Revenue Recognition for Cloud Services

Revenues from cloud services provided on a subscription basis are generally recognized ratably over the contractual period that the services are delivered, beginning on the date our service is made available to our customers. We recognize revenue ratably because the customer receives and consumes the benefits of the cloud services throughout the contract period. Revenues from cloud services provided on a consumption basis, such as metered services, are generally recognized based on the utilization of the services by the customer.

Revenue Recognition for License Support and Hardware Support

Oracle’s primary performance obligations with respect to license support contracts and hardware support contracts are to provide customers with technical support as needed and unspecified software product upgrades, maintenance releases and patches during the term of the support period, if and when they are available. Oracle is obligated to make the license and hardware support services available continuously throughout the contract period. Therefore, revenues for license support contracts and hardware support contracts are generally recognized ratably over the contractual periods that the support services are provided.  

Revenue Recognition for Cloud License and On-Premise License

Revenues from distinct cloud license and on-premise license performance obligations are generally recognized upfront at the point in time when the software is made available to the customer to download and use. Revenues from usage-based royalty arrangements for distinct cloud licenses and on-premise licenses are recognized at the point in time when the software end user usage occurs. For usage-based royalty arrangements with a fixed minimum guarantee amount, the minimum amount is generally recognized upfront when the software is made available to the royalty customer.

Revenue Recognition for Hardware Products

The hardware product and related software, such as an operating system or firmware, are highly interdependent and interrelated and are accounted for as a combined performance obligation. The revenues for this combined performance obligation are generally recognized at the point in time that the hardware product is delivered to the customer and ownership is transferred to the customer.

Revenue Recognition for Services

Services revenues are generally recognized over time as the services are performed. Revenues for fixed price services are generally recognized over time applying input methods to estimate progress to completion. Revenues for consumption-based services are generally recognized as the services are performed.

Allocation of the Transaction Price for Contracts that have Multiple Performance Obligations

Many of our contracts include multiple performance obligations. Judgment is required in determining whether each performance obligation is distinct. Oracle products and services generally do not require a significant amount of integration or interdependency; therefore, our products and services are generally not combined. We allocate the transaction price for each contract to each performance obligation based on the relative standalone selling price (SSP) for each performance obligation within each contract.

We use judgment in determining the SSP for products and services. For substantially all performance obligations except cloud licenses and on-premise licenses, we are able to establish the SSP based on the observable prices of products or services sold separately in comparable circumstances to similar customers. We typically establish an SSP range for our products and services which is reassessed on a periodic basis or when facts and circumstances change. Our cloud licenses and on-premise licenses have not historically been sold on a standalone basis, as the vast majority of all customers elect to purchase license support contracts at the time of a cloud license and on-premise license purchase. License support contracts are generally priced as a percentage of the net fees paid by the customer to access the license. We are unable to establish the SSP for our cloud licenses and on-premise licenses based on observable prices given the same products are sold for a broad range of amounts (that is, the selling price is highly variable) and a representative SSP is not discernible from past transactions or other observable evidence. As a result, the SSP for a cloud license and an on-premise license included in a contract with multiple performance obligations is determined by applying a residual approach whereby all other performance obligations within a contract are first allocated a portion of the transaction price based upon their respective SSPs, with any residual amount of transaction price allocated to cloud license and on-premise license revenues.

Remaining Performance Obligations from Customer Contracts

Trade receivables, net of allowance for doubtful accounts, and deferred revenues are reported net of related uncollected deferred revenues in our consolidated balance sheets as of May 31, 2019 and 2018.

The amount of revenues recognized during the year ended May 31, 2019 that were included in the opening deferred revenues balance as of May 31, 2018 was approximately $8.3 billion. Revenues recognized from performance obligations satisfied in prior periods and impairment losses recognized on our receivables were immaterial during each year ended May 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017.  

Remaining performance obligations represent contracted revenues that had not yet been recognized, and include deferred revenues; invoices that have been issued to customers but were uncollected and have not been recognized as revenues; and amounts that will be invoiced and recognized as revenues in future periods. The volumes and amounts of customer contracts that we book and total revenues that we recognize are impacted by a variety of seasonal factors. In each fiscal year, the amounts and volumes of contracting activity and our total revenues are typically highest in our fourth fiscal quarter and lowest in our first fiscal quarter. These seasonal impacts influence how our remaining performance obligations change over time. As of May 31, 2019, our remaining performance obligations were $36.2 billion, approximately 62% of which we expect to recognize as revenues over the next twelve months and the remainder thereafter.

Refer to Note 15 for our discussion of revenues disaggregation.

Sales of Financing Receivables

We offer certain of our customers the option to acquire our software products, hardware products and services offerings through separate long-term payment contracts. We generally sell these contracts that we have financed for our customers on a non-recourse basis to financial institutions within 90 days of the contracts’ dates of execution. We record the transfers of amounts due from customers to financial institutions as sales of financing receivables because we are considered to have surrendered control of these financing receivables. During fiscal 2019, 2018 and 2017, $1.8 billion, $1.7 billion and $1.6 billion, respectively, of our financing receivables were sold to financial institutions.

Business Combinations

We apply the provisions of ASC 805, Business Combinations (ASC 805), in accounting for our acquisitions. ASC 805 requires that we evaluate whether a transaction pertains to an acquisition of assets, or to an acquisition of a business. A business is defined as an integrated set of assets and activities that is capable of being conducted and managed for the purpose of providing a return to investors. Asset acquisitions are accounted for by allocating the cost of the acquisition to the individual assets and liabilities assumed on a relative fair value basis; whereas the acquisition of a business requires us to recognize separately from goodwill the assets acquired and the liabilities assumed at the acquisition date fair values. Goodwill as of the acquisition date is measured as the excess of consideration transferred over the net of the acquisition date fair values of the assets acquired and the liabilities assumed. While we use our best estimates and assumptions to accurately value assets acquired and liabilities assumed at the acquisition date as well as any contingent consideration, where applicable, our estimates are inherently uncertain and subject to refinement. As a result, during the measurement period, which may be up to one year from the acquisition date, we record adjustments to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed with the corresponding offset to goodwill. Upon the conclusion of the measurement period or final determination of the values of assets acquired or liabilities assumed, whichever comes first, any subsequent adjustments are recorded to our consolidated statements of operations. Costs to exit or restructure certain activities of an acquired company or our internal operations are accounted for as termination and exit costs pursuant to ASC 420, Exit or Disposal Cost Obligations, and are accounted for separately from the business combination. A liability for costs associated with an exit or disposal activity is recognized and measured at its fair value in our consolidated statement of operations in the period in which the liability is incurred. When estimating the fair value of facility restructuring activities, assumptions are applied regarding estimated sub-lease payments to be received, which can differ from actual results. This may require us to revise our initial estimates which may affect our results of operations and financial position in the period the revision is made.

For a given acquisition, we may identify certain pre-acquisition contingencies as of the acquisition date and may extend our review and evaluation of these pre-acquisition contingencies throughout the measurement period in order to obtain sufficient information to assess whether we include these contingencies as a part of the fair value estimates of assets acquired and liabilities assumed and, if so, to determine their estimated amounts. If we cannot reasonably determine the fair value of a non-income tax related pre-acquisition contingency by the end of the measurement period, which is generally the case given the nature of such matters, we will recognize an asset or a liability for such pre-acquisition contingency if: (1) it is probable that an asset existed or a liability had been incurred at the acquisition date and (2) the amount of the asset or liability can be reasonably estimated. Subsequent to the measurement period, changes in our estimates of such contingencies will affect earnings and could have a material effect on our results of operations and financial position.

In addition, uncertain tax positions and tax related valuation allowances assumed in connection with a business combination are initially estimated as of the acquisition date. We reevaluate these items quarterly based upon facts and circumstances that existed as of the acquisition date with any adjustments to our preliminary estimates being recorded to goodwill if identified within the measurement period. Subsequent to the measurement period or our final determination of the tax allowance’s or contingency’s estimated value, whichever comes first, changes to these uncertain tax positions and tax related valuation allowances will affect our provision for income taxes in our consolidated statement of operations and could have a material impact on our results of operations and financial position.

Marketable and Non-Marketable Securities

In accordance with ASC 320, InvestmentsDebt and Equity Securities, and based on our intentions regarding these instruments, we classify substantially all of our marketable debt securities as available-for-sale. Marketable debt securities classified as available-for-sale are reported at fair value, with all unrealized gains (losses) reflected net of tax in stockholders’ equity on our consolidated balance sheets, and as a line item in our consolidated statements of comprehensive income. If we determine that an investment has an other than temporary decline in fair value, we recognize the investment loss in non-operating income, net in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations. We periodically evaluate our investments to determine if impairment charges are required. Substantially all of our marketable debt investments are classified as current based on the nature of the investments and their availability for use in current operations.

Investments in equity securities, other than equity method investments, are recorded at fair value, if fair value is readily determinable. We hold investments in certain non-marketable equity securities with no readily determinable fair values in which we do not have a controlling interest or significant influence. Upon adoption of ASU 2016-01 effective June 1, 2018, we have elected to measure these equity securities at cost, less any impairment, adjusted for observable price changes from orderly transactions for identical or similar investments of the same issuer. Prior to our adoption of ASU 2016-01 these equity securities were recorded at cost, less any impairment. Our non-marketable equity securities are included in other non-current assets in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets and are subject to periodic impairment reviews.

Fair Values of Financial Instruments

We apply the provisions of ASC 820, Fair Value Measurement (ASC 820), to our assets and liabilities that we are required to measure at fair value pursuant to other accounting standards, including our investments in marketable debt and equity securities and our derivative financial instruments.

The additional disclosures regarding our fair value measurements are included in Note 4.

Allowances for Doubtful Accounts

We record allowances for doubtful accounts based upon a specific review of all significant outstanding invoices. For those invoices not specifically reviewed, provisions are provided at differing rates, based upon the age of the receivable, the collection history associated with the geographic region that the receivable was recorded in and current economic trends. We write-off a receivable and charge it against its recorded allowance when we have exhausted our collection efforts without success.

Concentrations of Risk

Financial instruments that are potentially subject to concentrations of credit risk consist primarily of cash and cash equivalents, marketable securities, derivatives and trade receivables. Our cash and cash equivalents are generally held with large, diverse financial institutions worldwide to reduce the amount of exposure to any single financial institution. Investment policies have been implemented that limit purchases of marketable debt securities to investment-grade securities. Our derivative contracts are transacted with various financial institutions with high credit standings and any exposure to counterparty credit-related losses in these contracts is largely mitigated with collateral security agreements that provide for collateral to be received or posted when the net fair values of these contracts fluctuate from contractually established thresholds. We generally do not require collateral to secure accounts receivable. The risk with respect to trade receivables is mitigated by credit evaluations we perform on our customers, the short duration of our payment terms for the significant majority of our customer contracts and by the diversification of our customer base. No single customer accounted for 10% or more of our total revenues in fiscal 2019, 2018 or 2017.

We outsource the manufacturing, assembly and delivery of certain of our hardware products to a variety of companies, many of which are located outside the U.S. Further, we have simplified our supply chain processes by reducing the number of third-party manufacturing partners and the number of locations where these third-party manufacturers build our hardware products. Any inability of these third-party manufacturing partners to deliver the contracted services for our hardware products could adversely impact future operating results of our hardware business.

Inventories

Inventories are stated at the lower of cost or net realizable value. Cost is computed using standard cost, which approximates actual cost, on a first-in, first-out basis. We evaluate our ending inventories for estimated excess quantities and obsolescence. This evaluation includes analysis of sales levels by product and projections of future demand within specific time horizons (generally six to nine months). Inventories in excess of future demand are written down and charged to hardware expenses. In addition, we assess the impact of changing technology to our inventories and we write down inventories that are considered obsolete. At the point of loss recognition, a new, lower-cost basis for that inventory is established, and subsequent changes in facts and circumstances do not result in the restoration or increase in that newly established cost basis. Inventories are included in prepaid expenses and other current assets in our consolidated balance sheets and totaled $320 million and $398 million at May 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

Other Receivables

Other receivables represent value-added tax and sales tax receivables associated with the sale of our products and services to third parties. Other receivables are included in prepaid expenses and other current assets in our consolidated balance sheets and totaled $776 million and $802 million at May 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

Deferred Sales Commissions

We defer sales commissions earned by our sales force that are considered to be incremental and recoverable costs of obtaining a cloud, license support and hardware support contract. Initial sales commissions for the majority of these aforementioned contracts are generally deferred and amortized on a straight-line basis over a period of benefit that we estimate to be four to five years. We determine the period of benefit by taking into consideration the historical and expected durations of our customer contracts, the expected useful lives of our technologies, and other factors. Sales commissions for renewal contracts relating to our cloud-based arrangements are generally deferred and then amortized on a straight-line basis over the related contractual renewal period, which is generally one to three years. Amortization of deferred sales commissions is included as a component of sales and marketing expenses in our consolidated statements of operations.

Property, Plant and Equipment

Property, plant and equipment are stated at the lower of cost or realizable value, net of accumulated depreciation. Depreciation is computed using the straight-line method based on estimated useful lives of the assets, which range from one to 40 years. Leasehold improvements are amortized over the lesser of the estimated useful lives of the improvements or the lease terms, as appropriate. Property, plant and equipment are periodically reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. We did not recognize any significant property impairment charges in fiscal 2019, 2018 or 2017.

Goodwill, Intangible Assets and Impairment Assessments

Goodwill represents the excess of the purchase price in a business combination over the fair value of net tangible and intangible assets acquired. Intangible assets that are not considered to have an indefinite useful life are amortized over their useful lives, which generally range from one to 10 years. Each period we evaluate the estimated remaining useful lives of purchased intangible assets and whether events or changes in circumstances warrant a revision to the remaining periods of amortization.

The carrying amounts of our goodwill and intangible assets are periodically reviewed for impairment (at least annually for goodwill and indefinite lived intangible assets) and whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of these assets may not be recoverable. When goodwill is assessed for impairment, we have the option to perform an assessment of qualitative factors of impairment (optional assessment) prior to necessitating a quantitative impairment test. Should the optional assessment be used for any given fiscal year, qualitative factors to consider for a reporting unit include: cost factors; financial performance; legal, regulatory, contractual, political, business, or other factors; entity specific factors; industry and market considerations; macroeconomic conditions; and other relevant events and factors affecting the reporting unit. If we determine in the qualitative assessment that it is more likely than not that the fair value of the reporting unit is less than its carrying value, a quantitative test is then performed. Otherwise, no further testing is required. For those reporting units tested using a quantitative approach, we compare the fair value of each reporting unit with the carrying amount of the reporting unit, including goodwill. To determine the fair value of each reporting unit we utilize estimates, judgments and assumptions including estimated future cash flows the reporting unit is expected to generate on a discounted basis; the discount rate used as a part of the discounted cash flow analysis; future economic and market conditions; and market comparables of peer companies, among others. If, as per the quantitative test, the estimated fair value of the reporting unit is less than the carrying amount of the reporting unit, impairment is recognized for the difference, limited to the amount of goodwill recognized for the reporting unit. Our most recent goodwill impairment analysis was performed on March 1, 2019 and did not result in a goodwill impairment charge. We did not recognize impairment charges in fiscal 2018 or 2017.

Recoverability of finite lived intangible assets is measured by comparison of the carrying amount of the asset to the future undiscounted cash flows the asset is expected to generate. Recoverability of indefinite lived intangible assets is measured by comparison of the carrying amount of the asset to its fair value. If the asset is considered to be impaired, the amount of any impairment is measured as the difference between the carrying value and the fair value of the impaired asset. We did not recognize any intangible asset impairment charges in fiscal 2019, 2018 or 2017. At least annually, we assess the useful lives of our finite lived intangible assets and may adjust the period over which these assets are amortized whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that a shorter amortization period is more reflective of the period in which these assets contribute to our cash flows.

Derivative Financial Instruments

During fiscal 2019, 2018 and 2017, we used derivative financial instruments to manage foreign currency and interest rate risks (see Note 10 below for additional information). We do not use derivative financial instruments for trading purposes. We account for these instruments in accordance with ASC 815, Derivatives and Hedging (ASC 815), which requires that every derivative instrument be recorded on the balance sheet as either an asset or liability measured at its fair value as of each reporting date. ASC 815 also requires that changes in our derivatives’ fair values be recognized in earnings, unless specific hedge accounting and documentation criteria are met (i.e., the instruments are accounted for as hedges).

The accounting for changes in the fair value of a derivative depends on the intended use of the derivative and the resulting designation. For a derivative instrument designated as a fair value hedge, loss or gain attributable to the risk being hedged is recognized in earnings in the period of change with a corresponding earnings offset recorded to the item for which the risk is being hedged.

For a derivative instrument designated as a cash flow hedge, each reporting period we record the change in fair value of the derivative to AOCL in our consolidated balance sheets, and the change is reclassified to earnings when the hedged item affects earnings.

Legal and Other Contingencies

We are currently involved in various claims and legal proceedings. Quarterly, we review the status of each significant matter and assess our potential financial exposure. Descriptions of our accounting policies associated with contingencies assumed as a part of a business combination are provided under “Business Combinations” above. For legal and other contingencies that are not a part of a business combination or related to income taxes, we accrue a liability for an estimated loss if the potential loss from any claim or legal proceeding is considered probable, and the amount can be reasonably estimated. Note 17 below provides additional information regarding certain of our legal contingencies.

Shipping and Handling Costs

Our shipping and handling costs for hardware products sales are included in hardware expenses for all periods presented.

Foreign Currency

We transact business in various foreign currencies. In general, the functional currency of a foreign operation is the local country’s currency. Consequently, revenues and expenses of operations outside the U.S. are translated into U.S. Dollars using weighted-average exchange rates while assets and liabilities of operations outside the U.S. are translated into U.S. Dollars using exchange rates at the balance sheet dates. The effects of foreign currency translation adjustments are included in stockholders’ equity as a component of AOCL in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets and related periodic movements are summarized as a line item in our consolidated statements of comprehensive income. Net foreign exchange transaction losses included in non-operating income, net in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations were $111 million, $74 million and $152 million in fiscal 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively.

Stock-Based Compensation

We account for share-based payments to employees, including grants of service-based restricted stock awards, performance-based restricted stock awards (PSUs), service-based employee stock options, performance-based stock options (PSOs), and purchases under employee stock purchase plans in accordance with ASC 718, CompensationStock Compensation, which requires that share-based payments (to the extent they are compensatory) be recognized in our consolidated statements of operations based on their fair values. We account for forfeitures of stock-based awards as they occur.

For our service-based stock awards, we recognize stock-based compensation expense on a straight-line basis over the service period of the award, which is generally four years.

For our PSUs and PSOs, we recognize stock-based compensation expense on a straight-line basis over the longer of the derived, explicit or implicit service period (which is the period of time expected for the performance condition to be satisfied). During our interim and annual reporting periods, stock-based compensation expense is recorded based on expected attainment of performance targets. Changes in our estimates of the expected attainment of performance targets that result in a change in the number of shares that are expected to vest, or changes in our estimates of implicit service periods, may cause the amount of stock-based compensation expense that we record for each interim reporting period to vary. Any changes in estimates that impact our expectation of the number of shares that are expected to vest are reflected in the amount of stock-based compensation expense that we recognize for each PSU or PSO tranche on a cumulative catch up basis during each interim reporting period in which such estimates are altered. Changes in estimates of the implicit service periods are recognized prospectively.

We record deferred tax assets for stock-based compensation awards that result in deductions on certain of our income tax returns based on the amount of stock-based compensation recognized in each reporting period and the fair values attributable to the vested portion of stock awards assumed in connection with a business combination at the statutory tax rates in the jurisdictions that we are able to recognize such tax deductions. The impacts of the actual tax deductions for stock-based awards that are realized in these jurisdictions are generally recognized in the reporting period that a restricted stock-based award vests or a stock option is exercised with any shortfall/windfall relative to the deferred tax asset established recorded as a discrete detriment/benefit to our provision for income taxes in such period.

Advertising

All advertising costs are expensed as incurred. Advertising expenses, which were included within sales and marketing expenses, were $169 million, $138 million and $95 million in fiscal 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively.

Research and Development Costs and Software Development Costs

All research and development costs are expensed as incurred in accordance with ASC 730, Research and Development. Software development costs required to be capitalized under ASC 985-20, Costs of Software to be Sold, Leased or Marketed, and under ASC 350-40, Internal-Use Software, were not material to our consolidated financial statements in fiscal 2019, 2018 and 2017.

Acquisition Related and Other Expenses

Acquisition related and other expenses consist of personnel related costs and stock-based compensation for transitional and certain other employees, integration related professional services, and certain business combination adjustments including certain adjustments after the measurement period has ended and certain other operating items, net.

 

 

Year Ended May 31,

 

(in millions)

 

2019

 

 

2018

 

 

2017

 

Transitional and other employee related costs

 

$

49

 

 

$

48

 

 

$

41

 

Stock-based compensation

 

 

 

 

 

1

 

 

 

35

 

Professional fees and other, net

 

 

16

 

 

 

3

 

 

 

33

 

Business combination adjustments, net

 

 

(21

)

 

 

 

 

 

(6

)

Total acquisition related and other expenses

 

$

44

 

 

$

52

 

 

$

103

 

Non-Operating Income, net

Non-operating income, net consists primarily of interest income, net foreign currency exchange losses, the noncontrolling interests in the net profits of our majority-owned subsidiaries (primarily Oracle Financial Services Software Limited and Oracle Corporation Japan) and net other income, including net realized gains and losses related to all of our investments, net unrealized gains and losses related to the small portion of our investment portfolio related to our deferred compensation plan, net unrealized gains and losses related to certain equity securities and non-service net periodic pension income (losses).

 

 

 

Year Ended May 31,

 

(in millions)

 

2019

 

 

2018

 

 

2017

 

Interest income

 

$

1,092

 

 

$

1,203

 

 

$

804

 

Foreign currency losses, net

 

 

(111

)

 

 

(74

)

 

 

(152

)

Noncontrolling interests in income

 

 

(152

)

 

 

(135

)

 

 

(118

)

Other income, net

 

 

(14

)

 

 

191

 

 

 

31

 

Total non-operating income, net

 

$

815

 

 

$

1,185

 

 

$

565

 

 

Income Taxes

We account for income taxes in accordance with ASC 740, Income Taxes (ASC 740). Deferred income taxes are recorded for the expected tax consequences of temporary differences between the tax bases of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and amounts recognized for income tax purposes. We record a valuation allowance to reduce our deferred tax assets to the amount of future tax benefit that is more likely than not to be realized.

A two-step approach is applied pursuant to ASC 740 in the recognition and measurement of uncertain tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. The first step is to determine if the weight of available evidence indicates that it is more likely than not that the tax position will be sustained in an audit, including resolution of any related appeals or litigation processes. The second step is to measure the tax benefit as the largest amount that is more than 50% likely to be realized upon ultimate settlement. We recognize interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions in our provision for income taxes line of our consolidated statements of operations.

During fiscal 2019, we completed our analysis of the accounting policy election required with regard to the Tax Act’s Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income (GILTI) provision. The FASB allows companies to adopt a policy election to account for GILTI under one of two methods: (i) account for GILTI as a component of tax expense in the period in which a company is subject to the rules (the period cost method), or (ii) account for GILTI in a company’s measurement of deferred taxes (the deferred method). We elected the deferred method, under which we recorded the income tax expense impact to our consolidated financial statements during fiscal 2019.

A description of our accounting policies associated with tax related contingencies and valuation allowances assumed as a part of a business combination is provided under “Business Combinations” above.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Financial Instruments:  In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments—Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments (ASU 2016-13) and also issued subsequent amendments to the initial guidance: ASU 2018-19, ASU 2019-04, and ASU 2019-05 (collectively, Topic 326). Topic 326 requires measurement and recognition of expected credit losses for financial assets held. Topic 326 is effective for us in our first quarter of fiscal 2021, and earlier adoption is permitted beginning in the first quarter of fiscal 2020. We are currently evaluating the impact of our pending adoption of Topic 326 on our consolidated financial statements.

Leases: In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842) and also issued subsequent amendments to the initial guidance: ASU 2017-13, ASU 2018-10, ASU 2018-11, ASU 2018-20 and ASU 2019-01 (collectively, Topic 842). Topic 842 requires companies to generally recognize on the balance sheet operating and financing lease liabilities and corresponding right-of-use assets. We intend to adopt Topic ASC 842 using the effective date of June 1, 2019 as the date of our initial application of the standard. Consequently, financial information for the comparative periods will not be updated. We are currently evaluating the impact of our pending adoption of Topic 842 on our consolidated financial statements. We currently expect that most of our operating lease commitments will be subject to the new standard and recognized as operating lease liabilities and right-of-use assets upon our adoption of Topic 842, which will increase our total assets and total liabilities that we report relative to such amounts prior to adoption.