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Goodwill, Customer Relationships and Other Intangible Assets
 9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2024
Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]  
Goodwill, Customer Relationships and Other Intangible Assets
Note 2—Goodwill, Customer Relationships and Other Intangible Assets

Goodwill, customer relationships and other intangible assets consisted of the following:

September 30, 2024
December 31, 2023
(Dollars in millions)
Goodwill$1,964 1,964 
Indefinite-lived intangible assets$9 9 
Other intangible assets subject to amortization: 
Customer relationships, less accumulated amortization of $4,361 and $4,248(1)
3,346 3,811 
Capitalized software, less accumulated amortization of $4,112 and $4,045(1)
1,536 1,564 
Trade names, patents and other, less accumulated amortization of $82 and $72
76 86 
Total other intangible assets, net$4,967 5,470 
______________________________________________________________________
(1)    Certain customer relationships with a gross carrying value of $352 million and capitalized software with a gross carrying value of $153 million became fully amortized during 2023 and were retired during the first quarter of 2024.

As of September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the gross carrying amount of goodwill, customer relationships, indefinite-lived and other intangible assets was $15.5 billion and $15.8 billion, respectively.

Our goodwill was derived from numerous acquisitions where the purchase price exceeded the fair value of the net assets acquired. We report our results within two segments: Business and Mass Markets. See Note 10—Segment Information for more information on these segments. We assigned no goodwill to our Business segment as of September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023. We assigned approximately $2.0 billion of goodwill to our Mass Markets segment as of both September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023. Total goodwill as of both September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023 was net of accumulated impairment losses of $21.7 billion.

We are required to assess our goodwill and other indefinite-lived intangible assets for impairment annually, or, under certain circumstances, more frequently, such as when events or changes in circumstances indicate there may be impairment. We are required to write down the value of goodwill only when our assessment determines the carrying value of equity of any of our reporting units exceeds its fair value. Our annual impairment assessment date for goodwill is October 31, at which date we assess our reporting units. Our annual impairment assessment date for indefinite-lived intangible assets other than goodwill is December 31.

As of September 30, 2024, we had three reporting units, which are (i) Mass Markets, (ii) North American Business ("NA Business") and (iii) Asia Pacific region ("APAC"). Our reporting units are not discrete legal entities with discrete full financial statements. Our assets and liabilities are deployed in and relate to the operations of multiple reporting units. When we assess goodwill for impairment, we compare the estimated fair value of each reporting unit's equity to the carrying value of equity that we assign to the reporting unit. If the estimated fair value of the reporting unit is greater than the carrying value, we conclude that no impairment exists. If the estimated fair value of the reporting unit is less than the carrying value, we record a non-cash impairment charge equal to the excess amount. Depending on the facts and circumstances, we typically estimate the fair value of our reporting units by considering either or both of (i) a discounted cash flow method, which is based on the present value of projected cash flows over a discrete projection period and a terminal value, which is based on the expected normalized cash flows of the reporting units following the discrete projection period, and (ii) a market approach, which includes the use of market multiples of publicly-traded companies whose services are comparable to ours.
Second Quarter 2023 Goodwill Impairment Analysis

During the second quarter of 2023, we determined circumstances existed indicating it was more likely than not that the carrying value of our reporting units exceeded their fair value. Given the continued erosion in our market capitalization at the time, we determined our quantitative impairment analysis would accurately estimate the fair value of our reporting units using only the market approach. Applying this approach, we utilized company comparisons and analyst reports within our industry which supported a range of fair values derived from annualized revenue and Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortization ("EBITDA") multiples between 1.5x and 4.3x and 4.6x and 10.5x, respectively. In determining the fair value of each reporting unit, we used revenue and EBITDA multiples below these comparable market multiples. The estimated fair values of the reporting units determined in connection with our impairment analysis in the second quarter of 2023 resulted in no control premium, which we determined to be reasonable based on our market capitalization relative to recent transactions. For the three months ended June 30, 2023, based on our assessments performed with respect to the reporting units as described above, we concluded the estimated fair value of certain of our reporting units was less than their carrying value of equity. As a result, we recorded a non-cash, non-tax-deductible goodwill impairment charge of $8.8 billion for the three months ended June 30, 2023.

The market approach that we used in the quarter ended June 30, 2023 incorporated estimates and assumptions related to the forecasted results for the remainder of the year, including revenues, expenses, and the achievement of certain strategic initiatives. In developing the market multiples applicable for each reporting unit, we considered observed trends of our industry peers. Our assessment included many factors that required significant judgment. Alternative interpretations of these factors could have resulted in different conclusions regarding the size of our impairments.

Total amortization expense for finite-lived intangible assets for the three months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023 totaled $253 million and $271 million, respectively, and for the nine months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023 totaled $802 million and $794 million, respectively.

We estimate that future total amortization expense for finite-lived intangible assets will be as follows:

 (Dollars in millions)
2024 (remaining three months)$238 
2025901 
2026848 
2027760 
2028690 
2029 and thereafter1,521 
Total finite-lived intangible assets future amortization expense
$4,958