Commitments and Contingencies

3 Months Ended

Dec. 26, 2020

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Accrued Warranty and Guarantees

The following table shows changes in the Company’s accrued warranties and related costs for the three months ended December 26, 2020 and December 28, 2019 (in millions):


	Three Months Ended
	December 26, 2020		December 28, 2019
Beginning accrued warranty and related costs	$	3,354	$	3,570
Cost of warranty claims	(723)		(915)
Accruals for product warranty	1,493		1,218
Ending accrued warranty and related costs	$	4,124	$	3,873

The Company offers an iPhone Upgrade Program, which is available to customers who purchase a qualifying iPhone in the U.S., the U.K. and China mainland. The iPhone Upgrade Program provides customers the right to trade in that iPhone for a specified amount when purchasing a new iPhone, provided certain conditions are met. The Company accounts for the trade-in right as a guarantee liability and recognizes arrangement revenue net of the fair value of such right, with subsequent changes to the guarantee liability recognized within net sales.

Concentrations in the Available Sources of Supply of Materials and Product

Although most components essential to the Company’s business are generally available from multiple sources, certain components are currently obtained from single or limited sources. The Company also competes for various components with other participants in the markets for smartphones, personal computers, tablets and other electronic devices. Therefore, many components used by the Company, including those that are available from multiple sources, are at times subject to industry-wide shortage and significant commodity pricing fluctuations.

The Company uses some custom components that are not commonly used by its competitors, and new products introduced by the Company often utilize custom components available from only one source. When a component or product uses new technologies, initial capacity constraints may exist until the suppliers’ yields have matured or their manufacturing capacities have increased. The continued availability of these components at acceptable prices, or at all, may be affected if suppliers decide to concentrate on the production of common components instead of components customized to meet the Company’s requirements.

The Company has entered into agreements for the supply of many components; however, there can be no guarantee that the Company will be able to extend or renew these agreements on similar terms, or at all.

Substantially all of the Company’s hardware products are manufactured by outsourcing partners that are located primarily in Asia, with some Mac computers manufactured in the U.S. and Ireland.

Unconditional Purchase Obligations

The Company has entered into certain off–balance sheet commitments that require the future purchase of goods or services (“unconditional purchase obligations”). The Company’s unconditional purchase obligations primarily consist of payments for content creation, Internet and telecommunications services and supplier arrangements. As of December 26, 2020, the Company’s total future payments under noncancelable unconditional purchase obligations having a remaining term in excess of one year were $8.1 billion.

Contingencies

The Company is subject to various legal proceedings and claims that have arisen in the ordinary course of business and that have not been fully resolved. The outcome of litigation is inherently uncertain. When a loss related to a legal proceeding or claim is probable and reasonably estimable, the Company accrues its best estimate for the ultimate resolution of the matter. If one or more legal matters were resolved against the Company in a reporting period for amounts above management’s expectations, the Company’s financial condition and operating results for that reporting period could be materially adversely affected. In the opinion of management, there was not at least a reasonable possibility the Company may have incurred a material loss, or a material loss greater than a recorded accrual, concerning loss contingencies for asserted legal and other claims, except for the following matters:

VirnetX

VirnetX, Inc. (“VirnetX”) filed a lawsuit against the Company alleging that certain of the Company’s products infringe on patents owned by VirnetX. On April 11, 2018, a jury returned a verdict against the Company in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas (the “Eastern Texas District Court”). The Company appealed the verdict to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which remanded the case back to the Eastern Texas District Court, where a re-trial was held in October 2020. The jury returned a verdict against the Company and awarded damages of $503 million, which the Company intends to appeal. The Company has challenged the validity of the patents at issue in the re-trial at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (the “PTO”), and the PTO has declared the patents invalid, subject to further appeal by VirnetX.

iOS Performance Management Cases

Various civil litigation matters have been filed in state and federal courts in the U.S. and in various international jurisdictions alleging violation of consumer protection laws, fraud, computer intrusion and other causes of action related to the Company’s performance management feature used in its iPhone operating systems, introduced to certain iPhones in iOS updates 10.2.1 and 11.2. The claims seek monetary damages and other non-monetary relief. On April 5, 2018, several U.S. federal actions were consolidated through a Multidistrict Litigation process into a single action in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California (the “Northern California District Court”). On February 28, 2020, the parties in the Multidistrict Litigation reached a settlement to resolve the U.S. federal and California state class actions. Under the terms of the settlement, which the Northern California District Court preliminarily approved in May 2020, the Company has agreed to pay up to $500 million in the aggregate to certain U.S. owners of iPhones if certain conditions are met. The final amount of the settlement will be determined based on the number of consumers who file valid claims and the attorneys’ fee award. However, the Company has agreed to pay at least $310 million to settle the claims. In addition to civil litigation, the Company is also responding to governmental investigations and requests for information relating to the performance management feature. On November 18, 2020, the Company reached a settlement with a multi-state group of attorneys general. Under the terms of the settlement, the Company has agreed to pay an aggregate amount of $113 million to resolve civil, statutory claims. The Company continues to believe that its iPhones were not defective, that the performance management feature introduced with iOS updates 10.2.1 and 11.2 was intended to, and did, improve customers’ user experience, and that the Company did not make any misleading statements or fail to disclose any material information.

French Competition Authority

On March 16, 2020, the French Competition Authority (“FCA”) announced its decision that aspects of the Company’s sales and distribution practices in France violate French competition law and issued a fine of €1.1 billion. The Company strongly disagrees with the FCA’s decision and has appealed.

Optis

Optis Wireless Technology, LLC and related entities (“Optis”) filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas against the Company alleging that certain of the Company’s products infringe on patents owned by Optis. On August 11, 2020, a jury returned a verdict against the Company and awarded damages of $506 million. The Company has asked the court to set aside the verdict, where the case remains pending.