Summary of Significant Accounting Policies	12 Months Ended
Oct. 31, 2020
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies	Summary of Significant Accounting Policies Basis of Presentation The accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements of HP and its wholly-owned subsidiaries are prepared in conformity with U.S. GAAP. Principles of Consolidation The Consolidated Financial Statements include the accounts of HP and its subsidiaries and affiliates in which HP has a controlling financial interest or is the primary beneficiary. All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated. Reclassifications HP has reclassified certain prior-year amounts to conform to the current-year presentation. Use of Estimates The preparation of financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in HP’s Consolidated Financial Statements and accompanying notes. Actual results may differ materially from those estimates. As of October 31, 2020, the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic will impact our business going forward depends on numerous dynamic factors which we cannot reliably predict. As a result, many of our estimates and assumptions required increased judgment and may carry a higher degree of variability and volatility. As the events continue to evolve with respect to the pandemic, our estimates may materially change in future periods. Foreign Currency Translation HP predominantly uses the U.S. dollar as its functional currency. Assets and liabilities denominated in non-U.S. dollars are remeasured into U.S. dollars at current exchange rates for monetary assets and liabilities and at historical exchange rates for nonmonetary assets and liabilities. Net revenue, costs and expenses denominated in non-U.S. dollars are recorded in U.S. dollars at monthly average exchange rates prevailing during the period. HP includes gains or losses from foreign currency remeasurement in Interest and other, net in the Consolidated Statements of Earnings. Certain foreign subsidiaries designate the local currency as their functional currency, and HP records the translation of their assets and liabilities into U.S. dollars at the balance sheet dates as translation adjustments and includes them as a component of Accumulated other comprehensive loss. Separation Transaction On November 1, 2015, Hewlett-Packard Company completed the separation of Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (“Hewlett Packard Enterprise”), Hewlett-Packard Company’s former enterprise technology infrastructure, software, services and financing businesses (the “Separation”). In connection with the Separation, HP and Hewlett Packard Enterprise entered into a separation and distribution agreement, an employee matters agreement and various other agreements which remain enforceable and provide a framework for the continuing relationships between the parties. For more information on the impacts of these agreements, see Note 7, “Supplementary Financial Information”, Note 14, “Litigation and Contingencies” and Note 15, “Guarantees, Indemnifications and Warranties”. Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements In August 2017, the FASB issued guidance, which amends the existing accounting standards for derivatives and hedging. The amendment improves the financial reporting of hedging relationships to better represent the economic results of an entity’s risk management activities in its financial statements and made certain targeted improvements to simplify the application of the hedge accounting guidance in current U.S. GAAP. HP adopted this guidance in the first quarter of fiscal year 2020. The implementation of this guidance did not have a material impact on its Consolidated Financial Statements. In February 2016, the FASB issued amended guidance on the accounting for leasing transactions. The primary objective of this update is to increase transparency and comparability among organizations by requiring lessees to recognize a lease liability for the obligation to make lease payments and a right-of-use (“ROU”) asset for the right to use the underlying asset over the lease term. The guidance also results in some changes to lessor accounting and requires additional disclosures about all leasing arrangements. HP adopted the standard (the “new lease standard”) as of November 1, 2019 using a modified retrospective approach, with the cumulative effect adjustment to the opening balance of accumulated deficit as of the adoption date. HP elected to apply the practical expedient using the transition option whereby prior comparative periods were not retrospectively adjusted in the Consolidated Financial Statements. HP also elected the package of practical expedients, which does not require reassessment of initial direct costs, classification of a lease, and definition of a lease. The Company has elected not to record leases with an initial term of 12 months or less on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. Lease expense on such leases is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term. HP has also elected the lessee practical expedient to combine lease and non-lease components for certain asset classes. The adoption of the new lease standard resulted in the recognition of $1.2 billion in operating lease liabilities and $1.2 billion of related ROU assets on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. The net impact of adoption to accumulated deficit as on November 1, 2019 is not material. As of November 1, 2019, there were no material finance leases for which HP was a lessee. The new lease standard also made some changes to lessor accounting, including alignment with the new revenue recognition standard. HP now records revenue upfront on certain aspects of its as-a-service offerings and reflects financing of these offerings as cash flows from financing activities on the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows. These changes did not have a material impact on the Consolidated Financial Statements. Refer to Note 17, “Leases”, for additional disclosures related to leases. Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements Not Yet Adopted In June 2016, the FASB issued guidance, which requires credit losses on financial assets measured at amortized cost basis to be presented at the net amount expected to be collected, not based on incurred losses. Further, credit losses on available-for-sale debt securities should be recorded through an allowance for credit losses limited to the amount by which fair value is below amortized cost. HP will adopt the guidance in the first quarter of fiscal year 2021 using a modified retrospective approach. HP has evaluated the impact of this standard on the consolidated financial statements, including accounting policies, processes, and systems and does not expect it to have a material impact on the Consolidated Financial Statements. Revenue Recognition General HP recognizes revenues at a point in time or over time depicting the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which HP expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. HP follows the five-step model for revenue recognition as summarized below: 1. Identify the contract with a customer - A contract with customer exists when (i) it is approved and signed by all parties, (ii) each party’s rights and obligations can be identified, (iii) payment terms are defined, (iv) it has commercial substance and (v) the customer has the ability and intent to pay. HP evaluates customers’ ability to pay based on various factors like historical payment experience, financial metrics and customer credit scores. While the majority of our sales contracts contain standard terms and conditions, there are certain contracts with non-standard terms and conditions. 2. Identify the performance obligations in the contract - HP evaluates each performance obligation in an arrangement to determine whether it is distinct, such as hardware and/or service. A performance obligation constitutes distinct goods or services when the customer can benefit from such goods or services either on its own or together with other resources that are readily available to the customer and the performance obligation is distinct within the context of the contract. 3. Determine the transaction price - Transaction price is the amount of consideration to which HP expects to be entitled in exchange for transferring goods or services to the customer. If the transaction price includes a variable amount, HP estimates the amount it expects to be entitled to using either the expected value or the most likely amount method. HP reduces the transaction price at the time of revenue recognition for customer and distributor programs and incentive offerings, rebates, promotions, other volume-based incentives and expected returns. HP uses estimates to determine the expected variable consideration for such programs based on factors like historical experience, expected consumer behavior and market conditions. HP has elected the practical expedient of not accounting for significant financing components if the period between revenue recognition and when the customer pays for the product or service is one year or less. 4. Allocate the transaction price to performance obligations in the contract - When a sales arrangement contains multiple performance obligations, such as hardware and/or services, HP allocates revenue to each performance obligation in proportion to their selling price. The selling price for each performance obligation is based on its Standalone Selling Price (“SSP”). HP establishes SSP using the price charged for a performance obligation when sold separately (“observable price”) and, in some instances, using the price established by management having the relevant authority. When observable price is not available, HP establishes SSP based on management judgment considering internal factors such as margin objectives, pricing practices and controls, customer segment pricing strategies and the product life cycle. Consideration is also given to market conditions such as competitor pricing strategies and technology industry life cycles. 5. Recognize revenue when (or as) the performance obligation is satisfied - Revenue is recognized when, or as, a performance obligation is satisfied by transferring control of a promised good or service to a customer. HP generally invoices the customer upon delivery of the goods or services and the payments are due as per contract terms. For fixed price support or maintenance contracts that are in the nature of stand-ready obligations, payments are generally received in advance from customers and revenue is recognized on a straight-line basis over the duration of the contract. HP reports revenue net of any taxes collected from customers and remitted to government authorities, and the collected taxes are recorded as other current liabilities until remitted to the relevant government authority. HP includes costs related to shipping and handling in Cost of revenue. HP records revenue on a gross basis when HP is a principal in the transaction and on a net basis when HP is acting as an agent between the customer and the vendor. HP considers several factors to determine whether it is acting as a principal or an agent, most notably whether HP is the primary obligor to the customer, has established its own pricing and has inventory and credit risks. Hardware HP transfers control of the products to the customer at the time the product is delivered to the customer and recognizes revenue accordingly, unless customer acceptance is uncertain or significant obligations to the customer remain unfulfilled. HP records revenue from the sale of equipment under sales-type leases as revenue at the commencement of the lease. Services HP recognizes revenue from fixed-price support, maintenance and other service contracts over time depicting the pattern of service delivery and recognizes the costs associated with these contracts as incurred. Contract Assets and Liabilities Contract assets are rights to consideration in exchange for goods or services that HP has transferred to a customer when such right is conditional on something other than the passage of time. Such contract assets are not material to HP’s Consolidated Financial Statements. Contract liabilities are recorded as deferred revenues when amounts invoiced to customers are more than the revenues recognized or when payments are received in advance for fixed-price support or maintenance contracts. The short-term and long-term deferred revenues are reported within the other current liabilities and other non-current liabilities respectively. Cost to obtain a contract and fulfillment cost Incremental direct costs of obtaining a contract primarily consist of sales commissions. HP has elected the practical expedient to expense as incurred the costs to obtain a contract with a benefit period equal to or less than one year. For contracts with a period of benefit greater than one year, HP capitalizes incremental costs of obtaining a contract with a customer and amortizes these costs over their expected period of benefit provided such costs are recoverable. Fulfillment costs consist of set-up and transition costs related to other service contracts. These costs generate or enhance resources of HP that will be used in satisfying the performance obligation in the future and are capitalized and amortized over the expected period of the benefit, provided such costs are recoverable. See Note 7, “Supplementary Financial Information” for details on net revenue by region, cost to obtain a contract and fulfillment cost, contract liabilities and value of remaining performance obligations. HP adopted the new revenue standard in the first quarter of fiscal year 2019 using the modified retrospective method applied to contracts that were not completed as of November 1, 2018. HP recognized the net impact of adoption as an increase to accumulated deficit by $212 million, net of tax, on November 1, 2018. Leases At the inception of a contract, HP assesses whether the contract is, or contains, a lease. The assessment is based on (1) whether the contract involves the use of a distinct identified asset, (2) whether HP obtains the right to substantially all the economic benefit from the use of the asset throughout the period, and (3) whether HP has the right to direct the use of the asset. All significant lease arrangements are recognized at lease commencement. Leases with a lease term of 12 months or less at inception are not recorded on the Consolidated Balance Sheets and are expensed on a straight-line basis over the lease term in the Consolidated Statement of Earnings. HP determines the lease term by assuming the exercise of renewal options that are reasonably certain. As most of the leases do not provide an implicit interest rate, HP uses the unsecured borrowing rate and risk-adjusts that rate to approximate a collateralized rate at the commencement date to determine the present value of future payments that are reasonably certain. Stock-Based Compensation HP determines stock-based compensation expense based on the measurement date fair value of the award. HP recognizes compensation cost only for those awards expected to meet the service and performance vesting conditions on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period of the award. HP determines compensation costs at the aggregate grant level for service-based awards and at the individual vesting tranche level for awards with performance and/or market conditions. HP estimates the forfeiture rate based on its historical experience. Retirement and Post-Retirement Plans HP has various defined benefit, other contributory and non-contributory retirement and post-retirement plans. HP generally amortizes unrecognized actuarial gains and losses on a straight-line basis over the average remaining estimated service life of participants. In limited cases, HP amortizes actuarial gains and losses using the corridor approach. See Note 4, “Retirement and Post-Retirement Benefit Plans” for a full description of these plans and the accounting and funding policies. Advertising cost Costs to produce advertising are expensed as incurred during production. Costs to communicate advertising are expensed when the advertising is first run. Such costs totaled approximately $578 million, $652 million and $568 million in fiscal years 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively. Restructuring and Other Charges HP records charges associated with management-approved restructuring plans to reorganize one or more of HP’s business segments, to remove duplicative headcount and infrastructure associated with business acquisitions or to simplify business processes and accelerate innovation. Restructuring charges can include severance costs to reduce a specified number of employees, enhanced early retirement incentives, infrastructure charges to vacate facilities and consolidate operations, and contract cancellation costs. HP records restructuring charges based on estimated employee terminations, committed early retirements and site closure and consolidation plans. HP accrues for severance and other employee separation costs under these actions when it is probable that benefits will be paid and the amount is reasonably estimable. The rates used in determining severance accruals are based on existing plans, historical experiences and negotiated settlements. Other charges include non-recurring costs, including those as a result of Separation, information technology rationalization efforts and proxy contest activities, and are distinct from ongoing operational costs. Taxes on Earnings HP recognizes deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected tax consequences of temporary differences between the tax bases of assets and liabilities and their reported amounts using enacted tax rates in effect for the year the differences are expected to reverse. HP records a valuation allowance to reduce the deferred tax assets to the amount that is more likely than not to be realized. HP records accruals for uncertain tax positions when HP believes that it is not more likely than not that the tax position will be sustained on examination by the taxing authorities based on the technical merits of the position. HP makes adjustments to these accruals when facts and circumstances change, such as the closing of a tax audit or the refinement of an estimate. The provision for income taxes includes the effects of adjustments for uncertain tax positions, as well as any related interest and penalties. Accounts Receivable HP establishes an allowance for doubtful accounts for accounts receivable. HP records a specific reserve for individual accounts when HP becomes aware of specific customer circumstances, such as in the case of a bankruptcy filing or deterioration in the customer’s operating results or financial position. If there are additional changes in circumstances related to the specific customer, HP further adjusts estimates of the recoverability of receivables. HP maintains bad debt reserves for all other customers based on a variety of factors, including the use of third-party credit risk models that generate quantitative measures of default probabilities based on market factors, the financial condition of customers, the length of time receivables are past due, trends in the weighted-average risk rating for the portfolio, macroeconomic conditions, information derived from competitive benchmarking, significant one-time events and historical experience. The past due or delinquency status of a receivable is based on the contractual payment terms of the receivable. HP has third-party short-term financing arrangements intended to facilitate the working capital requirements of certain customers. These financing arrangements, which in certain cases provide for partial recourse, result in the transfer of HP’s trade receivables to a third party. HP reflects amounts transferred to, but not yet collected from the third party in accounts receivable in the Consolidated Balance Sheets. For arrangements involving an element of recourse, the fair value of the recourse obligation is measured using market data from similar transactions and reported as a current liability in the Consolidated Balance Sheets. Concentrations of Risk Financial instruments that potentially subject HP to significant concentrations of credit risk consist principally of cash and cash equivalents, investments, receivables from trade customers and contract manufacturers and derivatives. HP maintains cash and cash equivalents, investments, derivatives and certain other financial instruments with various financial institutions. These financial institutions are located in many different geographic regions, and HP’s policy is designed to limit exposure from any particular institution. As part of its risk management processes, HP performs periodic evaluations of the relative credit standing of these financial institutions. HP has not sustained material credit losses from instruments held at these financial institutions. HP utilizes derivative contracts to protect against the effects of foreign currency, interest rate and, on certain investment exposures. Such contracts involve the risk of non-performance by the counterparty, which could result in a material loss. The likelihood of which HP deems to be remote. HP sells a significant portion of its products through third-party distributors and resellers and, as a result, maintains individually significant receivable balances with these parties. If the financial condition or operations of these distributors’ and resellers’ aggregated business deteriorates substantially, HP’s operating results could be adversely affected. The ten largest distributor and reseller receivable balances, which were concentrated primarily in North America and Europe, collectively represented approximately 47% and 32% of gross accounts receivable as of October 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. No single customer accounts for more than 10% of gross accounts receivable as of October 31, 2020 or 2019. Credit risk with respect to other accounts receivable is generally diversified due to HP’s large customer base and their dispersion across many different industries and geographic markets. HP performs ongoing credit evaluations of the financial condition of its third-party distributors, resellers and other customers and may require collateral, such as letters of credit and bank guarantees, in certain circumstances. HP utilizes outsourced manufacturers around the world to manufacture HP-designed products. HP may purchase product components from suppliers and sell those components to its outsourced manufacturers thereby creating receivable balances from the outsourced manufacturers. The three largest outsourced manufacturer receivable balances collectively represented 89% and 77% of HP’s supplier receivables of $1.2 billion and $1.2 billion as of October 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. HP includes the supplier receivables in Other current assets in the Consolidated Balance Sheets on a gross basis. HP’s credit risk associated with these receivables is mitigated wholly or in part, by the amount HP owes to these outsourced manufacturers, as HP generally has the legal right to offset its payables to the outsourced manufacturers against these receivables. HP does not reflect the sale of these components in net revenue and does not recognize any profit on these component sales until the related products are sold by HP, at which time any profit is recognized as a reduction to cost of revenue. HP obtains a significant number of components from single source suppliers due to technology, availability, price, quality or other considerations. The loss of a single source supplier, the deterioration of HP’s relationship with a single source supplier, or any unilateral modification to the contractual terms under which HP is supplied components by a single source supplier could adversely affect HP’s net revenue, cash flows and gross margins. Upon completion of the Separation on November 1, 2015, HP recorded net income tax indemnification receivables from Hewlett Packard Enterprise for certain income tax liabilities that HP is jointly and severally liable for, but for which it is indemnified by Hewlett Packard Enterprise under the tax matters agreement (“TMA”). The TMA was terminated during the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2019. Inventory HP values inventory at the lower of cost or market. Cost is computed using standard cost which approximates actual cost on a first-in, first-out basis. Adjustments, if required, to reduce the cost of inventory to market (net realizable value) are made, for estimated excess, obsolete or impaired balances. Property, Plant and Equipment, Net HP reflects property, plant and equipment at cost less accumulated depreciation. HP capitalizes additions and improvements and expenses maintenance and repairs as incurred. Depreciation expense is recognized on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives of the assets. Estimated useful lives are five to 40 years for buildings and improvements and three to 15 years for machinery and equipment. HP depreciates leasehold improvements over the life of the lease or the asset, whichever is shorter. HP depreciates equipment held for lease over the initial term of the lease to the equipment’s estimated residual value. On retirement or disposition, the asset cost and related accumulated depreciation are removed from the Consolidated Balance Sheets with any gain or loss recognized in the Consolidated Statements of Earnings. Internal Use Software and Cloud Computing Arrangements HP capitalizes external costs and directly attributable internal costs to acquire or create internal use software which are incurred subsequent to the completion of the preliminary project stage. These costs relate to activities such as software design, configuration, coding, testing, and installation. Costs related to post-implementation activities such as training and maintenance are expensed as incurred. Once the software is substantially complete and ready for its intended use, capitalized development costs are amortized straight-line over the estimated useful life of the software, generally not to exceed five years. HP also enters into certain cloud-based software hosting arrangements that are accounted for as service contracts. For internal-use software obtained through a hosting arrangement that is in the nature of a service contract, HP incurs certain implementation costs such as integrating, configuring, and software customization, which are consistent with costs incurred during the application development stage for on-premise software. HP applies the same guidance to determine costs that are eligible for capitalization. For these arrangements, HP amortizes the capitalized development costs straight-line over the fixed, non-cancellable term of the associated hosting arrangement plus any reasonably certain renewal periods. HP also applies the same impairment model to both internal-use software and capitalized implementation costs in a software hosting arrangement that is in the nature of a service contract. Business Combinations HP includes the results of operations of the acquired business in HP’s consolidated results prospectively from the acquisition date. HP allocates the purchase consideration to the assets acquired, liabilities assumed, and non-controlling interests in the acquired entity generally based on their fair values at the acquisition date. The excess of the fair value of purchase consideration over the fair value of these assets acquired, liabilities assumed and non-controlling interests in the acquired entity is recorded as goodwill. The primary items that generate goodwill include the value of the synergies between the acquired company and HP, and the value of the acquired assembled workforce, neither of which qualify for recognition as an intangible asset. Acquisition-related charges are recognized separately from the business combination and are expensed as incurred. These charges primarily include, direct third-party professional and legal fees, and integration-related costs. Goodwill HP reviews goodwill for impairment annually during its fourth quarter and whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying amount of goodwill may not be recoverable. HP can elect to perform a qualitative assessment to test a reporting unit’s goodwill for impairment or HP can directly perform the quantitative impairment test. Based on the qualitative assessment, if HP determines that the fair value of a reporting unit is more likely than not (i.e., a likelihood of more than 50 percent) to be less than its carrying amount, a quantitative impairment test will be performed. In the quantitative impairment test, HP compares the fair value of each reporting unit to its carrying amount with the fair values derived most significantly from the income approach, and to a lesser extent, the market approach. Under the income approach, HP estimates the fair value of a reporting unit based on the present value of estimated future cash flows. HP bases cash flow projections on management’s estimates of revenue growth rates and operating margins, taking into consideration industry and market conditions. HP bases the discount rate on the weighted-average cost of capital adjusted for the relevant risk associated with business-specific characteristics and the uncertainty related to the reporting unit’s ability to execute on the projected cash flows. Under the market approach, HP estimates fair value based on market multiples of revenue and earnings derived from comparable publicly-traded companies with similar operating and investment characteristics as the reporting unit. HP weights the fair value derived from the market approach depending on the level of comparability of these publicly-traded companies to the reporting unit. When market comparables are not meaningful or not available, HP estimates the fair value of a reporting unit using only the income approach. In order to assess the reasonableness of the estimated fair value of HP’s reporting units, HP compares the aggregate reporting unit fair value to HP’s market capitalization on an overall basis and calculates an implied control premium (the excess of the sum of the reporting units’ fair value over HP’s market capitalization on an overall basis). HP evaluates the control premium by comparing it to observable control premiums from recent comparable transactions. If the implied control premium is determined to not be reasonable in light of these recent transactions, HP re-evaluates its reporting unit fair values, which may result in an adjustment to the discount rate and/or other assumptions. This re-evaluation could result in a change to the estimated fair value for certain or all reporting units. If the fair value of a reporting unit exceeds the carrying amount of the net assets assigned to that reporting unit, goodwill is not impaired. If the fair value of the reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, goodwill is impaired and the excess of the reporting unit’s carrying value over the fair value is recognized as an impairment loss. Debt and Marketable Equity Securities Investments HP determines the appropriate classification of its investments at the time of purchase and re-evaluates the classifications at each balance sheet date. Debt and marketable equity securities are generally considered available-for-sale. All highly liquid investments with maturities of three months or less at the date of purchase are classified as cash equivalents. Marketable debt securities with maturities of twelve months or less are classified as short-term investments and marketable debt securities with maturities greater than twelve months are classified based on their availability for use in current operations. Marketable equity securities, including mutual funds, are classified as either short-term or long-term based on the nature of each security and its availability for use in current operations. Debt and marketable equity securities are reported at fair value with unrealized gains and losses, net of applicable taxes, in Accumulated other comprehensive loss, Consolidated Statement of Earnings and the Consolidated Balance Sheets. Realized gains and losses on available-for-sale securities are calculated based on the specific identification method and included in Interest and other, net in the Consolidated Statements of Earnings. HP monitors its investment portfolio for potential impairment on a quarterly basis. When the carrying amount of an investment in debt securities exceeds its fair value and the decline in value is determined to be other-than-temporary (i.e., when HP does not intend to sell the debt securities and it is not more likely than not that HP will be required to sell the debt securities prior to anticipated recovery of its amortized cost basis), HP records an impairment charge to Interest and other, net in the amount of the credit loss and the remaining amount, if any, is recorded in Accumulated other comprehensive loss in the Consolidated Balance Sheets. Derivatives HP uses derivative instruments, primarily forwards, swaps, treasury rate locks and at times, options, to hedge certain foreign currency, interest rate, and return on certain investment exposures. HP also may use other derivative instruments not designated as hedges, such as forwards used to hedge foreign currency balance sheet exposures. HP does not use derivative instruments for speculative purposes. See Note 10, “Financial Instruments” for a full description of HP’s derivative instrument activities and related accounting policies. Loss Contingencies HP is involved in various lawsuits, claims, investigations and proceedings that arise in the ordinary course of business. HP records a liability for contingencies when it believes it is both probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. See Note 14, “Litigation and Contingencies” for a full description of HP’s loss contingencies and related accounting policies.

The preparation of financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in HP’s Consolidated Financial Statements and accompanying notes. Actual results may differ materially from those estimates. As of October 31, 2020, the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic will impact our business going forward depends on numerous dynamic factors which we cannot reliably predict. As a result, many of our estimates and assumptions required increased judgment and may carry a higher degree of variability and volatility. As the events continue to evolve with respect to the pandemic, our estimates may materially change in future periods.

HP predominantly uses the U.S. dollar as its functional currency. Assets and liabilities denominated in non-U.S. dollars are remeasured into U.S. dollars at current exchange rates for monetary assets and liabilities and at historical exchange rates for nonmonetary assets and liabilities. Net revenue, costs and expenses denominated in non-U.S. dollars are recorded in U.S. dollars at monthly average exchange rates prevailing during the period. HP includes gains or losses from foreign currency remeasurement in Interest and other, net in the Consolidated Statements of Earnings. Certain foreign subsidiaries designate the local currency as their functional currency, and HP records the translation of their assets and liabilities into U.S. dollars at the balance sheet dates as translation adjustments and includes them as a component of Accumulated other comprehensive loss.

On November 1, 2015, Hewlett-Packard Company completed the separation of Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (“Hewlett Packard Enterprise”), Hewlett-Packard Company’s former enterprise technology infrastructure, software, services and financing businesses (the “Separation”). In connection with the Separation, HP and Hewlett Packard Enterprise entered into a separation and distribution agreement, an employee matters agreement and various other agreements which remain enforceable and provide a framework for the continuing relationships between the parties. For more information on the impacts of these agreements, see Note 7, “Supplementary Financial Information”, Note 14, “Litigation and Contingencies” and Note 15, “Guarantees, Indemnifications and Warranties”.

In August 2017, the FASB issued guidance, which amends the existing accounting standards for derivatives and hedging. The amendment improves the financial reporting of hedging relationships to better represent the economic results of an entity’s risk management activities in its financial statements and made certain targeted improvements to simplify the application of the hedge accounting guidance in current U.S. GAAP. HP adopted this guidance in the first quarter of fiscal year 2020. The implementation of this guidance did not have a material impact on its Consolidated Financial Statements.

In February 2016, the FASB issued amended guidance on the accounting for leasing transactions. The primary objective of this update is to increase transparency and comparability among organizations by requiring lessees to recognize a lease liability for the obligation to make lease payments and a right-of-use (“ROU”) asset for the right to use the underlying asset over the lease term. The guidance also results in some changes to lessor accounting and requires additional disclosures about all leasing arrangements.

HP adopted the standard (the “new lease standard”) as of November 1, 2019 using a modified retrospective approach, with the cumulative effect adjustment to the opening balance of accumulated deficit as of the adoption date. HP elected to apply the practical expedient using the transition option whereby prior comparative periods were not retrospectively adjusted in the Consolidated Financial Statements. HP also elected the package of practical expedients, which does not require reassessment of initial direct costs, classification of a lease, and definition of a lease. The Company has elected not to record leases with an initial term of 12 months or less on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. Lease expense on such leases is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term. HP has also elected the lessee practical expedient to combine lease and non-lease components for certain asset classes.

The adoption of the new lease standard resulted in the recognition of $1.2 billion in operating lease liabilities and $1.2 billion of related ROU assets on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. The net impact of adoption to accumulated deficit as on November 1, 2019 is not material. As of November 1, 2019, there were no material finance leases for which HP was a lessee.

The new lease standard also made some changes to lessor accounting, including alignment with the new revenue recognition standard. HP now records revenue upfront on certain aspects of its as-a-service offerings and reflects financing of these offerings as cash flows from financing activities on the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows. These changes did not have a material impact on the Consolidated Financial Statements.

In June 2016, the FASB issued guidance, which requires credit losses on financial assets measured at amortized cost basis to be presented at the net amount expected to be collected, not based on incurred losses. Further, credit losses on available-for-sale debt securities should be recorded through an allowance for credit losses limited to the amount by which fair value is below amortized cost. HP will adopt the guidance in the first quarter of fiscal year 2021 using a modified retrospective approach. HP has evaluated the impact of this standard on the consolidated financial statements, including accounting policies, processes, and systems and does not expect it to have a material impact on the Consolidated Financial Statements.

HP recognizes revenues at a point in time or over time depicting the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which HP expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. HP follows the five-step model for revenue recognition as summarized below:

(ii) each party’s rights and obligations can be identified, (iii) payment terms are defined, (iv) it has commercial substance and (v) the customer has the ability and intent to pay. HP evaluates customers’ ability to pay based on various factors like historical payment experience, financial metrics and customer credit scores. While the majority of our sales contracts contain standard terms and conditions, there are certain contracts with non-standard terms and conditions.

determine whether it is distinct, such as hardware and/or service. A performance obligation constitutes distinct goods or services when the customer can benefit from such goods or services either on its own or together with other resources that are readily available to the customer and the performance obligation is distinct within the context of the contract.

offerings, rebates, promotions, other volume-based incentives and expected returns. HP uses estimates to determine the expected variable consideration for such programs based on factors like historical experience, expected consumer behavior and market conditions.

performance obligations, such as hardware and/or services, HP allocates revenue to each performance obligation in proportion to their selling price. The selling price for each performance obligation is based on its Standalone Selling Price (“SSP”). HP establishes SSP using the price charged for a performance obligation when sold separately (“observable price”) and, in some instances, using the price established by management having the relevant authority. When observable price is not available, HP establishes SSP based on management judgment considering internal factors such as margin objectives, pricing practices and controls, customer segment pricing strategies and the product life cycle. Consideration is also given to market conditions such as competitor pricing strategies and technology industry life cycles.

performance obligation is satisfied by transferring control of a promised good or service to a customer. HP generally invoices the customer upon delivery of the goods or services and the payments are due as per contract terms. For fixed price support or maintenance contracts that are in the nature of stand-ready obligations, payments are generally received in advance from customers and revenue is recognized on a straight-line basis over the duration of the contract.

HP reports revenue net of any taxes collected from customers and remitted to government authorities, and the collected taxes are recorded as other current liabilities until remitted to the relevant government authority. HP includes costs related to shipping and handling in Cost of revenue.

HP records revenue on a gross basis when HP is a principal in the transaction and on a net basis when HP is acting as an agent between the customer and the vendor. HP considers several factors to determine whether it is acting as a principal or an agent, most notably whether HP is the primary obligor to the customer, has established its own pricing and has inventory and credit risks.

HP transfers control of the products to the customer at the time the product is delivered to the customer and recognizes revenue accordingly, unless customer acceptance is uncertain or significant obligations to the customer remain unfulfilled. HP records revenue from the sale of equipment under sales-type leases as revenue at the commencement of the lease.

Contract assets are rights to consideration in exchange for goods or services that HP has transferred to a customer when such right is conditional on something other than the passage of time. Such contract assets are not material to HP’s Consolidated Financial Statements.

Contract liabilities are recorded as deferred revenues when amounts invoiced to customers are more than the revenues recognized or when payments are received in advance for fixed-price support or maintenance contracts. The short-term and long-term deferred revenues are reported within the other current liabilities and other non-current liabilities respectively.

Incremental direct costs of obtaining a contract primarily consist of sales commissions. HP has elected the practical expedient to expense as incurred the costs to obtain a contract with a benefit period equal to or less than one year. For contracts with a period of benefit greater than one year, HP capitalizes incremental costs of obtaining a contract with a customer and amortizes these costs over their expected period of benefit provided such costs are recoverable.

Fulfillment costs consist of set-up and transition costs related to other service contracts. These costs generate or enhance resources of HP that will be used in satisfying the performance obligation in the future and are capitalized and amortized over the expected period of the benefit, provided such costs are recoverable.

HP adopted the new revenue standard in the first quarter of fiscal year 2019 using the modified retrospective method applied to contracts that were not completed as of November 1, 2018. HP recognized the net impact of adoption as an increase to accumulated deficit by $212 million, net of tax, on November 1, 2018.

At the inception of a contract, HP assesses whether the contract is, or contains, a lease. The assessment is based on (1) whether the contract involves the use of a distinct identified asset, (2) whether HP obtains the right to substantially all the economic benefit from the use of the asset throughout the period, and (3) whether HP has the right to direct the use of the asset.

All significant lease arrangements are recognized at lease commencement. Leases with a lease term of 12 months or less at inception are not recorded on the Consolidated Balance Sheets and are expensed on a straight-line basis over the lease term in the Consolidated Statement of Earnings. HP determines the lease term by assuming the exercise of renewal options that are reasonably certain. As most of the leases do not provide an implicit interest rate, HP uses the unsecured borrowing rate and risk-adjusts that rate to approximate a collateralized rate at the commencement date to determine the present value of future payments that are reasonably certain.

HP determines stock-based compensation expense based on the measurement date fair value of the award. HP recognizes compensation cost only for those awards expected to meet the service and performance vesting conditions on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period of the award. HP determines compensation costs at the aggregate grant level for service-based awards and at the individual vesting tranche level for awards with performance and/or market conditions. HP estimates the forfeiture rate based on its historical experience.

HP has various defined benefit, other contributory and non-contributory retirement and post-retirement plans. HP generally amortizes unrecognized actuarial gains and losses on a straight-line basis over the average remaining estimated service life of participants. In limited cases, HP amortizes actuarial gains and losses using the corridor approach. See Note 4, “Retirement and Post-Retirement Benefit Plans” for a full description of these plans and the accounting and funding policies.

Costs to produce advertising are expensed as incurred during production. Costs to communicate advertising are expensed when the advertising is first run. Such costs totaled approximately $578 million, $652 million and $568 million in fiscal years 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

HP records charges associated with management-approved restructuring plans to reorganize one or more of HP’s business segments, to remove duplicative headcount and infrastructure associated with business acquisitions or to simplify business processes and accelerate innovation. Restructuring charges can include severance costs to reduce a specified number of employees, enhanced early retirement incentives, infrastructure charges to vacate facilities and consolidate operations, and contract cancellation costs. HP records restructuring charges based on estimated employee terminations, committed early retirements and site closure and consolidation plans. HP accrues for severance and other employee separation costs under these actions when it is probable that benefits will be paid and the amount is reasonably estimable. The rates used in determining severance accruals are based on existing plans, historical experiences and negotiated settlements. Other charges include non-recurring costs, including those as a result of Separation, information technology rationalization efforts and proxy contest activities, and are distinct from ongoing operational costs.

HP recognizes deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected tax consequences of temporary differences between the tax bases of assets and liabilities and their reported amounts using enacted tax rates in effect for the year the differences are expected to reverse. HP records a valuation allowance to reduce the deferred tax assets to the amount that is more likely than not to be realized.

HP records accruals for uncertain tax positions when HP believes that it is not more likely than not that the tax position will be sustained on examination by the taxing authorities based on the technical merits of the position. HP makes adjustments to these accruals when facts and circumstances change, such as the closing of a tax audit or the refinement of an estimate. The provision for income taxes includes the effects of adjustments for uncertain tax positions, as well as any related interest and penalties.

HP establishes an allowance for doubtful accounts for accounts receivable. HP records a specific reserve for individual accounts when HP becomes aware of specific customer circumstances, such as in the case of a bankruptcy filing or deterioration in the customer’s operating results or financial position. If there are additional changes in circumstances related to the specific customer, HP further adjusts estimates of the recoverability of receivables. HP maintains bad debt reserves for all other customers based on a variety of factors, including the use of third-party credit risk models that generate quantitative measures of default probabilities based on market factors, the financial condition of customers, the length of time receivables are past due, trends in the weighted-average risk rating for the portfolio, macroeconomic conditions, information derived from competitive benchmarking, significant one-time events and historical experience. The past due or delinquency status of a receivable is based on the contractual payment terms of the receivable.

HP has third-party short-term financing arrangements intended to facilitate the working capital requirements of certain customers. These financing arrangements, which in certain cases provide for partial recourse, result in the transfer of HP’s trade receivables to a third party. HP reflects amounts transferred to, but not yet collected from the third party in accounts receivable in the Consolidated Balance Sheets. For arrangements involving an element of recourse, the fair value of the recourse obligation is measured using market data from similar transactions and reported as a current liability in the Consolidated Balance Sheets.

HP maintains cash and cash equivalents, investments, derivatives and certain other financial instruments with various financial institutions. These financial institutions are located in many different geographic regions, and HP’s policy is designed to limit exposure from any particular institution. As part of its risk management processes, HP performs periodic evaluations of

the relative credit standing of these financial institutions. HP has not sustained material credit losses from instruments held at these financial institutions. HP utilizes derivative contracts to protect against the effects of foreign currency, interest rate and, on certain investment exposures. Such contracts involve the risk of non-performance by the counterparty, which could result in a material loss. The likelihood of which HP deems to be remote.

HP sells a significant portion of its products through third-party distributors and resellers and, as a result, maintains individually significant receivable balances with these parties. If the financial condition or operations of these distributors’ and resellers’ aggregated business deteriorates substantially, HP’s operating results could be adversely affected. The ten largest distributor and reseller receivable balances, which were concentrated primarily in North America and Europe, collectively represented approximately 47% and 32% of gross accounts receivable as of October 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. No single customer accounts for more than 10% of gross accounts receivable as of October 31, 2020 or 2019. Credit risk with respect to other accounts receivable is generally diversified due to HP’s large customer base and their dispersion across many different industries and geographic markets. HP performs ongoing credit evaluations of the financial condition of its third-party distributors, resellers and other customers and may require collateral, such as letters of credit and bank guarantees, in certain circumstances.

HP utilizes outsourced manufacturers around the world to manufacture HP-designed products. HP may purchase product components from suppliers and sell those components to its outsourced manufacturers thereby creating receivable balances from the outsourced manufacturers. The three largest outsourced manufacturer receivable balances collectively represented 89% and 77% of HP’s supplier receivables of $1.2 billion and $1.2 billion as of October 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. HP includes the supplier receivables in Other current assets in the Consolidated Balance Sheets on a gross basis. HP’s credit risk associated with these receivables is mitigated wholly or in part, by the amount HP owes to these outsourced manufacturers, as HP generally has the legal right to offset its payables to the outsourced manufacturers against these receivables. HP does not reflect the sale of these components in net revenue and does not recognize any profit on these component sales until the related products are sold by HP, at which time any profit is recognized as a reduction to cost of revenue.

HP obtains a significant number of components from single source suppliers due to technology, availability, price, quality or other considerations. The loss of a single source supplier, the deterioration of HP’s relationship with a single source supplier, or any unilateral modification to the contractual terms under which HP is supplied components by a single source supplier could adversely affect HP’s net revenue, cash flows and gross margins.

Upon completion of the Separation on November 1, 2015, HP recorded net income tax indemnification receivables from Hewlett Packard Enterprise for certain income tax liabilities that HP is jointly and severally liable for, but for which it is indemnified by Hewlett Packard Enterprise under the tax matters agreement (“TMA”). The TMA was terminated during the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2019.

HP values inventory at the lower of cost or market. Cost is computed using standard cost which approximates actual cost on a first-in, first-out basis. Adjustments, if required, to reduce the cost of inventory to market (net realizable value) are made, for estimated excess, obsolete or impaired balances.

HP reflects property, plant and equipment at cost less accumulated depreciation. HP capitalizes additions and improvements and expenses maintenance and repairs as incurred. Depreciation expense is recognized on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives of the assets. Estimated useful lives are five to 40 years for buildings and improvements and three to 15 years for machinery and equipment. HP depreciates leasehold improvements over the life of the lease or the asset, whichever is shorter. HP depreciates equipment held for lease over the initial term of the lease to the equipment’s estimated residual value. On retirement or disposition, the asset cost and related accumulated depreciation are removed from the Consolidated Balance Sheets with any gain or loss recognized in the Consolidated Statements of Earnings.

HP capitalizes external costs and directly attributable internal costs to acquire or create internal use software which are incurred subsequent to the completion of the preliminary project stage. These costs relate to activities such as software design, configuration, coding, testing, and installation. Costs related to post-implementation activities such as training and maintenance are expensed as incurred. Once the software is substantially complete and ready for its intended use, capitalized development costs are amortized straight-line over the estimated useful life of the software, generally not to exceed five years.

HP also enters into certain cloud-based software hosting arrangements that are accounted for as service contracts. For internal-use software obtained through a hosting arrangement that is in the nature of a service contract, HP incurs certain implementation costs such as integrating, configuring, and software customization, which are consistent with costs incurred

during the application development stage for on-premise software. HP applies the same guidance to determine costs that are eligible for capitalization. For these arrangements, HP amortizes the capitalized development costs straight-line over the fixed, non-cancellable term of the associated hosting arrangement plus any reasonably certain renewal periods. HP also applies the same impairment model to both internal-use software and capitalized implementation costs in a software hosting arrangement that is in the nature of a service contract.

HP includes the results of operations of the acquired business in HP’s consolidated results prospectively from the acquisition date. HP allocates the purchase consideration to the assets acquired, liabilities assumed, and non-controlling interests in the acquired entity generally based on their fair values at the acquisition date. The excess of the fair value of purchase consideration over the fair value of these assets acquired, liabilities assumed and non-controlling interests in the acquired entity is recorded as goodwill. The primary items that generate goodwill include the value of the synergies between the acquired company and HP, and the value of the acquired assembled workforce, neither of which qualify for recognition as an intangible asset. Acquisition-related charges are recognized separately from the business combination and are expensed as incurred. These charges primarily include, direct third-party professional and legal fees, and integration-related costs.

HP reviews goodwill for impairment annually during its fourth quarter and whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying amount of goodwill may not be recoverable. HP can elect to perform a qualitative assessment to test a reporting unit’s goodwill for impairment or HP can directly perform the quantitative impairment test. Based on the qualitative assessment, if HP determines that the fair value of a reporting unit is more likely than not (i.e., a likelihood of more than 50 percent) to be less than its carrying amount, a quantitative impairment test will be performed.

In the quantitative impairment test, HP compares the fair value of each reporting unit to its carrying amount with the fair values derived most significantly from the income approach, and to a lesser extent, the market approach. Under the income approach, HP estimates the fair value of a reporting unit based on the present value of estimated future cash flows. HP bases cash flow projections on management’s estimates of revenue growth rates and operating margins, taking into consideration industry and market conditions. HP bases the discount rate on the weighted-average cost of capital adjusted for the relevant risk associated with business-specific characteristics and the uncertainty related to the reporting unit’s ability to execute on the projected cash flows. Under the market approach, HP estimates fair value based on market multiples of revenue and earnings derived from comparable publicly-traded companies with similar operating and investment characteristics as the reporting unit. HP weights the fair value derived from the market approach depending on the level of comparability of these publicly-traded companies to the reporting unit. When market comparables are not meaningful or not available, HP estimates the fair value of a reporting unit using only the income approach.

In order to assess the reasonableness of the estimated fair value of HP’s reporting units, HP compares the aggregate reporting unit fair value to HP’s market capitalization on an overall basis and calculates an implied control premium (the excess of the sum of the reporting units’ fair value over HP’s market capitalization on an overall basis). HP evaluates the control premium by comparing it to observable control premiums from recent comparable transactions. If the implied control premium is determined to not be reasonable in light of these recent transactions, HP re-evaluates its reporting unit fair values, which may result in an adjustment to the discount rate and/or other assumptions. This re-evaluation could result in a change to the estimated fair value for certain or all reporting units.

If the fair value of a reporting unit exceeds the carrying amount of the net assets assigned to that reporting unit, goodwill is not impaired. If the fair value of the reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, goodwill is impaired and the excess of the reporting unit’s carrying value over the fair value is recognized as an impairment loss.

HP determines the appropriate classification of its investments at the time of purchase and re-evaluates the classifications at each balance sheet date. Debt and marketable equity securities are generally considered available-for-sale. All highly liquid investments with maturities of three months or less at the date of purchase are classified as cash equivalents. Marketable debt securities with maturities of twelve months or less are classified as short-term investments and marketable debt securities with maturities greater than twelve months are classified based on their availability for use in current operations. Marketable equity securities, including mutual funds, are classified as either short-term or long-term based on the nature of each security and its availability for use in current operations.

Debt and marketable equity securities are reported at fair value with unrealized gains and losses, net of applicable taxes, in Accumulated other comprehensive loss, Consolidated Statement of Earnings and the Consolidated Balance Sheets. Realized gains and losses on available-for-sale securities are calculated based on the specific identification method and included in

Interest and other, net in the Consolidated Statements of Earnings. HP monitors its investment portfolio for potential impairment on a quarterly basis. When the carrying amount of an investment in debt securities exceeds its fair value and the decline in value is determined to be other-than-temporary (i.e., when HP does not intend to sell the debt securities and it is not more likely than not that HP will be required to sell the debt securities prior to anticipated recovery of its amortized cost basis), HP records an impairment charge to Interest and other, net in the amount of the credit loss and the remaining amount, if any, is recorded in Accumulated other comprehensive loss in the Consolidated Balance Sheets.

HP uses derivative instruments, primarily forwards, swaps, treasury rate locks and at times, options, to hedge certain foreign currency, interest rate, and return on certain investment exposures. HP also may use other derivative instruments not designated as hedges, such as forwards used to hedge foreign currency balance sheet exposures. HP does not use derivative instruments for speculative purposes. See Note 10, “Financial Instruments” for a full description of HP’s derivative instrument activities and related accounting policies.

HP is involved in various lawsuits, claims, investigations and proceedings that arise in the ordinary course of business. HP records a liability for contingencies when it believes it is both probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. See Note 14, “Litigation and Contingencies” for a full description of HP’s loss contingencies and related accounting policies.