Goodwill and Intangible Assets

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2016

NOTE 3. Goodwill and Intangible Assets

There were no material acquisitions that closed during the first three months of 2016. The amounts in the “Translation and other” column in the following table primarily relate to changes in foreign currency exchange rates. The goodwill balances by business segment as of December 31, 2015 and March 31, 2016, follow:

Goodwill


	December 31, 2015		Acquisition		Translation		March 31, 2016
(Millions)	Balance		activity		and other		Balance
Industrial	$	2,573	$	—	$	51	$	2,624
Safety and Graphics		3,342		3		32		3,377
Health Care		1,624		—		20		1,644
Electronics and Energy		1,510		—		14		1,524
Consumer		200		—		6		206
Total Company	$	9,249	$	3	$	123	$	9,375

Accounting standards require that goodwill be tested for impairment annually and between annual tests in certain circumstances such as a change in reporting units or the testing of recoverability of a significant asset group within a reporting unit. At 3M, reporting units generally correspond to a division.

As described in Note 14, effective in the first quarter of 2016, the Company changed its business segment reporting in its continuing effort to improve the alignment of its businesses around markets and customers. For any product changes that resulted in reporting unit changes, the Company applied the relative fair value method to determine the impact on goodwill of the associated reporting units. During the first quarter of 2016, the Company completed its assessment of any potential goodwill impairment for reporting units impacted by this new structure and determined that no impairment existed.

Acquired Intangible Assets

The carrying amount and accumulated amortization of acquired finite-lived intangible assets, in addition to the balance of non-amortizable intangible assets, as of March 31, 2016, and December 31, 2015, follow:


	March 31,		December 31,
(Millions)	2016		2015
Customer related intangible assets	$	1,985	$	1,973
Patents		610		616
Other technology-based intangible assets		526		525
Definite-lived tradenames		423		421
Other amortizable intangible assets		218		216
Total gross carrying amount	$	3,762	$	3,751

Accumulated amortization — customer related		(706)		(668)
Accumulated amortization — patents		(484)		(481)
Accumulated amortization — other technology based		(267)		(252)
Accumulated amortization — definite-lived tradenames		(222)		(215)
Accumulated amortization — other		(172)		(169)
Total accumulated amortization	$	(1,851)	$	(1,785)

Total finite-lived intangible assets — net	$	1,911	$	1,966

Non-amortizable intangible assets (primarily tradenames)		640		635
Total intangible assets — net	$	2,551	$	2,601

Certain tradenames acquired by 3M are not amortized because they have been in existence for over 55 years, have a history of leading-market share positions, have been and are intended to be continuously renewed, and the associated products of which are expected to generate cash flows for 3M for an indefinite period of time.

Amortization expense for acquired intangible assets for the three-month periods ended March 31, 2016 and 2015 follows:


	Three months ended
	March 31,
(Millions)	2016		2015
Amortization expense	$	66	$	53

Expected amortization expense for acquired amortizable intangible assets recorded as of March 31, 2016:


	Remainder
	of												After
(Millions)	2016		2017		2018		2019		2020		2021		2021
Amortization expense	$	188	$	227	$	205	$	193	$	183	$	167	$	748

The preceding expected amortization expense is an estimate. Actual amounts of amortization expense may differ from estimated amounts due to additional intangible asset acquisitions, changes in foreign currency exchange rates, impairment of intangible assets, accelerated amortization of intangible assets and other events. 3M expenses the costs incurred to renew or extend the term of intangible assets.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the aggregate amount of goodwill and a description of intangible assets, which may include (a) for amortizable intangible assets (also referred to as finite-lived intangible assets), the carrying amount, the amount of any significant residual value, and the weighted-average amortization period, (b) for intangible assets not subject to amortization (also referred to as indefinite-lived intangible assets), the carrying amount, and (c) the amount of research and development assets acquired and written off in the period, including the line item in the income statement in which the amounts written off are aggregated, if not readily apparent from the income statement. Also discloses (a) for amortizable intangibles assets in total and by major class, the gross carrying amount and accumulated amortization, the total amortization expense for the period, and the estimated aggregate amortization expense for each of the five succeeding fiscal years, (b) for intangible assets not subject to amortization the carrying amount in total and by major class, and (c) for goodwill, in total and for each reportable segment, the changes in the carrying amount of goodwill during the period (including the aggregate amount of goodwill acquired, the aggregate amount of impairment losses recognized, and the amount of goodwill included in the gain (loss) on disposal of a reporting unit). If any part of goodwill has not been allocated to a reportable segment, discloses the unallocated amount and the reasons for not allocating. For each impairment loss recognized related to an intangible asset (excluding goodwill), discloses: (a) a description of the impaired intangible asset and the facts and circumstances leading to the impairment, (b) the amount of the impairment loss and the method for determining fair value, (c) the caption in the income statement or the statement of activities in which the impairment loss is aggregated, and (d) the segment in which the impaired intangible asset is reported. For each goodwill impairment loss recognized, discloses: (a) a description of the facts and circumstances leading to the impairment, (b) the amount of the impairment loss and the method of determining the fair value of the associated reporting unit, and (c) if a recognized impairment loss is an estimate not finalized and the reasons why the estimate is not final. May also disclose the nature and amount of any significant adjustments made to a previous estimate of an impairment loss.

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