Warranty, Guarantees, Commitments and Contingencies

Leases

Applied leases some of its facilities and equipment under non-cancelable operating leases and has options to renew most leases, with rentals to be negotiated. Total rent expense for fiscal 2018, 2017 and 2016, was $50 million, $34 million and $38 million, respectively.

As of October 28, 2018, future minimum lease payments are expected to be as follows:



	Lease Payments
Fiscal	(In millions)
2019	$	50
2020	40
2021	28
2022	20
2023	13
Thereafter	22
	$	173

Warranty

Changes in the warranty reserves during each fiscal year were as follows:



	2018			2017			2016

	(In millions)
Beginning balance	$	199		$	153		$	126
Provisions for warranty	183			166			135
Changes in reserves related to preexisting warranty	3			1			(12		)
Consumption of reserves	(176		)	(121		)	(96		)
Ending balance	$	209		$	199		$	153

Applied products are generally sold with a warranty for a 12-month period following installation. The provision for the estimated cost of warranty is recorded when revenue is recognized. Parts and labor are covered under the terms of the warranty agreement. The warranty provision is based on historical experience by product, configuration and geographic region. Quarterly warranty consumption is generally associated with sales that occurred during the preceding four quarters, and quarterly warranty provisions are generally related to the current quarter’s sales.

Guarantees

In the ordinary course of business, Applied provides standby letters of credit or other guarantee instruments to third parties as required for certain transactions initiated by either Applied or its subsidiaries. As of October 28, 2018, the maximum potential amount of future payments that Applied could be required to make under these guarantee agreements was approximately $58 million. Applied has not recorded any liability in connection with these guarantee agreements beyond that required to appropriately account for the underlying transaction being guaranteed. Applied does not believe, based on historical experience and information currently available, that it is probable that any amounts will be required to be paid under these guarantee agreements.

Applied also has agreements with various banks to facilitate subsidiary banking operations worldwide, including overdraft arrangements, issuance of bank guarantees, and letters of credit. As of October 28, 2018, Applied has provided parent guarantees to banks for approximately $149 million to cover these arrangements.

Legal Matters

From time to time, Applied receives notification from third parties, including customers and suppliers, seeking indemnification, litigation support, payment of money or other actions by Applied in connection with claims made against them. In addition, from time to time, Applied receives notification from third parties claiming that Applied may be or is infringing or misusing their intellectual property or other rights. Applied also is subject to various other legal proceedings and claims, both asserted and unasserted, that arise in the ordinary course of business.

Although the outcome of the above-described matters, claims and proceedings cannot be predicted with certainty, Applied does not believe that any will have a material effect on its consolidated financial condition or results of operations.