Basis of Presentation (Tables)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Schedule of Cash and Cash Equivalents

Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash are included in the following line items in the condensed consolidated balance sheets:

	At March 31,		At December 31,		Increase / (Decrease)
(dollars in millions)	2020		2019
Cash and cash equivalents	$	7,047	$	2,594	$	4,453
Restricted cash:
Prepaid expenses and other	1,154		1,221		(67		)
Other assets	123		102		21
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash	$	8,324	$	3,917	$	4,407

Schedule of Restricted Cash

Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash are included in the following line items in the condensed consolidated balance sheets:

	At March 31,		At December 31,		Increase / (Decrease)
(dollars in millions)	2020		2019
Cash and cash equivalents	$	7,047	$	2,594	$	4,453
Restricted cash:
Prepaid expenses and other	1,154		1,221		(67		)
Other assets	123		102		21
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash	$	8,324	$	3,917	$	4,407

Schedule of New Accounting Pronouncements

The following Accounting Standard Updates (ASUs) were issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), and have been recently adopted by Verizon.

Description	Date of Adoption	Effect on Financial Statements
ASU 2016-13, ASU 2018-19, ASU 2019-04, and ASU 2019-05, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326)
In June 2016, the FASB issued Topic 326 which requires certain financial assets to be measured at amortized cost net of an allowance for estimated credit losses, such that the net receivable represents the present value of expected cash collection. In addition, this standard update requires that certain financial assets be measured at amortized cost reflecting an allowance for estimated credit losses expected to occur over the life of the assets. The estimate of credit losses must be based on all relevant information including historical information, current conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts that affect the collectability of the amounts. An entity applies the update through a cumulative effect adjustment to retained earnings as of the beginning of the first reporting period in which the guidance is effective (January 1, 2020). A prospective transition approach is required for debt securities for which an other-than-temporary impairment has been recognized before the effective date. Early adoption of this standard is permitted.	1/1/2020	We adopted Topic 326 beginning on January 1, 2020 using the modified retrospective approach with a cumulative effect adjustment to opening retained earnings recorded at the beginning of the period of adoption. Therefore upon adoption, we recognized and measured estimated credit losses without revising comparative period information or disclosures. We recorded the pre-tax cumulative effect of $265 million ($200 million net of tax) as a reduction to the January 1, 2020 opening balance of retained earnings, which was related to the timing of expected credit loss recognition for certain device payment plan receivables based upon reasonable and supportable forecasts of the future economic condition as of January 1, 2020. Additionally, the adoption of the standard impacted the condensed consolidated balance sheet by presenting financial assets measured at amortized cost separate from the allowance for estimated credit losses. There is no significant impact to our operating results for the current period due to this standard update.
ASU 2020-04, Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848)
Topic 848 provides temporary optional guidance to ease the potential burden in accounting for reference rate reform. Topic 848 provides optional expedients and exceptions for applying U.S. GAAP to transactions affected by reference rate reform if certain criteria are met.	3/12/2020	Topic 848 was effective for the Company beginning on March 12, 2020, and we will apply the amendments prospectively through December 31, 2022. There was no impact to our condensed consolidation financial statements for the quarter ended March 31, 2020 as a result of adopting this standard update.

The cumulative after-tax effect of the changes made to our condensed consolidated balance sheet for the adoption of Topic 326 were as follows:

(dollars in millions)	At December 31, 2019		Adjustments due to Topic 326			At January 1, 2020
Allowance for credit losses	$	—	$	919		$	919
Allowance for doubtful accounts	733		(733		)	—
Other assets	10,141		(79		)	10,062
Deferred income taxes	34,703		(65		)	34,638
Retained earnings	53,147		(200		)	52,947