XML 34 R9.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT v3.20.2
Revenues and Contract Costs
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2020
Revenue from Contract with Customer [Abstract]  
Revenues and Contract Costs
Note 2. Revenues and Contract Costs
We earn revenue from contracts with customers, primarily through the provision of telecommunications and other services and through the sale of wireless equipment.

Revenue by Category
We have two reportable segments that we operate and manage as strategic business units - Consumer and Business. Revenue is disaggregated by products and services within Consumer and customer groups (Small and Medium Business, Global Enterprise, Public Sector and Other, and Wholesale) within Business. See Note 10 for additional information on revenue by segment.

Corporate and other includes the results of our media business, Verizon Media Group (Verizon Media), and other businesses. Verizon Media generated revenues from contracts with customers under ASU 2014-09, "Revenue from Contracts with Customers" (Topic 606) of approximately $1.4 billion and $3.1 billion during the three and six months ended June 30, 2020, respectively. Verizon Media generated revenues from contracts with customers under Topic 606 of approximately $1.8 billion and $3.6 billion during the three and six months ended June 30, 2019, respectively.

We also earn revenues that are not accounted for under Topic 606 from leasing arrangements (such as towers), captive reinsurance arrangements primarily related to wireless device insurance and the interest on equipment financed on a device payment plan agreement when sold to the customer by an authorized agent. As allowed by the practical expedient within ASU 2016-02, "Leases" (Topic 842), we have elected to combine the lease and non-lease components for those arrangements of customer premise equipment where we are the lessor as components accounted for under Topic 606. During the three and six months ended June 30, 2020, revenues from arrangements that were not accounted for under Topic 606 were approximately $785 million and $1.6 billion, respectively. During the three and six months ended June 30, 2019, revenues from arrangements that were not accounted for under Topic 606 were approximately $797 million and $1.6 billion, respectively.

Remaining Performance Obligations
When allocating the total contract transaction price to identified performance obligations, a portion of the total transaction price may relate to service performance obligations which were not satisfied or are partially satisfied as of the end of the reporting period. Below we disclose information relating to these unsatisfied performance obligations. Upon adoption, we elected to apply the practical expedient available under Topic 606 that provides the option to exclude the expected revenues arising from unsatisfied performance obligations related to contracts that have an original expected duration of one year or less. This situation primarily arises with respect to certain month-to-month service contracts. At June 30, 2020, month-to-month service contracts represented approximately 89% of our wireless postpaid contracts and approximately 67% of our wireline Consumer and Small and Medium Business contracts, compared to June 30, 2019, for which month-to-month service contracts represented approximately 87% of our wireless postpaid contracts and 57% of our wireline Consumer and Small and Medium Business contracts.

Additionally, certain contracts provide customers the option to purchase additional services. The fees related to these additional services are recognized when the customer exercises the option (typically on a month-to-month basis).

Contracts for wireless services are generally either month-to-month and cancellable at any time (typically under a device payment plan) or contain terms ranging from greater than one month to up to two years (typically under a fixed-term plan). Additionally, customers may incur charges based on usage or additional optional services purchased in conjunction with entering into a contract that can be cancelled at any time and therefore are not included in the transaction price. The transaction price allocated to service performance obligations, which are not satisfied or are partially satisfied as of the end of the reporting period, are generally related to contracts that are not accounted for as month-to-month contracts.

Our Consumer group customers also include traditional wholesale resellers that purchase and resell wireless service under their own brands to their respective customers. Reseller arrangements generally include a stated contract term, which typically extends longer than two years and, in some cases, include a periodic minimum revenue commitment over the contract term for which revenues will be recognized in future periods.

Consumer customer contracts for wireline services are generally month-to-month; however, they may have a service term of two years or shorter than twelve months. Certain contracts with Business customers for wireline services extend into future periods, contain fixed monthly fees and usage-based fees, and can include annual commitments in each year of the contract or commitments over the entire specified contract term; however, a significant number of contracts for wireline services with our Business customers have a contract term that is twelve months or less.

Additionally, there are certain contracts with Business customers for wireline and telematics services and certain Verizon Media contracts with customers that have a contractual minimum fee over the total contract term. We cannot predict the time period when revenue will be recognized related to those contracts; thus, they are excluded from the time bands below. These contracts have varying terms spanning over approximately five years ending in June 2025 and have aggregate contract minimum payments totaling $2.7 billion.
At June 30, 2020, the transaction price related to unsatisfied performance obligations for total Verizon that is expected to be recognized for the remainder of 2020, 2021 and thereafter was $10.3 billion, $13.1 billion and $4.0 billion, respectively. Remaining performance obligation estimates are subject to change and are affected by several factors, including terminations and changes in the timing and scope of contracts, arising from contract modifications.

Accounts Receivable and Contract Balances
The timing of revenue recognition may differ from the time of billing to our customers. Receivables presented in our condensed consolidated balance sheets represent an unconditional right to consideration. Contract balances represent amounts from an arrangement when either Verizon has performed, by transferring goods or services to the customer in advance of receiving all or partial consideration for such goods and services from the customer, or the customer has made payment to Verizon in advance of obtaining control of the goods and/or services promised to the customer in the contract.

Contract assets primarily relate to our rights to consideration for goods or services provided to customers but for which we do not have an unconditional right at the reporting date. Under a fixed-term plan, total contract revenue is allocated between wireless service and equipment revenues. In conjunction with these arrangements, a contract asset is created, which represents the difference between the amount of equipment revenue recognized upon sale and the amount of consideration received from the customer when the performance obligation related to the transfer of control of the equipment is satisfied. The contract asset is reclassified to accounts receivable as wireless services are provided and billed. We have the right to bill the customer as service is provided over time, which results in our right to the payment being unconditional. The contract asset balances are presented in our condensed consolidated balance sheets as Prepaid expenses and other and Other assets. We recognize the allowance for credit losses at inception and reassess quarterly based on management’s expectation of the asset’s collectability.

Contract liabilities arise when we bill our customers and receive consideration in advance of providing the goods or services promised in the contract. We typically bill service one month in advance, which is the primary component of the contract liability balance. Contract liabilities are recognized as revenue when services are provided to the customer. The contract liability balances are presented in our condensed consolidated balance sheets as Other current liabilities and Other liabilities.

The following table presents information about receivables from contracts with customers:
At June 30,At January 1,At June 30,At January 1,
(dollars in millions)2020202020192019
Receivables(1)
$10,967  $12,078  $12,173  $12,104  
Device payment plan agreement receivables(2)
10,047  11,741  10,053  8,940  
(1)Balances do not include receivables related to the following contracts: leasing arrangements (such as towers), captive reinsurance arrangements primarily related to wireless device insurance and the interest on equipment financed on a device payment plan agreement when sold to the customer by an authorized agent.
(2)Included in device payment plan agreement receivables presented in Note 6. Balances do not include receivables related to contracts completed prior to January 1, 2018 and receivables derived from the sale of equipment on a device payment plan through an authorized agent.

The following table presents information about contract balances:
At June 30,At January 1,At June 30,At January 1,
(dollars in millions)2020202020192019
Contract asset$993  $1,150  $1,059  $1,003  
Contract liability (1)
5,275  5,307  4,946  4,943  
(1) Revenue recognized related to contract liabilities existing at January 1, 2020 were $204 million and $4.0 billion, for the three and six months ended June 30, 2020, respectively. Revenue recognized related to contract liabilities existing at January 1, 2019 were $194 million and $3.9 billion, for the three and six months ended June 30, 2019, respectively.
The balance of contract assets and contract liabilities recorded in our condensed consolidated balance sheets were as follows:
At June 30,At December 31,
(dollars in millions)20202019
Assets
Prepaid expenses and other$762  $848  
Other assets231  302  
Total$993  $1,150  
Liabilities
Other current liabilities$4,636  $4,651  
Other liabilities639  656  
Total$5,275  $5,307  

Contract Costs
Topic 606 requires the recognition of an asset for incremental costs to obtain a customer contract, which are then amortized to expense over the respective periods of expected benefit. We recognize an asset for incremental commission expenses paid to internal and external sales personnel and agents in conjunction with obtaining customer contracts. We only defer these costs when we have determined the commissions are incremental costs that would not have been incurred absent the customer contract and are expected to be recoverable. Costs to obtain a contract are amortized and recorded ratably as commission expense over the period representing the transfer of goods or services to which the assets relate. Costs to obtain wireless contracts are amortized over both of our Consumer and Business customers' estimated device upgrade cycles, as such costs are typically incurred each time a customer upgrades. Costs to obtain wireline contracts are amortized as expense over the estimated customer relationship period for our Consumer customers. Incremental costs to obtain wireline contracts for our Business customers are insignificant. Costs to obtain contracts are recorded in Selling, general and administrative expense.

We also defer costs incurred to fulfill contracts that: (1) relate directly to the contract; (2) are expected to generate resources that will be used to satisfy our performance obligation under the contract; and (3) are expected to be recovered through revenue generated under the contract. Contract fulfillment costs are expensed as we satisfy our performance obligations and recorded in Cost of services. These costs principally relate to direct costs that enhance our wireline business resources, such as costs incurred to install circuits.

We determine the amortization periods for our costs incurred to obtain or fulfill a customer contract at a portfolio level due to the similarities within these customer contract portfolios.

Other costs, such as general costs or costs related to past performance obligations, are expensed as incurred.

Collectively, costs to obtain a contract and costs to fulfill a contract are referred to as deferred contract costs, and amortized over a two-to five-year period. Deferred contract costs are classified as current or non-current within Prepaid expenses and other and Other assets, respectively.

The balances of deferred contract costs included in our condensed consolidated balance sheets were as follows:
At June 30,At December 31,
(dollars in millions)20202019
Assets
Prepaid expenses and other$2,455  $2,578  
Other assets1,791  1,911  
Total$4,246  $4,489  

For the three and six months ended June 30, 2020, we recognized expense of $767 million and $1.5 billion, respectively, associated with the amortization of deferred contract costs, primarily within Selling, general and administrative expense in our condensed consolidated statements of income. For the three and six months ended June 30, 2019, we recognized expense of $639 million and $1.3 billion, respectively, associated with the amortization of deferred contract costs, primarily within Selling, general and administrative expense in our condensed consolidated statements of income.

We assess our deferred contract costs for impairment on a quarterly basis. We recognize an impairment charge to the extent the carrying amount of a deferred cost exceeds the remaining amount of consideration we expect to receive in exchange for the goods and services related to the cost, less the expected costs related directly to providing those goods and services that have not yet been recognized as expenses. There have been no impairment charges recognized for the three and six months ended June 30, 2020 or June 30, 2019.