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Summary of Accounting Policies

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2023

2. Summary of Accounting Policies

The Consolidated Financial Statements of SLB have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the disclosure of contingent liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period. On an ongoing basis, SLB evaluates its estimates, including those related to collectibility of accounts receivable; revenue recognized for certain long-term construction-type contracts over time; recoverability of fixed assets, goodwill, intangible assets, Asset Performance Solutions investments, and investments in affiliates; income taxes; exploration data; contingencies and actuarial assumptions for employee benefit plans. SLB bases its estimates on historical experience and other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.

Revenue Recognition

SLB recognizes revenue upon the transfer of control of promised products or services to customers at an amount that reflects the consideration it expects to receive in exchange for these products or services. The vast majority of SLB’s services and product offerings are short-term in nature. The time between invoicing and when payment is due under these arrangements is generally between 30 to 60 days.

Revenue is recognized for certain long-term construction-type contracts over time. These contracts involve significant design and engineering efforts in order to satisfy custom designs for customer-specific applications. Revenue is recognized as work progresses on each contract. Progress is measured by the ratio of actual costs incurred to date on the project in relation to total estimated project costs. The estimate of total project costs has a significant impact on both the amount of revenue recognized as well as the related profit on a project. Revenue and profits on contracts can also be significantly affected by change orders and claims. Due to the nature of these projects, adjustments to estimates of contract revenue and total contract costs may be required as work progresses. Progress billings are generally issued upon completion of certain phases of work as stipulated in the contract. Any expected losses on a project are recorded in full in the period in which they become probable.

Due to the nature of its businesses, SLB does not have significant backlog. Total backlog was $5.9 billion at December 31, 2023, of which approximately 60% is expected to be recognized as revenue during 2024.

Short-term Investments

Short-term investments are comprised primarily of money market funds, time deposits, certificates of deposit, commercial paper, bonds, and notes, substantially all of which are denominated in US dollars and are stated at cost plus accrued interest, which approximates fair value.

For purposes of the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows, SLB does not consider Short-term investments to be cash equivalents.

Investments in Affiliated Companies

Investments in companies in which SLB does not have a controlling financial interest, but over which it has significant influence, are accounted for using the equity method. SLB’s share of the after-tax earnings of equity method investees is included in Interest & other income. Investments in privately held companies in which SLB does not have the ability to exercise significant influence are accounted for using the cost method. Investments in publicly traded companies in which SLB does not have the ability to exercise significant influence are reported at fair value, with unrealized gains and losses reported as a component of Interest & other income.

Exploration Data

SLB’s exploration data library consists of completed and in-process seismic surveys that are licensed on a nonexclusive basis. SLB capitalizes costs directly incurred in acquiring and processing the exploration data. Such costs are charged to Cost of services based on the percentage of the total costs to the estimated total revenue that SLB expects to receive from the sales of such data. However, an individual survey generally will not carry a net book value greater than a 4-year, straight-line amortized value.

The carrying value of the exploration data library is reviewed for impairment annually as well as when an event or change in circumstance indicating impairment may have occurred. Adjustments to the carrying value are recorded when it is determined that estimated future cash flows, which involve significant judgment on the part of SLB, would not be sufficient to recover the carrying value of the surveys. Significant adverse changes in SLB’s estimated future cash flows could result in impairment charges in a future period.

Asset Performance Solutions

Asset Performance Solutions (“APS”) projects are generally focused on developing and co-managing production of customers’ assets under long-term agreements. SLB invests its own services and products into the field development activities and operations and is compensated on a fee-per-barrel basis or based on cash flow generated. This includes certain arrangements whereby SLB is only compensated based on incremental production that it helps deliver above a mutually agreed baseline.

SLB capitalizes its investments in a project including the direct costs associated with providing its services or products. These capitalized investments are amortized to the Consolidated Statement of Income as the related production is achieved based on the units of production method, whereby each unit produced is assigned a pro-rata portion of the unamortized costs based on estimated total production, resulting in a matching of revenue with the applicable costs.

Concentration of Credit Risk

SLB’s assets that are exposed to concentrations of credit risk consist primarily of cash, short-term investments, receivables from clients, and derivative financial instruments. SLB places its cash and short-term investments with financial institutions and corporations and limits the amount of credit exposure with any one of them. SLB regularly evaluates the creditworthiness of the issuers in which it invests. By using derivative financial instruments to hedge certain exposures, SLB exposes itself to some credit risk. SLB minimizes this credit risk by entering into transactions with high-quality counterparties, limiting the exposure to each counterparty and monitoring the financial condition of its counterparties.

As a large multinational company, SLB’s accounts receivable are spread over many countries and customers. The United States and Mexico represented 11% and 13%, respectively, of SLB’s net accounts receivable balance at December 31, 2023. No other countries accounted for greater than 10% of SLB’s accounts receivable balance. SLB maintains an allowance for uncollectible accounts receivable based on expected collectibility and performs ongoing credit evaluations of its customers’ financial condition. If the financial condition of SLB’s customers were to deteriorate resulting in an impairment of their ability to make payments, adjustments to the allowance may be required.

Earnings per Share

The following is a reconciliation from basic to diluted earnings per share of SLB:


(Stated in millions, except per share amounts)

	Net Income Attributable to SLB		Average Shares Outstanding		Earnings per Share
2023:
Basic	$	4,203		1,425	$	2.95
Dilutive impact of stock options and restricted stock		-		18
Diluted	$	4,203		1,443	$	2.91
2022:
Basic	$	3,441		1,416	$	2.43
Dilutive impact of stock options and restricted stock		-		21
Diluted	$	3,441		1,437	$	2.39
2021:
Basic	$	1,881		1,400	$	1.34
Dilutive impact of stock options and restricted stock		-		27
Diluted	$	1,881		1,427	$	1.32

The number of outstanding employee stock options to purchase shares of SLB common stock that were not included in the computation of diluted earnings per share, because to do so would have had an anti-dilutive effect, were as follows:


(Stated in millions)

	2023		2022		2021
Employee stock options		21		25		42