Contract Assets and Liabilities

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2021

Revenue from Contract with Customer [Abstract]

Revenue Recognition [Text Block]

Contract Assets and Liabilities

Contract assets reflect revenue recognized and performance obligations satisfied in advance of customer billing. Contract liabilities relate to payments received in advance of the satisfaction of performance under the contract. We receive payments from customers based on the terms established in our contracts. Total contract assets and contract liabilities as of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020 are as follows:

(dollars in millions)	March 31, 2021		December 31, 2020
Contract assets	$	10,238	$	9,931
Contract liabilities	(12,879)		(12,889)
Net contract liabilities	$	(2,641)	$	(2,958)

Contract assets increased $307 million during the quarter ended March 31, 2021 primarily due to the timing of billings on certain long-term maintenance contracts. Contract liabilities were relatively consistent during the quarter ended March 31, 2021 compared to the quarter ended March 31, 2020. We recognized revenue of $1,705 million during the quarter ended March 31, 2021, related to contract liabilities as of January 1, 2021 and $1,183 million during the quarter ended March 31, 2020, related to contract liabilities as of January 1, 2020.

As of March 31, 2021, our contract liabilities include approximately $440 million of advance payments received from a certain Middle East customer on contracts for which we no longer believe we will be able to execute on or obtain required regulatory approvals. These advance payments may become refundable to the customer if the contracts are ultimately terminated.

Contract assets include an allowance for credit losses of $222 million and $177 million as of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively. Changes in the allowance for credit losses were not material for the quarters ended March 31, 2021 and 2020.