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BASIS OF PRESENTATION (Policies)
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2024
Accounting Policies [Abstract]  
General Information
The accompanying unaudited Consolidated Condensed Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("GAAP") for interim financial information, and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all information or footnotes required by U.S. GAAP for complete financial statements. As a result, this Form 10-Q should be read in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements and accompanying Notes in our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023.
Management believes that the accompanying Consolidated Condensed Financial Statements reflect all adjustments, including normal recurring items, considered necessary for a fair presentation of the interim periods.
Reclassification
We are required to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the Consolidated Condensed Financial Statements and accompanying Notes. Actual results could differ materially from those estimates.
Consolidation
We have eliminated all material intercompany transactions in our Consolidated Condensed Financial Statements. We do not consolidate the financial statements of any company in which we have an ownership interest of 50% or less, unless that company is deemed to be a variable interest entity ("VIE") of which we are the primary beneficiary. VIEs are consolidated when the company is the primary beneficiary of these entities and has the ability to directly impact the activities of these entities.
Risks and Uncertainties
Macroeconomic volatility, as well as ongoing international conflicts, continues to impact countries across the world, and the duration and severity of the effects are currently unknown. The duration and severity of the effects on our business and the global economy are inherently unpredictable.
The Consolidated Condensed Financial Statements presented herein reflect estimates and assumptions made by management at September 30, 2024.
These estimates and assumptions affect, among other things, the Company’s goodwill, long-lived asset and indefinite-lived intangible asset valuation; inventory valuation; assessment of the annual effective tax rate; valuation of deferred income taxes and income tax contingencies; and the allowance for expected credit losses and bad debt. Events and changes in circumstances arising after October 24, 2024, including those resulting from the impacts of macroeconomic volatility, as well as the ongoing international conflicts, will be reflected in management’s estimates for future periods.
Goodwill and Indefinite-lived Intangible Assets
We continue to monitor the significant global economic uncertainty to assess the outlook for demand for our products and the impact on our business and our overall financial performance. Our Maytag and InSinkErator trademarks continue to be at risk at September 30, 2024. The goodwill in our reporting units or other indefinite-lived intangible assets are not presently at risk for future impairment.
The potential impact of demand disruptions, production impacts or supply constraints along with a number of other factors could negatively affect revenues for the Maytag and InSinkErator trademarks, but we remain committed to the strategic actions necessary to realize the long-term forecasted revenues and profitability of these trademarks.
A lack of recovery or further deterioration in market conditions, a sustained trend of weaker than expected financial performance for our Maytag and InSinkErator trademarks, among other factors, as a result of the macroeconomic factors or other unforeseen events could result in an impairment charge in future periods which could have a material adverse effect on our financial statements.
As a result of our analysis, and in consideration of the totality of events and circumstances, there were no triggering events of impairment identified during the third quarter of 2024.
Income taxes
Under U.S. GAAP, the Company calculates its quarterly tax provision based on an estimated effective tax rate for the year and then adjusts this amount by certain discrete items each quarter. Potential changing and volatile macro-economic conditions could cause fluctuations in forecasted earnings before income taxes. As such, the Company's effective tax rate could be subject to volatility as forecasted earnings before income taxes are impacted by events which cannot be predicted.
In addition, potential future economic deterioration brought on by the pandemic, ongoing international conflicts, and related sanctions or other factors, such as potential sales of businesses and new tax legislation may negatively impact the realizability and/or valuation of certain deferred tax assets.
Synthetic Lease Arrangements
We have a number of synthetic lease arrangements with financial institutions for non-core properties. The leases contain provisions for options to purchase, extend the original term for additional periods or return the property. As of September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, these arrangements include residual value guarantees of up to approximately $378 million and $378 million, respectively, that could potentially come due in future periods. We do not believe it is probable that any material amounts will be owed under these guarantees. Therefore, no material amounts related to the residual value guarantees are included in the lease payments used to measure the right-of-use assets and lease liabilities.
The majority of these leases are classified as operating leases. We have assessed the reasonable certainty of these provisions to determine the appropriate lease term. The leases were measured using our incremental borrowing rate and are included in our right of use assets and lease liabilities in the Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets. Rental payments are calculated at the applicable reference rate plus an additional amount based on the terms of the lease. The impact to the Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets and Consolidated Condensed Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss) is nominal.
Supply Chain Financing Arrangements
The Company has ongoing agreements globally with various third-parties to provide certain suppliers the opportunity to sell receivables due from us to participating financial institutions at the sole discretion of both the suppliers and the financial institutions. Under these agreements, the average payment terms range from 120 to 180 days and are based on industry standards and best practices within each of our global regions. Whirlpool has no assets pledged as part of our global programs.
We have no economic interest in the sale of these receivables and no direct financial relationship with the financial institutions concerning these services. For certain arrangements, the Company will guarantee receivables due from wholly-owned subsidiaries. Our obligations to suppliers, including amounts due and scheduled payment terms, are not impacted. All outstanding balances under these programs are recorded in accounts payable on our Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets.
A downgrade in our credit rating or changes in the financial markets could limit the financial institutions’ willingness to commit funds to, and participate in, the programs. We do not believe such risk would have a material impact on our working capital or cash flows.
Equity Method Investments
Our primary equity method investments include partial ownership in Whirlpool China, an entity that was previously controlled by the Company, and partial ownership in Beko Europe B.V. (Beko), a newly formed entity resulting from the April 1, 2024 transaction with Arcelik. For additional information, see Note 14 to the Consolidated Condensed Financial Statements.
The licensing revenue from our equity method investments and their subsidiaries is not material for the periods presented. There are also no material accounts receivable or sales with these investments for the periods presented.
Related Parties Elica PB India is a VIE for which the Company is the primary beneficiary. The carrying amount of customer relationships, which are included in Other intangible assets, net of accumulated amortization, amounts to $27 million as of September 30, 2024 and $29 million as of December 31, 2023, respectively. Other assets or liabilities of Elica PB India are not material to the Consolidated Condensed Financial Statements of the Company for the periods presented.
Both Whirlpool India and the non-controlling interest shareholders retain an option for Whirlpool India to purchase the remaining equity interest in Elica PB India for fair value, which could be material to the financial statements of the Company, depending on the performance of the business.
Accounting Pronouncements Issued But Not Yet Effective
In November 2023, the FASB issued Update 2023-07, "Segment Reporting (Topic 280): Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures". This Update applies to all public entities that are required to report segment information in accordance with Topic 280. The amendments in this Update revise reportable segment disclosure requirements, primarily through enhanced disclosures about significant segment expenses. The amendments in this Update do not change how a public entity identifies its operating segments, aggregates those operating segments, or applies the quantitative thresholds to determine its reportable segments. The new standard is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023, and interim periods within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024. Early adoption is permitted. The standard should be applied retrospectively to all prior periods presented in the financial statements. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of adopting this new standard.
In December 2023, the FASB issued Update 2023-09, "Income Taxes (Topic 740): Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures". This Update applies to all entities that are subject to Topic 740. The amendments in this Update revise income tax disclosures primarily related to the rate reconciliation and income taxes paid information as well as the effectiveness of certain other income tax disclosures. The new standard is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2024. Early adoption is permitted. The standard should be applied on a prospective basis, but retrospective application is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of adopting this new standard.
All other issued and not yet effective accounting standards are not relevant or material to the Company.
Derivatives
Hedging Strategy
In the normal course of business, we manage risks relating to our ongoing business operations including those arising from changes in commodity prices, foreign exchange rates and interest rates. Fluctuations in these rates and prices can affect our operating results and financial condition. We use a variety of strategies, including the use of derivative instruments, to manage these risks. We do not enter into derivative financial instruments for trading or speculative purposes.
Commodity Price Risk
We enter into commodity derivative contracts on various commodities to manage the price risk associated with forecasted purchases and sales of material used in our manufacturing process. The objective of these hedges is to reduce the variability of cash flows associated with the forecasted purchases and sales of commodities.
Foreign Currency and Interest Rate Risk
We incur expenses associated with the procurement and production of products in a limited number of countries, while we sell in the local currencies of a large number of countries. Our primary foreign currency exchange exposures result from cross-currency sales of products. As a result, we enter into foreign exchange contracts to hedge certain firm commitments and forecasted transactions to acquire products and services that are denominated in foreign currencies. We enter into certain undesignated non-functional currency asset and liability hedges that relate primarily to short-term payables, receivables, intercompany loans and dividends. When we hedge a foreign currency denominated payable or receivable with a derivative, the effect of changes in the foreign exchange rates are reflected currently in interest and sundry (income) expense for both the payable/receivable and the derivative. Therefore, as a result of the economic hedge, we do not elect hedge accounting.
We also enter into hedges to mitigate currency risk primarily related to forecasted foreign currency denominated expenditures, intercompany financing agreements and royalty agreements and designate them as cash flow hedges. Gains and losses on derivatives designated as cash flow hedges, to the extent they are included in the assessment of effectiveness, are recorded in other comprehensive income (loss) and subsequently reclassified to earnings to offset the impact of the hedged items when they occur.
We may enter into cross-currency interest rate swaps to manage our exposure relating to cross-currency debt. Outstanding notional amounts of cross-currency interest rate swap agreements were $618 million at September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively.
We may enter into interest rate swap agreements to manage interest rate risk exposure. Our interest rate swap agreements, if any, effectively modify our exposure to interest rate risk, primarily through converting certain floating rate debt to a fixed rate basis, or certain fixed rate debt to a floating rate basis. These agreements involve either the receipt or payment of floating rate amounts in exchange for fixed rate interest payments or receipts, respectively, over the life of the agreements without an exchange of the underlying principal amounts. We may enter into swap rate lock agreements to effectively reduce our exposure to interest rate risk by locking in interest rates on probable long-term debt issuances. There were no outstanding notional amounts of interest rate swap agreements at September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023.
We may enter into instruments that are designated and qualify as a net investment hedge to manage our exposure related to foreign currency denominated investments. The effective portion of the instruments' gain or loss is reported as a component of other comprehensive income (loss) and recorded in accumulated other comprehensive loss. The gain or loss will be subsequently reclassified into net earnings when the underlying net investment is either sold or substantially liquidated. The remaining change in fair value of the hedge instruments represents the ineffective portion, which is immediately recognized in interest and sundry (income) expense on our Consolidated Condensed Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss). There were no outstanding notional amounts of net investment hedges as of September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023.
Fair Value Measurements Fair value is measured based on an exit price, representing the amount that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants. As such, fair value is a market-based measurement that should be determined based on assumptions market participants would use in pricing an asset or liability. Assets and liabilities measured at fair value are based on a market valuation approach using prices and other relevant information generated by market transactions involving identical or comparable assets or liabilities. As a basis for considering such assumptions, a three-tiered fair value hierarchy is established, which prioritizes the inputs used in measuring fair value as follows: (Level 1) observable inputs such as quoted prices in active markets; (Level 2) inputs, other than the quoted prices in active markets that are observable, either directly or indirectly; and (Level 3) unobservable inputs in which there is little or no market data, which require the reporting entity to develop its own assumptions.