XML 41 R7.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT v3.19.3
Description of Business
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2019
Description of Business  
Description of Business

1.    Description of Business

Bruker Corporation, together with its consolidated subsidiaries (Bruker or the Company), develops, manufactures and distributes high-performance scientific instruments and analytical and diagnostic solutions that enable its customers to explore life and materials at microscopic, molecular and cellular levels. Many of the Company’s products are used to detect, measure and visualize structural characteristics of chemical, biological and industrial material samples. The Company’s products address the rapidly evolving needs of a diverse array of customers in life science research, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, applied markets, cell biology, clinical research, microbiology, in-vitro diagnostics, nanotechnology and materials science research.

The Company has two reportable segments, Bruker Scientific Instruments (BSI), which represented approximately 90.5% and 90.4% of the Company’s revenues during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019, respectively, and 89.4% and 89.9% of the Company’s revenues during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018, respectively; and Bruker Energy & Supercon Technologies (BEST), which represented the remainder of the Company’s revenues. Within BSI, the Company is organized into three operating segments: the Bruker BioSpin Group, the Bruker CALID Group and the Bruker Nano Group. For financial reporting purposes, the Bruker BioSpin Group, Bruker CALID Group and Bruker Nano Group operating segments are aggregated into the BSI reportable segment because each has similar economic characteristics, production processes, service offerings, types and classes of customers, methods of distribution and regulatory environments.

Bruker BioSpin — The Bruker BioSpin Group designs, manufactures and distributes enabling life science tools based on magnetic resonance technology. The majority of the Bruker BioSpin Group’s revenues are generated by academic and government research customers. Other customers include pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and nonprofit laboratories, as well as chemical, food and beverage, clinical and other industrial companies.

Bruker CALID (Chemicals, Applied Markets, Life Science, In-Vitro Diagnostics, Detection)- The Bruker CALID Group designs, manufactures and distributes life science mass spectrometry and ion mobility spectrometry solutions, analytical and process analysis instruments and solutions based on infrared and Raman molecular spectroscopy technologies and radiological/nuclear detectors for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosive (CBRNE) detection. Customers of the Bruker CALID Group include: academic institutions and medical schools; pharmaceutical, biotechnology and diagnostics companies; contract research organizations; nonprofit and for-profit forensics laboratories; agriculture, food and beverage safety laboratories; environmental and clinical microbiology laboratories; hospitals and government departments and agencies.

Bruker Nano — The Bruker Nano Group designs, manufactures and distributes advanced X-ray instruments; atomic force microscopy instrumentation; advanced fluorescence optical microscopy instruments; analytical tools for electron microscopes and X-ray metrology; defect-detection equipment for semiconductor process control; handheld, portable and mobile X-ray fluorescence spectrometry instruments; and spark optical emission spectroscopy systems. Customers of the Bruker Nano Group include academic institutions, governmental customers, nanotechnology companies, semiconductor companies, raw material manufacturers, industrial companies, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies and other businesses involved in materials analysis.

The Company's BEST reportable segment develops and manufactures superconducting and non-superconducting materials and devices for use in renewable energy, energy infrastructure, healthcare and "big science" research. The segment focuses on metallic low temperature superconductors for use in magnetic resonance imaging, nuclear magnetic resonance, fusion energy research and other applications.

The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements represent the consolidated accounts of the Company. All intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements as of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, and for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (U.S. GAAP) for interim financial information and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, the financial information presented herein does not include all of the information and footnotes required by U.S. GAAP for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management,

all adjustments, consisting only of normal recurring adjustments, considered necessary for a fair statement have been included. The results for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of the results expected for any other interim period or the full year.

At September 30, 2019, the Company's significant accounting policies and estimates, which are detailed in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, have not changed other than for lease accounting as detailed in Footnote 14.