BASIS OF PRESENTATION (Policies)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2017

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Nature of Business

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company prepared these unaudited consolidated financial statements following the requirements of the SEC and U.S. GAAP for interim reporting. Under those rules, certain footnotes and other financial information that are normally required for annual financial statements can be condensed or omitted. The Company is responsible for the consolidated financial statements included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, which include all adjustments necessary for a fair presentation of the financial position at September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, the results of operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, and cash flows for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016. All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated. These financial statements and the related notes should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2016 included in the 2016 Form 10-K. Refer to the Summary of Abbreviated Terms at the end of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for terms used throughout the document.

Use of Estimates

Revenues, expenses, assets and liabilities can vary during each quarter of the year. Accordingly, the results and trends in these unaudited consolidated financial statements may not be indicative of full year operating results. The preparation of financial statements requires the use of management estimates, judgments and assumptions. The most significant assumptions are estimates used in determining sales rebate and return accruals; legal contingencies; income taxes; determining if an acquisition or divestiture is a business or an asset; and pension and postretirement benefits. Actual results may differ from estimates.

Reclassifications

Certain prior period amounts were reclassified to conform to the current period presentation. The consolidated statements of cash flows previously presented interest rate swap contract terminations and issuance of common stock as separate line items within cash flows from financing activities which are now presented as components of other financing activities. The reclassifications provide a more concise financial statement presentation and additional information is disclosed in the notes if material.

New Accounting Pronouncements

Recently Adopted Accounting Standards

Share-based Payment Transactions

Amended guidance for share-based payment transactions was adopted in the first quarter of 2017. Net excess tax benefits of $30 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 were recognized prospectively as a reduction of tax expense rather than capital in excess of par value of stock. Net excess tax benefits are also presented as an operating cash flow rather than a financing cash flow, and cash payments to tax authorities in connection with shares withheld for statutory tax withholding requirements are presented as a financing cash flow rather than an operating cash flow. The changes in cash flow presentation were applied retrospectively and increased operating cash flows and decreased financing cash flows by $113 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 and $193 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2016.

Income Tax Accounting for Intra-entity Transfers of Assets Other Than Inventory

Amended guidance on income tax accounting for intra-entity transfers of assets other than inventory was early adopted in the first quarter of 2017 on a modified retrospective approach. The amended guidance requires tax consequences of these transfers be recognized in the period the transfer takes place. Net reductions to prepaid and deferred tax assets pertaining to pre-2017 internal transfers of intellectual property of $787 million were adjusted through retained earnings as a cumulative effect of an accounting change which will reduce the annual tax expense by $86 million beginning in 2017. In addition, the tax consequences of additional internal transfers of intellectual property that may occur in the future will be included in income tax expense upon transfer and not amortized in subsequent periods.

Recently Issued Accounting Standards

Accounting for Hedging Activities

In August 2017, the FASB issued amended guidance on derivatives and hedging. The amended guidance revises and expands items eligible for hedge accounting, simplifies hedge effectiveness testing and changes the timing of recognition and presentation for certain hedged items. Certain disclosure requirements are also modified for hedging activities on a prospective basis. The guidance is effective in 2019 with early adoption permitted on a modified retrospective approach. The Company is assessing the potential impact of the new standard.

Presentation of Net Periodic Pension and Postretirement Benefits

In March 2017, the FASB issued amended guidance requiring all net periodic benefit components for defined benefit pension and other postretirement plans other than service costs to be recorded outside of income from operations (other income). The guidance is effective in 2018 on a retrospective basis. The Company expects that annual cost of products sold; marketing, selling and administrative; and research and development expenses will increase by approximately $130 million in the aggregate with a corresponding offset in other income.

Revenue from Contracts with Customers

Amended guidance for revenue recognition will be adopted in the first quarter of 2018 using the modified retrospective method with the cumulative effect of the change recognized in retained earnings. The new guidance referred to as ASC 606 requires an entity to recognize the amount of revenue to which it expects to be entitled for the transfer of promised goods or services to customers and replaces most of the existing revenue recognition standards in U.S. GAAP. A five step model will be utilized to achieve the core principle; (1) identify the customer contract, (2) identify the contract’s performance obligations, (3) determine the transaction price, (4) allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations and (5) recognize revenue when or as a performance obligation is satisfied.

The Company’s assessment of the new standard’s impact is substantially complete. The timing of recognizing revenue is not expected to change for typical net product sales to customers, most existing alliance arrangements as well as royalties and sale-based milestones from out-licensing arrangements. In addition, the timing of recognizing royalties, sales-based milestones and other forms of contingent consideration resulting from the divestiture of businesses is not expected to change.

However, transaction prices are no longer required to be fixed or determinable and certain variable consideration might be recognized prior to the occurrence or resolution of the contingent event to the extent it is probable that a significant reversal in the amount of estimated cumulative revenue will not occur. Certain estimated future royalties and termination fees for licensing rights previously reacquired by alliance partners are expected to be recognized as contract assets upon adoption of the new standard. Refer to the Sanofi and Erbitux* Japan arrangements in "Note 3. Alliances" of the 2016 Form 10-K. As a result of the new guidance and cumulative effect adjustment, revenue and other income is expected to be lower in 2018 by approximately $225 million and $125 million, respectively, compared to what would have been reported under the previous standard.

In addition to the items discussed above, the following recently issued accounting standards have not been adopted. Refer to the 2016 Form 10-K for additional information and their potential impacts.

Accounting Standard Update	Effective Date
Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Liabilities	January 1, 2018
Definition of a Business	January 1, 2018
Leases	January 1, 2019
Financial Instruments - Measurement of Credit Losses	January 1, 2020
Goodwill Impairment Testing	January 1, 2020