Description of Business and Basis of Presentation (Policies)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2013

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Financial Statement Presentation

Financial Statement Presentation

The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Maxwell Technologies, Inc. and its subsidiaries. All significant intercompany transactions and account balances have been eliminated in consolidation. The Company has prepared the accompanying unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements in accordance with the instructions to Form 10-Q and the standards of accounting measurement set forth in the Interim Reporting Topic of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”). Consequently, the Company has not necessarily included in this Form 10-Q all information and footnotes required for audited financial statements. In the opinion of the Company’s management, the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements in this Form 10-Q contain all adjustments (consisting only of normal recurring adjustments, except as otherwise indicated) necessary to present fairly the financial position, results of operations, and cash flows of Maxwell Technologies, Inc. for all periods presented. The results reported in these condensed consolidated financial statements should not be regarded as necessarily indicative of results that may be expected for any subsequent period or for the entire year. These unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and notes thereto should be read in conjunction with the Company’s audited financial statements and the notes thereto included in the Company’s latest Annual Report on Form 10-K. Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in the annual financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“U.S. GAAP”) have been condensed or omitted in the accompanying interim consolidated financial statements. The year-end condensed balance sheet data was derived from audited financial statements, but does not include all disclosures required by U.S. GAAP.

Use of Estimates

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect reported amounts and related disclosures. These estimates include, but are not limited to, assessing the collectability of accounts receivable, applied and unapplied production costs, production capacities, the usage and recoverability of inventories and long-lived assets, including deferred income taxes, the incurrence of warranty obligations, impairment of goodwill and other intangible assets, estimation of the cost to complete certain projects, accruals for estimated losses from legal matters, and estimation of the value of stock-based compensation awards, including the probability that the performance criteria of restricted stock awards will be met.

Warranty Obligation

Warranty Obligation

The Company provides warranties on all product sales. The majority of the Company’s warranties are for one to two years in the normal course of business. The Company accrues for the estimated warranty costs at the time of sale based on historical warranty experience plus any known or expected changes in warranty exposure.

Net Income (Loss) per Share

Net Income (Loss) per Share

In accordance with the Earnings Per Share Topic of the FASB ASC, basic net income (loss) per share is calculated using the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted net income per share includes the impact of additional common shares that would have been outstanding if potentially dilutive common shares were issued. Potentially dilutive securities are not considered in the calculation of diluted net loss per share, as their inclusion would be anti-dilutive.

Derivatives and Hedging

Maxwell uses forward contracts to hedge certain monetary assets and liabilities, primarily receivables and payables, denominated in a foreign currency. The change in fair value of these instruments represents a natural hedge as gains and losses offset the changes in the underlying fair value of the monetary assets and liabilities due to movements in currency exchange rates. These contracts generally expire in one month. These contracts are considered economic hedges and are not designated as hedges under the Derivatives and Hedging Topic of the FASB ASC, therefore, the change in the fair value of the instrument is recognized currently in the consolidated statement of operations.

Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures

The Company records certain financial instruments at fair value in accordance with the Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures Topic of the FASB ASC. As of March 31, 2013, the financial instruments to which this topic applied were foreign currency forward contracts. As of March 31, 2013, the fair value of these foreign currency forward contracts was a liability of $568,000 which is recorded in “accounts payable and accrued liabilities” in the consolidated balance sheet. The fair value of these derivative instruments is measured using models following quoted market prices in active markets for identical instruments, which is a Level 2 input under the fair value hierarchy of the Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures Topic of the FASB ASC.