Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2018

For segment reporting purposes, concurrent with the acquisition, our Information Systems and Technology operating segment was reorganized into the Information Technology and Mission Systems segments. Our company now has five operating segments: Aerospace, Combat Systems, Information Technology, Mission Systems and Marine Systems. We collectively refer to Combat Systems, Information Technology, Mission Systems and Marine Systems as our defense segments. Prior-period segment information has been restated for this change.

We organize our segments in accordance with the nature of products and services offered. We measure each segment’s profitability based on operating earnings. As a result, we do not allocate net interest, other income and expense items, and income taxes to our segments.

Basis of Consolidation and Classification

Basis of Consolidation and Classification. The unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements include the accounts of General Dynamics Corporation and our wholly owned and majority-owned subsidiaries. We eliminate all inter-company balances and transactions in the unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements. Some prior-year amounts have been reclassified among financial statement accounts or disclosures to conform to the current-year presentation.

Consistent with industry practice, we classify assets and liabilities related to long-term contracts as current, even though some of these amounts may not be realized within one year.

Interim Financial Statements

Interim Financial Statements. The unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission. These rules and regulations permit some of the information and footnote disclosures included in financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) to be condensed or omitted.

Our fiscal quarters are 13 weeks in length. Because our fiscal year ends on December 31, the number of days in our first and fourth quarters varies slightly from year to year. Operating results for the three- and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2018, are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2018.

The unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements contain all adjustments that are of a normal recurring nature necessary for a fair presentation of our results of operations and financial condition for the three- and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2018, and October 1, 2017.

These unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements should be read in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements and notes thereto included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017.

Accounting Standards Updates

Accounting Standards Updates. On January 1, 2018, we adopted the following accounting standards issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB):

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ASU 2016-01, Financial Instruments - Overall (Subtopic 825-10): Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities. ASU 2016-01 addresses certain aspects of recognition, measurement, presentation and disclosure of financial instruments. Specific to our business, ASU 2016-01 requires equity investments to be measured at fair value with changes in fair value recognized in net income. The ASU eliminates the available-for-sale classification for equity investments that recognized changes in fair value as a component of other comprehensive income. We adopted the standard on a modified retrospective basis on January 1, 2018, and recognized the cumulative effect as a $24 increase to retained earnings on the date of adoption.

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ASU 2016-15, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments. ASU 2016-15 is intended to reduce diversity in practice in how certain cash receipts and cash payments are presented and classified in the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows by providing guidance on eight specific cash flow issues. We adopted the standard retrospectively on January 1, 2018. The adoption of the ASU did not have a material effect on our cash flows for the nine-month period ended October 1, 2017.

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ASU 2017-07, Compensation - Retirement Benefits (Topic 715): Improving the Presentation of Net Periodic Pension Cost and Net Periodic Postretirement Benefit Cost. ASU 2017-07 requires the service cost component of net retirement benefit cost to be reported separately from the other components of net retirement benefit cost in the Consolidated Statement of Earnings. We adopted the standard retrospectively on January 1, 2018. Our restated operating earnings increased $11 and $33 for the three- and nine-month periods ended October 1, 2017, respectively, due to the reclassification of the non-service cost components of net benefit cost, and other income decreased by the same amount, with no impact to net earnings.

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ASU 2018-02, Income Statement - Reporting Comprehensive Income (Topic 220): Reclassification of Certain Tax Effects from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income. ASU 2018-02 allows the reclassification from accumulated other comprehensive income to retained earnings of stranded tax effects resulting from the implementation of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (tax reform) enacted on December 22, 2017. We adopted the standard on January 1, 2018, and recognized a $614 increase to retained earnings on the date of adoption.

There are several other accounting standards that have been issued by the FASB but are not yet effective, including the following:

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ASU 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). ASU 2016-02 requires the recognition of lease rights and obligations as assets and liabilities on the balance sheet. Previously, lessees were not required to recognize on the balance sheet assets and liabilities arising from operating leases. The ASU also requires disclosure of key information about leasing arrangements. ASU 2016-02 is effective on January 1, 2019, using a modified retrospective method of adoption as of January 1, 2017. In July 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-11, Leases (Topic 842): Targeted Improvements, that provides an alternative transition method of adoption, permitting the recognition of a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings on the date of adoption.

We intend to adopt the standard on the effective date using the alternative transition method provided by ASU 2018-11. We are currently evaluating our population of leased assets in order to assess the impact of the ASU on our lease portfolio, and designing and implementing new processes and controls. Until this effort is completed, we cannot determine the effect of the ASU on our results of operations, financial condition or cash flows.

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ASU 2017-12, Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815): Targeted Improvements to Accounting for Hedging Activities. ASU 2017-12 is intended to simplify hedge accounting by better aligning an entity’s financial reporting for hedging relationships with its risk management activities. The ASU also simplifies the application of the hedge accounting guidance. ASU 2017-12 is effective on January 1, 2019, with early adoption permitted. For cash flow hedges existing at the adoption date, the standard requires adoption on a modified retrospective basis with a cumulative-effect adjustment to the Consolidated Balance Sheet as of the beginning of the year of adoption. The amendments to presentation guidance and disclosure requirements are required to be adopted prospectively. We intend to adopt the standard on the effective date, and we do not expect the adoption of the ASU to have a material effect on our results of operations, financial condition or cash flows.

Revenue Recognition

The majority of our revenue is derived from long-term contracts and programs that can span several years. We account for revenue in accordance with ASC Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers.

Performance Obligations. A performance obligation is a promise in a contract to transfer a distinct good or service to the customer, and is the unit of account in ASC Topic 606. A contract’s transaction price is allocated to each distinct performance obligation and recognized as revenue when, or as, the performance obligation is satisfied. The majority of our contracts have a single performance obligation as the promise to transfer the individual goods or services is not separately identifiable from other promises in the contracts and is, therefore, not distinct. Some of our contracts have multiple performance obligations, most commonly due to the contract covering multiple phases of the product lifecycle (development, production, maintenance and support). For contracts with multiple performance obligations, we allocate the contract’s transaction price to each performance obligation using our best estimate of the standalone selling price of each distinct good or service in the contract. The primary method used to estimate standalone selling price is the expected cost plus a margin approach, under which we forecast our expected costs of satisfying a performance obligation and then add an appropriate margin for that distinct good or service.

Contract modifications are routine in the performance of our contracts. Contracts are often modified to account for changes in contract specifications or requirements. In most instances, contract modifications are for goods or services that are not distinct and, therefore, are accounted for as part of the existing contract.

Our performance obligations are satisfied over time as work progresses or at a point in time. Revenue from products and services transferred to customers over time accounted for 74% and 75% of our revenue for the three- and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2018, and 70% of our revenue for the three- and nine-month periods ended October 1, 2017, respectively. Substantially all of our revenue in the defense segments is recognized over time because control is transferred continuously to our customers. Typically, revenue is recognized over time using costs incurred to date relative to total estimated costs at completion to measure progress toward satisfying our performance obligations. Incurred cost represents work performed, which corresponds with, and thereby best depicts, the transfer of control to the customer. Contract costs include labor, material, overhead and, when appropriate, G&A expenses.

Revenue from goods and services transferred to customers at a point in time accounted for 26% and 25% of our revenue for the three- and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2018, and 30% of our revenue for the three- and nine-month periods ended October 1, 2017, respectively. The majority of our revenue recognized at a point in time is for the manufacture of business-jet aircraft in our Aerospace segment. Revenue on these contracts is recognized when the customer obtains control of the asset, which is generally upon delivery and acceptance by the customer of the fully outfitted aircraft.

On September 30, 2018, we had $69.5 billion of remaining performance obligations, which we also refer to as total backlog. We expect to recognize approximately 50% of our remaining performance obligations as revenue by year-end 2019, an additional 30% by year-end 2021 and the balance thereafter. On December 31, 2017, we had $63.2 billion of remaining performance obligations, at which time we expected to recognize approximately 40% of these remaining performance obligations as revenue in 2018, an additional 40% by year-end 2020 and the balance thereafter.

Contract Estimates. Accounting for long-term contracts and programs involves the use of various techniques to estimate total contract revenue and costs. For long-term contracts, we estimate the profit on a contract as the difference between the total estimated revenue and expected costs to complete a contract and recognize that profit over the life of the contract.

Contract estimates are based on various assumptions to project the outcome of future events that often span several years. These assumptions include labor productivity and availability; the complexity of the work to be performed; the cost and availability of materials; the performance of subcontractors; and the availability and timing of funding from the customer.

The nature of our contracts gives rise to several types of variable consideration, including claims and award and incentive fees. We include in our contract estimates additional revenue for submitted contract modifications or claims against the customer when we believe we have an enforceable right to the modification or claim, the amount can be estimated reliably and its realization is probable. In evaluating these criteria, we consider the contractual/legal basis for the claim, the cause of any additional costs incurred, the reasonableness of those costs and the objective evidence available to support the claim. We include award or incentive fees in the estimated transaction price when there is a basis to reasonably estimate the amount of the fee. These estimates are based on historical award experience, anticipated performance and our best judgment at the time. Because of our certainty in estimating these amounts, they are included in the transaction price of our contracts and the associated remaining performance obligations.

As a significant change in one or more of these estimates could affect the profitability of our contracts, we review and update our contract-related estimates regularly. We recognize adjustments in estimated profit on contracts under the cumulative catch-up method. Under this method, the impact of the adjustment on profit recorded to date on a contract is recognized in the period the adjustment is identified. Revenue and profit in future periods of contract performance are recognized using the adjusted estimate. If at any time the estimate of contract profitability indicates an anticipated loss on the contract, we recognize the total loss in the period it is identified.

The impact of adjustments in contract estimates on our operating earnings can be reflected in either operating costs and expenses or revenue.

Contract Balances. The timing of revenue recognition, billings and cash collections results in billed accounts receivable, unbilled receivables (contract assets), and customer advances and deposits (contract liabilities) on the Consolidated Balance Sheet. In our defense segments, amounts are billed as work progresses in accordance with agreed-upon contractual terms, either at periodic intervals (e.g., biweekly or monthly) or upon achievement of contractual milestones. Generally, billing occurs subsequent to revenue recognition, resulting in contract assets. However, we sometimes receive advances or deposits from our customers, particularly on our international contracts, before revenue is recognized, resulting in contract liabilities. These assets and liabilities are reported on the Consolidated Balance Sheet on a contract-by-contract basis at the end of each reporting period. In our Aerospace segment, we generally receive deposits from customers upon contract execution and upon achievement of contractual milestones. These deposits are liquidated when revenue is recognized.

Earnings Per Share

We compute basic earnings per share (EPS) using net earnings for the period and the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

Fair value is defined as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in the principal or most advantageous market in an orderly transaction between marketplace participants. Various valuation approaches can be used to determine fair value, each requiring different valuation inputs. The following hierarchy classifies the inputs used to determine fair value into three levels:


•	Level 1 - quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities;


•	Level 2 - inputs, other than quoted prices, observable by a marketplace participant either directly or indirectly; and


•	Level 3 - unobservable inputs significant to the fair value measurement.

Tax Uncertainties

Tax Uncertainties. For all periods open to examination by tax authorities, we periodically assess our liabilities and contingencies based on the latest available information. Where we believe there is more than a 50% chance that our tax position will not be sustained, we record our best estimate of the resulting tax liability, including interest, in the Consolidated Financial Statements. We include any interest or penalties incurred in connection with income taxes as part of income tax expense. The total amount of these tax liabilities on September 30, 2018, was not material to our results of operations, financial condition or cash flows.

We participate in the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Compliance Assurance Process (CAP), a real-time audit of our consolidated federal corporate income tax return. The IRS has examined our consolidated federal income tax returns through 2017. We do not expect the resolution of tax matters for open years to have a material impact on our results of operations, financial condition, cash flows or effective tax rate.

Based on all known facts and circumstances and current tax law, we believe the total amount of any unrecognized tax benefits on September 30, 2018, was not material to our results of operations, financial condition or cash flows, and if recognized, would not have a material impact on our effective tax rate. In addition, there are no tax positions for which it is reasonably possible that the unrecognized tax benefits will vary significantly over the next 12 months, producing, individually or in the aggregate, a material effect on our results of operations, financial condition or cash flows.

Unbilled Receivables

Unbilled receivables represent revenue recognized on long-term contracts (contract costs and estimated profits) less associated advances and progress billings. These amounts will be billed in accordance with the agreed-upon contractual terms or upon achievement of contractual milestones.

Inventories

The majority of our inventories are for business-jet aircraft. Our inventories are stated at the lower of cost or net realizable value. Work in process represents largely labor, material and overhead costs associated with aircraft in the manufacturing process and is based primarily on the estimated average unit cost in a production lot. Raw materials are valued primarily on the first-in, first-out method. We record pre-owned aircraft acquired in connection with the sale of new aircraft at the lower of the trade-in value or the estimated net realizable value.

Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities

We are exposed to market risk, primarily from foreign currency exchange rates, interest rates, commodity prices and investments. We may use derivative financial instruments to hedge some of these risks as described below.

Foreign Currency Risk. Our foreign currency exchange rate risk relates to receipts from customers, payments to suppliers and inter-company transactions denominated in foreign currencies. To the extent possible, we include terms in our contracts that are designed to protect us from this risk. Otherwise, we enter into derivative financial instruments, principally foreign currency forward purchase and sale contracts, designed to offset and minimize our risk. The dollar-weighted two-year average maturity of these instruments generally matches the duration of the activities that are at risk.

Hedging Activities. We had $5.8 billion in notional forward exchange and interest rate swap contracts outstanding on September 30, 2018, and $4.3 billion on December 31, 2017. These derivative financial instruments are cash flow hedges, and are reported on the Consolidated Balance Sheet at fair value. See Note E for additional details.

Changes in fair value (gains and losses) related to derivative financial instruments that qualify as cash flow hedges are deferred in other comprehensive loss (OCL) until the underlying transaction is reflected in earnings. Gains and losses on derivative financial instruments that do not qualify for hedge accounting are recorded each period in the Consolidated Statement of Earnings in operating costs and expenses or interest expense. The gains and losses on derivative financial instruments that do not qualify for hedge accounting generally offset losses and gains on the assets and liabilities being hedged. Gains and losses resulting from hedge ineffectiveness are recognized in the Consolidated Statement of Earnings for all derivative financial instruments, regardless of designation.

Interest Rate Risk. Our financial instruments subject to interest rate risk include variable-rate commercial paper and fixed-rate long-term debt obligations. However, the risk associated with these instruments is not material. Our floating-rate long-term debt obligations are also subject to interest rate risk. However, as described in Note I, we entered into derivative financial instruments, specifically interest rate swap contracts, to eliminate our floating-rate interest risk.

Commodity Price Risk. We are subject to rising labor and commodity price risk, primarily on long-term, fixed-price contracts. To the extent possible, we include terms in our contracts that are designed to protect us from these risks. Some of the protective terms included in our contracts are considered derivative financial instruments but are not accounted for separately, because they are clearly and closely related to the host contract. We have not entered into any material commodity hedging contracts but may do so as circumstances warrant. We do not believe that changes in labor or commodity prices will have a material impact on our results of operations or cash flows.

Investment Risk. Our investment policy allows for purchases of fixed-income securities with an investment-grade rating and a maximum maturity of up to five years.

Foreign Currency and Financial Statement Translation

Foreign Currency Financial Statement Translation. We translate foreign currency balance sheets from our international businesses’ functional currency (generally the respective local currency) to U.S. dollars at the end-of-period exchange rates, and statements of earnings at the average exchange rates for each period. The resulting foreign currency translation adjustments are a component of OCL.

We do not hedge the fluctuation in reported revenue and earnings resulting from the translation of these international operations’ results into U.S. dollars. The impact of translating our non-U.S. operations’ revenue into U.S. dollars was not material to our results of operations for the three- and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2018, or October 1, 2017. In addition, the effect of changes in foreign exchange rates on non-U.S. cash balances was not material for the nine-month periods ended September 30, 2018, and October 1, 2017.

Commitments and Contingencies

Environmental

We are subject to and affected by a variety of federal, state, local and foreign environmental laws and regulations. We are directly or indirectly involved in environmental investigations or remediation at some of our current and former facilities and third-party sites that we do not own but where we have been designated a Potentially Responsible Party (PRP) by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or a state environmental agency. Based on historical experience, we expect that a significant percentage of the total remediation and compliance costs associated with these facilities will continue to be allowable contract costs and, therefore, recoverable under U.S. government contracts.

As required, we provide financial assurance for certain sites undergoing or subject to investigation or remediation. We accrue environmental costs when it is probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount can be reasonably estimated. Where applicable, we seek insurance recovery for costs related to environmental liabilities. We do not record insurance recoveries before collection is considered probable. Based on all known facts and analyses, we do not believe that our liability at any individual site, or in the aggregate, arising from such environmental conditions will be material to our results of operations, financial condition or cash flows. We also do not believe that the range of reasonably possible additional loss beyond what has been recorded would be material to our results of operations, financial condition or cash flows.

Product Warranties

Product Warranties. We provide warranties to our customers associated with certain product sales. We record estimated warranty costs in the period in which the related products are delivered. The warranty liability recorded at each balance sheet date is based generally on the number of months of warranty coverage remaining for the products delivered and the average historical monthly warranty payments. Warranty obligations incurred in connection with long-term production contracts are accounted for within the contract estimates at completion. Our other warranty obligations, primarily for business-jet aircraft, are included in other current and noncurrent liabilities on the Consolidated Balance Sheet.

Retirement Plans

We provide defined-contribution benefits to eligible employees, as well as some remaining defined-benefit pension and other post-retirement benefits.

Our contractual arrangements with the U.S. government provide for the recovery of contributions to our pension and other post-retirement benefit plans covering employees working in our defense segments. For non-funded plans, our government contracts allow us to recover claims paid. Following payment, these recoverable amounts are allocated to contracts and billed to the customer in accordance with the Cost Accounting Standards (CAS) and specific contractual terms. For some of these plans, the cumulative pension and other post-retirement benefit cost exceeds the amount currently allocable to contracts. To the extent we consider recovery of the cost to be probable based on our backlog and probable follow-on contracts, we defer the excess in other contract costs in other current assets on the Consolidated Balance Sheet until the cost is allocable to contracts. For other plans, the amount allocated to contracts and included in revenue has exceeded the plans’ cumulative benefit cost. We have similarly deferred recognition of these excess earnings on the Consolidated Balance Sheet.

It is our policy to fund our defined-benefit retirement plans in a manner that optimizes the tax deductibility and contract recovery of contributions considered within our capital deployment framework. Therefore, we may make discretionary contributions in addition to the required contributions determined in accordance with IRS regulations.