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Guarantees
9 Months Ended
Jul. 31, 2011
Guarantees  
Guarantees

Note 10: Guarantees

  • Guarantees and Indemnifications

        In the ordinary course of business, HP may provide certain clients with subsidiary performance guarantees and/or financial performance guarantees, which may be backed by standby letters of credit or surety bonds. In general, HP would be liable for the amounts of these guarantees in the event HP or HP's subsidiaries' nonperformance permits termination of the related contract by the client, the likelihood of which HP believes is remote. HP believes that the company is in compliance with the performance obligations under all material service contracts for which there is a performance guarantee.

        HP has certain service contracts supported by client financing or securitization arrangements. Under specific circumstances involving nonperformance resulting in service contract termination or failure to comply with terms under the financing arrangement, HP would be required to acquire certain assets. HP considers the possibility of its failure to comply to be remote and the asset amounts involved to be immaterial.

        In the ordinary course of business, HP enters into contractual arrangements under which HP may agree to indemnify the third party to such arrangements from any losses incurred relating to the services they perform on behalf of HP or for losses arising from certain events as defined within the particular contract, which may include, for example, litigation or claims relating to past performance. Such indemnification obligations may not be subject to maximum loss clauses. Historically, payments made related to these indemnifications have been immaterial.

  • Warranty

        HP provides for the estimated cost of product warranties at the time it recognizes revenue. HP engages in extensive product quality programs and processes, including actively monitoring and evaluating the quality of its component suppliers; however, product warranty terms offered to customers, ongoing product failure rates, material usage and service delivery costs incurred in correcting a product failure, as well as specific product class failures outside of HP's baseline experience, affect the estimated warranty obligation. If actual product failure rates, repair rates or any other post sales support costs differ from these estimates, revisions to the estimated warranty liability would be required.

        The changes in HP's aggregate product warranty liabilities for the nine months ended July 31, 2011 were as follows:

 
  In millions  

Product warranty liability at October 31, 2010

  $ 2,447  

Accruals for warranties issued

    1,966  

Adjustments related to pre-existing warranties (including changes in estimates)

    (40 )

Settlements made (in cash or in kind)

    (1,961 )
       

Product warranty liability at July 31, 2011

  $ 2,412