Basis of Presentation (Policies)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements of Hubbell Incorporated (“Hubbell”, the “Company”, “registrant”, “we”, “our” or “us”, which references include its divisions and subsidiaries) have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) for interim financial information. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by United States of America (“U.S.”) GAAP for audited financial statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments consisting only of normal recurring adjustments considered necessary for a fair statement of the results of the periods presented have been included. Operating results for the three months ended March 31, 2020 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the full year ending December 31, 2020. In the first quarter of 2020 our former Power segment was re-named Hubbell Utility Solutions ("Utility Solutions") to reflect the depth and breadth of our industry-leading offering for electric, water, gas and telecom utilities ranging from a wide variety of critical infrastructure components to full-scale smart grid solutions.

The balance sheet at December 31, 2019 has been derived from the audited financial statements at that date but does not include all of the information and footnotes required by U.S. GAAP for complete financial statements.

For further information, refer to the consolidated financial statements and footnotes thereto included in the Hubbell Incorporated Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019.

During March 2020, a global pandemic was declared by the World Health Organization related to the rapidly growing outbreak of a novel strain of coronavirus (COVID-19). The pandemic has significantly impacted global economic conditions and in the U.S., accelerated during the first half of March as federal, state and local governments reacted to the public health crisis with mitigation measures, creating significant uncertainties in the U.S. and global economies. The extent to which the coronavirus pandemic impacts our business, operations and financial results will depend on numerous evolving factors that we may not be able to accurately predict and which may cause the actual results to differ from the estimates and assumptions we are required to make in the preparation of financial statements according to GAAP.

Recent Accounting

Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements

In June 2016, the FASB issued an Accounting Standards Update (ASU 2016-13), "Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments" (ASC 326), which amends the impairment model by requiring entities to use a forward-looking approach based on expected losses rather than incurred losses to estimate credit losses on certain types of financial instruments, including trade receivables. This may result in the earlier recognition of allowances for losses. The Company adopted the requirements of the new standard in the first quarter of 2020. The adoption of this guidance and recognition of a loss allowance at an amount equal to lifetime expected credit losses for trade receivables resulted in a $1.0 million cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings, net of tax.

In August 2018, the FASB issued an Accounting Standards Update (ASU 2018-15) "Intangibles—Goodwill and Other—Internal-Use Software (Subtopic 350-40): Customer’s Accounting for Implementation Costs Incurred in a Cloud Computing Arrangement That Is a Service Contract", which clarifies the accounting for implementation costs in cloud computing arrangements. The Company adopted the standard prospectively during the first quarter of 2020 with no material impact to the consolidated financial statements.

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

In December 2019, the FASB issued an Accounting Standards Update (ASU 2019-12) "Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes", which simplifies the accounting for income taxes, eliminates certain exceptions within ASC 740, Income Taxes, and clarifies certain aspects of the current guidance to promote consistency among reporting entities. ASU 2019-12 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2020. Most amendments within the standard are required to be applied on a prospective basis, while certain amendments must be applied on a retrospective or modified retrospective basis. The Company is currently assessing the impact of adopting this standard on its financial statements.

In March 2020, FASB issued ASU No. 2020-04, "Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848): Facilitation of the Effects of Reference Rate Reform on Financial Reporting", which provides optional expedients and exceptions for applying generally accepted accounting principles to contracts, hedging relationships, and other transactions affected by reference rate reform if certain criteria are met. The amendments are effective for all entities beginning on March 12, 2020, and the Company may elect to apply the amendments prospectively through December 31, 2022. The Company is currently assessing the impact of adopting this standard on its financial statements.