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Summary of Significant Accounting Policies and Implementation of New Financial Accounting Standards
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2020
Accounting Policies [Abstract]  
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies and Implementation of New Financial Accounting Standards Summary of Significant Accounting Policies and Implementation of New Financial Accounting Standards
Basis of Presentation
The accompanying consolidated financial statements include Eli Lilly and Company and all subsidiaries and have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (GAAP). We consider majority voting interests, as well as effective economic or other control over an entity when deciding whether or not to consolidate an entity. We generally do not have control by means other than voting interests. Where our ownership of consolidated subsidiaries is less than 100 percent, the noncontrolling shareholders’ interests are reflected as a separate component of equity. All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated.
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues, expenses, and related disclosures at the date of the financial statements and during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. We issued our financial statements by filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and have evaluated subsequent events up to the time of the filing of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Certain reclassifications have been made to prior periods in the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes to conform with the current presentation.
All per-share amounts, unless otherwise noted in the footnotes, are presented on a diluted basis.
On March 11, 2019, we completed the disposition of our remaining 80.2 percent ownership of Elanco Animal Health Incorporated (Elanco) common stock through a tax-free exchange offer. As a result, Elanco has been presented as discontinued operations in our consolidated financial statements for all periods presented.
Following the completion of the disposition of Elanco, we now operate as a single operating segment engaged in the discovery, development, manufacturing, marketing, and sales of pharmaceutical products worldwide. A global research and development organization and a supply chain organization are responsible for the discovery, development, manufacturing, and supply of our products. Regional commercial organizations market, distribute, and sell the products. The business is also supported by global corporate staff functions. Our determination that we operate as a single segment is consistent with the financial information regularly reviewed by the chief operating decision maker for purposes of evaluating performance, allocating resources, setting incentive compensation targets, and planning and forecasting for future periods.
Research and Development Expenses and Acquired In-Process Research and Development (IPR&D)
Research and development expenses include the following:
•Research and development costs, which are expensed as incurred.
•Milestone payment obligations incurred prior to regulatory approval of the product, which are accrued when the event requiring payment of the milestone occurs.
Acquired IPR&D expense includes the initial costs of externally developed IPR&D projects, acquired directly in a transaction other than a business combination, that do not have an alternative future use.
Earnings Per Share (EPS)
We calculate basic EPS based on the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding and incremental shares from potential participating securities. We calculate diluted EPS based on the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding, including incremental shares from our stock-based compensation programs.
Foreign Currency Translation
Operations in our subsidiaries outside the United States (U.S.) are recorded in the functional currency of each subsidiary which is determined by a review of the environment where each subsidiary primarily generates and expends cash. The results of operations for our subsidiaries outside the U.S. are translated from functional currencies into U.S. dollars using the weighted average currency rate for the period. Assets and liabilities are translated using the period end exchange rates. The U.S. dollar effects that arise from translating the net assets of these subsidiaries are recorded in other comprehensive income (loss).
Advertising Expenses
Costs associated with advertising are expensed as incurred and are included in marketing, selling, and administrative expenses. Advertising expenses, comprised primarily of television, radio, print media, and Internet advertising, totaled approximately $1.1 billion, $1.1 billion, and $900 million in 2020, 2019, and 2018, respectively, which was less than 5 percent of revenue each year.
Other Significant Accounting Policies
Our other significant accounting policies are described in the remaining appropriate notes to the consolidated financial statements.
Implementation of New Financial Accounting Standards
Effective January 1, 2019, we adopted Accounting Standards Update 2016-02, Leases, using the modified retrospective approach, applied at the beginning of the period of adoption, and we elected the package of transitional practical expedients. The adoption of this standard resulted in recording of operating lease assets of approximately $530 million, which included reclassifying approximately $65 million of deferred rent and lease incentives, net of prepaid rent, as a component of the operating lease assets as of January 1, 2019. The adoption also resulted in recording operating lease liabilities of approximately $595 million as of January 1, 2019. Our accounting for finance leases remained substantially unchanged. Adoption of this standard did not result in a material change in net income in the year of adoption.
Effective January 1, 2018, we adopted Accounting Standards Update 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, and other related updates. This standard requires entities to recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. We applied this standard to contracts for which performance was not substantially complete as of the date of adoption. For those contracts that were modified prior to the date of adoption, we reflected the aggregate effect of those modifications when determining the appropriate accounting under the new standard. We don’t believe the effect of applying this practical expedient resulted in material differences. We applied this standard through a cumulative effect adjustment to retained earnings as of the beginning of the year of adoption. Upon adoption, the cumulative effect of applying this standard resulted in an increase of approximately $5 million to retained earnings as of January 1, 2018. Adoption of this standard did not result in a material change in revenue or net income in the year of adoption.
Effective January 1, 2018, we adopted Accounting Standards Update 2016-01 (ASU 2016-01), Financial Instruments - Overall: Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities. This standard requires entities to recognize changes in the fair value of equity investments with readily determinable fair values in net income (except for investments accounted for under the equity method of accounting or those that result in consolidation of the investee). We applied the new standard through a cumulative effect adjustment to retained earnings as of the beginning of the year of adoption. Upon adoption, we reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive loss the after-tax amount of net unrealized gains resulting in an increase to retained earnings of approximately $105 million as of January 1, 2018. Adoption of this standard did not result in a material change in net income in the year of adoption.
Effective January 1, 2018, we adopted Accounting Standards Update 2016-16, Income Taxes: Intra-Entity Transfers of Assets Other Than Inventory. This standard requires entities to recognize the income tax consequences of intra-entity transfers of assets other than inventory at the time of transfer. We adopted this standard using a modified retrospective approach. Upon adoption, the cumulative effect of applying this standard resulted in an increase of approximately $700 million to retained earnings, $2.5 billion to deferred tax assets, and $1.8 billion to deferred tax liabilities as of January 1, 2018. Adoption of this standard did not result in a material change in net income in the year of adoption.
Change in Accounting Principle for Retirement Benefit Plan Assets
Effective during the third quarter of 2020, we adopted a voluntary change in our method of applying an accounting principle for certain of our retirement benefit plans. Refer to Note 15 for additional information.