Revenues and Contract Costs

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2021

Revenue from Contract with Customer [Abstract]

Revenues and Contract Costs

Note 2. Revenues and Contract Costs

We earn revenue from contracts with customers, primarily through the provision of telecommunications and other services and through the sale of wireless equipment.

Revenue by Category

We have two reportable segments that we operate and manage as strategic business units - Consumer and Business. Revenue is disaggregated by products and services within Consumer and customer groups (Small and Medium Business, Global Enterprise, Public Sector and Other, and Wholesale) within Business. See Note 11 for additional information on revenue by segment.

Corporate and other primarily includes insurance captives as well as the historical results of the divested Verizon Media Group (Verizon Media). On September 1, 2021, we completed the sale of Verizon Media to an affiliate of Apollo Global Management Inc. Under our ownership, Verizon Media generated revenues from contracts with customers under Accounting Standards Updated (ASU) 2014-09, "Revenue from Contracts with Customers" (Topic 606) of approximately $1.4 billion and $5.3 billion during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021, respectively. Under our ownership, Verizon Media generated revenues from contracts with customers under Topic 606 of approximately $1.7 billion and $4.7 billion during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020, respectively. Refer to Note 3 for additional information on the sale of Verizon Media.

We also earn revenues that are not accounted for under Topic 606 from leasing arrangements (such as those for towers and equipment), captive reinsurance arrangements primarily related to wireless device insurance and the interest on equipment financed under a device payment plan agreement when sold to the customer by an authorized agent. As allowed by the practical expedient within ASU 2016-02, "Leases" (Topic 842), we have elected to combine the lease and non-lease components for those arrangements of customer premise equipment where we are the lessor as components accounted for under Topic 606. During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021, revenues from arrangements that were not accounted for under Topic 606 were approximately $803 million and $2.3 billion, respectively. During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020, revenues from arrangements that were not accounted for under Topic 606 were approximately $715 million and $2.3 billion, respectively.

Remaining Performance Obligations

When allocating the total contract transaction price to identified performance obligations, a portion of the total transaction price may relate to service performance obligations which were not satisfied or are partially satisfied as of the end of the reporting period. Below we disclose information relating to these unsatisfied performance obligations. We apply the practical expedient available under Topic 606 that provides the option to exclude the expected revenues arising from unsatisfied performance obligations related to contracts that have an original expected duration of one year or less. This situation primarily arises with respect to certain month-to-month service contracts. At September 30, 2021, month-to-month service contracts represented approximately 93% of our wireless postpaid contracts and approximately 83% of our wireline Consumer and Small and Medium Business contracts, compared to September 30, 2020, for which month-to-month service contracts represented approximately 90% of our wireless postpaid contracts and 70% of our wireline Consumer and Small and Medium Business contracts.

Additionally, certain contracts provide customers the option to purchase additional services. The fees related to these additional services are recognized when the customer exercises the option (typically on a month-to-month basis).

Contracts for wireless services are generally either month-to-month and cancellable at any time (typically under a device payment plan) or contain terms ranging from greater than one month to up to two years (typically under a fixed-term plan). Additionally, customers may incur charges based on usage or additional optional services purchased in conjunction with entering into a contract that can be canceled at any time and therefore are not included in the transaction price. The transaction price allocated to service performance obligations, which are not satisfied or are partially satisfied as of the end of the reporting period, are generally related to contracts that are not accounted for as month-to-month contracts.

Our Consumer group customers also include traditional wholesale resellers that purchase and resell wireless service under their own brands to their respective customers. Reseller arrangements generally include a stated contract term, which typically extends longer than two years and, in some cases, include a periodic minimum revenue commitment over the contract term for which revenues will be recognized in future periods.

Consumer customer contracts for wireline services are generally month-to-month; however, they may have a service term of two years or shorter than twelve months. Certain contracts with Business customers for wireline services extend into future periods, contain fixed monthly fees and usage-based fees, and can include annual commitments in each year of the contract or commitments over the entire specified contract term; however, a significant number of contracts for wireline services with our Business customers have a contract term that is twelve months or less.

Additionally, there are certain contracts with Business customers for wireline and telematics services that have a contractual minimum fee over the total contract term. We cannot predict the time period when revenue will be recognized related to those contracts; thus, they are excluded from the time bands below. These contracts have varying terms spanning over approximately seven years ending in January 2029 and have aggregate contract minimum payments totaling $2.7 billion.

At September 30, 2021, the transaction price related to unsatisfied performance obligations that are expected to be recognized for the remainder of 2021, 2022 and thereafter was $4.7 billion, $14.5 billion and $6.3 billion, respectively. Remaining performance obligation estimates are subject to change and are affected by several factors, including terminations and changes in the timing and scope of contracts, arising from contract modifications.

Accounts Receivable and Contract Balances

The timing of revenue recognition may differ from the time of billing to our customers. Receivables presented in our condensed consolidated balance sheets represent an unconditional right to consideration. Contract balances represent amounts from an arrangement when either Verizon has performed, by transferring goods or services to the customer in advance of receiving all or partial consideration for such goods and services from the customer, or the customer has made payment to Verizon in advance of obtaining control of the goods and/or services promised to the customer in the contract.

Contract assets primarily relate to our rights to consideration for goods or services provided to customers but for which we do not have an unconditional right at the reporting date. Under a fixed-term plan, total contract revenue is allocated between wireless service and equipment revenues. In conjunction with these arrangements, a contract asset is created, which represents the difference between the amount of equipment revenue recognized upon sale and the amount of consideration received from the customer when the performance obligation related to the transfer of control of the equipment is satisfied. The contract asset is reclassified to accounts receivable as wireless services are provided and billed. We have the right to bill the customer as service is provided over time, which results in our right to the payment being unconditional. The contract asset balances are presented in our condensed consolidated balance sheets as Prepaid expenses and other and Other assets. We recognize the allowance for credit losses at inception and reassess quarterly based on management’s expectation of the asset’s collectability.

Contract liabilities arise when we bill our customers and receive consideration in advance of providing the goods or services promised in the contract. We typically bill service one month in advance, which is the primary component of the contract liability balance. Contract liabilities are recognized as revenue when services are provided to the customer. The contract liability balances are presented in our condensed consolidated balance sheets as Other current liabilities and Other liabilities.

The following table presents information about receivables from contracts with customers:

	At September 30,		At January 1,		At September 30,		At January 1,
(dollars in millions)	2021		2021		2020		2020
Receivables(1)	$	10,088	$	12,029	$	11,094	$	12,078
Device payment plan agreement receivables(2)	11,178		10,358		9,559		11,741

(1)Balances do not include receivables related to the following contracts: leasing arrangements (such as those for towers and equipment), captive reinsurance arrangements primarily related to wireless device insurance and the interest on equipment financed under a device payment plan agreement when sold to the customer by an authorized agent.

(2)Included in device payment plan agreement receivables presented in Note 7. Balances do not include receivables derived from the sale of equipment on a device payment plan through an authorized agent.

The following table presents information about contract balances:

	At September 30,		At January 1,		At September 30,		At January 1,
(dollars in millions)	2021		2021		2020		2020
Contract asset	$	878	$	937	$	923	$	1,150
Contract liability (1)	6,034		5,598		5,321		5,307

(1) Revenue recognized related to contract liabilities existing at January 1, 2021 were $161 million and $4.2 billion for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021, respectively. Revenue recognized related to contract liabilities existing at January 1, 2020 were $124 million and $4.2 billion, for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020, respectively.

The balance of contract assets and contract liabilities recorded in our condensed consolidated balance sheets were as follows:

	At September 30,		At December 31,
(dollars in millions)	2021		2020
Assets
Prepaid expenses and other	$	701	$	733
Other assets	177		204
Total	$	878	$	937
Liabilities
Other current liabilities	$	5,159	$	4,843
Other liabilities	875		755
Total	$	6,034	$	5,598

Contract Costs

Topic 606 requires the recognition of an asset for incremental costs to obtain a customer contract, which are then amortized to expense over the respective periods of expected benefit. We recognize an asset for incremental commission expenses paid to internal and external sales personnel and agents in conjunction with obtaining customer contracts. We only defer these costs when we have determined the commissions are incremental costs that would not have been incurred absent the customer contract and are expected to be recoverable. Costs to obtain a contract are amortized and recorded ratably as commission expense over the period representing the transfer of goods or services to which the assets relate. Costs to obtain wireless contracts are amortized over both of our Consumer and Business customers' estimated device upgrade cycles, as such costs are typically incurred each time a customer upgrades. Costs to obtain wireline contracts are amortized as expense over the estimated customer relationship period for our Consumer customers. Incremental costs to obtain wireline contracts for our Business customers are insignificant. Costs to obtain contracts are recorded in Selling, general and administrative expense.

We also defer costs incurred to fulfill contracts that: (1) relate directly to the contract; (2) are expected to generate resources that will be used to satisfy our performance obligation under the contract; and (3) are expected to be recovered through revenue generated under the contract. Contract fulfillment costs are expensed as we satisfy our performance obligations and recorded in Cost of services. These costs principally relate to direct costs that enhance our wireline business resources, such as costs incurred to install circuits.

We determine the amortization periods for our costs incurred to obtain or fulfill a customer contract at a portfolio level due to the similarities within these customer contract portfolios.

Other costs, such as general costs or costs related to past performance obligations, are expensed as incurred.

Collectively, costs to obtain a contract and costs to fulfill a contract are referred to as deferred contract costs, and amortized over a two-to six-year period. Deferred contract costs are classified as current or non-current within Prepaid expenses and other and Other assets, respectively.

The balances of deferred contract costs included in our condensed consolidated balance sheets were as follows:

	At September 30,		At December 31,
(dollars in millions)	2021		2020
Assets
Prepaid expenses and other	$	2,366	$	2,472
Other assets	2,151		2,070
Total	$	4,517	$	4,542

For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021, we recognized expense of $751 million and $2.3 billion, respectively, associated with the amortization of deferred contract costs, primarily within Selling, general and administrative expense in our condensed consolidated statements of income. For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020, we recognized expense of $763 million and $2.3 billion, respectively, associated with the amortization of deferred contract costs, primarily within Selling, general and administrative expense in our condensed consolidated statements of income.

We assess our deferred contract costs for impairment on a quarterly basis. We recognize an impairment charge to the extent the carrying amount of a deferred cost exceeds the remaining amount of consideration we expect to receive in exchange for the goods and services related to the cost, less the expected costs related directly to providing those goods and services that have not yet been recognized as expenses. There have been no impairment charges recognized for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021 or September 30, 2020.